You know the drill by now: A brand new Marvel movie has hit theaters which means we've got a brand new clutch of Eggs and references to sort through. Ant-Man and the Wasp may not have been the most serious entry into the MCU's timeline, especially in the wake of Thanos and the snap heard round the universe. But from obscure D-list comic book villains to decade-old MCU deep cuts, it still managed to pack in some winks and nods for the dedicated fan.
We've broken down a list of them here--how many were you able to catch?
We join Scott this time around while he's under house arrest--a consequence he's suffering from his involvement in Captain America: Civil War. Scott teamed up with Cap to fight against the signing of the Sokovia Accords, which landed him right into the heart of a black site prison called The Raft. Rather than deal with life on the run, Scott elected to take a plea deal and go back to his family, which included a two year house arrest clause.
2. X-Con Security
Scott may be confined under house arrest post-Civil War, but he's been hard at work with a brand new day job. He and the crew--Luis, Dave, and Kurt--have started up a brand new security consulting business called, appropriately, X-Con Security. This is actually a reference to some recent Ant-Man comics where Scott does just that in Miami, Florida.
The comics version of X-Con is called Ant-Man Security Solutions, and it's populated not by other ex-cons, but with a small group of D-list costumed villains (Grizzly and Machinesmith making up the core of the group). But the basic principles are still the same.
3. The Orb
During Scott's heist playtime with Cassie, he has her pull out a "special contact" to disable one of their imaginary security systems. The contact, in this case, is just a paper plate painted like a giant eye that takes up Cassie's entire face for a moment. Of course, this is about 80% sight gag but that remaining 20% is a pretty clever nod to one of Marvel's weirdest (and most persistent) villains, a man called The Orb. Orb's most notable feature is his head, which, as you might guess, is a giant, spherical eyeball.
4. Animal House
Blink and you might miss Animal House playing on TV. But it's there, and it couldn't be more appropriate--it's Donald Sutherland talking about entire universes existing in one tiny atom, which, you know, is literally what the Quantum Realm is.
5. Sleight of hand
During his house arrest, Scott takes up close-up magic from an online course as a way to pass the time. He even gets pretty good at it! On top of just being yet another goofy layer to Scott's boredom, dealing with magic has been kind of a thing for the Ant-Man legacy. One of Hank Pym's oldest costumed enemies was a man called the Magician, who faced off against him back in the early 60s during his Giant-Man days.
6. Baba Yaga
This one isn't so much a comics reference as a wink to actual folklore. When discussing Ghost for the first time, Kurt wistfully explains that she sounds just like "Baba Yaga," a witch who could magically show up and eat children. He's not totally wrong, nor is he just making this up--the Baba Yaga is a myth-slash-cautionary tale told in Slavic countries about a terrifying old woman (or sometimes a trio of old women) who served, depending on the story, as a benevolent helper or a malicious villain. In that way, the reference fits very well.
7. "I was talking about me…"
Scott's daughter Cassie makes a very earnest pitch to him about needing a partner, but she's not talking about Hope's Wasp--she's talking about herself. It's a pretty heart warming and adorably child-like moment, all things considered, but the truth of the matter is, she's actually not wrong. Cassie in the comics becomes a superhero named Stature, able to use Pym Particles to manipulate her size just like her father. She goes on to join teams like the Young Avengers--obviously not when she's like, 10 years old, but hey! Who knows? Maybe a few years from now when Cassie's in her teens, she'll get to totally live out her dreams on the big screen.
8. Masters of Disguise
During their trip to visit Bill Foster on his campus while, hopefully, avoiding the eyes of the FBI, Hope, Scott and Hank go "under cover." Under cover in this case means they put sunglasses and baseball hats on. During their daring stealth mission, Scott comments that he can't believe anyone would be fooled by this because, really, they just look like themselves at a baseball game.
He's not wrong--but he's also not just talking about their little ragtag team in that moment. The MCU has become pretty infamous for putting heroes in the same style of "disguise"--hats and glasses and not much else, to the point that it's become something of an inside joke for fans. Really, who isn't going to realize Captain America's standing right next to them just because he's got a pair of glasses and a hat on? Nobody, that's who.
9. Centurion
The FBI has it out for Hank Pym in more ways than one. They're hunting down Pym Tech for Scott's flagrant violation of the Sokovia Accords, sure--but there's some personal gain thrown into the mix. Agent Geoffrey Ballard is Sonny Burch's man on the inside for this particular mission, and steals Pym's lab from FBI custody during their their raid on its new woodland location. This lines up with Ballard's comics incarnation, Centurion, a Z-list villian and thief who is known for taking odd jobs that pay well.
10. The Goliath Project
Bill Foster talks briefly about he and Hank's work together back in the good ol' days on a project called "Goliath," which it turns out is more than just a catchy name. Bill's comic book counterpart has a superhero alter-ego all his own, the (surprise!) size manipulating Goliath, who had basically the same story on screen and off. Apparently, no matter what universe he's in, Bill's destined to be Hank's ex-assistant. Maybe eventually we'll get to see Laurence Fishburne suit up, but until then, a formerly Pym particle empowered Bill is the best we've got.
11. Jimmy Woo
The closest thing Scott has to a personal nemesis through the entirety of Ant-Man & The Wasp is Officer Jimmy Woo, the FBI agent in charge of overseeing Scott's house arrest and parole. We don't get too much in the way of a backstory for Jimmy on camera, but he's not a newly created character for the movies. In the comics, Jimmy has a decades long history as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and hero in his own right, most famously as a member of the Agents of Atlas.
What we're saying is, don't count out Jimmy Woo just because Scott completed his house arrest sentence. There's still plenty of potential for Agent Woo to return in the future, maybe with a whole team behind him.
