Weekend Movie Alert: “Fighting” and “Obsessed”

Welcome one and all to another edition of Weekend Movie Alert, where we remind you that there are a couple of movies out there that you might find interesting. This time around, we’re looking at “Fighting” and “Obsessed”, two topics near and dear to my heart.

First up, Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum in “Fighting”, the story of a down-on-his-luck schmoe trying to survive on the streets. When a random altercation has him laying a smackdown on a would-be thief, Howard’s character gives Tatum a chance to fight in the underground world of bare-knuckle, no-holds-barred combat.

Now, I’ll admit that Channing Tatum was not at all on my radar until this movie’s trailer hit the ‘Net. I don’t know if he has a fighting background or not, but he looks competent enough onscreen. Add to this the fact that he appeared ringside during the last Ultimate Fighting Championship, being interviewed by Mike Goldberg, along with San Shou Champion Cung Le (who is also in the film), and it seems like the universe is eager to get me to see this film. Unlike the other recent MMA-like fighting film that came out recently — “Never Back Down” — this one looks like it might have some good choreography in it. Check out the trailer below!

Next up, we have the thriller “Obsessed”, featuring Idris Elba, who you’ll remember as Stringer Bell from “The Wire”, Beyoncé Knowles, and Ali Larter, here reprising the crazy chick part of her “Heroes” role. Larter plays the role of a temp at Elba’s company who becomes a little — wait for it — obsessed with him, despite the fact that he clearly wants no part of the forbidden fruit. Things progress predictably enough from that point, as the all-too-revealing trailer shows, and at some point Larter gets into it with Beyoncé. Which, c’mon, let’s be realistic, Larter has no hope of winning.

First of all, let me say that Idris Elba is capable of some seriously amazing American accents; the guy’s British. On top of that, he’s just got a great presence. Second of all, this is just another iteration of the typical scorned-woman-goes-crazy plot that Hollywood likes to regurgitate every so often; no surprises here. But third of all, it’s your chance to see Beyoncé stretch a little and get into a role that doesn’t have her singing — I hope. Check out the trailer below.