“What’s Friday’s Entertainment” continues! As is the custom, we will look at 1) What movies are coming out, 2) What movies are tops in the box office, 3) What DVD/Blu-Ray might be better, or 4) a Wildcard of my choosing.

1) What movies are coming out?

  • Bridesmaids
  • Priest

2) What’s tops at the box office?

  1. Thor
  2. Fast Five
  3. Jumping The Broom
  4. Something Borrowed
  5. Rio

3) What DVD/Blu-Ray might be better?

  • Wedding Crashers
  • The Hangover

4) Wildcard!

  • Game Night

This weekend could be pretty good for your entertainment. Bridesmaids is coming out, and it looks pretty darn good. I’m going to try to catch it this weekend. It’s good to see a Rated-R female comedy clocking in at two full hours. There are so many things that are right with that last sentence.

Gentlemen, if you think you won’t like it, drop of the ladies and go see Thor, which was a good fun movie. I have not yet seen Fast Five, but it could also be a good alternative if that’s what you’re into this weekend.

If you can’t make it out to the theater, you could get your Rated-R wedding comedy from a movie like Wedding Crashers or The Hangover. But I’m still going to give Bridesmaids a solid chance.

As for the Wildcard, I’m recommending a Game Night. I’m going to a meeting that I’m hoping to turn into a Game Night, but we’ll see. The trick is, if you’re past a certain age, you may have 1) forgotten how much fun board games can be, or 2) don’t know how good board games have gotten over the last 15 – 20 years.

Hopefully if you’re a fan of this site, you’re aware of IMDB, The Internet Movie Database. If not, please click that link and peruse the site that is going to help you win at trivia games from now on. Well, now I’m going to point you to Board Game Geek. It’s basically the IMDB of Board Games. The site isn’t as pretty, but it’s no less robust with information. Board Game Geek will tell you everything you need to know about any game from the newest trends in board games to that weird board game you played at your friend’s grandma’s house back in the day.

And if you really want to dive deeper into what board games have become lately, I’d check out some Podcasts, like The Spiel and The Dice Tower. Different takes on gaming, but both great, despite nerdy 🙂

To make an extremely long story short, board games have come a long way since Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, and Clue. About 15 years ago a game called Settler’s of Catan came over to the US from Europe, and we were introduced to what are now called Eurogames, or German-Style Board Games (as opposed to our American-Style or “Ameritrash” games). Now you can even find Settler’s of Catan and other Eurogames like Carcassonne and Ticket To Ride at Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Target.

Be warned though. Inflation has set in and games are produced in better quality than they used to. Be prepared to pay $35 – 50 for a good board game these days. But don’t let that deter you. Think of the actual time spent with friends and family playing these games rather than staring at a TV while not conversing at all. Plus, if you’ve taken my advise and checked out Board Game Geek, you’ll have all the information at hand to make a solid purchase and be happy with your gaming experience.

Have a great weekend everyone!