Last night was the fifteenth anniversary of the theatrical release of the Michael Bay/ Steven SpielbergTransformers film from Paramount Studios, Dreamworks Pictures and of course, Hasbro. The 2007 film was a blockbuster that catapulted stars like Josh Duhamel, Shia LaBeouf, and Megan Fox. Other notables are (one of my favorite comedians of all time) Bernie Mac, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, and John Turturro…
For an 80’s kid, the best part is that Optimus Prime himself voices the character in the film. Everyone that watched Transformers — be the cartoon or the movie — can remember the voice of Peter Cullen. GeeksHaveGame was invited by Hasbro to attend a VIP Tour and a theatrical filming of the 2007 Transformers film the Thursday of the anniversary. Paramount Studios hosted the VIP tour prior to the viewing of the film at the LA Live Regal Theaters. For the record, the over-the-top blockbuster still holds today.
The afternoon began with a tour of the Paramount Studios lot. It was an insightful tour with relevance to current shows in production but also in the history of production from everything in the lot. I can’t say too much, otherwise, you as a reader would get the VIP Studio Tour treatment and my experience would diminish. That is the truth. The tour was amazing and a build-up to the pinnacle of the day. Myself and my fellow tourists were treated to an on-set visit as well as a drive through the lot. Most notably was ending where the party had begun. There were viewings of props from the 2007 Transformers film through the franchise, not to mention the table spread: chef’s kiss.
Moving on… The Optimus Prime vehicle found its home alongside Bumblebee on the studio lot and that day was the retirement party for the diesel. With all the props and the viewings, it’s clear to the eye why Transformers are loved by Paramount Studios and Hasbro is keeping the legacy in-tact and alive. The end of the tour ended with a meet and greet, and a speech from Cullen. Let’s just say it had to do with Prime and Megatron talking to Michael Bay.
Meeting Optimus Prime is no small feat, making that anniversary meaningful; especially for those all too familiar to Cullin’s voice. Following the meet with Pete, was a screening of the Transformers at Regal Cinema. After the Hasbro and Paramount party, the film viewing was opened with the film crew and actors. But it was Bay who stood out describing the scene of Scorponok attacking the troops, which led to the introduction of the film. In the end, the event was a success, with the 15th Anniversary of Transformers incorporating new behind-the-scenes footage and a straight bang of a new introduction. Autobots roll out.
GeeksGaveGame would like to thank Paramount Studios, Hasbro, LA Live and Regal Theaters and watch Transformers on PlutoTV.
For those who haven’t read the book, Ready Player One is the story of a dystopian future in which the world has found escape in the elaborate virtual reality known as OASIS. It’s in James Halliday’s creation where most of the story takes place, as you follow Wade Watts’s (Tye Sheridan) quest to win a massive fortune and total control; all he’s gotta do is find 3 keys to unlock the game’s final easter egg before the evil IOI corporation.
Now for those who have read the book, like yours truly, this is the point where the novel and the movie start to differ. While Wade’s avatar, Parzival, and his friends do still have to solve and complete 3 separate challenges in order to obtain the keys, the challenges themselves are totally different. And, hey–no lie–I’m 100% OK with due to the awe-inspiring CGI and effects the new challenges Steven Spielberg chose to insert into the movie instead. I mean, who wants to watch someone play Pac-Man for 6-hours when you can watch King Kong chase a Delorian past a T-Rex?
Yup, it’s that kinda movie.
As promised there’s a plethora of 80’s pop culture and nerd references from start to finish but they are done in such a way that EVERYONE–regardless of their geek gaming level or age–will enjoy it. There’s a little something for everyone to enjoy here. I’m an Atari owning, Ah-Ha loving, 80’s baby and it was impossible for me to spot all the easter eggs that were constantly popping up on the screen. There’s simply no way you could see all there is in this jam-packed love letter to the 1980’s in one sitting, but, my gawd, was it fun trying.
A.. Neo-Geo?
