Back in September, Microsoft and Mojang launched the Better Together update for Minecraft on Windows 10, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. This update allowed players on those devices to play together and access the Marketplace on any of those platforms.  

The new Better Together versions of Minecraft are known collectively as the Bedrock Edition. The Bedrock games avoid the “___ Edition” naming scheme on their respective platforms, being just “Minecraft” instead of “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” or “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition”. This is the new foundation and codebase Mojang wants to build upon, hence the name. 

In the case of Minecraft on Xbox One, if you purchase the game now on the Xbox Store, it’s the Bedrock Edition, called “Minecraft”. If you had the previous Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, you get the new version for free, but the old one remains installed on your console. This allows players to switch back and forth between both versions and players are finding they prefer the old Xbox One Edition. 

If you go to the Microsoft Store page for Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, the game is rated at 4.5 stars out of 5 with 111,000 reviews. In contrast, the new Minecraft entry is rated at 2.5 stars out of 5, with 5,634 reviews as of this writing.  

“The Xbox One Edition was designed for Xbox, this version is literally a port from PC. The creative inventory is a disarray and difficult to navigate, placing blocks is much slower as being precise is terribly difficult. The graphics are a disgrace, the game crashes every 30 mins, everything is laggy,” said one review. (Edited for spelling and formatting.) 1

“The new crafting and inventory menus are quite cumbersome and seem rushed. It now takes easily twice as long to perform trivial tasks like swapping items in these menus in creative mode. The previous setup was much more streamlined and easier to use,” added another review. 

“I played this version in beta and it was not ready for a public release. There are numerous problems that went unaddressed or were flat out ignored. To list a few: Frame rate is extremely unstable and drops considerable. This version is not optimized for redstone and more complicated devices produce massive amounts of lag,” said one review from last month. 

The previous Minecraft editions were customized for their specific platforms by 4J Studios, who no longer seem to be involved in the new versions. They took into account the technology behind each console or device, and tailored the releases to those platforms.  

Players are saying that the Bedrock Edition represents a step back. There are lost features like large biomes, some players dislike the new UI and Creative mode controls, there are reported frame rate issues, lag, and crashes that didn’t occur in previous editions, and some players can’t even convert their worlds over to the new version. One of the top requests on the Minecraft support site is for a console UI for the Bedrock Editions on Xbox One.

Players on Xbox One have gone around the problem by simply playing the old Xbox One Edition, but Mojang isn’t updating that version anymore. If players want new features, they’ll need to upgrade eventually. Currently, the Nintendo Switch version is supposed to join the Better Together party at a later date, but some Switch players are hoping that update can be pushed down the line until the Bedrock codebase has seen some fixes. Hopefully, Mojang and Microsoft keep plugging away at the new unified Minecraft, because players aren’t happy.

Minecraft Players Are Choosing The Xbox One Edition Over The Better Together Version

Not only is Minecraft one of the most popular games on the planet, but the block-based building game has also been used to teach more than 85 million students basic coding concepts and computer science. 

Code.org, a computer science teaching initiative partnered up with Microsoft and Minecraft back in 2015 as one of the earliest adopters of using Minecraft as a teaching tool in classrooms.  

Minecraft has been a part of three different Hour of Code teaching initiatives and quickly became one of the most popular activities, no doubt because students were already familiar with the game, or if this was their first encounter with Minecraft, fell in love with its easy to pick up mechanics. 

Code.org cites Minecraft‘s “vast virtual world” and “just enough structure in its uniform blocks and limited types” to help promote teaching of basic computer science concepts, but also algebra, chemistry, or this writer’s own field, history. 

One Maine elementary school teacher, Mike Harvey, uses Minecraft in his own Code.org curriculum and praises the game’s “recognizable characters, elements, and event sounds” as attractive ways to get students interested in coding. 

Coding has become one of the most popular extracurricular activities in schools, with many districts opting to add full-time, or mandatory coding requirements into its everyday curriculum. And while AP Computer Science programs don’t need to be the ultimate goal here, getting elementary school level kids interested in coding will hopefully set them up for a future in the widely expanding coding market in the future.

Minecraft Has Already Taught 85 Million Students How to Code

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Minecraft is the juggernaut of kid gaming, backed by Microsoft and boasting nearly 144 million lifetime sales. A new study by Interpret confirms that Minecraft is still the most-played game among kids in the US, currently being played by over a quarter of gamers age 6-12. However, the title seems to have lost some steam recently. GameByte—an annual study of kids’ gaming habits and preferences—has tracked Minecraft playership since 2012, and the results of this year’s study show the first drops in active playership ever. Minecraft’s share of all gaming time by kids age 6-12 has dropped 5% since last year, although it still commands a hefty 13% of total game time.

A new study by Interpret confirms that Minecraft is still the most-played game among kids in the US.

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These changes are small, but the dip into negative trending should worry fans of the game. One possible explanation is the recent rise of Roblox, a mod-friendly title that borrows Minecraft’s ethos of building and playing anything. Roblox still lags behind Minecraft (the study ranks it as the #2 kids game in the US by active playership), but its gains over the past 12 months are significant. Since last year’s study, Roblox’s active kid playership has more than doubled on both PC and console.

One thing that Minecraft and Roblox share is their ability to monopolize play time. Over one third of Roblox and Minecraft players report playing other games less because of these titles. This “one-game” phenomenon affects toys as well, causing a similar proportion of Roblox and Minecraft to play less with physical toys. “These players’ dedication to their game and the screen-time monopoly of these titles are having a big impact on their consumption of other games and toys,” noted Michael Cai, President of Interpret. “This means that game and toy makers not only have to contend with Minecraft, but also with Roblox, a rising star that may become its own juggernaut in time.”

GameByte is an annual, comprehensive survey of kids’ gaming behaviors and preferences in the US. For more information, please contact Diane LightWaight at diane.lightwaight@interpret.la or 323.794.3891.

Interpret is a full service market research firm focused on media, entertainment, and technology.

Minecraft’s Lead is Shrinking among Kid Gamers, According to New Data from Interpret

Here is everything we want to see paid off in the two climactic MCU installments.

It’s all been building to this: 18 films; 67 total characters. That’s a lot of narrative thread to weave. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and the directorial team of the Russo Brothers have promised that Avengers: Infinity War and the as-yet untitled Avengers 4 will be a culmination of every single plot element introduced since 2008’s Iron Man. That’s a lot to ask. Can they possibly pull it off?

Next Tuesday will see the release of Thor: Ragnarok on DVD and Blu-ray (you can already purchase it on Digital HD), and it’s a disc packed with special features, mini-docs, bloopers, and the like. The one bonus feature that got our attention, though, is “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years.” Towards the end of it, Feige declares:

“With ‘Infinity War,’ we’re paying off every little thread and every little tease that we’ve had in what will be 18 films prior to ‘Infinity War.’ There’s never been anything like this. Being able to, film after film, tease at a larger story. Really building these stories up into a giant conclusion. While at the same time introducing an entirely new direction for the future.”

For the obsessed like myself, who spend week after week anticipating the next link in the chain, the entire appeal of the MCU is watching just how these characters come together to oppose the great galactic threat. I’m less interested in Thanos and his Infinity Stone collection than I am in the playful bickering centered around Mjolnir’s worthy judgment of the team. That being said, we’ve all been waiting a long time for Thanos to prove himself formidable, and if Infinity War sputters on that front, the collective disappointing sigh of fandom will be heard beyond the reach of our galaxy.

