Yearly Archives: 2018
Why the Man in Black’s Story is Westworld’s Greatest Tragedy
This opinion piece contains spoilers for Westworld Season 2.
The biggest surprise in Westworld Season 1 was probably the revelation that idealistic William and the brutal Man in Black were the same person, whose seemingly concurrent storylines were actually taking place decades apart. To keep the secret of this twist, Westworld didn’t do much to interrogate the older William’s character in its first season, leaving viewers to wonder not only how the young man Delores loved could become such a monster, but also what the Man in Black’s ultimate endgame might be.
Season 2 attempted to correct that problem, offering flashbacks dedicated to William’s life between his first entry into Westworld and the present day. Spread across three separate time periods, they shed some light on William’s (d)evolution into the Man in Black.
MoviePass Peak Pricing Goes Into Effect Today
MoviePass has officially launched its Peak Pricing surcharge, which adds an additional fee for the most popular movies during their busiest showtimes.
Peak Pricing, which was officially announced last month, has started showing up for certain showtimes today. MoviePass has sent out an email to all of its subscribers earlier today detailing the change to this service.
Radiant, Music Girls, More Anime Titles Coming to Crunchyroll
During its panel today at Anime Expo, Crunchyroll announced several new titles that are headed to its streaming service.
Upcoming additions to the Crunchyroll catalog include:
- Music Girls - Summer 2018
- Radiant - Planned for October 2018
- RErideD: Derrida, Who Leaps Through Time - Fall 2018
- Double Decker - Fall 2018
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - Fall 2018
In addition to the aforementioned titles, the company announced The Rising of the Shield Hero is coming and the first episode will premiere at Crunchyroll Expo 2018, which takes place this September in San Jose, CA.
Netflix Will Outspend Every Hollywood Studio in 2018
Netflix is set to spend around $13 billion in 2018 on original programming which includes, TV series, movies, comedy specials, and documentaries.
According to a briefing from The Economist, the streaming giant will spend more on content than any Hollywood film studio or television company, sports programming excluded - and it'll also be releasing far more projects than its traditional rivals.
In 2018, Netflix's movie slate consists of 82 titles, with Warner Bros. set to release 23 films this year, and Disney (Hollywood's most profitable studio) debuting a mere 10. Looking into the financial crystal ball, investment firm Goldman Sachs predicts that Netflix could have an annual spending budget of $22.5 billion in 2022. This staggering number would bring Netflix close to matching the total spending by all of the cable companies and networks in the United States combined.
PUBG Brings Back War Mode with New Rules
As was previously promised, PUBG is bringing back War Mode with a few new twists. A post on PUBG's Steam page yesterday detailed how War Mode's return starts tonight at 7 p.m. PDT and runs through Sunday at 7 p.m. PDT.
In its older iteration, War Mode took place on the Erangel map, but it will now be set on the recently released Sanhok map. The ante has also been upped: instead of three 10-man squads, War Mode will now feature five 10-man squads. War Mode matches are still set to take place in a small "safe zone" where the first team to 200 points wins.
Pokemon Go Confirms Celebi Is Coming Soon
Celebi is coming to Pokemon Go soon.
In a blog post celebrating the game’s second birthday, Niantic revealed that the Mythical Pokemon Celebi “will be available globally in the near future” via the game’s Special Research feature, but didn’t offer any other details for now.
Separately, Niantic revealed that a special “Summer Style” Pikachu wearing a straw hat and sunglasses will be available in the game starting July 6 and will appear until July 31.
Overwatch Fans are Trying to Decipher In-Game Barcodes
Overwatch fans are attempting to decode a series of barcodes found on character skins and in-game items or environments.
Reddit user Karahe posted an album of in-game barcodes they had found on characters like the new character Wrecking Ball, as well as a multitude of items like Summer Games loot boxes, Soldier 76’s gun, and plenty more.
Some of the barcodes are more legible than others, such as Wrecking Ball’s. It’s not unlikely that at least some of the barcodes are just placeholder graphics designed to lend some credibility to the more robotic minutia in Overwatch’s world.
Apple Looks Back on 10 Years of the App Store
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the App Store, and Apple has taken the opportunity to look back at the past, present, and future of the famous service.
In Apple's stroll down memory lane, it quotes a slew of app developers, from young developers making apps to deal with anxiety to Nintendo's own Shigeru Miyamoto.
Apple introduced the App Store on July 10, 2008 with 500 apps, and it has since grown into a service that changes the way society functions in almost every realm. Some of the apps available day-one included MLB At Bat, Tap Tap Revenge, Trism, The New York Times, eBay and Travelocity.
Mario Kart Tracks Are Being Built in Fortnite’s Playground Mode
It was only a matter of time before Mario Kart inspired tracks started appearing in Fortnite's nearly limitless Playground mode.
YouTube user Noahh was one of the first to build a racing track and use the recently brought back Shopping Carts to race with friends. The track was built over the edge of the map and in true Rainbow Road fashion, falling off the ledge would send you to your death.
Reddit user JoshB_C constructed "Tilted Track," a winding track that goes in and out of the buildings of Tilted Towers. Long ramps and boost pads were used to race and Mario Kart sound effects and music were added to the video.
The Best Political Horror Movies
The horror genre is an ideal mechanism by which to explore our darkest fears, but not all of those fears are as rudimentary as, say, getting stabbed. The world is a complex and harrowing place where politics - social, economic, and otherwise - are a constant factor in everyone's lives, and in which the marginalized have much to fear from a system that does not treat them equally.
So it's no surprise than many of the best and scariest horror movies are also deeply political, overtly or otherwise. Many of the greatest horror movies ever made have insidious points to make, and accusatory fingers to point at social systems that oppress and kill the audience in real life as well.