“I don’t want to lose my best friend…” Good Deed Entertainment has revealed a trailer for a charming coming-of-age indie comedy titled Growing Up Smith, about a 10-year-old Indian boy living in America. Newcomer Roni Akurati plays Smith Bhatnagar, a likable youngster growing up in America in the late 70s with his Indian family. He falls for the girl next door, and goes all-in chasing her every way he can. The cast includes Brighton Sharbino as his love interest, plus Jason Lee, Anjul Nigam, Hilarie Burton, Poorna Jagannathan, Shoba Narayanan and Jake Busey. This looks adorable and amusing, but doesn’t seem like anything to really write home about. But I’m always up for a good coming-of-age film. Give this a shot. ›››
“You make an old guy courageous, Marla.” Fox has debuted one final trailer for Warren Beatty’s new film, Rules Don’t Apply, about a romance in Hollywood in the 1950s. We’ve seen plenty for this already, but why not another trailer – that is really pushing Beatty’s name. Beatty directs and also stars in this as Howard Hughes, who contracts a young actress – played by Lily Collins – to work for him in Los Angeles. She meets her personal driver played by Alden Ehrenreich (who is playing the young Han Solo in the Star Wars spin-off) and falls for him, but can’t break the rule of having a relationship with an employee. The full cast includes Haley Bennett, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Matthew Broderick, Martin Sheen, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt and Steve Coogan. I’m not really looking forward to this film, but you never know. ›››
Spooky Club rules!! This is one of my favorite shorts we’ve discovered this month. Spooky Club is a horror comedy short film made by filmmaker brothers Joe and Lloyd Stas, about a “Spooky Club” group of friends. The short was released today in memory of horror icon Vincent Price, who died 23 years ago today. The Spooky Club recruits a new member and decides to go retrieve Price’s stolen skull to cremate it just like he wanted. This is really just a totally awesome short – from the way it starts out, to the goofiness of it and the wacky mission to steal Price’s skull, to the rock ‘n roll vibe of the whole thing. I love the performances from the actors; it’s funny, it’s witty, and it’s a perfect horror short film to put you in the Halloween mood. Enjoy. ›››
“You got a scoop?” Samuel Goldwyn has debuted a trailer for an indie drama titled Burn Country, which premiered at Tribeca earlier this year. The film is a fictional feature version of a real-life story of a “fixer” journalist from Afghanistan who decides to move to a town on the coast in Northern California. However, once he begins working at a newspaper there he gets drawn into the strange “backwoods of this small town”, stumbling into local corruption and other dangers. Iranian actor Dominic Rains stars as Osman, and the cast includes Melissa Leo, James Franco, Rachel Brosnahan, Thomas Jay Ryan, Tim Kniffin, and James Oliver Wheatley. This looks damn good, like it offers a unique perspective not often seen on film. ›››
“What happened in that room is real…” Lionsgate Premiere has released the trailer for a war drama titled Man Down, the latest from filmmaker Dito Montiel (of A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints). Set in some kind of post-apocalyptic version of America (or so the synopsis claims), Shia LaBeouf plays a marine with PTSD who goes on a search to find his son. The cast includes Kate Mara, Gary Oldman, Jai Courtney, Clifton Collins Jr., Charlie Shotwell, and Wolé Parks. An oddly impressive cast, but I don’t remember hearing a single thing about this when it premiered at festivals – usually a bad sign. It doesn’t look that bad. ›››
Hunger Games studio Lionsgate has released the first trailer for Man Down, a war movie starring Shia Labeouf as US Marine Gabriel Drummer.
As you’ll see, after a traumatic incident in Afghanistan, Drummer returns to the United States find that “the place he once called home is not better than the battlefields he fought on overseas.” According to Collider, the US is now in a post-apocalyptic state, and Drummer has another battle awaiting him.
According to the film’s official description, Drummer’s lost his estranged son, Jonathan, and must piece together clues to find him. The film is described as a “psychological suspense thriller.”
“As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family,” reads a line from the movie’s description.