I can’t recall the last time I watched a movie that made me this happy. Without a doubt, Spielberg’s version of the OASIS is gorgeous and somehow still not so much over-the-top that you feel like you’re watching a cartoon the entire time. Credit to the actors as well, who do a more than admirable, if not amazing job bringing their avatars to life. In particular Lena Waithe‘s hilarious version of Wade’s virtual bff, Aech, is beyond fantastic and unsurprisingly the fan favorite of the film. Her role during the second key challenge will have you dying. Getting to see her and the other egg hunters — Art3mis, Daito and especially Sho’s adorable ass — interacting in the real world was a huge change from the books and all the while extremely entertaining.
Truth be told, Ready Player One‘s characters were as delightful to witness as the stunning effects, with each having their indivdual moments to shine. From Ben Mendelsohn‘s portrayal of douchebag extraordinaire, Nolan Sorrento, to Mark Rylance‘s loveable version of James Halliday, most of the films choices were fantastic. The only exception is the romance angle between Wade and Olivia Cooke‘s Art3mis, which felt more uncomfortably awkward than endearing. While I enjoyed their moments of synergy together in the OASIS, things felt forced once they returned to the real world.
Man, Iron!
So whether you read the novel or not, fans of the 80s culture and classic gaming in particular will find everything they ever hoped for and then some with Ready Player One. Yes, I’ll be that asshole and admit that the book had more intriguing character stories and layered themes, but that’s what happens when you have to condense a 400-page novel into a 2-hour flick. Sacrifices were made, but overall execution of the movie was absolutely awesome. I couldn’t help but feel my face hurt from all the smiling. So if you want to see Chun-Li, Mecha-Godzilla, Marvin the Martian and the motha fuckin’ Batmobile in the same movie, look nowhere else. 4.75/5 Bibles.
Warner Bros.’ Ready Player One is in theaters everywhere on March 29th.
WARNER BROS PICTURES PRESENTATION (Saturday – Hall H) – Hall H, the proverbial promised land. If you are fortunate enough to be amongst the multitude of nerds, fanboys, press hounds, aliens and superheroes who have fought, bled, camped, and waited to make it to the mecca of geekery.. consider yourself lucky. The tension in the air was palpable as fans from around the universe waited in feverish anticipation for any morsel of culture the WB overlords cared to disperse amongst the congregation.
Ringleader Chris Hardwick kicked off the festivities after an impressive film reel featuring Mad Max, Harry Potter and more wet the collective appetite of the audience. The first film on the queue was the dystopian VR joyride Ready Player One. Hall H attendees stood and applauded as OG film God Steven Spielberg took the stage to present his new vision. The short clip shown was frantic and explosive, a virtual reality smorgasbord of 80’s references vomited into a dystopian junkyard. The best part of watching the footage was attempting to catch all of the 80’s characters featured in the VR world. It was difficult, but I definitely remember seeing a Tron cycle, the Iron Giant, Freddy Krueger and a DeLorean amongst the madness. Novel writer Ernest Cline was also present and shared a funny story about how he actually drives a DeLorean and conned Spielberg into signing it.
Next up was the highly anticipated (depending on your age) Blade Runner 2049. The panel began with a timeline of the Blade Runner mythology, featuring footage from the original film. I really appreciated this “previously on… “ moment and kind of hope they include it in the actual movie. Most millennials have no idea what a Blade Runner is and would benefit from the catch up. What followed was probably the most “WTF” moment of the show when a Jared Leto hologram dressed like a 70’s wedding singer (you heard that right) presented the panel. I sort of feel like Leto is actually a hologram in real life and we’ve been deceived this entire time.
My impression of the footage shown for Blade Runner 2049 is that it looks authentic AF. It seems like director Denis Villeneuve picked up directly where Ridley Scott left off. The music, tone and action in the clips match that of the 1982 film. When Hardwick asked Villeneuve why he decided to direct the film he simply replied, “I didn’t want anyone else to fuck it up.”
