The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) frequently tells us how the creative industries are under threat from the copyright infringing scourge of piracy.
So we can only presume that the creative industries have lost the war and creativity is dead as we delve deeper into 2014 with a yet more pointless reboots of movies. Spider-Man, Godzilla and Superman have all fallen into the reboot bucket after their previous incarnations were released less than 20 years ago and probably have quite a few floggings left before someone calls the horse coroner.
I personally have never understood the need to remake a movie when the original does it’s job efficiently (alright, perhaps my previous three examples don’t hold water there…) and watched the remake of the Japanese mind bender Old Boy (presumably only remade because subtitles is hard) with a sense of confusion as the story was made less effective and carried far less punch.
Really should have stuck to playing Buffy
So it’s with some trepidation that I share with you the fact that the 2004 horror flick from director Takashi Shimizu, The Grudge is being remade. The “original” of course being a remake of Shimizu’s previous original, and far superior, release from 2002 in Japan, presumably in sympathy for all those afflicted with the disorder that prevents them from seeing the lower third of the screen, rendering subtitles ineffective.
Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures have picked up the reigns to deliver a reboot with Jeff Buhler of the weird but bloodbath happy Midnight Meat Train fame, working on the script. Interestingly Buhler is also working on a reboot of Jacob’s Ladder, the 1990 horror movie that was just plain weird but intently enjoyable.
It’s not dead! Flog it again!
Raimi has already delivered a reboot of the Evil Dead series which met with mixed reviews, bearing in mind that he produced the 1981 original, and is also reportedly producing Poltergeist for release in 2015.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the trilogy, Divergent is the book that sets the tone for this dystopian future/post-apocalyptic story. The tale of Tris, a girl that defies her family valus to choose her own path in life, is what has fascinated readers all around the world, and when the news of a movie broke out, it was met with both excitement and dismay. I found myself somewhere in the middle and with each poorly directed, poorly acted, poorly edited movie adaptation of a book I loved, I was getting more and more despondent.
I was happy to leave the theatre yesterday with the confidence that it can still be done. With a good script (even though some of the relevant for the plot bits of information were cut out), great acting and great directing, Divergent actually kinda rocked. Yes, I know, not very scientific of me to say that, but when a movie based on a book you’ve read and know inside out still manages to keep you interested and on the edge of your seat, wondering if your favourite characters will survive, you know they got it right.
The one thing that I felt was a little off was the extended exposition. While it worked perfectly fine for the book (and was necessary for the non-readers), it was overly long and forced some important plot points out, in order to set out the stage for events yet to come.
Long story short, in a dark, somewhat gloomy future, kids are asked to choose where they want to spend the rest of their lives, whether in their own faction (since the world is divided into five such factions) or in another one, based on an aptitude test, but also on personal choice. I don’t think it dawned on me until now that this is why people kept saying that Divergent borrows from Harry Potter, but I suppose aptitude test=sorting hat. I guess all those tests we take in high-school make us all wizards. Every now and again the aptitude test is inconclusive, for people that fit in no nice category. Those are the feared Divergents, those that can’t be quantified, who think outside the box and can’t be controlled. Once the choice is made, no one can contact their families again and must conform with the rules of the faction of their choice.
Tris, a simple Abnegation born girl, decides to leave the peaceful, somewhat stifling world behind and joins the Dauntless, the crazy soldier type people that jump out of trains for fun or climb high buildings to get their adrenaline pumping. After a very rocky start, she makes a few friends, including the revered Four (Theo James), who she later discovers is a Divergent, like her; she becomes one of the best and eventually ends up saving the day after Janine (Kate Winslet), a member of the Erudite faction, decides to take over the world by force.
