Monthly Archives: March 2017
A Boatload of E3 Predictions
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game talk show. This week we're discussing tons of E3 predictions, video game console rentals, and more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.
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Netflix is Getting Rid of its Five-Star Ratings System
Netflix is changing the way its viewers rate movies and TV shows.
The Verge reports the streaming giant is doing away with its five-star ratings system in favor of a thumbs up/thumbs down system, which will begin rolling out globally starting in April.
Netflix has been looking to get rid of its old ratings system for quite some time, and began beta testing this "thumbs" system last year. What the company learned is that viewers were more engaged with rating content this way, as over 200 percent more ratings were reportedly logged.
“Five stars feels very yesterday now,” Netflix vice president of product Todd Yellin said. “We’re spending many billions of dollars on the titles we’re producing and licensing, and with these big catalogs, that just adds a challenge.”
Venom: Sony Sets Release Date for Spider-Man Spinoff
Sony has set a release date for its Spider-Man spin-off film, Venom.
TheWrap reports Venom will open in theaters on October 5, 2018. That release date was originally occupied by Warner Bros.' Aquaman solo film before it recently got pushed back to December.
The Mummy director and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 writer Alex Kurtzman will direct, but no word yet on who'll star as Venom.
This version of the Marvel villain will reportedly not exist in the shared MCU as Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Sony first revived the film project last year and according to last year's reports, the film was “being envisioned as a franchise apart from and unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man movie in the works with actor Tom Holland.”
Deadpool 2’s Domino Explained
Deadpool 2 will be adding several big guns to Fox's X-Men cinematic universe. Literally, in the case of Cable and his arsenal. But last week we learned that Cable and Deadpool will be joined by another X-Men mainstay, Domino. Zazie Beetz (Atlanta) has been cast in the role of the deadly mercenary.
While Domino may be familiar to many comic fans, the character is only just starting to make her away into other media. So to help get you up to speed on all things Domino, here's everything you need to know about Deadpool's new partner.
Domino, a.k.a. Neena Thurman
For Honor Was the Best Selling Game of February 2017
In spite of being on the market for just 12 days, Ubisoft's For Honor came out on top of sales in the U.S. for February, with PlayStation 4 once again taking the top-spot in console sales.
Resident Evil 7, the second-place game this month, was knocked from its spot as the best-selling game of January 2017. PlayStation 4 held its place on top from last month.
Nioh came in at the number 9 spot, in spite of the fact NPD doesn't have digital sales to include in its ranking. Similarly, Overwatch sales, holding steady in tenth place, don't include figures from Battle.net sales.
Beauty and the Beast: 9 Other Screen Versions
While everyone flocks to theaters to witness the live-action Disney remake of their own 1991 animated hit Beauty and the Beast, this time starring Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, and gads more actors, it seems like a nice opportunity to take a look at how a timeless tale of a bookish girl falling in love with a creepy monster transcends any one interpretation. Since the French fairy tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve was first published in 1740, then edited into a more popular version that proliferated at the end of the 1800s, La Belle et la Bête has been a fertile source for film and television adaptations.
So here’s a quick glimpse of nine other versions -- and before you ask, no, we won’t even bother with the ’91 Disney movie, nor will we deal with the larger world of thematic adaptations (everything from the various versions of King Kong to something like Edward Scissorhands). Let’s look at some other interesting permutations, with an admittedly perfunctory rating of the relative “beastliness” of the Beast in each version…
The 10 Best (Nickelodeon) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Episodes
From the very first episode, Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- which is about to begin its fifth season -- has proven to be more than just another take on the beloved cartoon from the 1980s. This iteration has come with unique story arcs, a radically different art style, and all-new versions of the characters. It's TMNT for a whole new generation, and yet has maintained the spirit of the old versions as well. Suffice to say, putting together a Top 10 Episodes list was a shell of a challenge, but somehow we managed to narrow it down -- like a Turtle do!
It's worth noting that, while we did take our original review scores into consideration, they weren't the deciding factor in putting together the Top 10. Sometimes it takes a season or more to put certain episodes into perspective, as you'll see below.
Into the Badlands: Nick Frost on His Season 2 Role and Elaborate Fight Sequences
AMC's Into the Badlands returns for its second season this Sunday, March 19th as Daniel Wu's Sunny attempts to escape from the River King, determined to fight his way back into the Badlands to find his family or die trying.
But Sunny's not alone on his quest this season. Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) has joined the series as Bajie, an irreverent and unlikely new ally who harbors secrets of his own.
I had a chance to speak to Frost about his new role on the action series, the challenge of filming 10-day fight sequences, Bajie's relationship with Sunny, and also a bit about his part int the upcoming film Fighting with My Family -- directed by Stephen Merchant, with Dwayne "The Rock Johnson" executive producing -- about WWE's Paige and her family of U.K. wrestlers.
Aquaman Takes Originally Planned Avatar 2 Release Date
The solo Aquaman film's release date has been delayed.
As reported by Variety, Warner Bros has pushed back the release of Aquaman rom October 5, 2018, to December 21, 2018. This new date coincides with what many expected to be the original release for Avatar 2 which director James Cameron recently said will not be coming in 2018.
"What people need to understand is that this is a cadence of releases," Cameron said at the time. "So we're not making Avatar 2. We're making Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5. It's an epic undertaking."
Amazon Brings Alexa Voice Control to iPhone
Alexa is coming to Amazon's main app for iPhone.
The voice-controlled digital assistant has previously been made available to iPhone users via various third-party apps, but this is the first time Amazon is adding support directly through its own iOS app.
Alexa for iPhone, via Amazon.com
The updated Amazon app features a speaker icon in the search bar that, when selected, allows you to ask Alexa questions, browse the online store, listen to music, check the weather and more.