By Michael Rougeau on Dec 09, 2018 08:30 am
There's an inherent goofiness to Transformers that's impossible to avoid. We're talking about big robots from space that transform into Volkswagons and Camaros and fighter jets. Bumblebee doesn't shy away from that--it fully embraces the fun silliness. But that's not even the best part about this movie--that would be how it actually feels mostly like a 1980s Spielberg adventure movie, with notes of John Hughes sweetening the mix. Those influences aren't subtle--the E.T. vibe is real, especially when Hailee Steinfeld's character, Charlie Watson, first encounters Autobot B127 as a scared alien creature hiding in the corner of her garage. And there are multiple extremely literal Breakfast Club gags, including a throughline of Bumblebee mimicking Judd Nelson by throwing one fist triumphantly into the air, which the movie deploys in the most perfect ways. Bumblebee also has tons of fun with the music of the era--the Transformer starts the movie with a voice, on the distant planet Cybertron, before losing his vocal capabilities in combat. Charlie teaches him to use the radio to communicate, at the same time imparting her love of alternative '80s jams. Bumblebee doesn't care for Morrissey's crooning at first, but dang it if she won't instill in the robot an appreciation for The Smiths by the end. Bumblebee begins on Cybertron, where a big, somewhat messy action scene establishes that the Decepticons have rooted out the Autobot rebellion. You really don't need to know anything about Transformers to appreciate this--I'm sure there are some finer points for fans, but the important bit is that Optimus Prime sends Bumblebee to Earth to keep it safe and wait for the Autobots to regroup. On arrival, Bumblebee lands square on top of John Cena's Agent Burns, some kind of high-ranking, square-jawed military type who makes it his mission to neutralize the robot-Volkswagon threat. Also, this is apparently a full reboot of the Transformers movies--Bumblebee here arrives on Earth in the '80s, whereas I'm told Transformers: The Last Knight had him fighting Nazis during WWII (I haven't seen a Transformers movie since the original, so who knows?). There's actually quite a lot of opening action before getting to Steinfeld's Charlie, whose relationship with Bumblebee is the movie's actual heart, and what it wisely spends most of its time on. The CGI in the Transformers movies has always seemed impressive, and Bumblebee and the Decepticons who come chasing him seem real enough, their battles punctuated by impactful thuds and scrapes. But this movie's real trick is making Bumblebee--a large, yellow robot from space--unbelievably cute. After losing his voice and most of his memories, B127 is reduced essentially to the status of a very smart dog. He practically wags his tail at Charlie, although he can apparently understand everything she says. The movie mines a ton of comedy out of recurring bits like Bumblebee understanding the command "hide!" too literally, and trying to crouch behind cover instead of transforming back into a car like she wants him to. Charlie herself will be intensely relatable to many viewers, whether you're a parent who grew up in the '80s or a kid now. She learned how to work on cars from her dad, who's no longer around. She rebels in relatively harmless ways like walking around listening to The Smiths and wearing too much eyeliner--typical teenager stuff that her mom (Pamela Adlon) and stepdad (Stephen Schneider) patiently tolerate. She has a crappy job at Hot Dog on a Stick and a neighbor kid (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) with a crush on her, but all she really wants is to get the car she and her dad were working on up and running. As a character, she doesn't rely too much on tropes, and she's extremely easy to root for. Cena's Agent Burns isn't quite the villain, which is good, because Cena is too lovable to hate. The WWE Superstar seems to have a blast in this movie hamming it up, throwing exaggerated salutes and barking orders at his subordinates. Cena's proved more than once that his comedic timing is gold (hello, Blockers), and Bumblebee occasionally puts it to good use, including in one exchange where he correctly points out that they probably shouldn't trust the Decepticons because--duh--they literally call themselves "Decepticons." Speaking of which, the Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick have their own moments of dark humor, which often comes in the form of the latter begging the former to please just let him kill the humans already, or saying things like "I like how they pop!" after vaporizing a random bystander immediately after arriving on Earth. There's also a very funny bit where Shatter and Dropkick kind of accidentally invent the internet? It's great. Bumblebee hits a perfect tone with a great mix of action, humor, and heart. The soundtrack strikes all the right chords, the action is mostly clear and easy to follow even when two massive robots are rapidly grappling and transforming into various forms, and the characters are instantly relatable, without screenwriter Christina Hodson relying too much on cliches. The homages to Spielberg, Hughes, and other '80s filmmakers may not be subtle, but they are a lot of fun, and Bumblebee pays tribute in smart ways that don't feel out of place or forced. Bumblebee was only Travis Knight's second turn in the director's chair, his first being the also excellent Kubo and the Two Strings; clearly he's a director to watch going forward, and if Bumblebee is the new bar for Transformers movies, then the series is in for a bright future as well. | The Good | The Bad |
