HBO Max continues to build out its collection of smart cartoon shows, announcing today that it will exclusively stream the third season of Infinity Train on its platform this summer.
Infinity Train’s first season debuted on Cartoon Network in 2019, after an overwhelmingly positive response to the 2016 pilot by Regular Show writer and storyboard artist Owen Dennis. It began as a story about a young girl named Tulip exploring a train where successive cars contained unpredictable new worlds. But the second season–which was labeled Book 2–inventively jumped central characters as well as cars, following Tulip’s mirror image, Mirror Tulip or “MT,” after Tulip freed her in the first season.
Infinity Train’s third season, Book 3, will jump protagonists once more, adventuring after Grace and Simon–leaders of a chaotic group of kids from Book 2. Grace and Simon become separated from their group and link up with a girl named Hazel and her gorilla companion Tuba to explore new cars on the myriad and endless Infinity Train.
“I’m really excited for fans to see Book 3!” Infinity Train’s creator Dennis said via press release. “When we started working on Infinity Train, I couldn’t have imagined where it would take us, but thanks to our loyal and vocal fanbase, we get to continue on this amazing ride.”
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The Sims 4 recently got a large update prior to the release of its Eco Lifestyle expansion, but fans aren’t happy with all of the new additions. In particular, the new Mac makeup for Create-A-Sim has garnered a particularly strong reaction from players, with several referring to it as “sperm eyeliner,” for obvious reasons.
While fans could just avoid using the eyeliner on their Sims, the unfortunate reality is that the game uses all clothing options when it creates random “townies” to populate its different areas. Because of this, modders have already introduced ways to remove the makeup from the game entirely, including one that removes it for random Sims, and another that replaces it with a less suggestive alternative.
Eco Lifestyle is the latest expansion pack for The Sims 4, having released in early June. The expansion allows players to grow their own food in a new vertical garden. You can also dumpster dive for new furniture. The expansion costs $40, and in its wake, developer Maxis had to patch out an odd bug that caused Sims to urinate fire. Earlier this year, EA announced that The Sims franchise had passed $5 billion in lifetime sales. There’s been no word yet on how many Simoleons that converts to, but it’s probably quite a lot.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Another new Legendary Pokemon is making its debut in Pokemon Go very soon. Kyurem, the Legendary Dragon/Ice type from Pokemon Black and White, arrives in Raid Battles starting July 7, making this your first chance to catch it in Niantic’s Pokemon mobile game. If you’re looking to add one to your collection, we’ve rounded up some tips and other details you need to know to help you battle and catch Kyurem.
Kyurem Raid Hours
Kyurem will appear in Gyms around the world as a five-star Raid boss beginning at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on July 7. As usual, Kyurem Raids won’t follow a set schedule, so they can happen at any time, but you’ll receive a notification in the game when one is about to begin nearby.
For a guaranteed chance to face the new Legendary, Niantic will host a Kyurem Raid Hour event every Wednesday evening while the Pokemon is in the game. During these Raid Hours, nearly every Gym in your vicinity will host a Kyurem Raid from 6 to 7 PM local time, all but ensuring you’ll be able to challenge the Legendary Pokemon. The first Kyurem Raid Hour will take place on Wednesday, July 8, and we’ll update this guide with the rest of the Raid Hour schedule when Niantic confirms other dates.
Kyurem Weaknesses And Counters
As a Dragon/Ice type, Kyurem has a handful of different weaknesses you can exploit, but your best bet is to use Fairy Pokemon. Togekiss, Granbull, Gardevoir, and other Fairy types will be especially effective in battle against Kyurem, although keep in mind that Togekiss will take super-effective damage from Kyurem’s Ice attacks. Similarly, Dragon Pokemon like Salamence, Rayquaza, and the departing Zekrom also have an advantage, but they’ll likewise take super-effective damage in return.
