UK Top 10 Games: 22nd July 2013

Wow! Just when you thought The Last of Us couldn't get much more impressive, it goes and takes the top spot for a sixth week over in the UK! Only two other games have managed such a feat (FIFA 12, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2), but prior to this week no platform-exclusive titles had done so. Congratulations The Last of Us, you are making history!

Outside of The Last of Us' domination, it's been a relatively quiet week in terms of games.The only new entry was Dynasty Warriors 8, which comes in surprisingly high at No. 5. Whoever says the series has no fans in the UK, need only look at this week's chart to be proven wrong.
Meanwhile, Max Payne 3 managed an impressive leap - from No. 26 last week, to No. 7 - due to price drops from many UK retailers.

Here's the Top 10 in full:

1. (1) The Last of Us
2. (5) Minecraft: XBOX 360 Edition
3. (3) Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros.
4. (2) Animal Crossing: New Leaf
5. (-) Dynasty Warriors 8
6. (6) Far Cry 3
7. (26) Max Payne 3
8. (11) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition
9. (4) FIFA 13
10. (9) Tomb Raider

That's all the top 10 news for this week, but be sure to come back next week for more!

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US Box Office Top 10: 22nd July 2013

It was a busy week at the box office, with four big films coming out in just one week, and with numbers like that, you know there's going to be a flop. And there was. But first, let's focus on the positives! James Wan's new horror movie, The Conjuring did very well over the weekend. It took the top spot making $41.9 million - more than making up its $20 million budget in its first week! Nice!

It knocks Despicable Me 2 down just one place to No. 2, meaning the film is still doing very well after its 2-week stay at the top spot. The film made another $25 million this week, bringing to a total of $276 million in the USA alone! Now that's impressive.

Now though, we start to move in to not so cheery territory. First, Turbo - one of two Ryan Reynolds' films to be released this week - has made a somewhat disappointing debut at No. 3, with just over $21 million made. Not amazing for a film with a budget of $135 million. However, 20th Century Fox has made a statement saying they have faith the film will perform, due to its release in the children's Summer Holidays. Only time will tell, but Dreamworks have recently adjusted their predictions of the movie - lowering them by as much as $50 million - which isn't a great sign.

Watch TEN's Box Office Report!

The next new entry was Red 2, which makes a debut at No. 5 pulling in around $18 million. This is $2 million less than the first Red film managed in its opening weekend, most likely due to the fact that the first movie was released in the slightly less busy October - as opposed to one of the most crowded Summer's we've seen in some time.

The final new entry, and by far the biggest flop of the week, is Ryan Reynolds' other new release, R.I.P.D. The film has received some very negative reviews, and was generating such bad buzz that Universal even stopped promoting the movie to save cash when it inevitably flopped. The movie made just $12.7 million, meaning it has a long way to go to earning back that $130 million budget.

Here's the Top 10 in full:

1. (-) The Conjuring - $41.9 million

2. (1) Despicable Me 2 - $24.9 million

3. (-) Turbo - $21.3 million

4. (2) Grown Ups 2 - $19.9 million

5. (-) Red 2 - $18 million

6. (3) Pacific Rim - $16 million

7. (-) R.I.P.D - $12.7 million

8. (4) The Heat - $9.3 million

9. (7) World War Z - $5.19 million

10. (6) Monsters University - $5.12 million

 

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Astonishing X-Men Cancelled

In their most recent batch of solicitations it was revealed that the long-running Astonishing X-Men - currently written by Marjorie Liu - will be ending in October at issue 68. The series was once the most high-profile of the X-Men books, but aside from the marriage of Northstar and Kyle, recently it has slipped under the radar. So much so, that it was one of the few titles not granted a Marvel NOW! reboot.

Marvel has already found a replacement for the title in Amazing X-Men, a new series written by Jason Aaron and brought to life by artist, Ed McGuiness. The first arc will see the long-awaited return of Nightcrawler - a character expected to come back after he was spotted on the teaser poster of Marvel's upcoming event, Inhumanity.

Cover Of New Comic Amazing X-Men

So what do you think of this news? Let us know either in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or by sending us a tweet.

For more comic-book news, keep reading The Entertainment Network.

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Pacific Rim Review

Pacific Rim has been without a doubt one of the most-hyped films of not only this year, but maybe even the last few. So much so, that I had been trying to limit my excitement to stop the hype from taking over. Plus, I had my doubts that a story about giant robots punching giant monsters would have enough substance to fill a two hour movie. Fortunately, having just seen Pacific Rim I can confirm that it has lived up to the hype and is some of the most fun I've had in a movie this year.

The plot of Pacific Rim focuses around the giant monsters known as Kaiju emerging from the bottom of the Pacific ocean and attempting to destroy humanity. Following this is the introduction of our Kaiju-fighting weapons - the huge piloted mechs known as Jaegers. 

I do feel like perhaps the plot is a little basic revolving basically around the idea of "we have to stop these monsters," but in the end I'd say the somewhat simple plot doesn't weaken the film at all. It's just too much fun to watch these events unfold. And plus, the story does have a few twists and turns hidden inside which will manage to keep things interesting for those who aren't satisfied with the incredible action set pieces littered throughout the movie.

