Yearly Archives: 2018
Black Panther Dialogue Muted in India to Avoid “Hurting Religious Sentiments”
Black Panther has had a sentence of its dialogue removed in India so as not to offend religious sensibilities. Mild spoilers for Black Panther to follow.
io9 reports that at a domestic screening in India, the use of the name of the Hindu god Hanuman wasn't very well received.
Subsequently, the line "glory to Hanuman" from the leader of the Jabari tribe, was muted in screenings across the country.
There's some disagreement over whether this decision came from India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), or the film's producers, but either way, they obviously thought it best to err on the side of caution when it came to potentially upsetting their audience.
Forza Horizon 3 Is Still the Finest Thing on Four Wheels
Master Chief. Marcus Fenix. They were unlikely suspects on the spectrum of marketable mascots, perhaps – one is a mysterious husk hidden behind an opaque mask and the other looks like a dollar-store Dolph Lundgren that ate Bret Michaels whole and unironically wears his bandana as a kind of trophy. But Microsoft mascots they became, succeeding where Blinx the Time Sweeper, Voodoo Vince, and Clippy all failed before them.
Depending on how much stock you place in the nature of a review aggregator like Metacritic, a huge part of the reason for the enduring popularity of the likes of Master Chief and Marcus Fenix is surely tied to the quality of the games wrapped around them. The first Halo is the highest-rated Microsoft exclusive on the original Xbox (in fact, it’s the highest-rated game on the console, full stop). And Halo 2? Number three on the all-time list.
Paladins Dev Throws Shade at New Overwatch Character
Hi Rez Studios' President Stew Chisam has hit back at accusations that Paladins: Champions of the Realm, Hi-Rez's online team-based game, copied Overwatch, Blizzard's online team-based game, with some playful shade.
On Twitter, Chisam drew comparisons between the look and abilities of Overwatch's latest hero Brigitte Lindholm, and those of Paladins' Ash.
"Quick poll," Chisam tweeted. "If I happened to notice and point out any similarities between these two characters, would that make me the Pot calling the Kettle black, or the Kettle calling the Pot black? This will keep me up tonight unless I get a clear answer."
Black Panther Stars Reunite for New Miniseries
Black Panther stars Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira will reunite to work on a new miniseries based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Americanah.
As reported by Konbini, Gurira will write the miniseries. A few years ago, a photo of The Walking Dead and Black Panther actress reading Americanah was posted on Twitter by Melissa McBride, who plays Carol in AMC's aforementioned zombie series.
The X-Files Delivered a Clever, Offbeat PSA
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
"Yum!"
"Rm9sbG93ZXJz" (which apparently means "followers" - and that's the last time I'll type/paste it) was a fun, occasionally preachy, alt-universe diversion that felt like a standalone short film. In fact, an argument could be made that this story could have/should have been 20 minutes shorter and didn't need Mulder and Scully at all. Meaning, any two people out on a funky robo-dinner date would have worked for the action and messaging.
This (final?) X-Files season, so far, has been less about the continuing adventures of Mulder and Scully and more about "What would Mulder and Scully have to say about our current social and political climate?" There's an extreme (and mostly fun) meta-element to these modern chapters, with a few fan fic-y aspects thrown in for good measure.
The Soul Stone May Be ‘The Biggest Threat of Them All’ in Avengers: Infinity War
In the pages of Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #2, we learn a critical piece of information about the final Infinity Stone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Warning: full spoilers below!
Five of the six Infinity Stones are currently accounted for in the MCU, but the whereabouts of the Soul Stone remain a mystery. While the lead-in comic does not give us much to go on, Wong does reveal a key piece of intel, saying, “Little is known about the sixth and final Stone, the Soul Stone. But if what is known turns out to be true, it could prove to be the biggest threat of them all.”
Art by Jorge Fornes. (Marvel Comics)
Tarantino’s Manson Movie Gets a Title; Pitt, DiCaprio Set to Star
Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are joining forces with Quentin Tarantino once again for his movie based around the Manson Family murders, officially titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Tarantino has described the movie as “a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood" (via THR). "The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor...Sharon Tate.”
Kristen Wiig in Talks to Play Cheetah in Wonder Woman 2
Wonder Woman 2 may have found its Cheetah in Kristen Wiig.
According to Deadline, the Saturday Night Live and Bridesmaids star is reportedly in talks with DC and Warner Bros. to play Wonder Woman's feline foe in the upcoming sequel.
Kristen Wiig as Annie in Bridesmaids
While specifics about Wiig's potential role as the DC super villain have yet to be revealed, in the comics, the Barbara Ann Minerva incarnation of Cheetah is an archeologist who's captured and granted the abilities of a cheetah by the plant-god Urzkartaga.
The Best Fantasy-Themed Board Games
Fantasy settings are a wonderful fit for board games. There's something about orcs, elves, and magic spells that translates perfectly to cards and cardboard. And of course it doesn't hurt that the Venn diagram of people drawn to wizards and people drawn to board games is basically a circle. As you might expect, board game designers have caught on, and there are so many good fantasy-themed board games out there as a result. There are plenty of sword and sorcery adventures. But in the world of board games, fantasy can mean anything from imaginative intrigue to alchemical academia.
So, grab a sword and a spell book and head into the unknown as we explore what "fantasy" meant to a slew of different designers — and the best board games that came out of it.
Astronomers Pick Up First Light to Ever Shine in Universe
Astronomers have searched for signs of the earliest stars and found the first light ever to shine in the universe.
The Telegraph reports astronomers used a normal radio antenna placed in the remote Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory located in Western Australia to pick up the signal.
The frequency was especially difficult to find as it's within the same range as many radio stations and those naturally emitted from the Milky Way. National Science Foundation program director, Dr Peter Kurcynski described the task as "It's like being in the middle of a hurricane and trying to hear the flap of a hummingbird’s wing.”