The movie is fast paced, as I mentioned before. I hadn’t even noticed the time fly and it’s over two hours long. There are action scenes after action scenes and they still managed to squeeze in enough character development (at least for the two leads) to make them likeable. I was a little disappointed that the supporting characters weren’t as well developed, with them being relegated to second fiddles. I suppose from a reader’s point of view, the missing information wasn’t as crucial, since we knew it was there, but for those that had never touched the books, it will come as a surprise, if Insurgent (the second instalment) ends up being made. Perhaps they will re-create them through flash-backs, who knows? All in all, it was a fantastic film and after being completely let down by many others, like I said, it came as a nice surprise.
The acting was stellar on all accounts, even the characters that had very little screen time were played with enough intensity to keep us interested and Shailene Woodley and Theo James proved that they can carry the weight of such a franchise on their shoulders. Kate Winslet was surprisingly villainous as Janine, something I hadn’t expected from her, though in all honesty I’m not familiar with a lot of her word and Miles Teller, who plays a bullying psychopath sure made those traits of his character believable. I don’t think there’s anyone that I could complain about without simply nitpicking.
The score is fantastic, something that’s true for most movies that have come out lately, particularly those in the same vein, such as The Hunger Games and it will not disappoint. Ellie Golding, Snow Patrol and Skrillex being some of the artists that have come together to enhance the emotions present on screen through their music.
With some minor complaints, Divergent gets nearly perfect marks from me. Go watch it and let us know what you liked (or didn’t like about it).
A film based on Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell has been in the works for a couple of years now, with Tom Hardy being rumoured to play Sam Fisher for just as long. Finally, some light has been shed on who will be at the helm of the adaptation with Bourne Identity’s Doug Linam in final negotiations to direct. It has also been rumoured that production may start later this year with the possibility of a 2015 release date.
This isn’t all that we can expect from Ubisoft Motion Pictures who are collaborating with New Regency to bring us a Splinter Cell movie. An Assassin’s Creed film is on it’s way, also rumoured for a 2015 release, with Michael Fassbender attached. Ubisoft also announced last year that Watch Dogs is set to hit the big screen, another collaboration with New Regency who most recently brought us 12 Years a Slave, amongst many other successful films.
Despite having been running the rumour mill rounds for quite some time now, it’s still very early days for Splinter Cell’s big screen adaptation. Tom Hardy has been tipped as playing protagonist, Sam Fisher, since the rumours hit the web and I can see him working in the role.
However, with Mad Max: Fury Road set for release next year, Hardy playing Elton John in a film about his life (yeah, you read that correctly) and a few other films in the works, the actor has a rather busy schedule. Regardless of casting, Splinter Cell is definitely going to be one to look out for next year. Keep an eye out for more movie updates from Geek Pride.
This year Marvel turns 75 and the iconic brand( involved with any and all medium-ranging from comic books to video games), is celebrating its birthday in style. Since the very beginning Marvel has revolutionised comic books and brought their legendary characters to groundbreaking new heights and they now plan on exposing their history in fantastic new ways. Here are 4 ways that you can get involved in the 75th anniversary celebrations.
1. Marvel.com/75
This is the official site for the 75th anniversary celebrations where (once active) new content will be frequently added including insights into the company’s history, a look back at the company’s legacy, and special events happening across the multiple platforms Marvel is involved with (which.. is pretty much everything).
2. Have Your Say
As well as looking back over the most statistically iconic and game-changing moments of Marvel’s history they will be interested in hearing what you have to say. We can expect to see opinion polls and votes at Marvel.comwhere you can share your personal greatest moments in Marvel history. Another way to have your say on what Marvel means to you is by using the hashtag #Marvel75 all year round.
3. Marvel API
Recently announced at SXSW 2014: the Marvel Comics API. Put quite simply the Marvel Comics API allows users to access endless information on things such as Marvel Comics characters and the comic’s creators in detail to create user-generated content such as interactive timelines. To get a better look at the Marvel Comics API announcement, click HERE.