The show ended with the moment everyone was waiting for, the DC panel. Firstly, fans were treated to a reel featuring all of the DC characters. It was the same intro that was shown before Wonder Woman, except–this time–you could see the individuals clearly. It’s a reminder of how many amazing characters DC has yet to put to screen and the promising future ahead. Next, there was a reel featuring all of the new DC upcoming film slate. It featured:
● The Batman ● Wonder Woman 2 ● Suicide Squad 2 ● Batgirl ● Shazam! ● Green Lantern Corps ● Flashpoint
I’m going to have to assume that DC was officially announcing that these films are the ones currently in production. DC/WB has has a tendency to announce various movies that may or may not be released, so hopefully they will stick to the schedule. The most surprising announcement was that the Flash movie is now called Flashpoint, the time travelling storyline from the comics. The Flashpoint storyline gave birth to a few cool episodes of The Flash TV show on CW as well as an awesome animated film. The implications of doing a Flash film is even more interesting because it could be used to ret-con some of the current DCEU continuity, a convenient solution to some of the issues some fans have with the DCEU (here’s looking at you, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther).
The feverish horde was fed another morsel in the form of Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman. Mamoa is a real life rock star, he raged through Hall H shredding a trident like an air guitar. Once the Justice League footage screened, Mamoa threw his chair on the stage most likely to start a mosh pit. It’s awesome to see an actor genuinely having a great time portraying a role. The footage was brief, but we got to see what I believe was the Ocean Master’s vast undersea armada and it looked awesome.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, in this case the bat in the room. Recently it was leaked that Ben Affleck may not be donning the cape and cowl for much longer. Affleck looked happy and in spirit (albeit maybe a slight bit uncomfortable), and assured the crowd that playing Batman is an opportunity of a lifetime. He also did not specifically say that he was going to continue as the Dark Knight, so he may have just been acting diplomatic. Only time will tell. Gal Gadot was stunning and pretty much led the panel (in the same way Wonder Woman is leading the DCEU). Ezra Miller was hilarious and dressed in cosplay (it’s also worth noting that many of his scenes stole the trailer, and Miller plays a more Spidey version of Barry than Gustin), Ray Fisher was enthusiastic and Henry Cavill was… notably absent.
As you can see above, the footage was solid and an obvious step up from the earlier Justice League trailer. Some highlights were Wonder Woman kicking ass, Cyborg hot-wiring the Batmobile, and Aquaman body-surfing a parademon and flicking his hair Baywatch style. WB Panel = 4/5 Bibles.
I love Halle. I always have. I love her when she blubbers through her awards acceptance speeches. I love her when she acts with implacable dialects. I love her when she begs Billy Bob to make her feel good. I even love her when she dresses up like weird S & M house pets. But now I love her most when she sexes it up with ghosts of dead boyfriends in outer space, thanks to the silly plotline of CBS’ Extant.
Extant is network TV’s latest failed attempt at sci-fi, thanks to the man, the myth, the money-maker, Steven Spielberg, and Ms. Berry, herself.
Extant is, at its best, too little, and at its worst, too much. Boiled down, it’s the simple story of a husband and wife coping with infertility. And they do it the only way they can: He builds a robot child. But family life gets complicated when She goes on a solo mission to space for a year and comes back inexplicably pregnant. Now, if any of that sounds unfamiliar to you, you are obviously not John or Molly Woods (played by Goran Visnjic and Halle Berry, respectively), who are not only the husband and wife in question, but also are a scientist and an astronaut, respectively.
Too much? Too bad. Because, since Spielberg is clearly counting on this show, the mysterious and eponymous president of the same shadowy company that funded Molly’s trip to space, is now also privately funding the development more of John’s robot children, so now we’ve also got a corporate conspiracy in this mix. “Yay” for series arcs!
“That’s just how things are IN THE FUTURE.” —[something I imagine] Steven Spielberg [says]
We weren’t kidding when we said “Storm”.
