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Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 12, 2014 in Cinema 
The new Mad Max film looks suitably crazy. In fact, it barely resembles a modern film in many ways, with tons of practical effects and some general weirdness that usually gets smoothed out in Hollywood. Who knows if it’ll actually end up being good, but it sure does make for some amazing trailers and visuals. George Miller has done a lot of stuff over the years, but seeing him come back to Mad Max is nice. The movie features Tom Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron as Furiosa (which is a ridiculous but awesome name) who’re both described as people “of action” in the movie’s description. Check out the trailer below! Read more…
Tags: mad max
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Square Enix had previously expressed interest in broadening Theatrhythm Final Fantasy to other franchises they own, like Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts. So after having no need of further Final Fantasy music collections after the last Theatrhythm, it just makes sense to see Square Enix announce Theatrhythm Dragon Quest. As with the past two Theatrhythm games, this one’s on 3DS, with a release date of March 26, 2015 in Japan. As usual, we don’t yet know if this will be localized for other countries; Theatrhythm has done well in the US, but Dragon Quest has a much smaller fanbase here, with Square Enix often declining to localize both major and minor entries alike. If they do release it outside of Japan, I’d say to pick it up right away, as there’s no telling if the game would perform well enough to justify a sequel like the first Theatrhythm.
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Tags: Dragon Quest, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 11, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
I know that Pixar’s next movie is called Inside Out, but to me, this is a Cranium Command movie. Inside Out is about the emotions that live inside all of our heads and make our decisions; the movie focuses on the mind of a teenage girl. Similarly, Cranium Command was an Epcot ride about the person who lives inside our head and makes our decisions (along with other parts of the body); the ride focused on the body of a teenage boy. Sure, the new trailer for Inside Out is funny and charming. But more importantly, seeing as Cranium Command was closed years ago, this is the closest thing I’ve got to one of my favorite Epcot attractions! Read more…
Tags: Inside Out, Pixar
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 10, 2014 in Videogames 
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse launched on 3DS this fall, but was delayed on Wii U. However, a tweet from developer WayForward states that the game is in final testing at Nintendo of America. He thinks a 2014 may still be possible, which would be great for those who get a Wii U for Christmas to play. Hopefully it happens, but in the meantime, here’s the latest Wii U trailer. Enjoy those pretty sprites, because the next Shantae game, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, is using hand-drawn 2D graphics instead of traditional sprites. It’s still pretty in its own way, but it’s not the same. Read more…
Tags: Shantae, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 10, 2014 in Videogames 
So Paul McCartney wrote a song for Bungie’s Destiny, since he worked on the soundtrack for the game. It’s called “Hope for the Future,” and it’s the ending song for the game. It is a bad, generic song about wanting a better tomorrow, but it can get worse. There’s now this official music video, and it’s really bad. Ghost projects a hologram of McCartney singing the song and just looking ridiculous, as Guardians sit and listen for some reason, while the rest of the imagery tries its best to sell the game. If I didn’t already pass on buying Destiny, this certainly wouldn’t have helped persuade me. Read more…
Tags: Destiny, Music, music videos
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 9, 2014 in Cinema 
Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla may have gotten some mixed-to-positive reception earlier this year, but it still doesn’t count as a “true” Godzilla film. Toho, the original Japanese producers, haven’t made a new movie since their 2004 send-off Godzilla: Final Wars. But twelve years later, in 2016, the hiatus will end and Toho will release a new Godzilla film. A story and cast will be announced later, while production will start in Summer 2015. This seems to be a full reboot, so it likely won’t have any ties to the previous Millennium Era films. Toho claims that Japan’s film industry can now achieve Hollywood-style effects without spending Hollywood-level money. Hopefully that means they’re still planning to use plenty of practical effects, and hopefully use people in suits instead of CG monsters.