What does Feige’s assertion that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 act as a culmination of everything the MCU has constructed actually look like? What do we want to have witnessed when Avengers 4‘s credits finally roll and we wait for its stinger to launch the next decade’s worth of Marvel stories? I’m sure you have an opinion. I sure do. Dammit, Rocket better trick Bucky outta his Vibranium arm to please his own sick humor. If we don’t get that, I riot.

Below are the 10 other plot threads I want to see addressed before all is said and done. I’m sticking to the characters I deem to be Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, so don’t expect much in regards to Hawkeye or Ant-Man’s climax. That opinion might change post Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp, but for now they’re not the folks stoking my interest.

10. Thor vs. Loki – This sibling rivalry ignited the first great threat that brought the Avengers together. A Shakespearean squabble of two boys slugging it out for their father’s impossible attention. In the process, Thor shaved off some of his arrogance and found compassion for the simpletons of Earth. Loki simply plunged further into contempt. But Tom Hiddleston is a star, and we can’t get enough of this rascal.

When last we saw the brothers, they were together again, leading the Asgardian people to a new home in Norway. Cut to Thanos’s ship blocking their path and the Infinity War trailer revealing Loki’s Tesseract presentation to the Mad Titan. Is Loki a bad guy? A good guy? Marvel now has him poised promptly on their “First Ten Years” banner. It seems he’s more of an Avenger than Hawkeye at this point.

Infinity War needs to seal the deal on his moral compass. Is he redeemable after the Battle of New York? Is he mischievous or villainous? If he’s going to continue beyond the next 10 years, that question has to be answered.

9. Hulk Hearts Black Widow – In Age of Ultron, Natasha found kinship in Bruce’s battle with the monster within. The Hulk has as much red on his ledger as the Black Widow. I’ve never understood those that dismissed this romance. Here are two broken human beings that fell in love because of their fractures. In his pain, she saw her own.

Of course, Natasha had to betray Bruce’s trust to unleash the beast in their battle royale with Ultron. Bruce’s only response was to lose himself in The Hulk and flee to space. After Banner crashes back to Earth, Infinity War must address their relationship. Can he forgive her for that manipulation of the monster? Has she already found another strong, wounded bird to care for in Steve Rogers? I don’t see a happy ending here, but it’s the kind of internal conflict that keeps the Avengers relevant over other pretender superhero films.

8. The Global Spotlight on Wakanda – At the conclusion of Black Panther, T’Challa stated to the United Nations that they are finally willing to join the world’s stage. The consequences of such good intentions will probably not be addressed until the sequel, but the next two Avengers films will show a nation ready to fight for the one tribe of humanity. The trailers certainly reveal Wakanda to be a major battleground against Thanos’s army, and it amplifies the global threat beyond our narcissistic worries for the United States.

Is the Soul Stone in the Necropolis? Is it the source of the Vibranium’s power? Honestly, that speculation holds little interest. What I want to see from these next Marvel mega events is a T’Challa that has learned from those painful conversations he experienced in his own film. We need to see the King. We need to see his influence on Captain America and Iron Man. Entering Phase 4, Black Panther will be a major leader for the Avengers.

7. Nicky Fury and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Where’s Nick been? We haven’t seen him since he dusted off that Helicarrier at the end of Age of Ultron. Does S.H.I.E.L.D. even matter in the wake of The Winter Soldier’s Hydra revelation? Marvel probably wants to keep that going, but as the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television show gallops around the cosmos, the super secret agency seems to be less and less relevant to the cinematic adventures.

Nick Fury jumpstarted this whole thing in Iron Man, but he’s never really been given his due. Tony called him “the spy’s spy” and I’d like to see how that figure has been preparing for Thanos. Is he simply just the pied piper that brought this threat response team together, or is he truly the James Bond badass we were promised 10 years ago?

6. Is Thor Still Worthy? – At the start of Ragnarok, Hela crushed Mjolnir to teeny tiny bits, shattering Thor’s confidence before sending him into gladiatorial combat against The Hulk. He got his groove back before the film’s end, and he certainly seemed worthy of the title despite his father’s prop hammer. If you’ve glanced at leaked toy images (how dare you) then you might have some clue as to the answer of Thor’s worthiness, but is there still a king without a kingdom?

Thor will be entering Infinity War with a heavy burden. Either he’ll be leading the last stragglers of Asgard or Thanos will have completely wiped out his race. Whichever option turns out to be true, Thor will be bouncing back and forth between intense rage and profound doubt in himself. By the end of Ragnarok, the god that accepted the royal chair led his people from destruction into further destruction. Avengers 4 will need to reevaluate the god as a citizen/protector of Earth.

5. The Daughters of Thanos – Possibly the most exciting element of Infinity War will be finally getting to see the Guardians of the Galaxy standing next to the rest of the Avengers. Rocket meet Tony. Those two monsters of sarcasm will be good for several hours of bloopers.

However, the conflict I’m most looking forward to seeing come to a head is the one between Thanos and his two abandoned daughters: Gamora and Nebula. They were raised to be extensions of his tyranny, so Thanos should probably meet justice at their hands rather than Tony Stark’s repulser blasts. Coming out of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as sisters, Gamora and Nebula look to be a major dramatic force against the big bad.

4. The Infinity Gauntlet – What’s the big deal? Since Thor: The Dark World, we’ve been hearing about how great and powerful these infinity stones are, but how much worse could it possibly get when they’re assembled in Thanos’s magic glove? The mind stone, the reality stone, the power stone, the space stone, the time stone, the soul stone. So what? We need to see their horror.

Planets will certainly be pulled from the sky, but we could also be seeing Thanos wield his might over time and space. The dead could be resurrected. Anyone screaming for the return of Quicksilver? It would absolutely shatter the Scarlet Witch and could splinter her abilities into a million different places. A brutalized Wanda could serve as a painful starting point for Phase 4. Could her comic book damnation of “No More Mutants” be adapted to “No More Avengers?” The Infinity Gauntlet needs to destroy our heroes in a way the’ve never experienced before. Otherwise, what’s the point?

3. Tony and Pepper Together Forever – What started out as the will they/won’t they flirtatious couple of the franchise has become its driving romance. When it looked like the MCU was phasing out Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts I was deeply disappointed. Iron Man 3 was just starting to find a home for her character, and Tony without his heart is a dangerous cocktail with the potential for causing catastrophe. When Pepper made her cameo return in Spider-Man: Homecoming, I was delighted. Tony needs a reason to fight beyond his own ego.

2. The Man Out of Time Finds His Home – Since Steve Rogers was awoken from his 70-year slumber in the ice, he has been searching for a home in our time. He thought he had found it with S.H.I.E.L.D., but the clearcut good fight of World War II had transformed into a morally gray quagmire. The Winter Soldier showed Steve that blind allegiance was no longer possible. In Age of Ultron, he thought the Avengers would be his new platoon, but then Tony Stark had to go and screw that all up in Civil War.

Infinity War will be the ultimate test of faith for Captain America. We’ve been crying out for stakes in the Marvel Universe, and some wonder if it’s time for Rogers to make that sacrificial play he so admires. Will Bucky take up the mantel? Will Sam Wilson? But Rogers has already done that in The First Avenger. We know he’s got a death wish. Since the first film he’s been hunting for a life and he needs to find it.

Rogers may never pick up his shield again. His time as Captain America may be over. He will have to find his home elsewhere as a direct result of Phase 3’s climax, but I don’t think he’s going to die at the conclusion of Avengers 4. I think that task will fall on another hero (see below).