4. Marvel Unlimited
Marvel 75 is all about looking back on the rich history and legacy of Marvel and what they have created. The best way to do this? either pull out some old golden age Marvel comics from your long box, head over to your local comic book dealer or sign up to Marvel Unlimited. Marvel Unlimited allows you to read a rich catalogue of thousands of comics including almost every creator, character and storyline under the sun at the touch of a button. The website is clean and simple to use as are the apps available for both Apple and Android tablets and mobile’s. Tablets are perfect for viewing the comics in the traditional way but there are options for two page views and even a clever Smartpanel view (ideal for smaller screens) that gives the comics motion and eases reading. Find out more at www.marvel.com/comics/unlimited
Enjoy another great year for Marvel and let us know what your favourite comics, characters, creators and moments are!
People inexplicably love cats . A new breed has recently hit the market that is making geeks and cat idiots lovers alike go weak at the knees.
Welcome into the world Lykoi, or “wolverine” cat:
If you had an insanely attractive partner, and they shat in the house and knifed your furniture, would you dump them? Food for thought.
This “half-wolf” cat is actually the product of selective breeding, but fans are loving their temperament and the fact that they have Logan-esque muttonchops.
According to their most popular breeders site here, the Lykoi are pretty easy to get on with and live for about 10 years.They also may be actual mutants, as mentioned was their inherent hypnotic powers:
“but once you have looked a Lykoi in the eyes….you are under their spell! ”
Terrifying.
They are rising meteorically to internet fame, which will lead to the inevitable conversation between couples where one of them wants a cat, one of them doesn’t, so you compromise and get a cat.
They also lick their assholes and cough it up on your new carpet. So there’s that.
The MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) genre has become increasingly popular over the last few years, culminating in producing some of most devoted players and fans alike, spawning massive tournaments watched by millions online. With the current heavy hitters being League of Legends and Dota 2, with Blizzard‘s Heroes of the Storm on the not-so-distant horizon, any developer entering the MOBA fray has to be confident that their product can stand out from this pre-established crowd. Certain developers have stood out from the crowd by using licensed franchises, such as Monolith Productions‘ Guardians of Middle-Earth utilising the broad Lord of the Rings universe, or the new Infinite Crisis, featuring everyone’s beloved DC heroes and villains. So, does newcomer Wyrmbite deliver that hook with their Steam release? Read on to find out.
This Steam version is a direct port of their Facebook and browser-based iteration, and with moving to a gaming-central platform, one could only presume that massive improvements had been made to cater for this crowd, one that had numerous other free-to-play games at their disposal in only a matter of clicks. Does Dragons & Titans offer any hooks to keep players invested then, or has it only moved to a new platform to gather more players? I’m afraid it seems to be the latter.
In the end, most will choose a Dragon for the aesthetics
The gameplay is a standard affair: Two teams of 5 duke it out in a large arena, split up by three lanes. Your goal? Destroy what they hold dear at their base, being a prison holding your titan, whilst protecting you own cage. Levelling up is achieved in the manner all MOBA players are accustomed to, being defeating NPC minions until they are strong enough to comfortably launch an offensive against player controlled enemies. Along each lane are turrets, that automatically attack nearby members of the opposing team and, as the match plays on, these turrets will be destroyed, making traversal throughout the arena easy. Nothing new, just the simple formulaic gameplay that players are used to. Does that mean players experienced in other MOBA’s can jump in and play with ease? Most definitely. Will they enjoy it? That’s an entirely different matter.
Combat plays out in the same manner as other MOBA’s too, with the right click functioning as the move button, and left click operating a simple, standard attack. Other attacks are unlocked as you level up throughout the battle, and these are assigned to other keys on the keyboard. That’s where the similarities end. Interesting, unique characters? Whilst a copious amount of mythological dragons are present, they all behave in much the same way. Yes, there are variations in attack, but not different enough to be able to strategically choose your dragon to compliment your teams strengths and cover their weaknesses, so in the end I simply chose for the aesthetics. In a game that originated as a browser-based/Facebook game, you know the aesthetics aren’t going to be at their best either.
That’s a lot of gold… Smaug? Is that you?