12. Wassup???
Luis, bless his heart, makes a pretty dated joke to a truly vintage meme: the Budweiser "wassup??" commercial from the '90s. In the days before the internet truly took hold, this was pretty much the peak of comedy for several months after it first aired. Unfortunately for Luis, Scott and Hope don't seem to be as nostalgic about pop culture as he is.
13. Ava's Family
In describing the accident that knocked her body out of phase with the universe, Ava explains that her father was a man named Elihas Starr, a scientist who used to work with Hank Pym before he went rogue. Like Project Goliath, that name isn't just a random grab. Over in the comics, Elihas Starr is a scientist super villain known, appropriately, as Egghead, who dates all the way back to the early 60s.
Unfortunately, it seems MCU Egghead will never truly be considering Starr's untimely death during the explosion that transformed his daughter into Ghost. But hey, who's to say there aren't more flashbacks in Ava's future that could flesh out her father's history a bit more?
14. Spot Stan
Of course Stan Lee has a cameo--this is an MCU movie, after all. This time around we catch Stan unlocking his car as the size-shifting chase barrels down the street. He makes a crack about how the '60s were fun but now he's paying for it--a two part joke about being a former hippie and also about founding Marvel. Ant-Man himself was introduced in 1962.
15. "It's Them!"
As the ants come marching in to save Hope, Scott, and Hank, Bill Foster has a moment straight out of the pulps of the '50s, announcing, "It's them!" It's a shout-out to the 1954 horror/scifi classic Them, which is, unsurprisingly, about giant ants. The reference comes full circle when Scott, Cassie, and Hope watch the movie for real while miniaturized at their very own "drive in."
16. Sonny Burch
Fan favorite Walton Goggins plays Sonny Burch, a sleazy businessman with his eyes set on Pym Tech--something he claims to be trying to purchase for a mysterious buyer, the likes of which is never seen or named on screen. In the comic, Sonny is basically the same, an on again, off again villainous CEO of a company called Cross Technologies that is traditionally a thorn in Tony Stark's side. His comic book connections actually run pretty deep, but most notably, he's had repeat dealings with Obadiah Stane, who you might remember as Iron Monger back from the very first Iron Man movie.
Wouldn't that be a crazy callback to make on screen somewhere down the line? Stranger things have happened, and it's not like Sonny was taken off the table here--so maybe keep an eye out.
17. Giant-Man
While Scott's antics are being broadcast on TV, a newscaster refers to him as "Giant-Man," likely because he's, well, a giant man. But significantly this tiny moment represents the first time the name Giant-Man has actually been used in canon in the MCU.
18. Tardigrades. They're real.
During his trip into the Quantum Realm, Hank Pym comes across a few massive, alien-like creatures at the subatomic level. They're called Tardigrades, or "water bears," and they're actually pretty important to the scientific community. They're known for their ability to withstand extreme environments and live in excess of a hundred years.
19. Tim Heidecker, Whale Boat Captain
Continuing the Ant-Man franchise's tradition of including offbeat comedian cameos, Tim Heidecker of Tom Goes To the Mayor and Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job appears briefly in the film as a whale watch boat tour captain--a slightly larger role than Neil Hamburger's "Dale" in the first Ant-Man movie.
20. Evolutionary
Jan describes the effects of her time in the Quantum Realm as a sort of evolution, rather than adaptation. Over in the comics, Jan is actually a mutant, which gives that line a whole new flavor. While mutants aren't exactly canon in the mainline MCU, this does present a backdoor into introducing them in earnest sometime down the line. Maybe quantum energy will have something to do with the emergence of the next step in human evolution.
21. The Snap
Of course we couldn't go an entire movie without acknowledging the finale of Infinity War. The post credits this time around include Hank, Hope, and Jan all mysteriously "vanishing" (crumbling into dust), leaving Scott stranded in the Quantum Realm--the work of the Infinity Gauntlet and Thanos.
While Ant-Man and the Wasp follows the events of Captain America: Civil War, many fans expected it to at least address the end of Avengers: Infinity War. That film seemingly changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever, so ignoring it completely would have been awkward. Warning: The following contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Still, nobody was quite sure how it would work in half of existence turning to dust when Thanos snapped his fingers. In the end, the moment happens during the post-credits scene, though it's unclear how long after the movie's climax this takes place. Originally, however, the handling of Infinity War was going to happen quite differently.
Speaking to GameSpot, Ant-Man and the Wasp director Peyton Reed says while he always knew he and the writers were going to have to integrate Infinity War into their story, it wasn't always in the post-credits scene. "We talked about it, you know, how we were going to introduce the ramifications of Infinity War in our movie, and along the way, we had a bunch of different ideas," he says. "Some were more bleak, and some were things happening in the background of this movie."
It's hard to imagine a scene more bleak than finding clouds of ash where Hank (Michael Douglas), Hope (Evangeline Lilly), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) once stood. Having to watch them actually realize what's happening, like fans did with Spider-Man in Infinity War, would have been too much.
However, it's interesting to think about how it could have fit elsewhere in the film. While a second post-credits scene shows a peek at the world in the aftermath of the actions of Thanos--with the Emergency Alert System taking over TV, while a giant ant plays drums--seeing that unfold in the middle of the movie instead of at the end might have been too much.
Ultimately, given the kind of movie Ant-Man and the Wasp is, chances are they made the right choice with how it played out on-screen. "We finally landed on this idea, you know, the version that you saw, and structurally, we all got really excited about it, to have the tone of Ant-Man or Ant-Man and the Wasp, and still be able to sort of acknowledge Infinity War in a way," Reed explains.
Now Avengers 4 just has to fix it all so fans can see more of Hank, Janet, and Hope in another movie. In the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp is in theaters now.