Kyurem’s Ice typing also opens up weaknesses to Rock and Fighting Pokemon, making those great alternatives. The Legendary Terrakion fills both niches, but there are some other good choices, like Rhyperior, Gigalith, Tyranitar, Conkeldurr, Lucario, and Machamp. Steel types like Cobalion, and Metagross dish out super-effective damage as well, giving you no shortage of options to use when battling Kyurem.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
For the upcoming week on Netflix, the streaming service has plenty of new content coming your way. Whether you want to check out some movies that already hit theaters, TV shows that already aired, or brand-new original content, Netflix has you covered. Here is what is coming to Netflix this week, along with a few recommendations.
As far as anime goes, Japan Sinks: 2020 arrives on Thursday. Devilman Crybaby director Masaaki Yuasa is adapting the Sakyo Komatsu novel from 1973, which follows a terrible disaster in Japan. While the book has been adapted numerous times, this run will be a 10-part series, which you can binge-watch in one sitting if you prefer.
Finally, one of the most anticipated releases of the week is the movie The Old Guard. Based on the comic by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, the story follows a group of immortal warriors who save the world from evil. When their abilities are exposed, a new threat wants to monetize their powers. You can check out the latest trailer below.
Model kits are great because not only do you get an awesome action figure, but you also get to build it. Bandai makes a number of excellent model kits from franchises like Star Wars and Dragon Ball, and now it has a number of slick-looking Pokemon model kits available for pre-order from Amazon. The three Bandai Spirits model kits available right now include Gengar for $13, Lucario and Riolu for $15, and Rayquaza for $18.
The Pokemon model kits are pretty basic compared to other series that tend to have interchangeable hands and faces, which makes the Gengar model kit particularly notable as it comes with two interchangeable faces and tongues. This lets you turn your smiling Gengar into a long-tongued Gengar, ready to paralyze you with Lick at a moment’s notice.
6479384 – Pokemon Model Kits – Pre-Orders
Of course, it’s important to remember that since these are model kits, they don’t come pre-assembled. However, that’s what makes them particularly fun. They’re easy enough to put together by hand, though if you want to make sure all the plastic pieces come apart easily and safely, then a good pair of flush cutters are a must-have. Some of the parts that come with model kits can be extremely small and delicate, so they’re good to have in a pinch.
Each of the three model kits come with Amazon’s pre-order guarantee, which ensures that if the price drops between the time you place your order and the time it ships, you get it at its lowest price. You also get free two-day shipping with Prime.
Groundhog Day really hasn’t had that many imitators over the years–there’s the slasher version, Happy Death Day, and the action sci-fi take, Edge of Tomorrow. Netflix’s Russian Doll tackled time loops for the hipster crowd. And that’s pretty much it. But somehow–appropriately, for the genre’s tropes–it can sometimes feel like time loop movies have been “done” already. What more could a filmmaker add this specific time travel subgenre that Groundhog Day and its existing descendants haven’t already accomplished?
Enter Palm Springs. When writer Andy Siara and director Max Barbakow set out to make a movie half a decade ago, they didn’t have a time loop in mind. After a weekend of bonding in Palm Springs, they had the kernel of a character: Nyles, a nihilistic slacker who would wind up being played by Andy Samberg. As they fleshed Nyles out and discovered who he is, they hit on the perfect scenario that would challenge him as a person. And that’s where the Groundhog Day aspect came from, Siara told GameSpot during a recent interview with the filmmakers.
As we pointed out in our review, Palm Springs goes one step further than Groundhog Day ever did; by the time we meet up with Nyles, he’s already been stuck in the loop for an indeterminate amount of time. Like Bill Murray’s character Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, he’s seen and done it all. But unlike Phil Connors, Nyles is still stuck there anyway.
“I looked at Groundhog Day, you know, Bill Murray’s character, by the end of the movie, kind of figured out the meaning of life, in a way,” Siara said. “We kind of were like, ‘OK, well, let’s say this character, who we now know so well, let’s say he gets stuck in this thing, figures out the meaning of life–or what he thinks the meaning of life is–and he’s still stuck there.’ Now what do you do? That was kind of our jumping off point.”