Featuring a badly designed user interface that gives me less than favourable thoughts about early Playstation games, being user friendly wasn’t at the forefront of the work ethic, although getting the UI to achieve simple tasks doesn’t seem to be up there either. With text boxes that overlapped, a character/weapon select screen that makes choosing a dragon a chore and GUI graphics that seemed unfinished, an unprofessional finish has been plastered over this game. Not to say that these issues are unfixable, however. With very little input, the team at Wyrmbite can easily bring this up to scratch and make it user friendly, and good looking to boot.
As previously mentioned, this game is Free-to-play, which means that it inevitably uses micro transactions, a staple in all the best MOBA’s. LoL uses it to unlock characters permanently instead of relying on the character rotation. Dota 2 uses it for aesthetic options. D&T uses it to unlock Dragons and weaponry with the prices being £3 and £2 respectively, although the specific dragons and weapons you unlock are random, meaning that there is a high possibility you can just find yet another low-level dragon, instead of that Japanese Koi dragon you’ve been yearning after. It’s safe to say, then, that most users would stay away from this gamble.
An obtrusive, usually broken, UI accompanies your Dragon’s into battle
Now that Wyrmbite doesn’t have the niche is being a Facebook game, but instead has stepped into a much more gamer-centric playground, they struggle at every turn. Not to say that it’s unsalvageable, as the permanent weapons themselves bring potentially a new layer of strategy to the game, but in order for it to start looking like a possible contender for the MOBA crown, or even mentioned in the same breath, a lot more work has to be put in. A titan, this is not.
“Rien n’est vrai, tout est permis” Yes geeks and geekettes, it looks like Ubisoft‘s beloved Assassin’s Creed series is heading to France… and this is an extremely welcome development in my view!
Kotaku have come across screenshots from an early build of the new Assassin’s Creed games… yes, that plural is intentional. There will be two AC games in 2014, likely falling into Ubisoft’s usual release window of Fall/Autumn. Assassin’s Creed: Unity will be coming to the Xbox One, and Playstation 4, whereas Assassin’s Creed: Comet will come to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 (these are both code names). It’s widely assumed that both titles will come to the PC.
The screenshots in question show what appears to be Revolutionary France (between 1789 and 1799, during which time the monarchy was overthrown), some 74-odd years after the Carribbean escapades of Edward Kenway. Plot points are thin on the ground, but the conflict-driven time period is the perfect setting for one of these titles. The protagonist may be involved in the abolition of the monarchy, or even the rise of Napoléan Bonaparte… either way I’m loving the possibilities that arise because of this development.
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As you can see from the images, there’s some texture work that needs to be done, but even still – from such an early build, it’s still looking pretty nice. I’m loving the apparel for the protagonist as well, but as the series has progressed, that’s generally gotten better and better (aside from the peak on the hood… I’m disappointed that was removed from Kenway’s outfit).
The one thing I’m not liking? The title for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. AC: Comet? Really? It just doesn’t sound… dramatic, or compelling. I know it’s just a codename at the moment, but I’m praying this doesn’t stick. There’s plenty of options to use… “Revolution” is an obvious choice, but this is a bit too close to Revelations for my liking. Hell, even Assassin’s Creed: Bastille sounds good (a suggestion of my other half’s).
Can you think of any good monikers for the new AC games?! Let us know by commenting below, or talk at us on Facebook, Twitter or Google+!
Zarjaz news! 2000AD‘s prog 1874, aimed at new readers with several new stories and previously mentioned here, has sold out at a distributor level and is set to be reprinted!
This is the first time this has ever happened!
2000AD first appeared way back in 1977 when Pat Mills, a freelance writer and editor who had created Battle Picture Weekly and Action, was asked to help create a science fiction-oriented comic. Mills brought fellow freelancer John Wagner on board and the rest, as they say, is history.
Throughout its history, 2000AD has been responsible for introducing numerous enduring characters into the comics landscape, the most famous being Judge Dredd (whose world has spawned a host of characters on its own) and including characters such as Rogue Trooper, Slaine, Sinister Dexter, ABC Warriors, Strontium Dog and Durham Red amongst numerous others.
