“That’s what’s good about losing your memory – there’s so many surprises.” HBO has unveiled a trailer for the documentary Bright Lights, telling the story of the success and fame of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds. This doc actually premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year with an appearance by Carrie Fisher, but in “light of the recent and unexpected deaths”, has taken on a whole new meaning and purpose – to solidify their legacy. The film is described as an “intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty in all its eccentricity”, featuring extensive verite footage and vintage family films. From the looks of it, this will be an emotional yet inspiring look at the lives of two people who were some of the greatest entertainers in history. ›››
“She opens a doorway between hell, so she can devour the innocent. I think she’s coming for me next…” An international trailer has debuted for a horror thriller titled Don’t Knock Twice. Not to be confused with the indie comedy about an improv group, Don’t Think Twice (which we highly recommend seeing), this film is a creepy horror thriller about a demonic witch. The cast includes Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Boynton, Nick Moran, Javier Botet and Jordan Bolger. This looks dark and moody and scary, most definitely, but it also doesn’t look that original or interesting. Just more creepiness lurking in the dark. Give it a look anyway. ›››
“If you’re that interested in being a good father, why didn’t you try harder before?” Film Movement has debuted an official US trailer for the latest film by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, which first premiered at the Cannes, Toronto and London Film Festivals last year. Titled After the Storm, the familial drama is about an estranged father who attempts to reenter the life of his young son, with the moment to reconnect arriving with a typhoon. The cast includes Hiroshi Abe as Ryota, as well as Taiyo Yoshizawa, Kirin Kiki, Yoko Make, and Lily Frankie. One review from Cannes last year says that even fans of Kore-eda “might be taken aback by the supreme subtlety of his latest, achingly beautiful ode to the quiet complexities of family life.” It looks like another honest, heartfelt Kore-eda film about being a parent. ›››
It was another stellar year at the cinema, and don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise. While some are crying shouts that the cinema is dead the art form is doing all it can to prove otherwise, and it’s easy to see how the industry is doing. Below are my Top 10 Films of 2016, but it could just have easily have been 10 completely different movies on this list. The impressive list of honorable mentions (found at the end) should give some credence to that. These are the 10 films, though, that moved me most of all, the films with which I most engaged, the films I believe the cinema community will be talking about for many years, beyond 2016. ›››
Briefly: Sound the alarm! There’s a new Terrence Malick film coming out in 2017!! Broad Green Pictures has announced via Indiewire that Malick’s new film, titled Song to Song, will open in theaters starting March 17th, 2017 (we’ve already added it). This is the other project, formerly known as Weightless, that Malick filmed a few years ago back-to-back with Knight of Cups. “In this modern love story set against the Austin, TX music scene, two entangled couples—struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) & BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman)—chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.” This also features appearances by Patti Smith, Lykke Li, the Black Lips, Iggy Pop, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In theaters soon.
A number of retailers are currently offering $20 off most Xbox One bundles, meaning you can get a system for as little as $280 before tax. Basically all of the Xbox One S bundles are discounted, including 500 GB and 1 TB versions that come with free copies of Battlefield 1, Minecraft, FIFA 17, Gears of War 4, or others.
In other Xbox deals news, the second week of Microsoft’s massive “Countdown” sale is currently going on, with lots of big games marked down for a limited time–here’s a roundup of the deals.
Adventure game Firewatch has passed a major sales milestone.
Developer Campo Santo announced on Twitter that the game has now sold more than 1 million copies. The millionth copy was sold sometime in late 2016, the developer said. As announced previously, Firewatch sold 500,000 copies in its first month.
Sometime late last year we sold our one millionth copy of Firewatch. Thank you all so much! pic.twitter.com/7LSTqWuU8Q
A Firewatch movie is currently in the works at Good Universe, the film company that also produced the well-received horror movie Don’t Breathe and Last Vegas. The game, which sees players adventuring through 1989 Wyoming as part of a mysterious story, features the voices of Cissy Jones (The Walking Dead) and Rich Sommer (Mad Men).
“Its world is captivating, its design is clever, and its characters are among the most well-written in gaming,” reviewer Scott Butterworth said. “Though it might sound counterintuitive, the plot is in many ways secondary to the relationship you build between Henry and Delilah, and that portion of the game is truly inspired. I’ve already returned to Firewatch for a calming walk in the woods; I imagine I’ll go back again soon to visit with Henry and Delilah.”
Consumer electronics company Snakebyte has announced a line of Nintendo Switch and NES Classic Edition accessories, which are scheduled to go on sale this spring.
Starting with the Switch accessories, one of these is a headset that features a 40mm drivers that Snakebyte says will provide “crisp, clear gaming audio.” Another item is what’s being called the Nintendo Switch Starter Kit. This comes with a carrying bag for the system, stereo earbuds, a cleaning cloth, a screen protector, game cases, and more. Here’s an image of all of this:
As for the NES Classic accessories, Snakebyte is coming out with a power adapter. The system is normally powered by USB, but you may not always have access to that. The Snakebyte adapter lets you plug the system into any standard power outlet.
Snakebyte is also releasing an extension cable for the NES Classic’s gamepad cable, which many remarked was too short. Snakebyte’s extender adds 9.8 feet, according to a press release.
“Nintendo has a tradition of honoring the past while forging a bold future, and with the release of the NES Classic Edition as well as the forthcoming Switch, we believe that gamers everywhere will respond positively to the new hardware Nintendo are introducing,” Snakebyte CEO Nick Repenning said.
“We expect our range of Switch accessories to be high quality and thoughtfully designed, ideal for a day one purchase alongside new console sales. We believe that the new products announced today will allow us to continue growing market share in our gaming hardware business and look forward to sharing further details soon.”
Pricing was not announced for any of Snakebyte’s Switch and NES Classic accessories.
The Switch goes on sale in March. Nintendo will announce the system’s price and launch lineup, and provide more details on its specs, during a briefing scheduled for January 12. As for the NES Classic, the hard-to-find system remains sold out basically everywhere.
BioWare is gearing up to make some kind of announcement about Mass Effect: Andromeda later today, it seems. Producer Michael Gamble said on Twitter that BioWare will have some “info” to share about the spacefaring RPG today, January 4, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.
Gamble did not get any more specific than that regarding what BioWare may have to share today. We’ll report back with the information as soon as it’s announced.
After being announced at the end of December, the robot killing machine Kilgore is now available to buy for $10–and there’s a special twist. Half of all purchases will go to 2017 Killer Instinct Community Fund, which kicks in money to Killer Instinct competitive gaming tournaments.
“Even if competing in tournaments isn’t your cup of tea, you still have a chance to help support KI and the scene in an amazing way,” reads a line from a blog post announcing Kilgore’s availability.
Kilgore’s official description is also pretty wonderful. Here it is, in full:
“Before Fulgore and the Mark 03 units were introduced to the world, Ultratech created a line of failed cyborgs during the secret CCIX Program. These hulking battle machines bore twin overpowered chain guns that tended to overheat, making them unstable and unfit for service. But one cyborg—nicknamed Kilgore—became self-aware, and started rewriting his own software to account for this deficiency in his hardware. Saved from the scrapheap, this special unit has been brought out of retirement by ARIA to enforce her will…and Kilgore obeys.”