1. Tony Stark’s Terrifying Legacy – In the “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years” special feature, KFeige refers to Tony Stark as “the heart of the MCU.” He has been there since the very beginning and he must be there for the conclusion. His death will serve as a chrysalis for the next phase in this never-ending franchise. Forget contractual agreements, he’s got to go for the story.

Tony Stark is a hero plagued with demons. Demons of his own making. In 2008, he learned that his terrifying brain was the genesis for a lot of the world’s misery. He attempted to redeem his past sins through his Iron Man prosthesis. He hoped to put a blanket on our fragile planet when he created an A.I. security system. More misery followed.

At the start of Age of Ultron, Stark got a glimpse of his legacy courtesy of the Scarlet Witch’s magical manipulation. He saw an Earth conquered, his friends dead at his feet. He saw himself helpless. This fear would drive him into further conflict with his team, and eventually shatter the allegiance the formed after The Battle of New York. Can Stark fix it? Is he the hero for the job? Avengers 4 should conclude with Tony Stark finally putting his demons to rest. He will serve as the inspiration for the next roster.

Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers 4’ Will Answer 10 Years Worth of Questions

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way: If you thought that the team-up of The Defenders would have any bearing on the individual character seasons of Marvel’s Netflix heroes, think again. As has been the pattern, each Defender is kept in their own sandbox until it’s time to play together, but then they are swiftly sequestered again. It can be a little disappointing, although when it comes to Jessica Jones, it’s actually a good thing. The only one of the Marvel heroes to share her first solo season (with Luke Cage), her connection to Cage was then abandoned during his origin season, and remained frosty during The Defenders. And while it’s sad in a way that this universe hasn’t sought to connect them further (yet), now Jessica (the excellent Krysten Ritter) is fully on her own. While there are a few cameos from Marvel side-characters here and there, for the most part, Jessica Jones Season 2 starts out as if The Defenders never happened. That’s just fine.

That is not to say, though, that Jessica Jones’ second season comes out of the gate as strong as it should, given how well we know the character and the major players in her life. The first episode (out of five sent for review) is clunky, both in its dialogue and its pacing (more on that in a minute). But what it does achieve is a new investigation for Jessica that keeps things personal. One of the great triumphs of the show’s first season was how we watched her deal — or not deal — with her PTSD from the abuses of Kilgrave (David Tennant), an evil she defeated in the finale. The show is certainly missing him as a driving force, but there’s still a lot for Jessica to process, going back to the death of her family as well as her abduction and torture during the illegal experiments that gave her powers. She’s a cool girl who doesn’t care, until she has to — and then she does, deeply.

Image via Netflix

The show also takes on a little bit of an X-Men vibe in Season 2. We meet another “super” (one with powers we haven’t seen on any of the shows yet, which is both weird and a relief) and then another, just as the population seems to be waking up to the fact that superheroes really do walk among us — which should have been obvious since New York City has been almost destroyed and then bombastically saved by superheroes over and over again. The denizens react as they always do in these stories, with mistrust for supers as “freaks,” and “one of them.” But if we ignore the Marvel movies and The Defenders to just stay within the context of Jessica Jones then it makes a little more sense. Kilgrave’s death made the news cycle because he had been terrorizing New York before Jessica killed him. She’s both a hero and a vigilante in that regard, and it’s that dichotomy that she struggles with in Season 2.

The season really starts to kick into gear, though, once we’re introduced to the central mystery: the truth behind IGH, the shadowy organization that performed the experiments on Jessica and others, and what its connection is to a string of recent deaths. Jessica is embroiled in several different battles, though, including against a cocky rival PI who wants to steal her clients, and in reconnecting with Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) who needs a very personal favor. And maybe it is the influence of The Defenders, but Jessica is now more willing to receive assistance both from the gun-toting and increasingly off-balance Trish (Rachael Taylor) as well as the angelic PI-in-training Malcolm (Eka Darville). It helps give the show some space from just focusing on Jessica which, as outstanding as Ritter is, it needs in order to sustain its episode count and deepen the characters around her from just being plot props.

Image via Netflix

It wouldn’t be a review of a Marvel-Netflix collaboration, though, without mentioning pace. The show is still too slow, with a minimal or non-existent score, scenes that go on for too long, and a limited number of edits that add up to everything feeling like it’s happening in real time. It’s not as bad as any other Marvel series on Netflix in this regard — not even close — but it’s still a problem, and one that has unbelievably still not been addressed in terms of episode count (or shorter runtimes within episodes).

Still, there is a lot of good here, and the season gets better and better as it goes along. The introduction of a new Big Bad works, and is exceptionally creepy (there are many aspects of Season 2 that feel like it’s leaning into horror, which is a good choice). Jessica learns “it takes a monster to stop a monster,” right alongside her own fears that she herself is turning into a killer. But what this real monster shows her is that that is not her — it’s stronger, meaner, angrier, and it holds a mirror up to how Jessica views herself in that context. It’s part of the well-considered character work that the show is so good at, especially when it comes to Jessica confronting her past through a bottle, fists, or occasionally tears. As she gets close to her building’s new superintendent and his family, though, she starts to see an alternative to the life she’s living. Not one that she’s willing to let down her guard for yet, but it’s something (in terms of character growth).

More than anything, Alias Investigations once again provide a nice noir framework for the show’s central mystery this season, one that is interesting to unravel and certainly feels more grounded than anything we’ve seen in the past with villains like The Hand. The show is also wisely taking the time to give those around Jessica more to do, while keeping everyone connected. There’s certainly room for more humor (especially for someone besides Jessica to try and wield) and the episodes could be a lot tighter, but Jessica Jones once again puts character first over super-heroics. It makes all of the difference.

Rating: ★★★★

Jessica Jones Season 2 premieres Thursday, March 8th on Netflix.

Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

Image via Netflix

‘Jessica Jones’ Season 2 Review: Fighting the Monster Within

Get to speculating folks, because Disney just lined up their non-Star Wars movie release date calendar through 2023, and it’s jam-packed with all the untitled Marvel, live-action, and animation movie you could ask for (some would argue more, at that — how many live-action adaptations can you make?!) In fact, there are far more mystery titles on this list than rumored projects in development — especially when it comes to those Marvel movies.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has articulated time and again that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 mark a culmination of the entire MCU to date and remained guarded on what comes after, insisting that the folks over at the studio have kept the focus on finishing out Phase 3. But now, with a slew of new release dates on the docket, it seems likely that Feige and Co. have nailed down the game plan for Phase 4 of the Marvel universe.

Image via Marvel Studios

Or at least a loose version of it — with that Disney/Fox deal on track to close within the scheduled window, no doubt Feige’s team has come up with some contingency plans a bit like they did with Civil War. Ahead of the groundbreaking Sony deal, the Marvel creative team came up with plans for both a movie with and without the friendly neighborhood web-slinger. The only post-Avengers 4 movie that’s been openly discussed so far is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (though it hasn’t been directly confirmed), but you can probably put safe odds on at least one of these movies being a Black Panther sequel. Just a hunch. But Feige has done a damn fine job keeping the rest a mystery for now. Hopefully, we’ll get another full-on Phase 4 title reveal soon.

A few other major shakeups are hiding in there, too. Mulan got a major release date bump, from November 2018 all the way back to March 2020, bringing dishonor to us all, and the female Santa Clause holiday picture Nicole has been removed from the schedule. The film was previously set to land in theaters in November 2019, with Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader in talks to star. Per Variety, the Christmas comedy has jumped over to Disney’s bourgeoning over-the-top streaming service, which is expected to launch in 2019.