Now some people may be against seeing this movie as they may not be big fans of action - if that's a statement you can relate to, then let me reassure you - I have great faith that the action in this movie would please someone of your mindset. Why? First of all, the action in this movie is completely unique. Those of you worried that it would devolve into the mindless explosions of Michael Bay's Transformers movies may put your fears to rest. The action in this movie has been carefully choreographed to fit the slow moving Yaeger's, as well as to not get too repetitive - both the mechs and the monsters are capable of a lot more than just punching each other until one of them dies (something I wish the characters in Man of Steel were capable of).

Not to mention that both the Yaeger's and the Kaiju's are both beautifully brought to life using a genius mix of both CGI and practical effects.

Another reason why all this action doesn't get too overwhelming is because you care about the people involved. Charlie Hunnam plays the main character of Raleigh Becket and is a very likeable lead, his co-star Rinko Kikuchi (who plays a character called Mako Mori) is also very good in her role. The characters have both been through heartbreaking struggles, and it doesn't take long for you to feel invested in them.

Idris Elba puts in another great performance here, this time as the intimidating commanding officer Stacker Pentecost. But two of my favourite performances here came from Charlie Day and Burn Gorman who play a pair of arguing scientists - they offer some comic relief, as well as playing a significant part in the story.

Of course, a good script does help to make these characters as great as they are - and with more and more scripts letting movies down recently it's great to see one that delivers.

The directing of Guillermo Del Toro is also to be applauded here, as it must of been a very difficult task to keep the action between the gigantic Yaegers and Kaiju from looking chaotic. He handles it brilliantly however, keeping the action controlled enough to be understood by the audience, yet still completely exhilarating and a blast to watch.

 
 

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UK Top 10 Games: 16th July 2013

This week, PS3-exclusive The Last of Us continues to amaze as it holds the top spot for the fifth week in a row! This would be an achievement for a multi-platform title but when you add in the fact that The Last of Us is available on just one console it's even more impressive. The title was released in the UK back in June, to rave reviews praising it as one of the PS3's best games.

There was only one new entry in the Top 10 this week, and that was Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS. The title managed a respectable debut at No. 3, and meant that Nintendo had two titles in the Top 3 (with Animal Crossing: New Leaf at No. 2). Now if they could only sort out their struggling Wii U, Nintendo would be at the top of their game right now!

While there were no new entries in the Top 10 this week, Aliens: Colonial Marines did manage to re-enter the top 10 and jump 12 places in the process. Thanks to a price cut, the game jumped from No. 22 to No. 10, meaning the UK is slowly filling up with disappointed gamers if those reviews are anything to go by!

Finally, outside the Top 10 the new add-on for Civilisation V - Civilisation V: Brave New World - came in at No. 39.

Here's the Top 10 in full:

1. (1) The Last of Us

2. (4) Animal Crossing: New Leaf

3. (-) Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Bros.

4. (3) FIFA 13

5. (2) Minecraft: XBOX 360 Edition

6. (10) Far Cry 3

7. (7) Call of Duty: Black Ops II

8. (5) Assassin's Creed III

9. (6) Tomb Raider

10. (22) Aliens: Colonial Marines

For more gaming news be sure to come back to TEN!

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US Box Office Top 10: 16th July 2013

This week, Despicable Me 2 manages a very impressive task - holding the No. 1 spot for a second week! This is something that very few films have managed to do this Summer, due largely to the huge amount of blockbuster films that have been released this year. The film now has a total domestic gross of around $229 million meaning it could quite easily beat Monsters University's box office numbers - something I find surprising.

It's even more impressive when you take into account that two big films were released this week, with Grown Ups 2 and Pacific Rim both being released to the masses. Shockingly, it was Grown Ups 2 that debuted highest taking the No. 2 spot - something I wasn't too happy about (see the video below) - and taking in $41.5 million in the process. The film looks to be a much needed hit for Adam Sandler whose last couple of starring roles (Jack and Jill, That's My Boy) have both disappointed.

The TEN Box Office Report

Pacific Rim had to settle for No. 3 making a respectable $37.3 million, however I am worried that the film may end up under-performing if it continues to bring in somewhat disappointing numbers like this.

Here's the Top 10 in full:

1. (1) Despicable Me 2 - $43.9 million
2. (-) Grown Ups 2 - $41.5 million
3. (-) Pacific Rim - $37.3 million
4. (3) The Heat - $14 million
5. (2) The Lone Ranger - $11.5 million
6. (4) Monsters University - $10.6 million
7. (5) World War Z - $9.31 million
8. (6) White House Down - $6.16 million
9. (8) Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain - $4.75 million
10. (7) Man of Steel - $4.72 million

For more on the Box Office numbers watch the Box Office report above, and be sure to come back next week!

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Comic Book Sales: June 2013

Normally, we post a written analysis of the month's comic sales figures. However, this month we decided to try something a little different and get them out in video form! In our new show, the Comic Sales Report, TEN editor David Craig talks the best-selling comics of last month as well as the worst! What Marvel NOW! titles may be cancelled soon? What New 52 titles may be cancelled soon? And most importantly what was the best-selling comic of last month: Superman Unchained or Batman/Superman?

Find out all that and more in the new show, and be sure to give us feedback! Did you prefer our written article or did you enjoy the new show? You can let us know in the comments, on our Facebook page or on Twitter.

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