“No man is free who is not master of himself.” Fox & Pathe have debuted the official UK trailer for a film called A United Kingdom, starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike as a married couple. The film tells the true story of Seretse Khama, the king of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker that he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and their governments. This isn’t the only film this year about a controversial interracial marriage, as Jeff Nichols’ Loving also tells of a story of a marriage that upset many people. But love is love, and that’s what is most important. The cast in this one includes Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael, Jack Davenport, Charlotte Hope, and Jessica Oyelowo. As usual, Oyelowo looks like he’s giving another magnificent performance. ›››
“Tell André to be careful.” The first trailer has arrived for the film Planetarium, from French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski, which is premiering at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals coming up. Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp star as sisters in Paris in the 1930s who have the mysterious supernatural ability to connect with ghosts. The two of them put on performances in the city and make movies, but end up in some other trouble. The full cast includes Emmanuel Salinger, Amira Casar, Pierre Salvadori, and Louis Garrel. This looks very French, with luxurious shots of vintage locations plus romance galore. ›››
“Did you ever look at your daughter?” Kino Lorber has debuted the official US trailer for the indie drama Sand Storm, and Israeli film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It’s a drama set in Bedouin village in Southern Israel about a mother and daughter struggling to find their own way and break the rules of the society they live in. The film stars Ruba Blal-Asfour as Jalila, along with Lamis Ammar, Haitham Omari, and Khadija Al Akel. This won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance this year. Our friend Tomris Laffly said the film knocked her socks off, adding that it’s “a slow-burning and suspenseful emotional drama.” This trailer hints at an outstanding film. ›››
The Battlefield 1 open beta kicks off soon and, for planning purposes, you might be wondering how long it will last. Unfortunately, DICE isn’t ready to say when the beta will wrap up.
In response to a fan’s question about this, the official Battlefield Twitter channel said, “The open beta begins August 31st, but we don’t have the end date just yet. Stay tuned for more beta info soon.”
If you signed up to to the free Battlefield Insider service before August 21, you can start playing ahead of the official start date, though DICE has not yet offered any specific timing details.
Battlefield Insiders will receive an email containing a code to grab the Battlefield 1 beta on their platform of choice. There is no word yet, however, on when the codes will go out.
“We don’t have a date on when the codes will be sent. Keep an eye on your inbox!” Battlefield said in another tweet. The beta is being held on all platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. It’s an open beta, so come August 31, you can jump right in without needing a code.
With the Battlefield 1 open beta scheduled to begin in just a few more days, the client has apparently appeared on the Xbox Store. While you of course can’t play it, we do learn the Xbox One file size: 6.2 GB.
This information comes from Battlefield fan site Battlefield Bulletin. You can see the Battlefield 1 open beta product page in the tweet below.
The product page for the Battlefield 1 beta does not yet appear to be available on all Xbox One systems, as GameSpot’s search for it this morning yielded no results. It’s also not listed yet on Origin or the PlayStation Store. We’ll report back with new details on the Battlefield 1 beta as they become available.
Starting with resolution for consoles, the PS4 edition runs at native 1080p while the Xbox One version outputs at 900p. Both make use of a “high-quality temporal anti-aliasing solution” for cleaning up edges. However, Digital Foundry explains that this is impacted by an “aggressive, non-defeatable sharpening effect that produces visible edge ringing across the image.”
As for the PC version, the resolution will depend on your hardware setup. On computers, Mankind Divided can disable both the options above independently and also makes use of MSAA. However, there is apparently a cost to this; “its impact on memory consumption–and indeed performance–is high,” Digital Foundry said.
As for frame rate, both PS4 and Xbox One aim for 30 FPS and “generally” manage to hold up, though each is not without its issues.
“Each of the main areas within Prague tend to impact frame rate while simply moving around the world, a problem possibly tied to asset streaming as these problems can clear up once data is finished loading,” Digital Foundry said. “The game uses an adaptive v-sync solution, resulting in screen-tear along the top portion of the image when either game drops below its target.”
This happens more often on Xbox One, the report said, but both versions face it. The good news is that it doesn’t happen all that often, according to Digital Foundry.
“There is a massive gulf in performance between the lowest and highest settings with ultra averaging around 33 frames per second on a GTX 970 when using the in-game benchmark at 1080p,” the report said. “Thankfully, the game itself does run quicker than this during normal gameplay and a mix of high and medium settings were enough to reach 60 frames per second.”