And so this is my main complaint. Don’t get me wrong, the best parts of Extant are the best. It’s shot cinematically, everything sweeping and wide, but intimate. The production design has fully-realized this “near future” world, but none of it seems heavy-handed. And the performances are captivating: America’s favorite fat girl, Camryn Manheim, doesn’t disappoint as Molly’s baffled doctor. Hiroyuki Sanada is great as dubious Yasumoto. And at the helm, Visnjic and Berry are totally believable in an otherwise unbelievable world, where space travel is privatized and scientists have workshops where they build robot children in their own homes. However, the beautiful mystery of the IMMACULATE ALIEN PREGNANCY at the heart of Extant is eclipsed by all the dazzle.
It’s like a bomb going off underwater. It looks pretty spectacular, but it doesn’t make a sound.
On a specifically editorial tone, I’m flummoxed by the continued overt racism on network television. Although on the surface, the inter-racial marriage of John and Molly looks progressive, they are “infertile” and unable to have children of their own. And the robot proxy son John builds for them is totally white. Additionally, we learn that Molly’s true love was actually a fellow astronaut who died years ago. THAT man was, you guessed it: African American. Also, can we stop making Asian people the dubious heads of shadowy corporations?
2 (out of 5) Bibles.
Extant airs tonight on CBS at 9/8c. Watch the premiere episode right here, if you dare.
If you happened to stumble upon the geeksanity of our Tuesday morning Tweets, then congratulate yourself. For you, my friend, are completely friggin’ rad; you were there when God Hates Geeks helped Microsoft with their giant reveal: XBOX ONE.
With Sony doling out the preemptive strike via PS4 (click here for more on that system’s impressive specs), leave it to those dweebs up in Redmond, WA to barrell out twice the fun. Sure, a good four-fifth’s of today’s hour-plus long press conference was pure flash and spectacle — what else would you expect coming from Xbox? — but at least today Microsoft touched enough upon the surface of this new, seemingly ultrapowerful multi-media system.
Yeah, we no longer call them “video game systems.”
Sadly.
Either way, like our friends the Degeneration-X would say, let’s just.. break it down:
-Da Specs
Surely missing a few options: Hard Slushies and Hot Asian Holograms.
Let’s get the important stuff out of the way. Finally, there’s Blu-ray…meaning, no, there’s no longer an HD-DVD — which lasted about a week after the Xbox 360 launch. No, you can’t take your Xbox 360 games and play them on this sleek behemoth, because the system packs a different chip (AMD x86) than the 360 (IBM). Semiconductor analysts looked at this latest shift in processing architecture as an easier way to push out games. Despite this unfortunate lack of backwards compatibility, Microsoft’s use of the “common tool set” promises far better games from their programmers and developers.
So.. sell your leftover Devil May Cry and Crysis 3 coasters to your little cousin as soon as you can.
Also, as I reported earlier, Xbox One will operate on three partititions: Xbox OS (Exclusive), Windows OS (Host) — as you’ll soon be able to see an interface similar in style to Windows 8 — and a combination of the two (Shared, perhaps a Windows NT “core”), which allows couch potatoes to multitask between the two kernals. That means you’ll be given the chance to browse Gamefaqs on the fly the next time you get lost in the next Elder Scrolls.
Yup — the thought of a new Skyrimesque escapade on this woolly mammoth makes my toes curl.
-Home(toyz)
Xbox One will release with both the Kinect and a 500GB hard drive. Meaning, yes, the X1 appears to be a very, very expensive platform. Kinect must be attached to the new system at all times, too, since Microsoft either finds this A.) To be the only way hardcore gamers will take this function seriously, and/or, more hopefully B.) Kinect will be largely more intuitive and immersive in our gaming world, and not merely present in Microsoft’s longing for a wider female and adult, or female adult, userbase (see: Nintendo Wii/Wii-U].
Lord knows I’m pretty f#$%^*& lazy, but I have no problem using my thumb to turn the power on. And, I do enough talking to myself in this Moody Mansion as it is. All cynical expression aside, shouting a lone word to “snap” from your Spotify player to an episode of “Defiance” to highlights on ESPN to your Into Darkness Blu-ray is pretty nifty, if not impressive.