As well as its memorable characters, 2000AD is also known for featuring the early appearances of a whole host of some of the best names associated with comics; Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Brian Bolland, Peter Milligan and Si Spurrier, amongst others, have all contributed to the title and new talent is constantly emerging, like Clint Langley whose eye-popping digital art has featured in hit stories featuring Slaine and A.B.C Warriors.
2000AD and Judge Dredd were featured in a set of stamps issued by Royal Mail commemorating British comics back in 2012.
The reprint news was announced via their Facebook page.
With the constant speculation on the death of print media, this news of one of Britains longest running comics selling out on a distributor level definitely puts a different perspective on things.
For all things 2000AD visit 2000ADonline or your local comic shop.
Breath Of Bones – A Tale of the Golem opens up on April 1944 and a group of soldiers, dug in and sheltering against opposing forces. There are men running for cover surrounded by the bodies of the fallen, explosions, and the usual carnage normally associated with warfare. It’s here the narrative begins as one of these soldiers, a Jewish conscript, while running from cover to cover amidst enemy fire recounts a tale of his youth.
Going back to the soldier’s childhood, the German threat slowly but surely working its way towards him, the soldier remembers his father, along with the other able bodied men of his home, going off to join the fight, leaving only the old, women, and children behind, hoping that the Germans will avoid them. It is, however, on the outskirts of this small Jewish town that a British plane crashes, soon changing things dramatically for everybody.
Incorporating the Jewish folk tale of the golem into a World War II story, Breath Of Bones’ packs a lot into its pages; part war story, part monster story, part tale of childhood lost and part tale of good ultimately triumphing over evil.
While it could be said that those completely unfamiliar with the idea of the golem may be left a bit puzzled, the essence of the tale is well known (the most famous example being the Golem of Prague) and has manifested in various mediums, featuring in an episode of The X-Files as well as numerous other films and TV shows.
Regardless, this is a powerful tale and, while the story may be slow to build, it’s momentum eventually reaches a cathartic crescendo without overplaying its hand and making it all the more effective for its brevity.
Steve Niles is a name more commonly associated with horror comics such as 30 Days of Night (arguably his most well known work) or the hard-boiled noir-infused Criminal Macabre. Here Niles, along with fellow story plotter Matt Santoro, has come up with something different and it might just be Niles’ best work yet.
While the waiting-for-trade mentality definitely has a corrosive effect on comics, the collected edition of Breath Of Bones’ is a thing of beauty. The over-sized format allows the reader to get lost in Dave Wachter’s stunning art making Breath Of Bones impress with every page. Wachter’s art is so rich with detail, his characters so well crafted and his gift for capturing emotion so well that this story would be effective even without dialogue and the lack of colour adds an air of authenticity to the setting.
A reminder of what can be achieved in sequential art far removed from the narrative cul de sac of superheroes and the big two.
The remake of Robocop may currently be on the big screen, but for those of us who are big fans of the original Paul Verhoeven film about Peter Weller’s infamous “future of law enforcement” and corruption in America due to corporate malfeasance, you might be interested to know that Mike Bryan’s original iconic painting for the classic 80’s sci-fi film is currently up for auction.
What’s that you say? ‘You mean that poster’s a painting!?’ Yes it is, a very good one at that. Bryan also did classic and memorable posters for Scarface and Platoon amongst others.
How did Bryan make it look so realistic? According to Bryan’s notes on the listing the painting which measures 33″ X 40″ was done using a process which
“involved running hand altered film positives (as opposed to negatives) through huge blueprint machines, transferring ghosted photo images onto ammonia sensitive paper. This paper turned out to be very receptive to ink, paint and particularly pencil (my preferred media)”
Bryan also adds
“Oddly, although I have worked on many high-profile projects in the digital age, people seem to prefer this hand painted art and I remain most known amongst my peers as the guy who created Robocop”
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