Video Game Consoles – Microsoft set up a private 45 minute demonstration of the Xbox One last week… And guess what? The new voice commands they’ve been touting on several new, flashy commercials? The machine’s a little stubborn with them… As 10 out of the 45 commands had to repeated– some as many as 4 times. The Xbox reps said this would improve (and no doubt it will) but in the meantime, some frustrated gamers may soon be asking the Xbox One, “Can you return yourself to Best Buy for a PS4?” [AP]
Television – I (finally) dove head first into the adventures of the 9th, 10th, and 11th Doctors. If you’re like me and easily obsess over great TV shows– then you’re currently salivating over the tiniest bit of information regarding the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. A brief synopsis has been released for the episode– and thankfully there aren’t any spoilers. If you don’t want to know anything before November 23rd– then don’t click through! However, if you need to get the Who monkey off your back, hopefully this short info dump will tide you over for the next 2 weeks. [The Mary Sue]
Art/Video Games – Katsuya Terada’s concept art for Zelda – A Link Between Worlds looks great. The style is right up my alley… Almost making me want pick up the new 3DS game at the end of the month just to see more of his work. [Crunchyroll]
Film – With The Wolverine film grossing over $400 million worldwide, it’s no surprise there’s going to be another. Hugh Jackman said he still “love[s] the character.” I bet he also loves the massive amounts of money that comes along with playing the furry homicidal mutant too. [Deadline]
Manga – If it wasn’t for companies like Viz Media and Crunchyroll striving to give North American consumers access to great Manga, I wouldn’t have any interesting comic related news– or, at least, any I would care to report. Viz Media has launched a huge collection of 1600 manga volumes on Apple’s iBooks Store. I have been having tons-o-fun reading various manga series over the past year, and it’s great to see these books becoming available on so many platforms and apps. Here’s to a slew of new readers discovering the medium! [Nerdist]
Television – A couple of weeks ago I had a nerdgasm over Sherlock Series 3 getting a definite release date. Now comes the first official image via the BBC. I love the photo! It’s a perfect representation of the relationship between Sherlock and Watson. [Collider]
Film – The seventh episode of Star Wars has sent out open UK casting calls for (what appears to be) the film’s two leading roles. J.J. Abrams and Star Wars icon Lawrence Kasdan have taken over the writing chores– in an effort to make certain the script will be ready for the January 2014 production start date and the movie’s newly announced 12.18.15 release date. Only time will tell if 2015 will bring us back to 1977. [Variety, Deadline]
Television – DC and the CW have announced they are developing a new TV series based on the comic book character Hourman. With Arrow being so good, I’m actually excited to see more coming from the CW… But I’m still concerned about all the DC properties spread across the various networks. Could they already be scraping the bottom of the barrel by developing an Hourman series? Too bad DC doesn’t have a very popular character like Wonder Woman available to star in a TV or Film series… Oh, wait! [The Hollywood Reporter]
Prehistoric Video Rentals – It is no surprise video rental stores are an increasingly endangered species. With Red Box kiosks all over the place and streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime giving you no reason to leave your home for entertainment– Blockbuster will be closing its remaining 300 stores. Going to the video store was always exciting when I was a kid… But then I grew up and realized just how much of a hassle it is. [ICv2]
Television – The complete global saturation of the superhero genre continues as Marvel and Netflix join forces to bring us 4 original 13 episode series featuring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage— which will all build to a mini-series based on The Defenders comic book. The series begin in 2015 and run over multiple years. Even with my reservations over a superhero TV glut, I think this is a brilliant move by the two companies. House of Cards showcased the power of Netflix original programming– and these new Marvel shows have the potential to completely change the way many fans consume new television product. [Marvel]
Film – I leave you with the Chinese Trailer for Jackie Chan’s new movie, Police Story 2013— a reboot of his 80s film series. Over the past few years Jackie has been leaning more towards serious acting and shying away from the insane stunts he is known for. I can’t fault him for this (the man is 59 years old), but as I watched this trailer, I was somewhat saddened by the “death” of the once fun-loving, comedic Chan. I’ll be honest: Watching Jackie pull a gun and shoot someone in the head was a bit too jarring for me… And it’s something he would NEVER have done in his heyday.
