Old (2021) Review Roundup

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller Old arrives in theaters on July 23, and critics are divided on whether the age-based horror is a hit.

Based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, Old follows a group of people who find themselves ageing rapidly on a mysterious beach from which they can’t escape. The film’s concept exacerbates the small horrors of ageing, employing a large cast to portray the film’s characters at various ages as their lives condense into a single day.

The film currently has a score of 55 on GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic, with reviews mostly positive or mixed. Below you can find a selection of critic’s reviews for M. Night Shyamalan’s Old.

Nobody

  • Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan
  • Written By: M. Night Shyamalan
  • Starring: Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Alex Wolff
  • Release Date: July 23 (United States)

GameSpot – 7/10

“Old is an effective thriller that fully delivers on its premise, exploring the idea of aging an entire lifetime in a single day in all the ways you’d want it to. The small horrors of getting old, normally stretched out over decades, prove terrifying indeed when condensed into a short couple of hours.” — Michael Rougeau [Full review]

Forbes

“At its (black) heart, Old is an affirmation that Shyamalan can now do whatever the hell he wants without the pressure of delivering a new timeless classic every time out. However, now that he can go nuts, how about some (slightly) larger budgets and an R-rating next time?” — Scott Mendelson [Full review]

Vanity Fair

“I’ll cut to the chase: Old is good. It’s very good. This is also a movie where audience participation is encouraged. Though I watched at home, on a link provided to critics, I still shouted at my laptop at least three times. There’s enough in Old that feels new.” — Jordan Hoffman [Full review]

Polygon

“Old is less a thriller than an off-kilter fairy tale, a winking parable about the narrow selfishness of adulthood snuffing out the broad curiosity of children. It’s not particularly subtle, but it is affectionate and a little bit wistful. As a thriller, the film is middling, occasionally confronting the audience with shocking body horror, but mostly exploring overwrought anxieties. As a lamentation, it’s sometimes facile, but also occasionally beautiful.” — Joshua Rivera [Full review]

LA Times

“Watching “Old” will take about four years off your life–or just under two hours, depending on which way you’re reading your trusty temporal-wormhole conversion chart. The movie, you see, follows a group of unfortunate vacationers who get stuck on a private beach, where they fall victim to an alarming, irreversible, inexplicable process of accelerated aging. Did I say inexplicable? How silly of me. This is a thriller written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, after all, which means there’s always an explanation or two or 200. It’s a wonder he isn’t still explaining it as the credits roll.” — Justin Chang [Full review]

Collider

“In some ways, the direction is Shyamalan at the top of his game with striking shot compositions, some really effective scares for a PG-13 movie, and once again showing that when it comes to directing kids, he’s on the same level as his idol, Steven Spielberg. But in other ways, you can see Shyamalan’s weaknesses shining through as he lets his premise and mystery overwhelm any character development so that most of the cast is reduced to one-dimensional cutouts incapable of real human moments.” — Matt Goldberg [Full review]

That Loki Kiss Isn’t Incest, Says Director

A smart artist will usually let people talk about their work without interjecting–you don’t get anywhere by shutting down conversation. Sometimes you have to jump in, though, and for Loki director Kate Herron, for Loki director Kate Herron, that point came after that kiss in the show’s final episode, she revealed in an interview with Polygon. Spoilers follow for the final episode of Marvel’s Loki.

“My interpretation of it is that they’re both Lokis, but they aren’t the same person,” Herron explained. “I don’t see them as being like brother and sister. They have completely different backgrounds… and I think that’s really important to her character. They sort of have the same role in terms of the universe and destiny, but they won’t make the same decisions.”

“[The show is] looking at the self and asking ‘what makes us?'” Herron continued. “I mean, look at all the Lokis across the show, they’re all completely different. I think there’s something beautiful about his romantic relationship with Sylvie, but they’re not interchangeable.”

Herron said that the process of directing the kiss between the two actors was complicated because the shot had to convey a lot in a very short time.

“Emotionally, from Sylvie’s perspective, I think it’s a goodbye,” Herron said. “But it’s still a build-up of all these feelings. They’ve both grown through each other over the last few episodes. It was important to me that it didn’t feel like a trick, like she was deceiving him. She is obviously doing that, on the one hand, but I don’t feel the kiss is any less genuine. I think she’s in a bad place, but her feelings are true.”

The interview touches on a variety of topics, such as what COVID-19 complications forced the cast and crew to leave on the table (potentially for Loki Season 2), how Sylvie’s backstory reminds Herron of Jumanji, and how Tom Hiddleston and, eventually, other actors on set, psyched themselves up for scenes by running around set.

Loki Season 2 is a ways out. If you want more of the trickster god, don’t miss The Simpsons’ The Good, The Bart, and the Loki short. For more Marvel, look ahead to What If…?, releasing on August 11, and a Hawkeye show starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, later this year.

14 Utterly Ridiculous Reality TV Shows You Definitely Forgot Existed

Over the past two decades, reality shows have overtaken TV. These shows typically feature participants vying for a large cash prize and taking on any number of challenges, from looking for love or surviving life on an island to wrestling for WWE or solving crimes. Thousands of reality shows have aired on TV over the years, and chances are you’ve seen at least dozens of them. What about the ones you missed, though? Or even the ones you simply forgot?

