The Past, Present and Future of Adventure Games
In Arthurian legend it’s written that King Arthur created a giant round table so that his knights could come around to the castle and chill out, drink mead, and shoot the breeze. Being round in shape meant that there was no official head; everyone who chose to sit down had an equal voice. And without having to worry about order or stature or hierarchy, he would famously say, “Dudes, it’s just Arthur here. Or Art. Even Arty will do. Actually, no. Don’t call me Arty.”
Anyone who was anyone in Camelot would come and enjoy the freewheeling conversations that took place at the Round Table – as it was cleverly known, and it was here that everything from sedimentary sword extraction to how to properly groom a horse were discussed openly. Except for Merlin, who by this point had heard the Sword in the Stone story a few too many times and took to protest by staying in his tower working on new potions.
Power Rangers Bootleg Fan Film Back Online
Following legal disputes and outcry from fans (including original Green Ranger Jason David Frank), producer Adi Shankar's controversial Power Rangers fan film is back on YouTube and Vimeo.
According to Deadline, the gritty Power Rangers fan film is back online with the following disclaimer from Shankar: “Deboot of the Power Rangers. My take on the FAN FILM. Not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don’t send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free). This is the NSFW version. An alternate safe version is on youtube.”
Fantastic Four Director Talks Johnny Storm’s Race
Fantastic Four director Josh Trank has opened up on his decision-making behind his seemingly contentious casting, and the grittier tone he's taking with his reboot.
Speaking with Empire (via JoBlo), Trank was candid about the casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm aka Human Torch, a white character in the comic books, and a black character in the reboot. While some of the film's detractors are quick to call "political correctness", Trank's reasoning is much more simple: it's the 21st century, and Jordan was the right guy for the role.
HTC One M9 Announced at MWC 15 Today
Today HTC unveiled its HTC One M9 at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. The new phone "melds the best" design features of the HTC One M7 and M8, according to the company.
The metal edges of its new phone "combine perfectly with graceful curves for a jewellery-grade look," HTC said. It features an all-metal unibody design and is accented with a silver and rose-gold finish.
Aesthetically, it's definitely a nice looking phone, and it faces stiff competition in the looks-department from Samsung's newly announced Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, which also feature updated, sleek designs that blend glass and metal together.
Samsung Announces Gear VR for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Samsung announced the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition, its wearable VR headset for use with its newly revealed Galaxy S6 and S6 edge phones.
"Gear VR Innovator Edition lets users engage with high resolution movies, TV shows," video on demand services and photos, according to Samsung. The headset also supports VR gaming, so long as you provide the Android-compatible controller.
Samsung first revealed its Gear VR headset in September of 2014. The Gear VR went on sale in December for $200 USD and the previous version of the Innovator was only compatible with the Galaxy Note 4. The updated version is optimized for "both the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, and its 5.1- inch Super AMOLED display," Samsung said.
Arrow: How Nyssa al Ghul’s Journey is Changing
Note: Spoilers for Arrow up through the February 25th episode "Nanda Parbat" follow.
The latest episode of Arrow found Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law) return to Starling City, where she fought and defeated Malcolm Merlyn, only to be captured herself by Oliver Queen. Thea Queen then confessed she was the killer of Nyssa’s love, Sara Lance, and freed her from her cell, with Nyssa's next move yet to be seen. But meanwhile, over in Nanda Parbat, Nyssa’a father Ra’s al Ghul was asking Oliver to take over as his successor…
So how will Nyssa, previously referred to as the Heir to the Demon, react to her father passing her over like this? Katrina Law and Arrow's executive producers gave us some ideas at a recent press Q&A.
Samsung Announces Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, Samsung Pay
Korean electronics maker Samsung announced its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge today in Barcelona. The phones are set to launch in tandem with Samsung's new mobile payment service, Samsung Pay.
According to Samsung, the new design required "first-of-its-kind glass crafting technology," with screens made of Corning's newest Gorilla Glass 4. Today's announcement verifies a leak earlier in the month which said Samsung would release two new versions of the S6.
The all metal and glass phones will come in 32, 64, and 128GB models and have a 577ppi display, which puts it just above the Galaxy S5 as far as pixel density is concerned. Powering the phone is a 14nm Octacore application processor running Android Lollipop. The phone features a 16MP rear and 5MP front-facing camera at f/1.9, which means it's wide-open for low light capabilities.
Focus Topples Fifty Shades of Grey at the Box Office
Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie as con artists, debuted atop the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $19.1 million.
Although that opening was slightly below industry expectations, it was still enough to dethrone reigning champ Fifty Shades of Grey, which dropped to fourth place with roughly $10.9 million.
Weep not for Fifty Shades of Grey, though. With $486.2 million worldwide in its play room, the erotic drama is now Universal's highest-grossing R-rated international release of all time, surpassing its raunchy comedy Ted.
The weekend's other major new release, horror flick The Lazarus Effect, opened in fifth place with an estimated $10.6 million.
Focus Topples Fifty Shades of Grey at the Box Office
Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie as con artists, debuted atop the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $19.1 million.
Although that opening was slightly below industry expectations, it was still enough to dethrone reigning champ Fifty Shades of Grey, which dropped to fourth place with roughly $10.9 million.
Weep not for Fifty Shades of Grey, though. With $486.2 million worldwide in its play room, the erotic drama is now Universal's highest-grossing R-rated international release of all time, surpassing its raunchy comedy Ted.
The weekend's other major new release, horror flick The Lazarus Effect, opened in fifth place with an estimated $10.6 million.
Michael McKean on Better Call Saul’s Damaged Family
Well known and beloved thanks to his decades of memorable roles in the likes of Laverne and Shirley, This is Spinal Tap, Clue, The Brady Bunch Movie, Best in Show and oh-so many more films and TV series, Michael McKean can be seen these days on Better Call Saul, the buzzed about Breaking Bad spinoff/prequel.
McKean plays Chuck McGill, brother to Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill, who was a highly successful lawyer who’s now a shut in. While we still don’t know all the details about what happened, Chuck has become ill, perhaps only mentally - deathly afraid of the effects of anything electronic.
I sat down with McKean for an conversation about the long road to him joining Better Call Saul, which began during the Breaking Bad days, and what he makes of Jimmy and his issues. We also talked about working with Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan, who McKean has known since they collaborated on The X-Files, and more.