Star Trek Online, ORIGIN PC, and Eaglemoss are giving away a free Special Edition PC Gaming Desktop and other prizes. (Scroll down below to enter.)
To celebrate the launch of the game's DS9-themed PC update, Victory is Life, you have a chance to win an exclusive ORIGIN Millennium Gaming Desktop, featuring artwork from Star Trek Online. The grand prize package also includes a poster signed by original cast members from Deep Space Nine and a Gamma Vanguard pack for the PC version of the game.
Ten lucky winners will also receive a coveted Gamma Vanguard Pack and a model of Deep Space Nine from Eaglemoss. An additional 100 runners-up will receive a Gamma Vanguard Starter Pack, which unlocks items to help them battle the Hur'q.
Enter the contest below for your chance to win. Good luck!
Star Trek Online is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game where players can pioneer their own destiny as Captain of a Federation starship or champion the Empire through the far reaches of the galaxy as a Klingon Warrior. Following major expansions, players are also able to rebuild the Romulan legacy as the commander of a Romulan Republic Warbird, or carry out daring missions on behalf of the Dominion as a Jem'Hadar soldier. In Star Trek Online, players have the opportunity to visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek universe, reach out to unexplored star systems and make contact with new alien species. Star Trek Online is currently available on PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One.
To download and play Star Trek Online today for free, visit www.playstartrekonline.com.
Star Trek Online is licensed by CBS Consumer Products.
We're sure you're familiar with the Fortnite: Battle Royale phenomenon at this point. We've been keeping you up to date on the weekly challenges, the latest updates and changes, and offered some perspective on things we'd like to see added to the game. And although we still enjoy battling it out against 99 other players on the game's current map, it's easy to imagine how a new map could keep us coming back for more Victory Royales in the long run.
There is currently one map in Fortnite: Battle Royale, but to Epic Games' credit, it has evolved over time. With new seasons comes new content and actual changes to the lone map's layout and features. When Season 4 hit, so did a comet that destroyed Dusty Depot to create a new area called Dusty Divot, which fed into the superhero theme the game was going for. Now with Season 5 on the horizon (starting July 12), we started to think about how Fortnite's world is going to evolve further given the recent appearance of mysterious tears in the sky. Could they lead to a new map, and if so, what might that look like?
In creating a new map, Epic could take the approach of releasing something that isn't meant to be much more than a simple alternative to the existing island, offering a different look and feel but not much else. Alternatively, it could release something that is much more specialized, with its own custom set of rules, almost like a new playlist that happens to have a map that is catered specifically to it.
One such possibility: a winter map where snow has a real impact on gameplay. A snow-covered map would make distant enemies easier to see, making long-range weapons more valuable. But snow could periodically fall during the match, reducing visibility and thus emphasizing close-range combat for a period of time.
Movement speed could be impacted by the amount of snow you're walking through, but what's even more intriguing is the prospect of needing to keep yourself warm. Similar to Company of Heroes 2, which requires you to garrison units or get them near a fire periodically, Battle Royale's gameplay could really be shaken up if you also had to account for your body's temperature. If you're cold, do you risk suffering damage to grab that desirable weapon in the distance, or do you find a place to warm up first?
So many new wrinkles would make for a technical challenge, but a new map that impacts gameplay in so many ways would be a great way to show how meaningful new locales are going to be in Fortnite.
Flat Terrain Map With Max Resources
Admittedly, this sounds a lot like an experimental limited-time mode, but a map that's essentially a flat, wide-open field could be a ton of fun. Here, players would have to put their building skills to the ultimate test. Matches would probably boil down to a build-your-own map type of game, where things would play out in even more unpredictable fashion than they already do. We imagine players would have to do more than just protect themselves; with the storm closing in and not much in the way of natural defenses, creativity would be pushed and building structures with mobility in mind would change the way Fortnite is traditionally played.
To make this work, you'd probably have to start players with maximum (or unlimited) resources so everyone can get to building as soon as they land. Weapon scavenging might be tricky to implement in this type of map, but maybe weapons stashes can act as hot dropzones for players to start building out from. This type of map can highlight one of Fortnite's strengths and the feature that has helped distinguish itself from other battle royale games in the first place.
A Volcano Map
What really sets Fortnite apart from other battle royale games are building mechanics, and while they are used in fast combat situations, it could be really cool to require them during the running phase of a match to overcome obstacles. A giant volcano map with peaks, chasms, and lava tubes would add another layer of thinking and movement. A volcano map could also vary the distances at which players fight in the final circle. Maybe there'd be close-range final circles in caves, long-range final circles over a giant magma chamber, hilltop-to-hilltop fights similar to those that take place now, and possibly small island battles in the water around the base of the map.
Epic has been really good so far at planned events, such as the recent rocket launch, but why not take this one step further with random events? Matches could have a lava tube that opens and floods the map, or one match the lava chamber is empty and cavernous. With dimensional rifts opening up, the possibilities for random events are endless. The volcano map could even take place during different eras-- dinosaurs, anyone?
A Land Filled With Stuff From Other Worlds
Fortnite's island has variety, as you've got everything from swamps to suburban towns to junkyards to (more recently) a giant crater with some kind of scientific base built inside of it. But it all generally makes sense and seems like it fits in the same general area.
With Season 4's rifts causing objects to disappear, it would be fun to see that serve a purpose. What if these rifts are not just on the Battle Royale island, but all over the world--or even different dimensions? Rather than having these things blink out of existence, maybe these rifts are instead transporting them elsewhere. That elsewhere could be the setting for a new map.
It might be a bit extreme as the concept for what would only be Battle Royale's second map, but it would be great to eventually see a location full of weird juxtapositions. A jumbo jet inside of a gym? Sure. Alien plants that attack you lined outside of a toy store? Why not! Fortnite already embraces silliness, and this would allow Epic to truly go all-out with a map that's unlike anything else in the battle royale space. It would also feature a perfect, built-in excuse to continue updating the map with new elements as more things are teleported in and out.
