Monthly Archives: December 2018
Shazam’s Opening Weekend Compared to Other DCEU Movies
Shazam! debuted in first place at the North American box office this weekend, opening with an estimated $53.5 million for a total weekend haul of $56.8 million (including Thursday night previews).
The film -- the seventh entry in the DCEU movie continuity -- also opened in first place internationally with $102 million for a total worldwide debut of $158.8 million.
While Shazam! had the lowest opening weekend of any DCEU film, it also only reportedly cost $100 million to produce. And with an "A" CinemaScore from audience exit polling and a "fresh" critical score at Rotten Tomatoes, Shazam! appears poised to stay strong at the box office in the coming weeks.
A Recent Discovery Could Shed New Light on Our Understanding of Black Holes
Astronomers have seen wind gusts blowing from a supermassive black hole at a much closer distance than in the past, according to Science News.
Mark Lacy, an astronomer at the Atacama Large Millimeter Array Science Center in Chile, observed the wind alongside colleagues.
They found the evidence from a quasar black hole at approximately 228,000 light-years away from the surrounding galaxy. The closest previous wind from a black hole that was recorded was at 3,000 light-years.
Black holes have an extremely powerful gravitational force and are known for pulling anything near it, into itself like a magnet. On the contrary, a supermassive black hole can send material in the opposing direction.
17 Unexplained Things Confusing Players in Pokemon: Let’s Go
Though Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are a bit simplified compared to their competitively viable counterparts, they still left players with plenty of questions. Some abilities are easy to miss, version differences aren't exactly advertised on the box, and how are you supposed to know where to go to catch 'em all? Here are the most popular tips, lists, guides and tutorials Pokemon: Let's Go players searched for and the in-depth answers to go with them.
How Historically Accurate is Red Dead Redemption 2?
Watch its unimaginably long credit roll and you’ll spot a number of researchers whose roles were dedicated to making sure Red Dead Redemption 2 reflected a historical reality. Outside of the simulation genre, video games tends to play very fast and loose with history, but Rockstar Games has goes above and beyond in every effort to make the world seem deeply believable while functioning within the parameters of an open world entertainment experience. This dedication realism exercised by Rockstar is commendable, but the team also clearly understood that pure, unadulterated retellings of real-world events and frontier life also wouldn’t perfectly serve their creative purposes.
NBA 2K’s Mike Wang Got Noticed by Posting on a Sports Game Forum
It’s the stuff of internet fantasy: NBA 2K gameplay director Mike Wang began his adult life as a terribly unsure college student worrying over what he would do for the rest of his career. In the meantime, he regularly posted on the Operation Sports forums, freely offering his “advice” (or just gripes) to anyone who would listen.
Through a series of incredibly fortunate favors and meetings, Wang eventually found himself at the offices of NBA 2K developer Visual Concepts. What awaited him was a team of developers that amusingly recognized his username from the forums.
Avengers 4 vs. Star Wars 9: Which Film Will Be Biggest in 2019?
While the end of any calendar year always brings an influx of lists breaking down the best movies of the year (and worst, overrated and underrated, oftentimes), it’s also the perfect time to look ahead. So we have singled out 37 of next year’s potential blockbusters… and flops, and try to project how much they may earn at the domestic box office.
Although I certainly strive to be as accurate as potentially possible, there are more than enough X-factors for any given movie, and there’s a good chance that at least a few of these movies might be bumped to 2020 (I’m looking at you, Jumanji sequel that is supposed to come out in December 2019 but hasn’t started filming yet…), and there’s a very good chance many more of these dates get shuffled around during the year.
It Takes Roughly 2 Days to Digest a LEGO If You Eat One
Results of a recent study indicate that a LEGO figurine head takes just under two days to digest if you happen to mistake it for a particularly hard kernel of corn.
The study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, is titled Everything is awesome: Don’t forget the Lego, and was undertaken by a group of researchers associated with Don’t Forget the Bubble.
In the small-scale study, six pediatric healthcare professionals (three male, three female) each ingested a LEGO figurine head. Pre-ingestion habits were measured by the SHAT (Stool Hardness and Transit) score, while the amount of time it took to find said LEGO head in the participant's stool was called the FART (Found and Retrieved Time) score. Between the six participants, an average FART score of 1.71 days was recorded, and SHAT scores didn’t noticeably change during the study.
12 Most Epic Video Game Moments of 2018
Excellent games and unbelievable moments were everywhere in a gaming year that started strong and never let up. Enduring franchises delivered on their long-awaited promises, surprise independent gems blew us away, and masterpieces wowed us with moments that won’t soon be forgotten!
As another incredible year in gaming comes to a close, join us in looking back at those epic moments that helped to make 2018 an astonishing year for everyone. BUT BE WARNED, there are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for some of the the biggest and best games of the year, so come back later if you’re not ready. For everyone else, let’s go down the the list of the most epic gaming moments of 2018!
Inside One of the Best Arcades in Japan – Game Center Mikado
Arcades may have died out in much of the world, but in Japan, arcades are still a huge part of gaming culture. One of my favourites is Game Center Mikado in Tokyo – it’s a great place to dive into legendary fighting games and retro classics in a relaxed atmosphere.
Mikado is a couple of stops from Shinjuku in Takadanobaba, a district that’s famous for being the place that Osamu Tezuka chose for his iconic character Astro Boy to be “born.” JR trains play the theme song when they stop at this station, and there are a couple of large murals of Tezuka’s work outside the station.
Game Center Mikado is just around the corner, on an unassuming alley that runs along the train line. This two storey arcade has been one of the central locations for Tokyo’s fighting game scene for more than a decade (it was opened in 2006 but has been in its current location since 2009), playing host to regular tournaments and known for high level play. It’s also – unlike the many Taito Game Stations and Club SEGAs around the country - privately owned.