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| Good mix of action, humor, and heart | Some of the action gets messy | | Fun homages to classic '80s directors like Spielberg and Hughes | Rebooting the movies' continuity might annoy some fans? | | Bumblebee is actually cute | | | Avoids many tropes and cliches | | | Hailee Steinfeld is a great, relatable lead | |
By Richard Wakeling on Dec 09, 2018 06:00 am
Season 7 of Fortnite is in full swing, and with it comes another 10 weeks' worth of new challenges, weapons, items, skins, emotes, map changes, balance tweaks, and everything else in-between that Epic uses to keep Fortnite feeling fresh week after week. Right off the bat, the most significant of these changes appears to be the new snow-coated section of the map, which adds some festive and suitably chilly elements for this winter season. But the brand-new Creative mode, and the way it intertwines with the The Block to showcase community creations on the shared game map, might be Season 7's most exciting new addition, and should take some of the pressure off Epic to pump out new content every single week. Fortnite is in a good place right now with the way its gameplay has been finely tuned, and this is born from a season of experimentation. In fairness, this has been true of most seasons, since Epic isn't content to sit on its laurels even when Fortnite continues to be the most popular game in the world. Yet Season 6 was more experimental than usual. For starters, glider redeploy was added to the default game modes for a week or so to test its effect on the game before Epic, with the help of the community's feedback, opted to remove it. While I enjoyed being able to flank people and bypass their fortresses by simply gliding over them, it did negatively impact the dynamic of most firefights. Fall damage was essentially removed, encouraging people to build as high as they could with no tangible repercussions, while healing or reviving squadmates became nigh on impossible due to the ease with which hostile players could traverse vast distances. Then there was the maligned addition of mounted turrets, a brief and confusing buff to explosive damage, a welcome buff to shotgun damage, numerous changes to the map as Kevin The Cube embarked upon his final journey, and the Fortnitemares Halloween event that shook up default game modes by introducing the calculated mayhem of AI zombies. Fortnite's strengths are built around this ever-changing environment that keeps the battle royale foundations feeling fresh. Being part of the zeitgeist is too enticing to ignore when there's new content released every single week, whether it's a new weapon, vehicle, or some ridiculous one-time-only event. But there were moments during Season 6 where playing Fortnite was more than a little frustrating. It's admirable that Epic is eager to experiment and innovate when it already has a winning formula on its hands, but it often felt like changes were being introduced for change's sake. Obviously, this all worked out in the end, growing pains and all, because the last few weeks of Season 6 were fantastic, and that has continued into Season 7. But there's an argument to be made for slightly fewer new additions in favour of maintaining and improving upon the core gameplay's current excellence. This week we've already seen a fascinating way Epic can maintain the game's growth without impacting its mechanics. The Block--which acts as a dedicated space for showcasing standout community creations--is a smart idea that blends the new Creative mode with Fortnite's constantly evolving map. Creative mode provides Battle Pass owners your own personal island to do with as you please--creating your own maps, game modes, and anything else you can imagine that isn't just recreating de_dust. The prospect of having the best of the these creations appear as a brand-new area to play in every week is incredibly exciting--even if it comes at the cost of Risky Reels--and I can only imagine that feeling increases tenfold for those whipping up their own creations. I don't want to sound like a crotchety old Scrooge who's averse to seeing new weapons or items added to the game, but the rate with which it happens could be dialed down a notch. We all know how volatile adding a completely new element to an online game can be, even with all of the QA testing in the world, so I would like to see new content given the opportunity to breath for a smidgen longer, just to see how it impacts the game before something else comes along and complicates things further. The Block would allow this to happen while still introducing a new element every week--or however often Epic plans on rotating them in and out--to preserve that invigorating sense of evolution and make each new leap from the Battle Bus feel as refreshing as ever. Just, whatever you do, Epic, don't touch the shotguns again, please.