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Tags: Godzilla, Toho
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 9, 2014 in Comic Books, Television 
I love in-jokey meta references in TV series, and The Flash has a cool one coming up. Not content to cast John Wesley Snipp, the star of the 1990 one-season live-action adaptation Flash, as the father to the new show’s Flash, the producers are bringing back Mark Hamill as James Jesse, the Trickster. Hamill played the character in a Joker-like fashion, and ended up voicing the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series. But in this series, the Trickster is an “anarchist terrorist con man” in jail for life; he ends up helping the Flash to stop the attacks of a Trickster copycat, a possible reference to the second Trickster from the original comics. I have a feeling Mark Hamill will play this version much straighter, but I’d love if they snuck in a glimpse of that comical clashing costume from the old series. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 8, 2014 in Videogames 
The Playstation Experience 2014 also featured the debut of a new trailer for No Man’s Sky. This game has been a bit of an enigma, promising incredible worlds and tons of space to explore, all randomly generated and unique to each player. It’s a pretty bold statement, if you’re a AAA developer, and Hello Games (makers of No Man’s Sky) employ 10 people. So it’s definitely going to be impressive if they pull off all that they’re promising. Visually, it looks pretty good, with lots of neon colors and bright, saturated skies. And spaceships! It all tickles my sci-fi bone, I just hope they can deliver. I want nothing more than for this game to succeed! Read more…
Tags: No Man's Sky, PS4
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 8, 2014 in Videogames 
At Sony’s Playstation Experience, they pulled out all the stops. Lots of great games to play, see, and announce (of course). One of the biggest items shown that evening was gameplay footage of Uncharted 4, featuring Drake jumping across rocky cliffs and shooting up a bunch of enemies. I’ve enjoyed the Uncharted series in the past, but I’ve grown a bit tired of it since 3. I would prefer more adventuring than shooting, mainly. There’s a lot of cool things going on in this gameplay trailer, especially the gorgeous graphics, but I basically tuned out once gunfire started going off. The new grappling hook does look like a lot of fun, though! Check it out below. Read more…
Tags: PS4, Uncharted
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 7, 2014 in Videogames 
Fullbright, the impeccable group of people behind Gone Home, one of 2013’s best games, period. Critics derisively called it a “walking simulator” due to its focus on story rather than immediate game play feedback, but I found its methodical pace and realized area (an empty house you explore) incredibly compelling. At The Game Awards, Fullbright teased their next project, titled Tacoma. The teaser trailer doesn’t show much, and the game isn’t scheduled to arrive until 2016, but I’m already intrigued, as the plot appears to be about a woman exploring some sort of space station or base. More space games is always good in my book! Read more…
Tags: Fullbright, Tacoma
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 7, 2014 in Videogames 
Surprising just about everyone, Nintendo brought several big announcements and trailers to Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards. They’re really opening up, aren’t they? At the TGAs, Nintendo showed off new Mario Maker footage, a new Project S.T.E.A.M. trailer, and lastly, brand new footage of the upcoming Zelda game for Wii U (and Miyamoto casually confirms that Star Fox will arrive before it in 2015). This new footage finally gives us an in-game look at the world, and it looks very impressive. It’s still pretty early though (those copy-pasted trees), but with a year left to go, I’m certain we’ll see even more amazing visuals once it’s out. Big props to Nintendo for showing a game this early! Check out the footage below. Read more…
Tags: Legend of Zelda, Wii U
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 6, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Yes, that Deadpool movie is really happening now. Ryan Reynolds will definitely return to play the merc with a mouth, the LA Times has confirmed. Not too surprising, since we knew Reynolds wanted to return to the role. In other news, Benedict Cumberbatch has also been officially confirmed as Doctor Strange. Surprise! And also on the plate: Krysten Ritter will play Jessica Jones in an upcoming Marvel Netflix series (essentially, she’s a washed-up superhero who opens up her own detective agency, which is a great concept for a show). Tons of casting, although Reynolds will probably never meet up with the other two. What a shame! Read more…
Tags: Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Jessica Jones
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 6, 2014 in Videogames 