Fighting In A Post-Apocalypse
Epic has the flexibility to take Fortnite in almost any direction it wants to, thematically. And given the premise of the original Save The World mode--defending yourselves from the undead and mutated monsters--going with a post-apocalyptic theme for a new map is well within the realm of possibility. This would be more than just a cosmetic overhaul, too. It'd be interesting to see how radiation zones could factor into matches; clever ways to build around dangerous areas on top of avoiding enemies and the deadly storm might spice things up a bit. Maybe irradiated zones can be randomized just like the storm to ramp up the tension even more. Geiger counters going off when you least expect it while thinking you're building into a safe zone could make for a real curveball.
A post-apocalyptic map may serve as the impetus to bring in new weapons as well. A nuke launcher could be wildly devastating, but highly sought out by players. We'd be hesitant to ask for hostile hordes as a factor when it comes to a battle royale match, but it's an aspect that could be cleverly implemented in this specific type of map.
By Anonymous on Jul 07, 2018 07:00 am Ant-Man and the Wasp is a hilarious sequel that surpasses the original movie. Chastity and Greg give you their spoiler-filled reviews of the new Marvel movie and list the best moments and their predictions for Ant-Man's future in the MCU.
If you're feeling down about the Avengers not coming to Comic-Con, maybe the tiny version of one of their most menacing villains will lift your spirits. Hasbro recently announced that Red Skull will be added to itsMCU 10th anniversary collection and debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2018.
Red Skull, AKA Johann Schmidt, is played by Hugo Weaving in Captain America: The First Avenger. He is the head of HYDRA, an offshoot of the Nazi regime (though they were disillusioned with Hitler and Third Reich) that has plans to take over the world with the help of the power harnessed from the Tesseract. Red Skull got his name because he made one of his scientists use the experimental Super Soldier Serum on him before it was ready and the result was increased strength but also a deformed, red face. He also made a surprise appearance in Infinity War, despite being presumed dead after Captain America:The First Avenger.
Carving all the details of Red Skull's face into a plastic figurine cannot have been easy, but they did a pretty great job. The toy includes the six-inch Red Skull figure, complete with his long villainous coat, along with the three-inch Tesseract. The Tesseract is a battery-powered blue cube that lights up in different colors. The packaging is pretty cool too; the design is retro looking and was inspired by Captain America:The First Avenger.
The figure retails for $60 and will make its exclusive debut at San Diego Comic-Con at the Hasbro booth #3329.
The Purge franchise is making massive bank. Not including the new film that came out on July 4, the films have made over $300 million against a budget of under $40 million.
The First Purge looks to continue this trend. And if you're among the many who enjoy the franchise--as the box office returns clearly indicate--check out these similar films. Many are exploitative and crass. Most take a satirical approach to human violence. Others explore fear and personal choice. And all of them feature deranged, giddy psychopaths.
This grimy, low-budget Australian horror flick features three backpackers in the outback and the cackling, psychotic bushman who pursues them. Like The Purge, this movie is covered with a layer of figurative filth. Wolf Creek is a visceral, cruel experience, and you'll want to take a shower after finishing it.
9. You're Next (2011)
Home invasion movies like The Purge are reliably scary, but You're Next, which was shot on a shoestring budget in four weeks, manages to be uproariously funny as well. The home invasion is secondary to the toxic, awkward dynamics between the family members getting stalked. Think The Family Stone, but with a lot less schmaltz and a lot more blood.
8. Hush (2016)
Hush is a fantastic "What if...?" home invasion movie: "What if the hero of the film was deaf?" This is a horror film that rarely cheats; there are very few jump scares and a whole lot of mounting dread. Some of the scariest moments are before Maddie realizes there's an intruder; you see him stalking in the background, unbeknownst to her, making all sorts of noises you wish she could hear.
7. The Strangers (2008)
This is a mean-spirited, nihilistic piece of work. After a failed marriage proposal, a couple retreats to a secluded vacation home, where they are stalked and hunted by three masked invaders. Why are they doing this? What do they have to gain? There isn't a clear, good reason beyond sheer sadism. Alfred Hitchcock famously said, "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible. The Strangers exemplifies that approach.
6. Hide and Seek (2013)
This is not the corny Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning suspense thriller about multiple personalities. This is an unrelated, creepy Korean film about squatters, who live in other people's homes when their owners aren't there. Hide and Seek has a final, clever twist that will catch you off guard if you're not paying attention. And after you see it, you'll want to watch the entire film, again, to appreciate it with new perspective.
5. Circle (2015)
This film could just as well be a stage play as a film. Circle takes place in one room; fifty people are trapped inside, standing in a circle, and one of them drops to the floor, dead, every two minutes. It's a fun psychological trip that gets tenser as the body count piles up.
4. We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)
This is a thriller with a lot of of awkward pauses and silences; a sense of dread hangs over everything like a black cloud. It's about a mother who realizes that her only son is a burgeoning psychopath. It explores the depth of a mother's love and the dangers of denying the truth.
3. Battle Royale (2000)
This Japanese dystopian film, based on the novel of the same name, is gleefully exploitative. As a way of keeping the youth under its thumb, the Japanese government annually traps a group of students on an island. The students are forced to fight to the death until only one survivor remains. It's The Hunger Games before there was The Hunger Games.
2. Land of the Dead (2005)
George Romero's "Dead" films are all worth watching. But the fourth one, Land of the Dead, deals with the same themes as the Purge franchise. The zombie apocalypse is a framing device for a critique on social class and economic disparity. Even in this new, dangerous world, the poor suffer so that the wealthy will not.