Regardless of how many time loop movies actually exist, the genre can feel played out, simply because Groundhog Day is already basically perfect. By starting with the characters and designing a situation that would best challenge them–a time loop that truly won’t end, no matter how many life lessons Nyles feels he’s learned–Siara and Barbakow hoped to sidestep that issue. It’s a simple, but effective, twist on the formula.
“Once you know you’re doing a time loop movie, the precedent and the quality is enormous, and the stories being told there are evergreen,” Barbakow told GameSpot. “So it’s about doing something new, and staying as far away as possible from the really good stuff.”
There’s one other wrinkle we haven’t mentioned yet: Nyles isn’t the only person stuck in the loop. Although the movie centers on Nyles, Cristin Milioti’s Sarah faces the same dilemma.
“[Milioti] never does the same thing twice, is completely fearless, magnetic, so, so talented, and has this air of mystery, I think because she’s so protean in all the work that she’s done, and so dynamic,” Barbakow said. “She’s the mystery when she comes into the movie, and she’s showing this new side of herself as a performer as well.”
It wouldn’t be a time loop comedy without a montage in the middle of all the crazy hijinks the characters get up to in a world without consequences, and Palm Springs doesn’t fail to deliver the goods. Given how funny Samberg and Milioti are, it’s easily the highlight of the movie. Siara and Barbakow shared some ideas that didn’t make it in, including “a skydiving sequence” (would you jump out of a plane without a parachute if you knew you couldn’t die?) as well as “a whole casino scene” that Barbakow said was “based on the experience that Andy [Siara] and I had at Agua Caliente Casino, where I managed to piss off an entire table of grizzled blackjack players.”
“Turns out it’s pretty expensive to shoot at a Casino,” Siara added.
Palm Springs arrives on Hulu (and in some drive-in theaters) July 10, but it first premiered at Sundance in January, where the streaming service (along with distributor Neon) quickly bought it up, breaking the previous record by an extremely deliberate 69 cents. Of course, movies that deserve to be in theaters going straight to streaming services instead has become an everyday occurrence in the age of COVID, which makes Palm Springs ahead of its time (ha) by a few months.
“Distribution and exhibition, I think it’s constantly evolving,” Barbakow noted. “I loved the deal that we made [at Sundance] for the mere fact that it felt forward thinking–we were dealing with the theatrical distributor and the streamer, which I think is a very smart way to go about things, because that’s just the reality of how we consume content.”
It’s certainly the reality in which we’re living now, and we’re lucky that content includes movies as fun and endearing as Palm Springs. Look forward to watching it July 10.
GameStop has been having back-to-back sales recently, including a massive Game Days sale that launched this Sunday just as its Fourth of July sale ended. The Game Days sale is one of the best ones we’ve seen at GameStop all year, offering steep discounts on first-party Switch games along with PS4 and Xbox One games. But if you prefer to shop at Amazon, you can take advantage of some of the same deals there, as the mega-retailer is price-matching some of GameStop’s best game deals.
Amazon was price-matching GameStop’s $40 offer on first-party Switch games, but unsurprisingly, this offer has been popular and is mostly sold out. Splatoon 2 sold out as I was writing this up, shortly followed by Super Mario Maker 2, but you can still grab New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe for $40 at Amazon as of our last update. First-party Switch games don’t get much cheaper than this, so it’s worth grabbing at this price while you can. While the other Switch deals have sold out or returned to full price at Amazon, you can still find Super Mario Maker 2, Splatoon 2, Mario Tennis Aces, and Yoshi’s Crafted World for $40 each at GameStop.
Check out the best deals Amazon is price-matching this week below.
6479368 – Amazon Price-Matches GameStop Sale 7.6.20 – Best Deals
“Why can’t I be an action star?” Kevin Hart asks in the new red-band trailer for his upcoming comedy web series Die Hart.
Riffing on his successful Ride Along films with Ice Cube, where Hart played comic relief to Ice Cube’s stoney demeanor–and, of course, referencing 1988 gold standard action film Die Hard–Hart’s new comedy series sees him playing a frustrated fictionalized version of himself who wants to be seen as action star material.