Now, onto all those untitled live-action movies. Daaaaaamn. That’s a lot remakes and reboots. Of course, Disney’s live-action wing doesn’t just revamp the beloved animated properties (though looking at the box office behind recent hits like The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, I’m willing to bet a whole lot of these fall in that camp), they also produce lowkey dramas like Queen of Katwe and Million Dollar Arm and fantasy adaptations like The BFG and A Wrinkle in Time. As for what some of the live action titles might be, here’s a full breakdown of all the live-action remakes Disney has in development, which range from old school classics like Pinnochio and Snow White to peak nostalgia remakes like The Little Mermaid, and some weirder stuff like a Prince Charming movie.

For now, you can find the new release date lineup below, and be sure to check out our breakdown of all the upcoming superhero movies while you’re at it.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR previously dated 5/4/18 moves to 4/27/18

DISNEY’S CHRISTOPHER ROBIN is final title of previous UNTITLED CHRISTOPHER ROBIN PROJECT – previously announced date of 8/3/18 is unchanged

MULAN previously dated on 11/2/18 moves to 3/27/20

UNTITLED DISNEYTOON STUDIOS previously dated on 4/12/19 is now removed from schedule

PENGUINS (DISNEYNATURE) now dated on 4/19/19

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 10/4/19

NICOLE previously dated on 11/8/19 is now removed from schedule

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 11/8/19

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 2/14/20

UNTITLED PIXAR ANIMATION previously dated on 3/13/20 moves to 3/6/20

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION previously dated on 4/3/20 moves to 5/29/20

UNTITLED MARVEL previously dated 8/7/20 moves to 7/31/20

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 10/9/20

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 12/23/20

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 2/12/21

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 5/7/21

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 5/28/21

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 7/9/21

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 7/30/21

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated 10/8/21

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 11/5/21

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 12/22/21

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 2/18/22

UNTITLED PIXAR now dated on 3/18/22

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 5/6/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 5/27/22

UNTITLED PIXAR now dated on 6/17/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 7/8/22

UNTITLED MARVEL now dated on 7/29/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 10/7/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 11/4/22

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION now dated on 11/23/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 12/16/22

UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION now dated on 2/17/23

Image via Disney

Image via Pixar

Disney Announces a Slew of New Marvel, Live-Action and Animation Release Dates Through 2023

On this episode of Collider Heroes, Jon Schnepp, Amy Dallen, and Robert Meyer Burnett discuss the following:

• Benjamin Melniker has passed away at 104 years old. He had purchased the rights to Batman in 1979 and was listed as a producer on every Batman film since 1989. He also produced other superhero films like Swamp Thing, Constantine and The Spirit.

• Thor: Ragnarok contains a special feature called “Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years – The Evolution of Heroes”. In it, Joe Russo states that the next two Avengers films will be the culmination of all the Marvel storylines from the last 10 years.

• Nightwing director Chris McKay took to Twitter to give an update on the film. He tweeted that it’s “going to be a LONG process. So don’t expect casting news any time soon. We are taking our time.”

• THR is reporting that Fox is fast tracking a number of its superhero films including X-Force, Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, along with three new X-Men films for 2019 and 2020.

• A reddit user posted a first look at Zachary Levi in his costume for Shazam!

• A Twitter user sparked an exchange between Mark Hamill and James Gunn that might lead to Hamill appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

• The panel discusses Chandler Riggs leaving The Walking Dead.

• Thor Odinson will be reclaiming his name and title as the God of Thunder in Thor #1 from current The Mighty Thor writer Jason Aaron and artist Mike Del Mundo.

• Marvel Studios concert artist Andy Park takes to Twitter to showcase some of his Black Panther concept art for T’Chaka, including a tribal sash and the classic cape from the comic books.

• Deadline is reporting that Humans star Gemma Chan has been cast to play Minn-Erva aka Doctor Minerva in Captain Marvel.

• In an interview with the French site Allocine, Joaquin Phoenix responds to a question about playing The Joker with “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

• That Hashtag Show is reporting that Wonder Woman 2 will feature Cheetah as the main villain.

• FX has released a new, creepier promo for Legion Season 2.

• Twitter Questions

Image via Warner Bros.

Heroes: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers 4′ Will Be the “Culmination” of the MCU

Well, this isn’t going to make Dwayne Johnson very happy. Walt Disney and Marvel just announced that Avengers: Infinity War will be opening everywhere, all over the world, on April 27, 2018. That’s about when it was going to open in much of the world in a standard MCU overseas rollout, but the change means that North American audiences get it a week early as well. That’s horrible news for A) Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage which opens (for now) on April 20 and B)  STX and Amy Schumer’s I Feel Pretty which probably thought it had that  Other Woman/Baby Mama pre-summer slot wrapped up.

This is a huge change both for the overall summer schedule and for the MCU release schedule. At a glance, there are four reasons for this shift, none of them particularly conspiratorial.

1. This gives them an extra week before Deadpool 2.

When Fox moved Deadpool 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) from June 2 to May 18, many of us saw it as a direct attack (or at least a challenge) to Solo: A Star Wars Story. But it also plopped two of the year’s biggest comic book superhero movies into the same month. So, at the very least, this gives Tony Stark and friends some room before Wade Wilson and Cable show up. Granted, I’m sure both big flicks can co-exist, but this is probably good news for both parties. It also means that I may have to revise my thoughts about A) April being a relatively quiet pre-summer jaunt and B) Rampage being the biggest earner of the month.

This also leaves the key early May slot without a major movie, and I’m curious to see if any other studio will dare stand against the second weekend of Infinity War. But considering the history of smaller female-led comedies and dramas flourishing over the second weekend of summer (which is usually Mother’s Day), I wouldn’t be shocked to see I Feel Pretty move back a week and open on May 4th. As for Rampage… yeah, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe The Rock and his giant monsters will stay put, but we’ll see.

2. It gives Solo: A Star Wars Story an extra week of marketing space.

We are reaching a point where the biggest competition for Walt Disney blockbuster offerings are other Walt Disney blockbuster offerings. We got Thor: Ragnarok, Coco and The Last Jedi within about six weeks of each other last year, and we got Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One within the same holiday stretch in 2016. Right now, the biggest competition for Walt Disney’s Black Panther is Walt Disney’s Wrinkle in Time opening next weekend. Sure, if the films are well-received and profits are made, then this is more about market share domination than making sure each big movie grosses as much as possible. But since Disney is willing to start the summer a little early, they are giving their Star Wars Story, which opens over Memorial Day weekend, a month of space.

Even if Infinity War is super leggy, it will be somewhat played out by the time the Han Solo flick takes priority. Even The Avengers had already earned around 90% of its $623 million domestic gross by the end of its fourth week in theaters. This move allows Disney to devote more attention to both summer biggies, which is arguably more to Solo‘s benefit than Infinity War‘s. So this ought to be to rest any talk of Disney moving Solo out of its Memorial Day slot, as it’s full-speed ahead after this.

3. Disney and Marvel want the world record for a global opening weekend.

Consider this revenge for Universal/Comcast Corp.’s Fate of the Furious breaking The Force Awakens‘ global opening weekend record just under a year ago. The eighth Fast and Furious movie opened around the world in April 2017 with a whopping $532 million worldwide in 63 markets, bigger than The Force Awakens‘ $529m global opening in December 2017. Since the MCU flicks usually spread out their debuts over a week or two, that wasn’t necessarily on the table until an hour ago.