1. Snowpiercer (2013)
Pound-for-pound, Snowpiercer is one of the finest films of the past decade. Directed by Bong Joon-Ho (The Host, Okja) and written by Bong and Kelly Masterson, Snowpiercer takes place on a planet Earth that is freezing; it's the result of a climate change experiment gone horribly wrong.
The last human beings are trapped on a speeding Snowpiercer train, which is divided between the poor (the back of the train) and the wealthy (the front of the train). When the back of the train stages a coup and takes over Snowpiercer, car by car, the result is both thrilling and satisfying.
Let us know what you think of all these films in the comments.
Ant-Man and The Wasp is now in theaters, and while it is a Marvel superhero film, the movie is filled with moments of people and things growing to immense sizes and shrinking to the size of bugs. However, it's not the only movie featuring this sci-fi trope, which feels very at home during the 1950's science fiction craze. And while this theme isn't new at all, it is predominantly featured in quite a few films over the past 60 years.
From Disney's Alice shrinking in order to get into inside a door to Wayne Szalinski ruining his life by using his shrinking/growing machine, there are actually some solid movies about this concept--as well as a few mediocre ones. So we decided to take a quick look at some other movies featuring people growing and shrinking in size for you to check out before or after you see Ant-Man and The Wasp.
In our review of Ant-Man and the Wasp, GameSpot's Mike Rougeau said, "Ant-Man and the Wasp is hilarious, fun, silly, self aware, and creative. Filled with pseudo-science gobbledigook, crazy action, and multiple villains all vying for screen time, it's one of the most comic-booky MCU movies yet. The fates of all our favorite heroes after Avengers: Infinity War may still be up in the air, but in the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a welcome distraction."
In this classic Disney film, Alice follows a white rabbit into the forest, which leads her down a rabbit hole. From there, she shrinks in size after drinking a magic potion, then grows after eating a biscuit. While the focus of the movie isn't about growing and shrinking, it's one of the most iconic moments of the movie.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
After exposure to radiation and insecticides, while enjoying a day in the sun, Scott Carey begins to shrink. He goes from a normal-sized man, to a few inches shorter, to being small enough to live in a dollhouse. Carey finds animals like a house cat and spiders become life-threatening when you're only six inches tall.
Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman (1958)
Rich socialite Nancy Archer isn't having the best life because her husband has been having an affair but continues to come crawling back when he needs money. One evening, Archer has an encounter with a UFO which transformers her to 50 feet tall. She then decides to take vengeance on her horrid husband.
Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Both the United States and the Soviet Union have created technology that can shrink people and objects; however, it only lasts for an hour. Dr. Jan Benes finds a way to make the shrinking last indefinitely, but finds himself in a coma after an assassination attempt. A group of doctors board a submarine, become miniaturized, and go inside Dr. Benes in order to save his life by removing a brain clot.
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids (1987)
Wayne Szalinski, the crazy scientist next door, creates a machine that can shrink things. However, his son, daughter, and two of his neighbor's kids end up and the wrong place at the wrong time and end up shrinking so small that ants are the size a horse and blades of grass are now the size of a tree. The kids go on a mission in their own backyard to try and get big again.
Innerspace (1987)
A pilot named Tuck is involved in a miniaturization experiment. He gets shrunk inside a vehicle and placed inside a syringe, but a group of bad dudes steal the technology, and Tuck gets injected inside Jack Putter, a store clerk. Tuck finds a way to communicate with Jack, while inside of him, and the two try to find a way to get the shrinking technology back and restore Tuck to regular size.
Big (1988)
A teenage boy named Josh wants nothing more than to be older, and one night, he makes a wish on a Zoltar machine to be big. He wakes up the next morning a full-grown adult. His best friend Billy helps Josh acclimate to the adult world while the two search for the Zoltar machine to reverse the wish.
Honey, I Blew Up The Kid (1992)
This time around, Wayne Szalinski makes a machine that can make things big, and just like the first movie, his technology goes awry when he accidentally uses it on his toddler, who begins growing at an incredible rate, up to 100 feet tall. Szalinski, once again, has to figure out a way to fix his kid.
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)
At this point, Wayne Szalinski should be in prison for child endangerment and probably a bunch of other crimes. This time around, Wayne shrinks himself, his wife, his brother, and his brother's wife. Now, Wayne needs to get his children's attention in order to fix wet another problem he created.
Ant-Man (2015)
Scott Lang is trying to get his life back on track after being released from prison. However, he finds himself in rough spot when he steals a suit that allows him to shrink in size, and the suit's creator wants him to pull off a major heist to keep the shrinking technology out of the wrong hands.
Downsizing (2017)
Paul, an occupational therapist, decides to change his life forever by taking part in a procedure that shrinks humans to a few inches tall. However, his wife doesn't come with him, and Paul learns to live his life on his own, in a world that's so much larger than it used to be.
Rampage (2018)
Very loosely based on the arcade game of the same name, Rampage follows Davis Okoye, a primatologist who finds the albino gorilla--George--he takes care of is growing in size because of a genetic experiment gone wrong. Okoye teams with George to take on two other giant, mutated animals who are destroying Chicago.
If you've fallen in love with the Yakuza series via Yakuza 0 or Kiwami, or have been with the franchise for years, you'll most certainly want to get your hands on the Yakuza Kiwami 2 demo that is now available on PlayStation Network. This is the remake of the PS2 game Yakuza 2 that released in the West back in 2008; it's been reimagined using the Dragon Engine which powered Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Kiwami 2 has been out in Japan since last December, but the localized version is set to hit shelves worldwide on August 28 for PS4.