On lower settings, Mankind Divided has “little issue” reaching better frame rates. This is to say that the game should be playable enjoyably across a number of machines. If you’re looking to play in 4K, Digital Foundry said you may need to cap the frame rate at 30 FPS.
No matter what platform you’re playing on, Mankind Divided will deliver a solid experience from a technical perspective, according to Digital Foundry.
“Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is looking to be a great game no matter where you play it,” the report said. “The PC version offers the smoothest possible experience provided you have the hardware to handle it, but the console versions are still very good. Of the two, the PlayStation 4 version has an advantage with a smoother frame-rate, a higher resolution and shorter loading times.”
[UPDATE] While an official announcement has not been made, GameSpot found Forza 6 listed as a “Free Play Days” title in the “Gold” section on Xbox One.
The original story is below.
Looking for something new to play this weekend? Microsoft’s racing game Forza Motorsport 6 might be joining the Free Play Days promotion this weekend, letting you play it free for a limited time.
This rumor comes from Reddit (via VideoGamer.com). Someone there posted a picture that shows Forza 6 listed as a “Free Play Days” game, letting them download and play for free.
Microsoft has not yet announced Forza 6 as a Free Play Days title, so this might not end up happening. We’ll report back with more details as they become available.
Previous Free Play Day titles have included Halo 5: Guardians, NBA 2K16, Madden NFL 16, and Rocket League, among others. You typically need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play for free. Also, the promotions typically run for just a weekend, after which you need to pay to continue playing.
The live-action adaptation of anime classic Ghost in the Shell is now in post-production, having wrapped principal photography in June. To date only one official still from the movie has been released, alongside a handful of on-set images. New pictures have now emerged online, that show what the main characters might look like in the upcoming film. Check them out below, alongside their anime counterparts, via Kotaku:
Ghost in the Shell stars Scarlett Johansson as the Major, who leads a futuristic anti-terrorist taskforce known as Section 9. It also features Game of Thrones‘ Pilou Asbæk as the Major’s partner Batou, plus Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, and Michael Pitt. The movie is directed by Rupert Sanders, who previously helmed the fantasy hit Snow White and the Huntsman.
Ghost in the Shell was one of the key anime films to break through to a western audience during the 1990s. It was created by Masamune Shirow, and originally published as a manga series in 1989.
The popularity of the manga led to four anime movies, the latest of which, Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie, was released last year. There have also been a number of video games.
In February, it was announced that pioneering animation studio Production IG, who produced the original Ghost in the Shell movie and its TV spinoff Stand Alone Complex, were developing a new anime show called Perfect Bones for Netflix.
Ghost in the Shell hits theaters on March 31, 2017.
James Cameron’s live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga classic Battle Angel: Alita has been in development for a long time, but casting is now underway. It has been reported that Spectre villain Christoph Waltz is being considered for a key role in the sci-fi action movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Waltz is in talks to play Doctor Dyson Ido, a cybersurgeon who becomes a mentor to the title character. In May, THR reported that Maze Runner star Rosa Salazar had been cast as the film’s lead.
Battle Angel: Alita is to be directed by Sin City‘s Robert Rodriguez, with Cameron producing and writing. Cameron intended to direct the movie for many years, but last year handed over the reins to Rodriguez, who is also known for the likes of From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, and the Spy Kids movies.
In October, Cameron told Variety: “Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do Battle Angel. He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically.
“This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”
Battle Angel: Alita is the futuristic story of an amnesiac cyborg who becomes a deadly bounty hunter. It was first published in 1990, and ran for nine volumes until 1995. In 1993, a two-episode anime version was produced, which adapted the first two volumes of the manga.
While Fox are yet to announce a release date for the movie, THR states that the studio is aiming for July 2018.
Sony has enabled 2-Step verification for PlayStation Network accounts, introducing an increased layer of security when trying to login.
“Passwords can be compromised if you use the same password for multiple accounts, click on malicious links, open phishing emails and other methods,” Sony says on the PlayStation website.
“If your password is compromised and becomes known to someone other than yourself, your account will still require a verification code to gain access when you activate 2-Step Verification.”
With 2-Step Verification enabled, a text message will be sent to a linked mobile phone number when you enter your password. The code sent in this text needs to be used to gain access to the account.
“By requiring two forms of identification for sign-in, your account and personal information will be better protected,” Sony added.
Sony doesn’t explicitly say what it will be showing, but it’s hard to imagine it won’t be the rumored console unveiling. Additionally, a slimmer version of the existing PlayStation 4 has leaked, indicating it could also be showcased at the event.