I’m not going to sit here and argue that a new global debut record is a done deal, but that has to be at least part of the thought process here. Ironically, the last time a super-duper movie opened in late April was Universal’s Fast Five in 2011, which kickstarted the summer with an $85 million debut weekend one week before Marvel’s Thor opened with $65m. The goodwill earned by the MCU overall and by Black Panther only makes this a more appetizing proposition, along with the whole “casual fans who checked out years ago show up for the finale” appeal. Could we see a $550m global debut in late April?

4. Spoilers!!

In the past, Disney and Marvel haven’t necessarily cared about MCU spoilers ending up online via Wikipedia or the like when said films debut overseas first. Yet, by coincidence or design, the global debut of this specific would-be climax is going to be that much less spoiled by paying audiences when it opens around the world at essentially the same time. Sure, reviews will (presumably) be out beforehand, but most critics aren’t going to give away the heart-stopping sequence where Thanos blows up Tony Stark (thus saving Marvel hundreds-of-millions of dollars in Phase Four expenses) or the third-act beat where Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine shows up in yellow spandex to save the day, so the bigger concern is general audience leaks. I don’t necessarily think this was a prime reason (did knowing that Coulson died before The Avengers opened affect the box office in any palatable fashion?), this does seem to be a case where Disney is treating an MCU flick like a Star Wars movie. Let’s just hope they let the press see this one before (or during) CinemaCon.

What does this mean?

Well, aside from the factors discussed above, this throws the April release schedule into comparative chaos, especially for the Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. Dwayne Johnson video game adaptation. If there is a downside, it’s that Avengers: Infinity War will now have that much fewer weekdays where the kids are mostly out of school, which can make a difference even as the industry embraces year-round tentpoles. That’s partially why Jurassic World ended up bigger (and leggier) than The Avengers. And it’s why, if we can count late December holidays in the same category as summer weekdays, why The Last Jedi is still running ahead of Black Panther. Blockbuster season may now be year-round, but having the kids out of school is still a boost.

It’s a gutsy move, even if Avengers: Infinity War could probably snag a $200 million+ opening weekend in the post-Thanksgiving slot if Disney went that route. And it again shines a light on the sheer amount of big offerings that Walt Disney tends to pack together, to the point where Disney is becoming its own biggest competition. And if the line between summer blockbusters and offseason tentpoles becomes blurrier and blurrier, you can expect more weird release dates like this one, as getting breathing room before or after the other biggies becomes a top priority.

So, yeah, in 2018, the year of the year-round blockbuster schedule, summer begins in late April. There’s something… appropriate about that. The Russo Bros.’ Avengers: Infinity War, starring  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Zoe Saldana, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Tessa Thompson, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle and a host of others, now opens April 27, 2018, around the world. As always, we’ll see.

4 Reasons Marvel And Disney Moved ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ To April

Jeremy Smith wanted to talk about Jesus, so he picked up a shovel and headed out to build a tunnel.

A virtual shovel, that is. As both a Christian and a fan of the video game Minecraft, Smith has one foot in two different communities coming into contact more frequently in the fuzzy halls of cyberspace.

And, as a senior writer at the online ministry ChurchMag, Smith uses each of these communities to serve the other. He “vlogs” — creates online videos of himself playing Minecraft — while simultaneously explaining Christian ideology in a series titled “Minecraft Theology.”

“I wanted to look at some of the more basic stuff, some of the core competencies of Christianity,” he said in one of these videos as his Minecraft icon sped across a screen full of the chunky landscape Minecraft allows users to create and navigate via a computer mouse.

“Part of the prayer process is admitting that you’ve sinned. If you are of the mindset that you are perfect, then you should probably just go ahead and turn this episode off because I got nothing for you,” he continued. “We have confession when we say ‘yes’ to Jesus and become saved.”

In the realm of video games, the 149 views Smith’s video has logged may be far from viral, but Minecraft is becoming what some video game makers hoped Christian-themed games like Catechumen and Adam’s Venture that failed to sell well would become — a tool for exploring and advancing religion among gamers.

“Because Minecraft is so open any player can design a world,” said Vincent Gonzalez, a scholar who did his doctoral dissertation on Christian video games. “And whenever things are open, religious people tend to use it to express themselves.”

Ithaca College professor Rachel Wagner sees the use of video games like Minecraft as part of what she calls the “gamification” not only of religion, but of the world. She says religions and video games have several things in common — rules, rituals and a bend toward order and structure.

“Even if they are ‘open’ in the sense of allowing players to construct entire worlds for themselves, as Minecraft does, games always offer spaces in which things make sense, where players have purpose and control,” she said. “For players who may feel that the real world is spinning out of control, games can offer a comforting sense of predictability. They can replace God for some in their ability to promise an ordered world. ”

Minecraft is what techie types call a “sandbox” game: It has few rules, so players can dig in anywhere and build what they like. They build with virtual bricks — think digitized Legos — to create bulky buildings, plants, people, anything, in mostly primary colors.

There are Minecraft versions where players try to survive or go on adventures of their own devising. And there are versions where people — sometimes children, sometimes adults like Smith — construct homes, buildings, bridges, churches and other houses of worship.

Some Minecraft users even “build” their own religious icons. Using blocky “skins” — Minecraft lingo for a character — they create Jesuses, popes, priests, rabbis, angels and more to populate Minecraft worlds everywhere.

But while Minecraft can be used by players of every religion, it seems to be most popular among Christians. Gonzalez, who catalogs religious video games at religiousgames.org, estimates there are about 1,500 religion-themed video games, of which two-thirds are Christian.

Take a peek at Planet Minecraft, a fan site where users can share their creations. It lists 716 “Jesuses” and about 1,000 Catholic priests, but only 58 Jewish rabbis. There is even a Minecraft Richard Dawkins for virtual atheists.

Certainly, not all Minecraft players use religious skins or the churches and other houses of worship they build for some spiritual purpose or for proselytizing. But how they use them is hard to pin down.

“No one’s pastor is telling them the best way to minister to people is to pretend to be Jesus in a Minecraft world,” Gonzalez said. “So the question of why people want to dress up as Jesus and go around in Minecraft is hard to say.”

Still, Minecraft and other computer and video games have become so closely aligned with religion in some circles that the American Academy of Religion created a scholars’ group dedicated to its study four years ago.

“For most people, their virtual lives are an extension of their real lives,” said Gregory Grieve, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who has studied the two decades religious people have engaged in video games. “Among Christians it was a place for proselytizing and a place for meeting people they would not otherwise meet. People who are religious just see these games as an extension of their religious practice.”

Some build houses of worship — YouTube is rife with virtual tours of churches, cathedrals, synagogues and mosques, both real and imaginary. Some build Noah’s Ark or Solomon’s Temple or their own versions of Jerusalem and other “Bible lands.”

The Australian digital design firm Islam Imagined encourages young users to build the “mosque of the future,” and Jewish educators are enlisting Minecraft to visualize Jewish history and culture for students.

Others users create faith-based Minecraft “servers” — private virtual enclaves where members agree to certain rules (no swearing is a common one) and play the game in a form of religious fellowship.

These groups recently became a meme — or joke spread rapidly among internet users — in which users sardonically responded to foul language by uttering different versions of: “Sorry sir, this is a Christian server. No swearing allowed!”

But Eric Dye, editor of ChurchMag, says its Christian-oriented Minecraft server is merely a reflection of how its users see, or want to see, the real world.