The demo itself, which you can download here, starts you out on Chapter Two of the story as Kiryu explores Sotenbori (a fictionalized version of Dotenbori in Osaka) on a search for the Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda. Kiryu still remains loyal to the Tojo Clan despite getting out of the business, and he seeks to protect them from the rival Omi Alliance that had a shake-up in leadership at the hand of Goda. The story runs deeper as Kiryu starts to unravel the shady operations of his enemies with the help of the detective Kaoru Sayama. Gripping drama with moments of comical absurdity are core to the franchise and Yakuza 2 delivers.
Kiryu has a heart of gold, but you wouldn't want to wrong him or his friends.
In the full game, you can play through a brand new campaign centered around fan-favorite character Goro Majima. While he plays a pivotal role in the original story of Yakuza 2, we'll get a closer look on into his life between the first two games in what's called The Truth of Goro Majima. Sure, he rocks that sweet hardhat while running his own construction company, but you'll find out more about how he got there.
Idris Elba is reportedly in final talks to play the villain in Hobbs and Shaw, the upcoming Fast and Furious spin-off movie. As the name implies, the film would star Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in their Fast and Furious character roles, Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw. The two began as rivals but began to team up in Fate of the Furious.
Variety reports that Elba will play the antagonist who forces the duo to work together. The script was penned by series architect Chris Morgan, and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch is set to direct. It's slated to release on July 26, 2019.
Elba first gained widespread prominence for his turn on The Wire. While he's known for playing more heroic characters like those in Thor: Ragnorok, The Dark Tower, and Pacific Rim, Elba has had some villainous turns too. He recently played the villain in Star Trek Beyond and voiced Shere Khan in the live-action The Jungle Book. He's also been rumored to be under consideration to play the iconic character James Bond.
Universal has been looking for a way to put Dwayne Johnson in a starring role spin-off, given the popularity of his character. Fate of the Furious set up a natural vehicle for this to finally happen, given the buddy-cop chemistry with Statham. GameSpot's Fate of the Furious review noted that the charisma of the characters, and Johnson in particular, carried the silly spectacle.
Microsoft has begun rolling out its July Xbox One update, which includes a few key features that the company has promised lately. The headliners are FastStart, which was announced at Xbox's E3 media showcase, and Groups, which was tested for Alpha users last month.
FastStart uses machine learning to identify which files are needed first and prioritize those downloads so you can jump into a game faster while the rest of the file finishes. Microsoft boasts this means you can start up a game twice as fast. For the time being, this is limited to a select number of titles. But while it was presented in the context of Xbox Game Pass, today's update appears to make the feature available for everyone.
Groups are a new feature for sorting the games and apps on your system, which essentially let you create multiple customized groups like your Pins. You can group together whatever you'd like, assign custom names, reorganize your groups, and assign them to Home. Pins are a Group by default, and you can create others.
The update also includes the option to press Y anywhere in the dashboard to bring up the search, and some improvements to Mixer. The update lets you use mouse and keyboard support on PC, multi-touch support for touch-enabled devices, a viewer leaderboard to show the most active users on a stream, and full-screen broadcasting. Those come alongside some under-the-hood improvements to broadcasting quality and stability.
There's a recurring source of tension in Ant-Man and the Wasp thanks to Scott Lang's sentence of two years under house arrest for his actions in Captain America: Civil War. No matter how many zany adventures Paul Rudd's character has in this sequel, he has to periodically race back to his San Francisco apartment and re-don his ankle bracelet whenever hapless FBI agent Jimmy Woo (the funny Randall Park) decides to check in on him. It's a fun bit, and it harks back to an earlier age in the MCU, when a Marvel hero's biggest concern could be staying out of trouble with the law.
We've yet to see what a post-Infinity War world looks like in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Regardless of how it eventually gets undone, what effect will Thanos's finger snap have in the short term? How will the tone shift in Avengers 4? Those questions are irrelevant in Ant-Man and the Wasp, which quickly places itself before the events of Infinity War. That may be a knock against it for those hoping for some answers, but this movie's tone is much lighter as a result, perfectly in line with the original Ant-Man's.
The first Ant-Man introduced Scott Lang (Rudd) along with Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). Ant-Man and the Wasp directly picks up their story following Scott's involvement in Civil War: Scott's two years of house arrest are almost up, but Hope drags him back into a life of illegal heroism in a plot to save her mother, Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet van Dyne, from the "quantum realm" in which she's been stranded for 30 years.
How can Janet be alive down there after all this time? How could Hank and Hope possibly find her? This movie is brimming with pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo about things like "entanglement" and "quantum tunnels." It gets a little exhausting, but the movie is self aware about its own ridiculousness; at one point, Scott asks Hank and his colleague Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) whether they just stick the word "quantum" in front of everything to make it sound more scientific. Good question, Scott!
Ant-Man and the Wasp introduces a couple of new villains in the forms of Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, who stalks the heroes in hopes of stealing their secret lab, and Walton Goggins' Sonny Burch, a black market merchant who decides he wants the quantum tech for himself. Goggins is his typical hilariously sleazy self, while John-Kamen's more overtly dramatic performance fits her character.
But most important is the Wasp herself, Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne, who completely owns this movie. Hope proves--unsurprisingly--to be a much more capable Ant-Man than Ant-Man himself, with confidence and skill that are thrilling to watch. It makes the entire plot of the first movie--that Hank had to enlist the deadbeat Scott in the first place instead of just trusting his daughter to do the job--seem even more ludicrous in retrospect. Hopefully Lilly decides to stick around the MCU for a while, as her presence would be much appreciated in future installments.
Like the first Ant-Man, this movie has great fight choreography that sees both heroes frequently changing from normal to small to massive and back again in creative ways. Some of the most fun sequences are car chases where one or more vehicles are constantly shrinking down to Hot Wheels size and back to normal, throwing off pursuers and causing general zany chaos.