The graveyard of TV is littered with the corpses of failed reality shows as networks tried to find the next big hit that would take the pop culture landscape by storm. After all, if The Bachelor is such a hit, why wouldn’t networks try every potential reality dating show concept under the sun in hopes of finding something that would also find an audience?

Far too many of those shows never found the audience they were looking for. There are a number of reasons for that. Perhaps, the network didn’t promote it properly. Maybe the characters were just too unlikable to want to root for. Could it be that the show’s concept was just too awful (we remember you, Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling)? So take a stroll with us down memory lane as we revisit the remains of TV’s most utterly ridiculous reality TV shows. We promise you, these all existed, whether you remember them or not.

Green Knight Pulled From U.K. Release Schedule Over COVID-19 Concerns

The Green Knight, a horror-themed retelling of the legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, will not be hitting theaters in the U.K., according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The decision was reportedly made by the film’s UK distributor in response to COVID-19 concerns. The country is in the midst of a COVID-19 Delta variant surge, which THR says could cause other similar moves in the market. Filming on many active productions, like Netflix’s Bridgerton and HBO’s House of the Dragon, has also paused.

Directed and written by David Lowery, The Green Knight stars Dev Patel in the role of Sir Gawain, along with Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider), Joel Edgerton, and others. First reactions to the COVID-delayed film are overwhelmingly positive, with Slashfilm’s Hoai-Tran Bui calling it “mesmerizing, transporting, [and] magnificently bizarre.” Screenrant’s Alisha Grauso called the film David Lowery’s best work, “simultaneously dreamy and sensual, brutal and bleak.”

The Green Knight is still set to hit U.S. theaters on July 30 as scheduled, with no word of a move at this time. Ahead of release, make sure to check out the latest trailer for the film to get an idea of the haunting story you’re in for.

Pokemon Go August Community Day Makes It Much Easier To Get Sylveon

Pokemon Go‘s August Community Day will be held across two days rather than one, developer Niantic has announced. The event will take place August 14-15 and will feature Eevee, giving you another chance to get some Shiny Eevee evolutions.

As the featured Pokemon, Eevee will be appearing more frequently in the wild than usual throughout the entire weekend, meaning you’ll also have an increased chance of finding a Shiny. Any Shiny Eevee that you evolve will retain its Shiny coloration, making this a good opportunity to add some Shiny Eevee evolutions to your collection.

Now Playing: Pokemon Go 5 Year Anniversary Trailer

Additionally, Niantic is making it easier to get Sylveon. Typically, you need to earn 70 hearts when Eevee is set as your buddy in order to evolve it into Sylveon. For August’s Community Day, however, Niantic is reducing the number of buddy hearts you need to earn to only seven.

Eevee will also learn a different Community Day-exclusive move depending on which form you evolve it into. Any Eevee that you evolve between August 13-16 will automatically know the following attacks:

  • Vaporeon: Scald
  • Jolteon: Zap Cannon
  • Flareon: Superpower
  • Espeon: Shadow Ball
  • Umbreon: Psychic
  • Leafeon: Bullet Seed
  • Glaceon: Water Pulse
  • Sylveon: Psyshock

As usual, a few bonuses will be live during August’s Community Day as well. First, any Lure Modules and Incense that you use during the event hours will remain active for three hours. On top of that, eggs that are placed into incubators will hatch at a quarter of their usual distance. Finally, Niantic will sell a special Community Day bundle in Pokemon Go’s in-game shop. The bundle costs 1,280 PokeCoins and includes the following:

  • 50 Ultra Balls
  • 5 Incense
  • 1 Elite Fast TM
  • 1 Elite Charged TM

Each day of August’s Community Day weekend will run from 11 AM to 5 PM local time. You can read more details about the event on the official Pokemon Go blog.

In the meantime, Niantic has three Ultra Unlock events lined up for Pokemon Go. Ultra Unlock Part 1: Time kicks off July 23 and features Pokemon from across different eras, including Shiny Dialga. Ultra Unlock Part 2: Space follows starting August 6 and features Pokemon from different regions, as well as Shiny Palkia. The third and final Ultra Unlock event will begin on August 20, but Niantic is keeping details on that under wraps for now.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Bungie: Games Industry Must ‘Push Back On a Persistent Culture Of Harassment’

As the fallout from the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard by the state of California for sexual discrimination continues to shake the games industry, Bungie has published a lengthy statement on its Twitter standing against harassment and discrimination.

“Bungie is built on empowering our people no matter who they are, where they are from, or how they identify,” Bungie’s statement begins. The six-tweet thread reaffirms Bungie’s zero-tolerance policy against discrimination and its commitment to rooting out toxic culture. 

The statement also acknowledges a need to reflect on the endemic problems within the games industry. “We don’t pretend that Bungie is perfect and that no one has experienced harassment while working here,” Bungie writes. “But we will not tolerate it and will confront it head one. And we will continue to do the work every day to be better.”

