[Trailer] Magic Magic
http://youtu.be/CjKTTYOlkGg
Michael Cera (Arrested Development) has been doing what he can to break away from becoming another young, typecast actor since Arrested Development was initially cancelled. While playing the lovable loser character in Juno to an innocent teen with a rebellious multiple personality disorder in Youth in Revolt to the quirky, yet self-assured hero in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Cera has expanded on the naive, dimwitted character he's perhaps still most known for.
However, with this first trailer for Magic Magic, writer/director Sebastian Silva has cast Cera as Brink, a young man with a dark secret. Juno Temple (Killer Joe) stars as Alicia, a young woman vacationing in Chile with her friends. As the vacation goes on, Brink begins to grow an unhealthy fascination/obsession with Alicia. Magic Magic is a psychological thriller driven by character rather than simple shocks and gore that should give us a look at Cera's acting range.
Magic Magic will be released straight-to-DVD on August 6th.
[Trailer] The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
http://youtu.be/fnaojlfdUbs
The new trailer for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is here! I honestly am not a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings, but with the whole fantasy genre sweeping the population with Game of Thrones-related fervor, I can imagine the masses swarming to see the next film in the Hobbit trilogy will grow even larger. Wizards, dwarves, giants, dragons, forests, and swords will all be the next in line for Hollywood's next big craze, hopefully replacing the over-saturation of zombie films.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues its adventure into theaters on December 13th.
[Video] Trentino and Alina Renae: "Take Me Higher"
A couple of months ago, Chicago DJ Trentino won Red Bull's Thr3Style Top Party DJ in US crown, giving him the chance to compete in Toronto for the Red Bull Thre3style World Championship. This video for "Take Me Higher" featuring Trentino and singer Alina Renae serves as both the song's official video and a psuedo-behind-the-scenes documentary/video recap of Trentino's Thre3Style win.
You can download "Take Me Higher" on Trentino's Facebook. He'll also be DJing this Sunday at Spring Awakening.
http://youtu.be/U6tgHCZIE9s
[Video] Aaron Paul has a Need for Speed
Even if Breaking Bad is set to end this year, Aaron Paul is determined to stay at the forefront of everybody's minds with a few film roles over the next year. Recently, a behind the scenes featurette for Need for Speed was unveiled with Paul in the lead role for the video game adaptation of the storied racing franchise. Paul will play Tobey, a street racer recently released from prison for a crime he didn't commit. Driven by revenge, he sets out to confront the man who framed him for the crime. Much like the video game series, Need for Speed will focus primarily on street races. However, what can the film do to separate itself from the very successful Fast & Furious franchise?
It's up to director Scott Waugh (Act of Valor) to figure out as Need for Speed will race into theaters on March 14, 2014.
http://youtu.be/h9XvO1c7LH0
[Trailer] Stranded
http://youtu.be/hdTqEIIxrrM
If you've been wondering where Christian Slater and his crazy eyes have been, he's apparently been Stranded. The sci-fi horror/thriller, directed by Roger Christian (Battlefield Earth), looks to be a generic sci-fi film, complete with various gimmicks and cliches that have been overused numerous times since Alien debuted in 1979. Still, there's a certain level of appeal in seeing Slater pretend to be scared by an unseen alien force.
If anything, Stranded could prove to be a cheap thrill and easy (unintended) laughs when it gets lost in theaters on July 26th.
Sony announces PlayStation 4 will cost $399, drops mic in the process
"$399."
And just like that, the PlayStation 4 made the first official move to combat Microsoft's once-feared domination in the video game industry. Whereas the Xbox One E3 conference was full of generic FPS and sports games, not to mention the ridiculous $499 price tag, Sony's keynote featured a variety of games. Eschewing this current generation's abundance of shooting games, the PS4 keynote put the spotlight on games that were not only brighter and more vibrant in an aesthetic way, but also from a variety of genres from action/adventure to platformers to, yes, FPS and shooters.
While the PlayStation 4 was officially announced a few months ago, the system itself was still under wraps for whatever reason; Sony must have wanted to build up as much hype as they could possible, as they unveiled the console's new look to moderate fanfare. Honestly, it looks like a mix between an Xbox One and a black Wii or two PS2s glued together, but hey, gaming consoles are meant for playing games, not winning design awards, right? Oh, the games...
Sony highlighted a few exclusive games, such as inFamous: Second Son and Killzone: Shadowfall. However, the biggest reveal for Sony's conference was the announcement that the long-awaited game, Final Fantasy Versus XIII has been re-buffed and re-titled to the more appropriate Final Fantasy XV. As if the surprise wasn't enough, a proper sequel to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Kingdom Hearts III, was announced, ending Square-Enix's absurd practice of blasphemous title practices for the Disney-partnered franchise.
However, one of the biggest questions Sony faced going into their E3 keynote was how they would handle the uproar Microsoft caused with their DRM-friendly, anti-consumer used games policy. (For those that are in the dark, the upcoming Xbox One registers discs to individual profiles, meaning users can't simply share games with their friends; instead, they must wipe the game from their profile to allow their friends to play, who themselves must pay a fee just to access the game. Furthermore, the Xbox One mandates owners to connect online at least once a day to update and authenticate their games. While this might not mean much to most, it's a terrible move for gamers in rural areas or military bases who don't have easy access to internet.) Sony easily brushed aside any concerns that the PlayStation 4 would follow suit with four simple words: "PS4 supports used games." They then took targeted swipes at Microsoft, also confirming that the PS4 won't have to connect online every day (or at all, if they choose not to), and gamers can choose to do whatever they want with their games, whether it's selling them, trading them, or simply lending them.