There's an added dash of humor from the fact that Scott's suit for much of the movie is malfunctioning, leaving him unable to control when he changes size. That leads to an especially funny sequence where Scott is running around his daughter's middle school at about 3 feet tall, trying to remain undetected. Cassie herself is still played by the ridiculously charismatic Abby Ryder Fortson, who gives Paul Rudd tit-for-tat in every scene they're in together.
Michael Peña's Luis returns with a vengeance too, with his voice-overed montage gag from the first--in which he tells a story while the characters he's describing act it out--is funnier than ever. This time around he gets injected with a sort of truth serum, causing his rapid fire rambling to span topics ranging from Scott's psychiatric health to his family's love of Morrissey. He's more actively involved in the story, as well, which is pure wish fulfillment for viewers who loved his character in the first movie.
Like the original Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp is primarily a palette cleanser in the MCU as a whole (the first movie was sandwiched in between the dense Age of Ultron and the dour Civil War). Ant-Man and the Wasp is hilarious, fun, silly, self aware, and creative. Filled with pseudo-science gobbledigook, crazy action, and multiple villains all vying for screen time, it's one of the most comic-booky MCU movies yet. The fates of all our favorite heroes after Avengers: Infinity War may still be up in the air, but in the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a welcome distraction.
The Good
The Bad
Lighthearted and funny
Pseudo-science mumbo jumbo gets ridiculous
Evangeline Lilly phenomenal as the Wasp
No answers for Infinity War fans
Multiple fun new villains
Creative shrinking-and-growing action
Self aware about its sillier aspects
Much-needed palette cleanser following Infinity War
Season 4 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is winding to a close, but Season 5 is just around the corner. The phenomenally popular battle royale game kicks off its new season very soon, and developer Epic Games has been teasing that some big changes are in store for the title--although the studio has shared very few concrete details about those will be, leaving players to speculate what the future.
Still, while there are still many questions surrounding Season 5 of Fortnite: Battle Royale, there are a few things we can expect, such as a new Battle Pass and rewards to unlock--not to mention some potential map changes in the aftermath of the recent rocket launch. With Season 5 quickly approaching, we've rounded up everything we know about the new season below, from when it starts to why rifts have begun forming around the island and more. Be sure to check back for further updates as more details and leaks emerge in the run up to the new season.
When Does Season 5 Start?
In only a few days. Epic confirmed on Reddit that Season 5 of Fortnite: Battle Royale will kick off on Thursday, July 12--immediately after Season 4 concludes. The new season will be preceded by a round of server maintenance, with the game's 5.0 update scheduled to roll out on all platforms (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and iOS) at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM BST / 6 PM AET.
Will There Be a New Battle Pass?
Yes. As before, Epic will offer a Battle Pass for Season 5 of Fortnite: Battle Royale. While the developer has yet to reveal any details about the new Battle Pass, including how much it will cost, each previous Battle Pass could be purchased for 950 V-Bucks (Fortnite's in-game currency). V-Bucks, in turn, can be bought with either real money or earned by reaching certain reward tiers of the Battle Pass (or through playing Fortnite's paid Save the World mode).
The Battle Pass gives players access to additional content, such as new skins, emotes, and other rewards. These can be unlocked by completing weekly challenges and leveling the Battle Pass up. Epic hasn't revealed how many reward tiers will be available with the Season 5 Battle Pass, although Season 4's featured 100 tiers--30 more than the previous Battle Pass. If Epic's previous estimations still hold true, it should take between 75-100 hours of play time to unlock all of the Battle Pass's rewards. Players can also purchase tiers to level the Battle Pass up faster.
What's New With Season 5's Map?
Epic has been characteristically silent about what new elements it plans to introduce to Fortnite: Battle Royale in Season 5, although the developer has been laying the groundwork for some major changes for the game in the run up to the new season. The most notable sign that something big is afoot is the recent rocket launch; after various warning signals began popping up in the game, the mysterious rocket in the Evil Lair finally took off on June 30, causing a giant rift to appear in the sky over the island.
Since the launch, the nature of the rift has remained a mystery, and more have begun cropping up in various areas around the map. In the days that followed the event, additional rifts have appeared at Lonely Lodge, Retail Row, Tomato Town, and other locations. Moreover, the rifts seem to be growing in size and consuming nearby objects; the rift at Lonely Lodge, for instance, was barely visible when it first materialized, but it has since expanded and even swallowed up the sign outside the building.
Just what these strange rifts mean for the future of Fortnite remain to be seen, but as was the case in the lead up to Season 4, they presumably herald some sort of big, impending change for the landscape. Prior to the start of Season 4, a comet suddenly appeared in the sky over the island. The comet remained in the air for several weeks until it eventually crashed into Dusty Depot at the start of Season 4, transforming it into Dusty Divot and introducing some brand-new elements to the map, such as gravity-defying Hop Rocks.
What New Season 5 Skins And Cosmetics Have Leaked?
Each season of Fortnite: Battle Royale brings an assortment of new items to unlock, and we can expect Epic to continue that trend by introducing a slew of new skins, emotes, and other cosmetic rewards to earn through the aforementioned Season 5 Battle Pass. The developer has yet to formally reveal any of the new items coming next season, although we've gotten a glimpse at some new contrails on the way to the game. The Fortnite: Battle Royale Leaks Twitter account has discovered several new trails in the game's code, including ones called Stars & Stripes, Glitchin', and Ice. These will presumably be available through the Season 5 Battle Pass.
What's Going On With Playground Mode?
Like other limited-time modes in Fortnite, the sandbox-style Playground mode won't be available to play in Battle Royale for long. After finally arriving in the game recently following a series of delays, Epic has confirmed the mode is scheduled to leave the rotation on the same day that Season 5 begins: July 12. However, the developer says that it will use the feedback it gathered from players to further refine Playground mode and bring it back to the game in the future, although it hasn't revealed when that will be.