“We can build things in it, like themed cities, and there is actually a church,” he said. “It is not like we have church services or anything but it seemed something fun to have. It seemed fitting. That is why you see religion manifested in Minecraft — it is just an extension of people’s interests in what they create.”

If you build it, they will pray? Constructing religious worlds with Minecraft

By Shabana Arif Minecraft’s Xbox characters are finally coming to the Switch and Wii U versions of the game. The popular skin pack will bring a plethora of Xbox exclusive character skins to the Nintendo platforms.

The latest update on Minecraft’s official site details that the character skins include Master Chief, Banjo, Cole Train, ‘Splosion Man, heroes from the Fable series, and more, all ready for their first trip to Nintendo consoles.

The update will also see the addition of the Moana Character Pack, featuring Moana, demigod Maui, and even the perennially dumb chicken.

Various islanders and sea creatures will also be included in the pack, which you can download on the Marketplace.

Now you can enjoy the novelty factor of seeing Xbox characters like Master Chief swanning about on your Switch. This follows the Better Together update which allows for cross-platform platform play between PC and consoles – with the exception of the PS4.

You can find the new Switch and Wii U Skin Packs on the Marketplace.

New Minecraft Skin Pack Adds Master Chief, Banjo to Switch and Wii U Versions

Along with Moana, for some reason

Minecraft still has not received the “Better Together” update on Nintendo platforms, but we’re getting a step closer to that reality. Launched just today, people with a Switch or Wii U can dress up their characters as Master Chief from Halo, some of the characters from Gears of War, rock some Banjo-Kazooie skins and even cosplay as characters from the Disney film Moana. Yeah, I don’t get that last one.

I reported a few months back how Master Chief would finally be gracing a Nintendo platform, but I’m still in awe that this has actually happened. If only other companies were as happy to let people experience what they want, where they want it, but we’ll just have to make due with a blocky, chunky Chief on Switch for now.

Moana and Xbox Characters Come to Minecraft! [Minecraft.net]

Minecraft on Switch and Wii U gets some Microsoft skin packs

Much like the horror genre, action cinema demands a slightly different critical analysis than other categories of film. An airtight plot and compelling thematic undertones aren’t nearly as important as good editing and innovative fight choreography. Hammy acting will get a pass (and maybe even be encouraged) if the actor has impressive martial arts technique. And breaking new narrative ground isn’t nearly as important as doing something simple well, even if that something simple has been done a dozen times before. There’s a whole slew of worthwhile action films on Netflix that remain underappreciated to this day. If you’ve got a subscription and prefer roundhouse kicks to Oscar-worthy performances, you’ll have a blast with these.

13 Assassins (2010)

If you’re a fan of Audition or Ichi the Killer, here’s another classic from Takashi Miike. This one’s less brutal than those films but was favorably compared to The Seven Samurai, which is about the highest praise it could get. Taking place near the sunset of feudal Japan, our group of samurai gather together to defeat a sinister lord before he takes the throne. With 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this might become a new action favorite.

The Finest Hours (2016)

Chris Pine stars in this tale of a daring 1952 Coast Guard rescue. Based on a true story, the film received some pretty positive reviews but kind of fell off the radar. Maybe because The Finest Hours is pretty generic for a title. It might as well be called A Heroic Movie. But this real-life tale is full of thrilling moments and moving drama. There’s even a little bit of a love story, but don’t worry–it doesn’t bog things down. So before The Finest Hours slips from your memory again, give this fine historical drama a try.

Alive (1993)

You have to see Alive, which is based on the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team struggling to survive in the Andes after a plane crash. After only 25 people live through the initial accident, the team members go to desperate measures to stay alive. If you didn’t already guess, yes, this is the movie where the survivors end up eating each other. But it’s not some bloody horror film. Watching these people struggle with the idea of eating their dead team members and grasping at hope through the very worst conditions is fascinating and harrowing. Though the movie sounds kind of gross and possibly depressing, it’s actually an uplifting tale of survival and the unbelievable strength of mankind.

Super (2010)

If two installments of Guardians of the Galaxy wasn’t enough to satisfy your love of James Gunn films, luckily Netflix has a classic waiting for you. Know that before you watch Super, Gunn’s first superhero film, that it is very dark. Very dark. It’s rated R for a reason; not a good one to watch with the kids. That said, it’s an incredibly interesting comedy about a man (Rainn Wilson) who decides to dress up as a superhero to save his ex-wife. This may not have the budget of Guardians, but you can see Gunn’s flare for action and humor shine through.

Trollhunter (2011)

A crew goes out to find real trolls in the frozen tundra of Norway in Trollhunter. After our heroes find out that the existence of trolls has been covered up by the Norwegian government, they make it their duty to capture the elusive monster on film. This is no Troll 2. These trolls look amazing, are actually scary, and don’t have to turn humans into plants to eat them. Shot like a mockumentary, the film is often hilarious, though not without its tense moments. Moira MacDonald, film critic at the Seattle Times wrote, “Those fog-draped fjords provide a distractingly pretty backdrop to this tale of mysterious, massive creatures who roam the forest by night, searching for Christians on whom to munch.” You’re not going to find a better movie about massive monsters eating religious folk, so stream it on Netflix now.

Zombeavers (2015)

Don’t worry, Zombeavers is a movie that knows it’s a movie about zombie beavers. Thankfully, it’s a fun horror parody that makes the idea of undead beavers as funny as it could possibly be. Critic Tim Brayton called it “the funniest horror-comedy since, at the very least, The Cabin in the Woods.” If you want a campy, diverting comedy that’s full of laughs and gross-out gags, Zombeavers is exactly what you’re looking for.

Welcome to the Punch (2013)

Mark Strong and James McAvoy star as a criminal and cop who team up to uncover a conspiracy. This movie is straight-up action. Since the stars are amazing actors, they lend a bit of seriousness and depth of character to the story, but we’re watching this for awesome chase scenes and gun fights aplenty. Welcome to the Punch is pretty violent, but you’d probably expect that from a film that invites you to a beating in the title.

Skin Trade (2015)

Tony Jaa. Dolph Lundgren. Ron Perlman. Michael Jai White. Throw in Peter Weller for good measure. Do we have your attention, action fans? If we don’t, you should check your pulse. That’s a dream action movie cast if we’ve ever seen one, and Skin Trade delivers on its promise in spades.

Lundgren plays a cop hellbent on catching Ron Perlman’s mobster character, so relentless in his pursuit that when Perlman escapes to Thailand, Lundgren follows him (with partner Michael Jai White in tow). Once there, they have to catch the well-connected mob boss while simultaneously avoiding Jaa’s detective character, who’s trying to catch the two cops as they’re operating outside of the law. The plot is pretty flimsy, but the thrill of seeing these action cinema legends all in one place doesn’t wear off. Lundgren manages to keep up with the much younger and more agile Jaa in some wild action scenes, and Jai White is, as always, a magnetic onscreen talent. Come for the talent lineup. Stay for the insanity of Dolph Lundgren fist-fighting Tony Jaa

Kill Zone 2 (2015)

For fans of modern martial arts cinema, a film in which Tony Jaa (Ong Bak) and Wu Jing is a match made in heaven, and Kill Zone 2 lives up to the promise of the pairing in a big way. Bearing no real connection to the prior entry in the Kill Zone series (Wu Jing, who appeared in the first, plays an entirely new character in this one), it starts fresh with a breakneck story about black market organ dealers, a father desperate to cure his daughter’s leukemia at whatever cost, and a cop who finds himself stuck in a private prison on the authority of said organ mob. While the whole film brims with unreal stunt work, the final battle is one for the ages and easily stands among the best work by all involved. If you’re coming for the action sequences, you won’t be let down, but you’ll likely find yourself surprised by how well the story is handled. It’s relatively simple, but there’s a lot of heart behind its spin kicks and Muay Thai strikes.