By Alessandro Fillari on Dec 09, 2018 01:55 am
With the sudden closure of Telltale Games this past September, there were many doubts about the conclusion of the Final Season of the developer's seminal adventure game series The Walking Dead. During the Kinda Funny Games Showcase, however, it was revealed that next episode of The Final Season will arrive on January 15, 2019, with many of the core developers returning to finish out the conclusion to Telltale Games' seminal adventure game series. In the trailer for Episode 3: Broken Toys, we saw Clementine looking after another survivor during the zombie apocalypse, with a voiceover from the first season's protagonist Lee reflecting on her growth. Over the course of the four seasons, Clementine has grown from a vulnerable character that needed guidance, to one of the series' most hardened survivors. The trailer closed out with the twitter hashtag, #StillNotBitten, referencing a line said by Clementine during trailer. In the weeks after the closure of Telltale Games last September, Robert Kirkman--the creator of The Walking Dead-- and his studio Skybound Entertainment announced at New York Comic Con 2018 that they were able to work out a deal to ensure that former developers could return to the same office to continue work on the closing season. "We've successfully negotiated with Telltale Games for our company Skybound to come in and see Season 4 of the Telltale game to completion," said Kirkman during NYCC 2018. "We can't lose Andrew Lincoln and Clementine in the same year." Skybound Entertainment has brought on 40 of the original developers to ensure that the same creatives are involved in the finish of the season, which had already been written prior to the closure. In our review of Episode 2: Suffer the Children, Justin Clark gave the game an 8/10, praising the game's story and events, while also lamenting on the game's cliffhanger--which came close to never being resolved. "We leave The Walking Dead on a Telltale firmly willing to make mechanical and tonal risks, nearly all of which pay off well in this episode, hinting towards a bright future we may never get to see. If this is the last time we see her, the fact that she, and this series, have become what they've become is maybe the closest thing to a Happily Ever After as can be expected from The Walking Dead."
By Mat Elfring on Dec 09, 2018 01:26 am
During 2018's San Diego Comic-Con, everyone was abuzz with James Gunn's next secret, non-Marvel project. However, details about it and a potential trailer were never revealed, after his Twitter scandal caused him to cancel his appearance at the yearly event. However, the first trailer was released today, and the story is essentially the same as Superman's, but with a horrific twist. The movie is titled Brightburn, and it's written by Brian and Mark Gunn, produced by James Gunn, and directed by David Yarovesky, who worked with Gunn on the video short Guardians of the Galaxy: Inferno. In the trailer--which you can see above--a wife (Elizabeth Banks) and husband (David Denman) were unsuccessful at having a child, but one night, a meteor hits near their farm, and they find a baby. This sounds familiar, right? That's because it's the story of the iconic DC superhero, Superman. However, from there, it takes a horrific twist. As this child--Brandon Breyer--grows older, into his teen years, something awakens in him, and it's more than just superpowers. He puts on a mask, has a cape, and starts tormenting and stalking people, using his powers--in a sense--for evil. It's an age-old tale we know that takes things in a really interesting direction. The first trailer is an unsettling mixture of the superhero tale with a supernatural slasher horror film. This unique take on the superhero genre has my attention, which is especially tough with movies like Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame being the talk of the town as of late. While comic book fans have seen Superman as the villain before, like in Red Son, I can't think of a story that's tapped into the potential horror of the character. Brightburn comes out on Monday, May 27, 2019. Seeing as it's a Monday release, we are unsure at this time if it will be a theatrical or streaming release. However, those in the UK and Ireland get to see it a few days earlier, when it opens at cinemas on May 24, 2019.
By Tamoor Hussain on Dec 09, 2018 12:38 am
Project Judge, the next game from Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, has been given a new name for its Western release. Outside of Japan, the game will be called "Judgement" and it will be available in Summer of 2019. The new information was revealed during the Kinda Funny Games Showcase, where a trailer was also shown. Unlike previous trailers, this one featured English voices--which is a big change for the developer, given that the Yakuza series was subtitled, instead of dubbed. The trailer ended with confirmation that Greg Chun will voice main character Takayuki Yagami. Chun is a prolific voice actor for video games, having lent his talents to Overwatch, Neir: Automata, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, among other titles. Judgement made its debut during the PlayStation Lineup Tour event held earlier this year. It's a narrative driven experience in which players assume the role of an investigator getting to the bottom of murders and other crimes. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's chief creative officer Toshihiro Nagoshi previously described Judgement as "something completely different" from what it has done so far. He also said that it has been in development for around three years. Alongside the numerous Yakuza titles released over the last couple of years, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also launched Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, a game based on the beloved manga and anime property Hokuto No Ken. In his review, Matt Espineli awarded Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise an 8/10, saying it has a "melodramatic narrative that skillfully blends new and old storylines" and a "fantastic combat system captures the feeling of Kenshiro's fighting style." "Lost Paradise may replicate the Yakuza series' format, but it's filled with a passion for FotNS that makes it fantastic all on its own," he added. "While previous games based on the property have adapted its story and characters with some success, few have managed to not only nail the style and tone but redefine what's possible with its world and characters. RGG Studios has done a splendid job at evoking the justice-fueled power fantasy Kenshiro represents, succeeding in revealing more about the historic and beloved character in amusing and unexpected ways."
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