How Long Do I Have to Finish Season 4 Challenges?
Not much longer now. All of Season 4's weekly challenges will be available until the start of the new season on July 12, giving you only a few more days to level your Season 4 Battle Pass up and unlock any remaining rewards you've yet to earn.
Epic rolled out 10 weeks' worth of challenges throughout Season 4, the final set of which arrived on July 5. Each batch of challenges consists of seven different tasks for players to complete while playing Fortnite: Battle Royale, which can run the gamut from eliminating other players to opening a certain number of chests or following a series of cryptic clues to a specific location. Completing all of the challenges in a given week unlocks a corresponding Blockbuster challenge, while reaching certain level miletones unlocks a Carbide challenge and reward. You can see how to complete the latest set of tasks in our Week 10 challenges guide.
Despite the fact they're rolled out weekly, you have until the end of the season to complete any of the challenges. Doing so will level your Battle Pass and unlock rewards. There are a huge assortment to earn in Season 4, including sprays, loading screens, gliders, and the coveted Omega skin; you can see them all in our gallery of Season 4 Battle Pass rewards. If you need help clearing any remaining challenges, be sure to consult GameSpot's complete Season 4 challenges guide.
What About Save the World Mode?
Like Battle Royale, Fortnite's Save the World mode is also set to receive some significant new content following the game's 5.0 update. Shortly after the update rolls out, Epic will kick off the first act of the Canny Valley campaign, which will take players "through the arid parts of the Fortnite world, with many new and unique places to explore."
According to Epic, the Canny Valley campaign will resolve many lingering questions about Dr. Vinderman and other characters. The developer says it will also re-introduce the Challenge the Horde mode with the 5.0 update, and this time it will feature reworked combat, mini-bosses, and new rewards. Save the World remains in paid early access, although it will eventually be playable for free to everyone, as with Battle Royale.
Star Wars: Episode IX is set to start production this summer ahead of its December 2019 release. The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams is returning to the director's chair, along with most of the main cast from The Last Jedi. But as ever, there will be a host of new characters, and it has been reported the The Americans star Keri Russell has joined the cast.
According to Variety, Russell was one of several actors that Abrams considered for the currently-unknown role. Russell has worked with Abrams before, having appeared in the director's 2006 action hit Mission: Impossible III. As well as the lead role in FX's acclaimed show The Americans, Russell also appeared in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac are all expected to return for Episode IX. Ridley has already stated that this will be her final Star Wars movie. "I am really, really excited to do the third thing and round it out, because ultimately, what I was signing on to was three films," she said. "So in my head, it's three films. I think it will feel like the right time to round it out."
Abrams joined the movie in September last year, following the departure of original director Colin Trevorrow. Although little is known about Episode IX at this stage, Abrams has already stated that he won't play it safe with his second Star Wars film. "I feel like we need to approach this with the same excitement that we had when we were kids loving what these movies were," he said. "But at the same time, we have to take them places that they haven't gone, and that's sort of our responsibility."
Episode IX hits theaters on December 20, 2019 and is currently the only other Star Wars movie on Disney's release schedule. Despite rumors that the studio might have stopped development on some of its planned spin-offs following the financial disappointment of the recent Solo: A Star Wars Story, last month a Disney spokesman denied this was the case. In addition, there are two separate Star Wars movies series in the works, one from The Last Jedi's Rian Johnson, the other from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Are regular wrestling bouts not enough for you? Do you crave something more, like superstars jumping off of ladders, hitting each other with chairs, and powerbombs onto thumbtacks? Well, you're in luck--minus the thumbtacks--as WWE's most hardcore PPV of the year, Extreme Rules, comes to the WWE Network on Sunday, July 15.
This year's event will take place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and those going to the event or watching from the comfort of their homes will be in store for a night of hard hits and unconventional items being used as weapons. For those not attending the live event, Extreme Rules begins at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT with a Kickoff Show starting one hour prior. Normally, one match takes place during the Kickoff, but as of this writing, nothing has been announced.
For the first time in a while, there's actually a few fun tag team matches happening at a major WWE event. Daniel Bryan and Kane reunited recently on Smackdown, and now, they have a chance to win the Smackdown Tag Championships from The Bludgeon Brothers. Additionally, it's brother (Bray Wyatt) against brother (Bo Dallas) as the champions The Deleters of Worlds take on The B Team (The "B" stands for "Best") for the Raw Tag Championships. There are seven championships on the line that evening, and the only major title that won't be defended is the Universal Championship--because Brock Lesnar never defends it. At the time of this writing, there are nine matches on the card. More than likely, at least one more will be added.
Strangely enough, as of this writing, there is only one Extreme Rules match for the PPV, and that's for the Raw Women's Championship. Surely, at least two more of these matches will get the extreme treatment before the PPV hits the airwaves.
Extreme Rules Match Card:
Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
Finn Bálor vs. "Constable" Baron Corbin
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Seth Rollins (30-Minute Iron Man match for the Intercontinental Championship)
The Bludgeon Brothers (c) vs. Team Hell No (For the Smackdown Tag Championship)
Deleters of Worlds (c) vs. The B-Team (For the Raw Tag Championship)
Carmella (c) vs. Asuka (For the Smackdown Women's Championship)
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax (Extreme Rules match for the Raw Women's Championship)
Jeff Hardy (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (For the United States Championship)
AJ Styles (c) vs. Rusev (For the WWE Championship)
Make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, July 15 for live coverage of WWE's Extreme Rules.
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Ant-Man and the Wasp is a hilarious sequel that surpasses the original movie. Chastity and Greg give you their spoiler-filled reviews of the new Marvel movie and list the best moments and their predictions for Ant-Man's future in the MCU.
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