Savage Dog (2017)

Scott Adkins is pretty much the (ahem) undisputed king of direct-to-DVD action movies these days, and Savage Dog is an impressive and unique entry in his filmography. We rarely get to see Adkins in what is, effectively, a period piece, and the film stands out as unique and worth checking out for that alone. But beyond the unusual setting and aesthetic, Savage Dog is still something special.

Featuring narration by the great Keith David (who also has a role in the film), Savage Dog opens with the unbelievably cool image of Adkins’ character digging his way out of a shallow grave. He’s been left for dead, but the bad guys clearly should have stuck around a little bit longer to make sure it stuck. The film then takes on a nonlinear form, catching us up to the moment of his burial and then sending him on a brutal path of revenge featuring some gut-churning violence and stunning fight sequences. Adkins’ oeuvre is littered with cool action hits, but Savage Dog is a clear-cut high point.

Death Sentence (2007)

Modern horror master James Wan, of Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring fame, took a brief hiatus from the genre in 2007 in Death Sentence, a Kevin Bacon vehicle that follows a tried-and-true narrative of a man out for revenge. When his son is murdered in a gang initiation ritual, Bacon’s Nick Hume decides to take the law into his own hands, waging a one-man war on crime in his city and protecting his family from the death sentence that gang puts on them.

It’s nothing action fans won’t have seen before—Death Wish is the clear prototype—but you haven’t seen it directed by a wiz like James Wan or with an actor so effortlessly good in everything as Kevin Bacon. Bacon channels Nick’s relentless drive, grief, and rage in stunning, understated fashion. Throw in John Goodman as the film’s seething villain and you’ve got yourself a good time. It may be well-trodden ground, but it’s worth visiting, no matter how familiar it may feel.

Bullet to the Head (2013)

Walter Hill, director of cult classic The Warriors, dropped this little gem in 2013. It’s pure grindhouse fun, which is exactly what a Walter Hill action flick starring Sylvester Stallone should be. Having already directed the first entry in the Undisputed franchise, Hill is right at home making movies about tough guys solving their problems with their fists and firearms.

The film features Stallone teaming up with Sung Kang, of Fast and Furious franchise fame, as a hitman (Stallone) and a cop (Kang) forced to team up and bring down some bad, bad dudes. And bring down bad dudes they certainly do. Bullets fly, bodies drop, and cars are blown to bits over the course of this romp. It’s a great time, solidified by Jason Momoa’s role as the film’s villain, which he plays with devilish glee. And then there’s the big climactic fight between Stallone and Momoa, which is one for the books. All we’re saying is one of them has an axe. You don’t want to miss it.

Boyka: Undisputed (2016)

Scott Adkins holds together the later installments of the Undisputed series as Yuri Boyka, a prison inmate who participates in a brutal underground prison fighting ring. His role in the second film in the series was as the antagonist, though the next installment saw the focus shift to him as a new unlikely good guy. Boyka: Undisputed takes Yuri out of prison and into the real world and examines how a man like him, one who stakes his claim on this earth through violence, functions in the real world.

Undisputed sees Boyka fighting professionally under legitimate terms when he accidentally kills one of his opponents in the ring. He soon finds that said opponent’s wife is in trouble and takes on a series of fights to keep her out of it. It’s not unfamiliar ground for action cinema, but it sees Boyka grappling with some real internal struggle and evolving into a more complex icon of modern action movies than he has any right to be. Adkins is, of course, a physical specimen and his fight sequences are brutal, choreographed with just enough flair to keep things flashy and grounded enough to feel authentic. Four movies in, Undisputed is as fun as it’s ever been. Bring on the next one.

Small Soldiers (1998)

Children of the ’90s are likely to remember the toys that spawned from director and horror legend Joe Dante’s Small Soldiers, though the film has become something of a forgotten gem. Rewatching it now is a blast. It’s incredibly strange for a big-budget film from the ’90s, and kind of worth seeing for that alone, effectively playing out like Toy Story for high school students.

The film tells the story of a war between armies of toys with military technology that has given them sentience. One is a crew of G.I. Joe-esque soldiers and another an alien race, the Gorgonites, with an environmentalist message. The film is definitely made for a younger audience, but an action movie is an action movie, and this one is a lot of fun. Small Soldiers is weird, campy, and features some wild action sequences in which action figures go to literal war with one another. It’s a bizarre trip and absolutely worth revisiting. That this one hasn’t already become a cult classic is astounding.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

In a just world, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow would have been a box office smash and ushered in a new era of elegant, stylistic action cinema. Despite the fact that we do not live in the world in which that happened, we still have the film itself, and what a film it is. It was one of the first releases to pioneer the digitally-composed soundstage filming method later utilized by Sin City, giving it an astonishing, ethereal visual sheen.

Drawing heavily from pulp cinema and comic books, Sky Captain is a wild comic book-style romp through a steampunk reimagining of a pre-World War II world. The titular Sky Captain is a charismatic ace pilot who leads the daredevil Flying Legion. Played by Jude Law, he’s joined by reporter Polly Perkins (Gwenyth Paltrow) and a brief appearance by Angelina Jolie as an eyepatch-sporting Royal Navy officer, Franky Cook. It’s a killer cast heading up a fun, visually inventive action film that deserves a far larger fan following than it has today.

Officer Downe (2016)

Want to watch the craziest movie on Netflix? Officer Downe has got you covered. Adapted from the comic by writer Joe Casey and artist Chris Burnham, Officer Downe is that rare instance where you read a comic and can’t at all imagine a film or television adaptation. There shouldn’t be a way to translate its insanity from page to screen. And yet, under the direction of Slipknot’s M. Shawn Crahan, the film manages to pull it off. And if a movie is directed by a guy from the band that plays heavy metal in nightmarish monster masks, you know you’re in for quite the ride.

Starring Kim Coates of Sons of Anarchy fame, it’s a hyperkinetic neon thrill ride that plays out like Dredd on mescaline. It’s tough to describe this movie without sounding like a Stefon sketch from Saturday Night Live, but this movie has everything: drug dealing nuns with shotguns, an unkillable super cop, mutilation, and a hidden government conspiracy. It’s the kind of movie you’ll immediately text your friends about when the credits roll, imploring them to come over the next weekend with some beers and check it out. Run to Officer Downe’s sweet embrace as soon as possible.

Fighting (2009)

It’s kind of hard to remember these days that Channing Tatum wasn’t always a megastar who guaranteed a film’s success. Fighting is one of the movies that came out during the No Man’s Land of his career, that awkward patch between Step Up and Magic Mike when the actor was still finding his place in Hollywood and figuring out what kind of roles suited him best. And before he teamed up with director Steven Soderbergh and we realized he’s a pretty killer character actor, Tatum appeared in this little-seen gem.

Tatum plays the tough-as-nails Shawn, a hustler who discovers he’s a prodigy as a street fighter. The film follows a prototypical pro fighting narrative, with his character finding an opportunity to make something of himself through fighting, but quickly ending up in over his head with the wrong people. Said fight scenes are brutal, no-holds-barred affairs that channel the intensity of street fighting to the screen very well. Honestly, Fighting is by no means an egregious Oscar snub or anything. But it’s a very interesting note in a talented actor’s career. Plus it’s got Terence Howard sleazing it up as a fight promoter, and that alone is worth your time.