Bungie says that “the accounts in this week’s news are difficult to read,” but the company hopes it will “lead to justice, awareness, and accountability.” Bungie’s statement is one of the few company statements that have come out since yesterday’s bombshell lawsuit.

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard this week in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Following a two-year investigation, the DFEH found Activision Blizzard discriminated against female employees at nearly all levels of employment in regards to compensation, promotion, assignments, and terminations.

The DFEH’s report says, Activision Blizzard assigned women and women of color to “lower paid and lower opportunity levels” and with salaries lower than their male counterparts for the same work. Activision Blizzard rebuked the DFEH’s report and you can read the company’s full statement in our report.

Bungie was previously partnered with Activision for eight years with the two companies working together on Bungie’s flagship franchise Destiny. In 2019, Bungie and Activision parted ways and Bungie assumed full publishing and development responsibilities on the Destiny franchise.

Bungie concluded its Twitter statement by writing, “Our goal is to continue to improve the experience for everyone working at Bungie and do our part to make the gaming industry as a whole to be more welcoming and inclusive.”

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

PUBG Mobile Blasted For Allegedly Using Hypnospace Outlaw Name and Colors To Sell Cosmetic Bundle

PUBG Mobile is under fire for its new cosmetic bundle, which indie developer Jay Tholen is saying was lifted directly from Hypnospace Outlaw.

Released earlier today, the new Hypnospace Diva Set features the same name and a very similar color palette as the 2019 indie release, which satirizes the internet circa 1999. Tholen took notice a few hours later, blasting the cosmetic bundle for using the name to ‘sell a tacky costume.’

Tholen elaborated in separate comments to NME, “When I initially saw the image and that it was titled ‘Hypnospace Diva’ I assumed someone created a more feminine fan art version of the goldish yellow figure in our key art. The colors, even extending to the background, match quite closely.”

Tholen saw the image on his social feeds shortly after it was released. Tholen says he was unaware that it was a commercial project until it was posted on the game’s Discord server, calling the initiative “confounding.”

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Cross-promotional events have become quite common in service games like PUBG Mobile. Just this morning, Genshin Impact announced that it was adding Horizon Zero Dawn’s main protagonist, Aloy. In this instance, though, the preponderance of evidence suggests that PUBG Mobile publisher Tencent simply lifted the branding from Hypnospace Outlaw for its cosmetic bundle.

IGN has reached out to PUBG Mobile representatives for comment and will update this post accordingly with any responses.

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Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

Borderlands 3 Senior Devs Leave Gearbox To Start New Project

Multiple senior members of the Borderlands 3 development team are leaving Gearbox Software to work on a new project together. But Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford says that the split is amicable, according to Axios.

Axios reported that senior producer Christopher Brock, lead mission designer Keith Schuler, and art director Scott Kester, along with creative director Paul Sage, lead character artist Kevin Penrod, and UX director Christ Strasz are all leaving Gearbox, some of whom have been at the studio for over a decade.

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The 7 senior developers left to work on a new project together. Almost all of them were previously working on an unannounced Gearbox project that was currently in pre-production.

However, Pitchford says that their departure “will cause minimal disruption in our current plans,” and that new team members are being over to this project. Pitchford added that a bulk of Gearbox’s devs are focused on finishing Tiny Tina’s Wonderland “which is on-track,” Pitchford says.

Normally a departure of veterans might be cause for concern, but according to Axios developers at Gearbox have expressed excitement that “fresh blood” will now be leading the project they left behind.

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Gearbox is currently all-in on Borderlands. Alongside Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Gearbox is also helping produce a feature-film adaptation starring Cate Blanchette and Kevin Hart. Read IGN’s Borderlands 3 review for our impressions of the most recent mainline Borderlands game.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

Aussie Deals: Huge Savings on RPGs and Co-Op Titles for the Weekend!

Let’s get your weekend sorted with some top-shelf escapism! For starters, we’ve sourced impressive discounts on some of the best RPGs ever produced. Most of those will keep you busy for triple-digit hours. For the more social-minded gamer, we’ve also found a range of cheap co-operative titles to share with a loved one. Get scrolling to get saving!

Purchase Cheaply for PC

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Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch

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Exciting Offers for XO/XS

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Product Savings for PS4/PS5

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Skyward Sword: Dead End or a Stepping Stone? – NVC 570

YouTuber OJ – Player Essence joins our weekly Nintendo podcast, NVC, for a discussion of how our experiences playing Skyward Sword on Switch now differ from how we experienced it on Wii in 2011. What’s changed? What hasn’t? Plus, did Skyward Sword have a lasting impact on the Zelda series? How’s Switch selling? What was up with Nintendo’s recent rumor debunking comment? Plus, impressions of Cotton Reboot, Pokemon Unite, Boomerang X, and more.

NVC is available on your preferred platforms!

You can also Download NVC 570 Directly Here

You can listen to NVC on your preferred platform every Thursday at 3pm PT/6pm ET. Have a question for Question Block? Write to us at [email protected] and we may pick your question! Also, make sure to join the Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast Forums on Facebook. We’re all pretty active there and often pull Question Block questions and comments straight from the community.

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Logan Plant is the Production Assistant for NVC. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.