Man Down also stars Suicide Squad‘s Jai Courtney as Drummer’s best friend, while Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld) will also play a key role, Labeouf’s character discovers that he has important information about where his son is. Gary Oldman and Kate Mara also star in the movie.
Man Down premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2015 and comes to the US on December 2. It was directed by Dito Montiel, who also directed Labeouf in 2006’s A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.
Another of Labeouf’s upcoming movies is the tennis film Borg/McEnroe, in which Labeouf plays tennis legend Patrick McEnroe. You can see what he looks like playing the part here.
Fox has released a new trailer for its 24 reboot, 24: Legacy.
Titled “The Clock Resets,” the video spotlights the show’s new star played by Straight Outta Compton‘s Corey Hawkins as all hell breaks loose around him. Take a look:
The series leaves behind 24 protagonist Jack Bauer in favor a new character played by Hawkins. The story centers around Hawkins’ character, Eric Carter, a military hero who returns to the United States. When he finds himself in trouble, he turns to the Counter Terrorist Unit for help and ends up assisting them in preventing a terrorist attack on the US.
Behind the scenes, many of the same people responsible for 24 have returned, including Howard Gordon, Brian Grazer, Evan Katz, and Manny Coto. Kiefer Sutherland, who played Bauer, is signed on an executive producer for the series, which was picked up for 12 episodes in April.
Technology giant Apple reported earnings this week for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended September 24. The iPhone maker’s revenue and profit were down.
For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $46.9 billion, compared to $51.5 billion during the same period last year. Profit was $9 billion, a drop from $11.1 billion last year. Looking at the whole fiscal year, Apple pulled in $215.6 billion, compared to $233.7 billion during the same quarter last year. Profit also dropped, falling from $53.4 billion last year to $45.7 billion this year.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this is the first time in 15 years that Apple’s annual revenue has declined.
One of the reasons for the downturn could be decreased sales of iPhones and other devices. Apple sold 45.5 million iPhones during the three-month quarter ended September 24, compared to 48 million during the same period last year. iPad sales also dropped, falling from 9.88 million last year to 9.27 million this year. Additionally, Mac sales declined, coming in at 4.89 million units, compared to 5.7 million during the same period last year.
Despite the downturn, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement, “Our strong September quarter results cap a very successful fiscal 2016 for Apple. We’re thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record.”
“If you received an alert saying that your shared bank balance was adjusted, that is because you had illegitimate funds in your account,” the developer said (via Gamasutra).
Only the money obtained through dubious means will be removed from offending players’ accounts, not funds purchased through Shark Cards.
The developer also today announced that it has spruced up its ban and suspension policy for GTA Online. First-time offenders will receive a temporary suspension, while they will face a permanent ban for their next infraction. Players temporarily banned cannot access GTA Online at all, while the date that their suspension lifts will be depicted on the GTA V home screen. Additionally, people who have been suspended will lose all progress on their character(s), including property and inventory.
All GTA Online suspensions and bans cannot be appealed, Rockstar said.
You can receive a suspension in GTA Online for doing things like using modded content or exploiting/abusing gameplay mechanics. Rockstar may also suspend you for “manipulating protected game data and code” or “interfering with other players’ gameplay experience.” Depending on the severity of the incident, as judged by Rockstar, you’ll receive a temporary suspension or a permanent ban for doing any of these things.
In other news about GTA Online, Rockstar has announced this year’s Halloween event. Players can unlock a rad-looking motorcycle that has a red-eyed skull on it and take part in a new Angels vs. Demons mode. Read GameSpot’s previous coverage to learn more about GTA Online’s Halloween event.
What do you make of Rockstar’s new anti-cheating measures for GTA Online? Let us know in the comments below!
There was scheduled maintenance on the PSN overnight, but this appears to be a separate issue. The Ask PlayStation UK Twitter account acknowledged the problems in a tweet today, saying it’s aware of people having problems logging into the network. “Thanks for your patience as we investigate,” it said.