Hidden gems on Netflix all action fans need to see

Halo‘s Master Chief is (finally?) heading to a Nintendo system. No, the Switch is not getting a port of a Halo game. Instead, the Xbox’s beloved mascot is coming to everyone’s favorite handheld/console hybrid by way of Minecraft. The “Halo mashup pack” will soon be available on Switch and every other edition of Minecraft (minus the PlayStation version, of course).

Master Chief isn’t the only Xbox character making his way to Switch. Expect to see pixelated versions of characters from Fable, Gears of War, and Banjo Kazooie. The inclusion of Banjo characters is interesting given how the franchise originally started on the Nintendo 64. The Switch is Nintendo’s main console these days, but if you own Minecraft on Wii U, you’ll also have access to these characters when you download the new skin pack. Master Chief is simply too big for one single Nintendo console to hold.

As EuroGamer points out, the Halo mashup pack has been available on Xbox for a number of years now. Microsoft’s systems (in this case the Xbox 360 and Xbox One) used to have the Minecraft: Xbox Edition, but this version was discontinued sometime ago. It was replaced by the current edition of Minecraft, which is available across many platforms. Interestingly enough, the now-defunct Minecraft: Xbox Edition recently got a new skin pack based on the Disney film, Moana. Because… why not?

Master Chief’s Nintendo sojourn can be seen as the only way to play a “new” Halo game. Microsoft hasn’t said anything regarding when a new entry in their most well-known series will release. Given the lukewarm reception to Halo 5, it’s possible 343 Industries (the current developers of Halo) are taking extra time to ensure the next game is everything fans of the franchise want. Perhaps we’ll get some type of Halo announcement during this year’s E3. For now, Halo fans will simply have to make do with this low-res version of Master Chief to tide them over.

Master Chief Lands on Nintendo Switch via Minecraft

Late last year we posted about a somewhat surprising bundle that popped up on the Apple Store which featured a SteelSeries Nimbus MFi Controller and Minecraft: Apple TV Edition. Well, if that piqued your interest but you’re more into playing on mobile than you are Apple TV, you’ll be happy to learn that Gamevice now has a very similar bundle featuring their expandable controller and Minecraft for $89.95.

If you’re new to the Gamevice, we reviewed it when it was the hip new thing all the way back in 2015. (We also reviewed an even earlier unit for the iPad mini.) Basically, it’s an expandable controller that clips your iOS device in the middle, ending up with an arrangement that’s sort of like the Switch. (Amusingly enough, they’re also suing Nintendo.)

If you’re curious what other games (besides Minecraft) you can play with MFi controllers, the Gamevice Live [Free] app does a great job at aggregating all of them. Chances are you already own more than a few games that could benefit from Gamevice or any other MFi controller.

Gamevice Just Launched a $89.95 ‘Minecraft’ Bundle

Minecraft Snapshot 18W07A Adds Turtles, Other Underwater Content

Minecraft: Education Edition has received a new resource pack designed to let students learn chemistry within the game itself. Resources also include new lessons and activities, a teacher lab book, a downloadable world and community support.

The Chemistry Resource Pack includes a range of features for teachers and students to explore science within the game, including an Element Constructor, which allows users “to create elements based on their atomic structure with sliders to choose the number of protons, neutrons and electrons. By using the Element Constructor, you can create 118 elements from the Periodic Table as well as over 400 stable isotopes,” according to the developer.

Other tools include:

• Compound Creator, which lets users build 30 different compounds (like soap and hydrogen peroxide);
• Lab Table for making items “by combining elements and compounds in a grid. For example, adding water and sodium hypochlorite makes bleach, which a player can use to turn wool white”; and
• Material Reducer, which lets students explore the components of items within Minecraft.

Lessons and activities range from tips for the classroom, such as watching out for hazards in the lab and using Minecraft, to full-blown instructional resources covering topics like properties of matter, chemical reactions, atomic structure and the scientific method. (As of this writing, there were 10 individual lessons and activities available.)

The Teacher Lab Book is a resource to help educators teach with the Chemistry Resource Pack.

The Chemistry Resource Pack also includes a complete, downloadable world for using the chemistry resources. It can be downloaded at aka.ms/chemistryworld.

According to Minecraft: “Science education is driven by hands-on learning, but only half of fourth graders in the U.S. do hands-on science once a week. In low income schools, the numbers are even lower, as students have less access to labs and equipment. Chemistry in Minecraft allows teachers to introduce chemistry concepts without the costs of lab equipment in the engaging Minecraft world that will inspire more girls and boys to explore the subject.”

The Chemistry Update for Minecraft: Education Edition is available now globally. Complete details can be found on the Minecraft Chemistry portal.

Minecraft Chemistry Update Goes Live

Minecraft Snapshots 18w08a, 18w08b Deliver More Aquatic Content

Minecraft Bedrock Edition also known as cross platform Minecraft appears to be undergoing the finishing touches for Nintendo Switch version and Microsoft has decided to show almost two hours of footage.

Microsoft have also announced the Minecraft Bedrock Edition for Switch will be free to all players who own it on the console before release. The Switch edition is nearly done and is in late stages of development where polishing is the main focus.

Justin Woods, the Bedrock producer, noted that the Xbox version may have come out too soon and was not as finished as he hoped so they are taking things slow with the Switch version.

MojangThis Mario may have had one too many blocky mushroom.

This time around they are focusing on making the launch smoother, as well as making the transition from easier from Switch Edition. This appears to be true and not just empty talk, as the Bedrock Edition seemed to run at steady 60 FPS on stream, and Microsoft said it can display 14 chunks of game world compared to only 6 in the current Switch Edition.

Several Bedrock features are shown to be operational during the stream, like the store. Hurry, get the microtransactions working or the world might explode any second! Microsoft have also confirmed you will need a Microsoft account in order to play with people on other platforms, but the same limitation does not apply when you want to play with other Switch users.

MicrosoftGameplay looks smooth and steady.

There is also a part of the stream that shows touchscreen support for Switch’s handheld mode where you can navigate menus, type with the on-screen keyboard or manage your inventory.

Throughout the stream, a lot of emphasis was put on the release being handled ”by the book” in order to provide a smooth launch instead of a rushed product like it was on Xbox. An official release date has not been mentioned but Microsoft have confirmed that the game will be coming to Switch ”soon”.

Minecraft Bedrock Edition revealed for Nintendo Switch

Bethesda silently updated DOOM today for the Nintendo Switch, adding in a bunch of new improvements and gameplay updates.

One of these unexpected features was the addition of motion controls, giving Switch owners a unique way to kill hordes of demons on the go.

The controls work in a similar way to Nintendo’s Splatoon 2 games. When players move the console, Doom guy aim tracks the movement. The left analog stick still controls movement but physically moving the Switch is the only way to aim with the crosshairs.

Motion controls had been a widely requested feature since the game launched on Nintendo Switch a few months ago, so it’s good to see Bethesda actively listening to the community and making constant changes to the game post-launch.

Alongside the new motion controls, Bethesda has also added a multiplayer party system to the game to make it easier for people to group with their friends on online deathmatches.

The update also added a bunch of improvements to the overall experience, fixing a ton of bugs that once crashed the game and improving the overall performance of DOOM in both docked and handheld modes.

New DOOM update on Switch adds motion controls, multiplayer parties, and more

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