In the trailer, Hart is tired of sharing the limelight with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson–yet another reference to a film where Hart played a comedy sidekick in real life, 2016’s Central Intelligence. So he gives himself over to an Action Star School run by an eccentric trainer: A Bald To Badass John Travolta in the role of Coach Ron Wilcox.
Humorously, Johnson doesn’t appear in the trailer and wasn’t been listed in the press release, so it’s not clear if he’s even on the show. But fans can expect a supporting cast of famous action stars like Jean Reno (Léon: The Professional) and Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down). Also attending Action School with Hart is Nathalie Emmanuel (who played Missandei on Game of Thrones). We see them fighting and wearing motion capture suits, hitting all the predictable marks one would expect on a journey to become, “a real life Rambo.” Die Hart will start streaming on July 20.
J-Horror fans, rejoice! The latest entry in the expansive Ju-On franchise, or The Grudge as it’s known in English, hit Netflix this weekend and is ready to be binged–if you’re feeling in the mood for some deeply disturbing and bleak entertainment, that is. Seriously, this one is not for the faint of heart.
The six-episode series explores the origin story of the curse that sits at the center of the Ju-On franchise. It goes something like this: A house, located in a suburb of Tokyo, was the location of a series of grisly murders that left a sort of supernatural stain, one that was so rancid and evil it infected anyone who so much as set foot within the house. The curse and the house have been dealt with across the 13 different film entries in the Ju-On universe–but Ju-On: Origins puts a different spin on things. It bills itself as being based on the “true” stories that inspired the curse.
Of course, “true” here needs to be taken with a grain of salt–this isn’t a true crime thriller or a real-life murder mystery case, and it certainly doesn’t pretend to be. Rather, the episodes of the show look at building out the rumors and superstitions that surrounded the Ju-On house in the story’s universe. To pull this off, it introduces new characters who have been affected by the house’s evil and others who are actively seeking it out after hearing the second-hand stories. Think ghost hunters and psychics, looking to explore a potentially haunted house, despite the warnings.
Told non-chronologically, just like the first Ju-On film from 2000, Ju-On: Origins is the perfect binge for horror fans who love the deeply unsettling, tragic vibes of the franchise. If you prefer skin-crawling slow burns to jump-scares, this is the show for you.
All six episodes of Ju-On: Origins are streaming on Netflix.
Last month, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s (WB Games) parent company, AT&T, announced intentions to sell off WarnerMedia’s gaming division. A new report suggests that Microsoft has expressed interest in purchasing WB Games, though a sale has yet to be confirmed.
According to business news publication The Information, “two people familiar with the situation” said Microsoft might be looking to scoop up WB Games, the studio responsible for publishing games like Batman: Arkham Knight, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Mortal Kombat 11, and others. A sale isn’t imminent, according to the people, as AT&T is still weighing how to handle its $154 billion in debt. This debt comes from the 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, now known as WarnerMedia, which includes companies like Crunchyroll, DC Comics, HBO, WB Games, and a host of other subsidies.
Microsoft isn’t the only company that finds buying WB Games an enticing proposition; Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive have also seemingly expressed their interest in the company. Though it’s unclear how serious AT&T is about selling WB Games, the sale could fetch a hefty $4 billion price tag.
Some of WB Games’ IP, such as Mortal Kombat, might be included in the deal. However, the rights to other IP, like Batman, almost certainly would not be, but a licensing agreement could allow for further development within WB Games’ franchises, including the Batman: Arkham and Lord of the Rings series.
Recently, it was reported that WB Games is allegedly working on an open-world Harry Potter game. Specific details are sparse, but it’s rumored to be in development for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. A supposed reveal is said to take place sometime after August this year. Meanwhile, WB Games subsidiary Rocksteady Studios, the developer behind Arkham Knight, is reportedly creating a Suicide Squad game.
Later this month, Microsoft will host another Xbox 20/20 livestream. On July 23 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, Microsoft will show off a bevy of Xbox One and Xbox Series X games. The livestream will feature reveals of upcoming first-party games like Halo Infinite, the possible unveiling of the rumored all-digital next-generation Xbox, and more.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