As if that wasn't clear enough, Sony released a tongue-in-cheek jab at Microsoft by releasing an Official PlayStation Used Game Instructional Video. Take a look:
[youtube id="kWSIFh8ICaA"]
However, there was one big misstep that went temporarily unnoticed: When announcing that pre-existing PlayStation Plus memberships would carry over for the PS4, as well as news that only one subscription would suffice for full PS3, PS4, and PS Vita support, it was also slipped that online multiplayer for the PS4 would come at a price. PS+ members won't have to worry about this price, but considering the PlayStation Network was free, some gamers might feel a bit slighted at Sony's acceptance of a pay model for online play. Still, if at roughly $5 a month, the PS+ membership is worth it, especially with the amount of free games and discounts Sony offers on a monthly basis. It essentially pays itself within the first month of enrollment.
With the PlayStation 4 officially coming out this Holiday 2013, the next generation of console gaming is set to begin. Sony did everything Microsoft didn't do; Sony also didn't do everything Microsoft did. That, in and of itself, was enough for Sony to demand a huge first step in the so-called "console war." If you're ready to officially take sides, the PlayStation 4 is already on pre-order on Amazon, while in-store pre-orders at Best Buy, GameStop, and other similar stores will begin filling their lists tomorrow.
[Album] Man of Steel Soundtrack
Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Hans Zimmer is doing what he can to help, as the soundtrack for Man of Steel is available for streaming via Spotify. The score is typical Hans Zimmer fare full of atmospheric, epic instrumentation. If it doesn't inspire you to don a red cape and jump for the clouds, there might be something wrong with you. If you haven't hyped yourself up for Man of Steel, be sure to watch the film's final trailer.
Close your eyes and let Zimmer's music take over your soul below. With such ominous sounding tracks as "Sent Here for a Reason," "If You Love These People," "You Die or I Do," and "What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?" I feel a lot closer to becoming a superhero than ever before.
Apple announces iTunes Radio, iOS 7, OS X Mavericks, new Mac Pros at WWDC
This week is a big week for tech with both Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) and Apples Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) taking place. Apple just finished their own keynote conference, revealing a plethora of new software and hardware for the upcoming year. iPhone, MacBook, and iPad fanatics, take note, because there are a lot of changes being made this year.
iOS 7 will update mobile devices much more dramatically than previous updates, both visually and systematically. The entire visual appearance of iOS devices have been overhauled for iOS 7. Now, the OS works in layers, with idle apps simply thrown to the background. It's a simple aesthetic change, but one that helps make upcoming mobile Apple devices more modern and contemporary looking. There will also be a Control Center that will give easy access to stock applications, such Music, Camera, Settings, etc. with just an upward swipe rather than having to go to the home screen to access everything. Sharing files between friends is also made easier with AirDrop. For example, to share photos amongst friends, you can just tap the photos you want to send, the people's names, and which means to send them (text, email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Simplicity is a common theme with the new iOS, as they've also added better bluetooth functionality with cars, as well as an upgraded Siri, which will make hands-free driving even more hands-free. You can see a list of compatible devices here.
Apple also announced iTunes Radio, which will serve as a direct competition with Pandora. Much like the aforementioned service, iTunes Radio will serve as a music discovery application that will stream music online based off of your preferences. It will be free with an iTunes Match subscription or with advertisements. It hasn't been announced which engine will power the service, but will definitely be interesting to see how the parameters will work.
A new version of Apple's desktop OS was announced. OS X Mavericks will be a huge upgrade for Mac users, as the operation system is made to help boost performance. A notable upgrade includes full use of multiple monitor display, meaning users who are using both a Macbook and iMac can easily switch from monitor to monitor, as well as pull up the dock on either monitor as opposed to the "primary" screen. Mavericks will also utilize a technology called Time Coalescing that will smooth the transition between active and passing states, which will allow CPU usage to run smoother as opposed to from one state to the other. Mavericks is also going to run up to 1.5x faster than the current OS X, Mountain Lion, which should help people like me who have multiple, performance heavy programs open all the time. You can read more about Mavericks here.
The biggest surprise to come out of today's conference is Apple's return to Mac Pros. The Mac Pros were constructed with a modern aesthetic, as they come in a cylinder shape, which takes up considerably less space than the large, rectangular boxes previous Mac Pros came in. The new Mac Pros also pack an enormous amount of power with up to 12 cores of processing power, 40 GB/s of PCIe bandwidth, 60GB /s of memory bandwidth, 7 teraflops of GPU performance, next generation PCIe flash storage (which is actually kind of sad, but should mean faster access to files/programs), and more hardware options. The new Mac Pros will be a beast of a machine when they come out later this year. You can read more about them here.
A lot of news was unleashed today by Apple. To summarize: New Mac Pros, new iOS 7, new OS X Mavericks, iTunes Radio, and a new line of MacBook Airs, all coming later this year.Read more