It leaked out a little early, but there were some rumblings about it anyway: Street Fighter 5 has been confirmed. Surprisingly (or not?) the game will be coming “exclusively to PS4 and PC,” which is certainly intriguing. Who knows how they’re using the word “exclusively,” though. We’ll be sure to get more details soon, but for now you can check out the promotional trailer below, which features footage of Ryu and Chun Li duking it out interspersed with clips of the fighting game community and various tournaments. Visually, it looks similar to SF4, but there’s definitely some changes and it looks better overall. Exciting! Read more…
Tags: Street Fighter
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 5, 2014 in Television 
Yes, Preacher fans, after much waiting and agonizing, AMC has finally ordered a Preacher pilot. They struck the deal with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who had been pushing for this for a long time, and will begin filming the pilot in summer 2015. Rogen and Goldberg released a statement regarding the announcement, saying, “Garth Ennis is one of our idols and it’s an incredible honor to be working on this. We promise we won’t make too many dick jokes and ruin it.” Good to know! Now, you’re finally much much closer to having a Preacher TV series. It’s still not final, but aside from ordering the show itself, this was the final hurdle. Let’s hope the pilot turns out well! Read more…
Tags: AMC, Preacher
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 5, 2014 in Cinema 
The fictional terrorist organization Spectre has been an important part of the James Bond franchise (Dr. No), but a messy rights battle kept the movies from using them in the last few films (this is also why the group Quantum was introduced, to take its place). Last year, the rights were finally settled, and now it appears that they have wasted no time integrating Spectre back into the films. In particular, Christoph Waltz has been cast as the main villain, named Oberhauser, but practically everyone assumes him to actually be Ernst Blofeld, the leader of Spectre. Now, the title of “Spectre” has been confirmed, and first teaser poster definitely resembles the Spectre logo quite a bit… Hmm! In addition to Daniel Craig and Waltz, Spectre will also feature Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, and Noami Harris. Read more…
Tags: James Bond, Spectre
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 4, 2014 in Cinema 
We’ve got the first footage of Terminator: Genisys, the reboot of the franchise that also sees Arnold Schwarzenegger return to his iconic role. Apparently, not just the T-800 is back, as we get a glimpse of a T-1000. I don’t think Robert Patrick is returning for this one, but since the T-1000 could look any way it wants, that’s not an issue. Honestly, everything looks solid, and that time machine is particularly cool, but I just don’t see reboots like this getting as much play as the originals. Read more…
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, Terminator Genisys
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 4, 2014 in Tech, Videogames 
It’s been 20 years since the PlayStation first launched in Japan on December 3, 1994. To celebrate that important date, Sony is producing a special gray PS4, just like the PS1. The gray extends to the DualShock 4 controller, which brings back even more memories of gray controllers, as well as the vertical stand and camera accessories. There’s no mention of the cost, but if you’re a collector, you’ll want to pay whatever they’re asking: only 12,300 units will be made available worldwide. US gamers should watch the PlayStation Experience keynote on Saturday, December 6 at 10AM PT to learn how to buy one of these rare systems. For the rest of us, we’ll have to settle for the detailed video below, which shows off details, such as etchings of PlayStation button symbols. Hey Sony, how about a gray controller for those of us who already own a PS4? Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sony
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 3, 2014 in Videogames 
Out of nowhere, Steam has decided to enter the game-streaming arena currently dominated by Twitch and Ustream. They’ve announced the beta of Steam Broadcasting, which allows you to watch your friend’s game as they’re playing it. When someone starts watching, the player automatically starts broadcasting, with the broadcast ending once no one is watching. Naturally, there are privacy settings, which range from only sending invites to allow viewers to letting your friends actively creep on you. The highest setting lets anyone watch and shows your broadcast on the game’s hub, allowing built-in streaming with no need for extra software/hardware. Lowering barriers always results in more people streaming, which is always great for the activity. Read more…
Tags: Steam
