Media

A round up of this month’s hottest new releases

BY RYAN RAYHILL

MUSIC

Amy Macdonald
This is the Life
Decca

She may be young, but Scottish singer/songwriter Amy Macdonald has a big voice and clever lyrics that belie her age. With smoky vocals and a songwriting style similar to her heroes, UK band Travis, Macdonald is both uplifting (“This is the Life”) and anthemic (“Youth of Today”) while maintaining a youthful spirit that keeps each track fresh and engaging.

DVDs

Made of Honor
Sony Home Entertainment
PG-13

When Tom (Patrick Dempsey) realizes he’s in love with his best friend (Michelle Monaghan), he makes plans to propose. However, she’s gotten engaged while on vacation and asks him to be her “maid” of honor. The duo make a likeable pair and, while not as clever as similar comedies, the film has enough sweet and funny moments to melt even the most jaded cynic’s heart.

When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions
Image Entertainment
Not Rated

This four-disc set chronicles the last 50 years of space exploration through never-before-seen footage from interviews with Neil Armstrong, clips from NASA’s own archives and more. This epic collection, complete with a 14-page booklet featuring rare photos and NASA trivia, is narrated by Gary Sinise. Visually stunning, it’s a fitting celebration of man’s spirit of exploration.

GAMES

Spore
EA
Rated E
PC, Mac

From the creative genius behind The Sims and Sim City comes this “evolution” simulator, which allows you to create your own race of primordial creatures from millions of combinations of parts. Depending on how you treat them, they will thrive and eventually evolve into a community of civilized beings with aspirations of space travel. Allowing for online interaction with other “creators,” it is an exciting experiment.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
LucasArts
Rated T
Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS

Picking up where Star Wars: Episode III left off, you play Darth Vader’s secret apprentice bent on destroying the remaining Jedi. Despite being essentially evil, you can change how the story plays out as you traverse a beautiful version of the galaxy. Perhaps most impressive is the physics engine, which allows you to control the Force like never before.