Speaking of ESPN, or even the NFL, Microsoft’s newest partner — hello, New Disney! — sports fans watching games on X1 through their cable subscriber will be able to pull up fantasy stats midgame at the drop of a rhyme. Siri-belch the term “Fantasy” and your creepy bar-league stats will appear right alongside the pass Mark Sanchez just overthrew…again. Though, it’d be so much cooler if one of the unemployed G4 girls popped up in a leotard.
Hey, I’m yelling “Fantasy” ova hea, all right?
If the G4 girls are too busy, though, you can always “group” Skype all of your nutty insignificant others at the same time and brag about how much your new $725 “all-in-one entertainment console” rules (and not the fact it has put you in a bind with Citibank).
I swear it’s missing the “Z” button.
-ET-TV
If you haven’t already heard today on your run to the Coffee Bean during breaktime, Steven Spielberg presented Halo: The Television Series at Microsoft press conference. “For me, the Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to create something really groundbreaking,” said the legendary director.
With Netflix, Amazon, and even Chipotle (ay caramba) acquiring pilots and better ways to reach those ever-growing cable-forbidden homes, Spiel’s partnership with 343 Industries may have come with a bit of a shock — but no surprise. Hey, Halo’s web series, “Forward Unto Dawn” was pretty damn good on its own. So, imagine what the world’s greatest filmmaker could do with this titillating IP!
Hopefully, not turn it into another Terra Nova…
-Pads, Lads & Fads
The controller looks like the Xbox 360 pad. That’s great news, considering it’s arguably the most comfortable gaming controller ever. Now, along with a completely smooth finish on the back, each of the better-responding triggers will have their own rumble motor. I always thought the previous Xbox controllers felt like a cheap vibr.. I mean, pager. Pager! More improvements include newer, textured game sticks, an integrated battery (always the primary problem with the 360’s), and a juicier “old-school feeling” d-pad.
You’ll also be able to DVR actual gameplay, but how that works exactly has YTBD.
Microsoft officials also said today that Xbox Live will run on 300,000 servers. No word on whether anyone’s been able to download CAW’s from WWE 2K14 yet, at press time, though. You can now watch YouTube or read e-mails while the far improved “match”-making of multiplayer games like FIFA and COD operate, further immersing the entertainment experience. Expect a unique cloud game-sharing service to shut up at least a fourth of those saddened by the lack of 360-to-One b.c.
“Xbox on. Play, Forza.”…….”Car. Get in.”…….”Chic’fi’A. Now.”
-Games!?! Somebody say “Games”!?!
Ahhh… the most important part, and I saved it for last because that’s basically what Microsoft did today. We don’t know a whole lot about the new games; but from what I witnessed in the hour, the “wow” factor is certainly there. The prettiest game had to be Forza’s newest Motorsport 5. And, don’t worry, kids; Xbox promises at least eight new franchise games in the system’s first year, including the very strange albeit intriguing Quantum Break, surprisingly not created by David Lynch.
Break blends TV with gaming, something Defiance somewhat failed to do a little more than a month ago. The difference here, though, is that players will be watching the dramatic programming between the actual playing.
Don’t ask.
EA Sports delivered quite the statement at the press conference, as they normally do, with a cool promo package featuring the company’s next engine: Ignite. This new sports game engine enables 4x more calculations-per-second, 10x more animations than 360, and incredibly enhanced AI. Maybe the crowds in Madden 14 won’t look like a ginormous horde of Mega Man clones. EA’s latest acquired franchise, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will also promise a game with a near-seemless transition of MMA submissions and counters.
Still attempting to revive the Live basketball franchise, though? Not even #TeamKyrie can save this one, I’m afraid.
-COD: It’s a Ghost!
Oh, this franchise deserves an article on its own. But, for now, you can watch the trailer right down below.
-E3zzle
We’ll be there June 17-19. While it doesn’t look like playing the Xbox One will be an option, the live demos will most definitely be tasty enough to share. Here’s just some of what we have to look forward to on Xbox One in addition to the aforementioned: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Watch Dogs and Thief.