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 3, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Can we admit that despite WB’s questionable direction of their DC Cinematic Universe, the Suicide Squad movie actually sounds good? WB just put out a press release announcing the stars of the film, and it is a very solid cast. We’ve got: Jared Leto as the Joker, Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney is Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, and Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg. They haven’t picked their actress for Amanda Waller yet, but rumor says that Oprah Winfrey is their top pick, with Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer also being considered. With Fury‘s David Ayer writing and directing, Suicide Squad may survive having Man of Steel‘s Zack Snyder as its producer. Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Suicide Squad, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 2, 2014 in Videogames 
With the New 3DS and New 3DS XL out in Japan (and for some reason Australia), it was inevitable that Nintendo would eventually discontinue the original 3DS and 3DS XL models. But surprisingly, Nintendo has already announced that it was soon ending production on the 3DS XL (actually called the 3DS LL in Japan). In the past, Nintendo has left previous models in production, as a low-cost option for consumers. (For example, at one point the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL were in production, partially because the larger DSi XL didn’t truly replace the previous models because many consumers want a smaller device.) But with the New 3DS systems effectively replacing the old 3DS systems around the same price, it’s not surprising that the previous models would disappear much quicker. The only thing strange about this is that Nintendo is still keeping the original 3DS in the marketplace. It’s a strange choice for what was easily the weakest design of them all, with small issues that suggested it was rushed to market. Get that thing out of here! Read more…
Tags: 3DS, New 3DS, Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 2, 2014 in Videogames 
Double Fine may have helped pioneer game development funded by fans, earning over $3.3 million back in 2012 for Broken Age, then titled Double Fine Adventure. After making much more than they originally expected, the studio were able to increase the scope of what they had planned, even hiring voice actors like Elijah Wood. But as a result, the game was split into two halves, so they could sell the first half to finish funding the second half. Now even Act 2 has been pushed back to early 2015, but at least the game looks to have its alpha done by the end of 2014, as both characters’ stories are in alpha and only the finale remains, with one character already on the way to beta. It’s been a strange release process, but at least Broken Age is finally getting out there, even if many later crowd-funded games have already released in the interim. Read more…
Tags: Broken Age, double fine
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 1, 2014 in Videogames 
The most recent Steam sale is wrapping up, so now is your chance to pick up any deals on games you might’ve wanted this year! The Steam Exploration Sale doesn’t have any collectables or trading hooks like the (eventual) winter sale, but you can grab games like Far Cry 3, Gauntlet, Legend of Grimrock II, and Dishonored for really cheap! Plus, even newer games like The Binding of Isaac Rebirth are discounted! However, make sure to come back on the final day of the sale to see if anything you wanted will go up as a daily deal, which is when it’ll be at its cheapest! Happy shopping! Read more…
Tags: sales, Steam
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 1, 2014 in Science 
In the future, we hope to colonize other planets, right? Going to Mars is the next goal, but even that seems so far away. But our imagination can be quite effective at inspiring us and getting there quicker, which is why I have loved the recent boom in space-themed movies, such as Gravity, Interstellar, and others. This short film by Erik Wernquist is an amazing look at how humanity might expand and live in the rest of our solar system. Perhaps most exciting: none of these places are made-up — they’re all real places that we could potentially go someday. Check out the video below. Make sure to open it in full-screen! Read more…
Tags: Short Films, Space, Space Exploration
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 30, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Everyone wants to ask James Gunn about Guardians of the Galaxy 2. So much so, he went on Facebook and posted about the movie and answered some comments! His post is mainly about his desire to make a good movie first, rather than constantly try to create a shared movie universe. “I know George Lucas, Kevin Feige, John Favreau, etc, had ideas where their films would potentially lead in the face of success. But I don’t think it ever got in the way of making that first movie count as if it was the last, of making it something wonderful that people would love whether it led to other films or not.” He then went on to say, “I don’t want Nova right now because I think Quill being the only earthling is important.” Maybe Nova will get his own movie later! Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
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