Microsoft dominates gamescom in Germany with Xbox One games lineup, software enhancements & welcome hardware additions

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This week Microsoft took over gamescom, the world’s biggest video games expo (even better than E3!) in Cologne, Germany. The Xbox maker hosted a media briefing, while the competition–namely, Sony and Nintendo–sat on the sidelines this go-around. The briefing played mostly like a reiteration of Microsoft’s E3 presentation, highlighting Xbox’s “greatest games lineup in history.” Numerous upcoming titles were previewed. Among the most prominent are these Xbox One exclusives: Remedy Games’ Quantum Leap, a “cinematic, story-driven action game” with a live action show baked inside is to Xbox One on April 5, 2016. Actors Shawn Ashmore (X-Men, The Following), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), and Lance Reddick (Fringe) are among the talent lending their likeness to the game. ReAgent’s cooking up Crackdown 3, the next installment in the third-person open world shooter, and it lands on Xbox One in summer 2016. It supports a 4-person co-operative campaign mode. Befriend a dragon in PlatinumGames’ Scalebound, an action-adventure RPG from renowned game director Hideki Kamiya, coming fall 2016. Killer Instinct Season 3 arrives in March with cross-platform functionality across Xbox One and Windows 10. From Mojang (the makers of Mincraft) and Oxeye Game Studio comes Cobalt, a new 2D platformer with multiplayer support. This one is coming to Xbox One and the 360 in October; the alpha version is out now for PC and Mac today. KickStarted game We Happy Few, from Compulsion Games, is a first-person stealth game that looks to be as unsettling as it does fun; it’s due out sometime next year for Xbox One and Windows 10. Halo Wars 2, from 343 Industries and Creative Assembly (Total War, Alien: Isolation), capped the briefing and received big applause from the press in the audience. The sequel to the 2009 real-time strategy game is coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 in fall 2016.

For more from Xbox at gamescom, including software updates and new hardware announcements, jump after the break. Continue reading Microsoft dominates gamescom in Germany with Xbox One games lineup, software enhancements & welcome hardware additions →

Marvel ditches fourth wall: ‘Deadpool’ is coming [Update: Red-band trailer is here]

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Update (8/4): Here’s the Deadpool red-band trailer, right on schedule. Without giving anything away, I’m just going to say that this is the Deadpool fans have been clamoring for (read: incredibly funny & incredibly violent) and Ryan Reynolds delivers. Interested in watching the more “family-friendly” version of the trailer? Click here; don’t miss Deadpool’s tag at the end of it! Yesterday’s trailer teaser has been pushed below the fold.

Previous: The Merc with the Mouth is ready to play. In typical Deadpool fashion, 20th Century Fox has released a teaser teasing a theatrical trailer due to drop tomorrow. In it, star Ryan Reynolds sits menacingly in the shadows, putting on his best Don LaFontaine impersonation and poking fun at the studio that “sewed [his character’s] f**king mouth shut the first time.” Reynolds, of course, is referring to 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the movie in which Deadpool received screen time with Hugh Jackman’s alter ego but wasn’t afforded the opportunity to fully realize the character. In the upcoming Deadpool, due out in 2016, a deserved redo is in order.

For the uninitiated, Deadpool is yet another character from Marvel’s playpen of superheroes, but he’s starkly different from the rest in that he’s a breaker of the fourth wall. Across comic books, video games, and movies, Deadpool is aware of the medium he’s placed in. At the end of this teaser, Reynolds-as-Deadpool says, “Get ready to blow out your collective sphincters cuz my trailer is coming…tomorrow.” This isn’t simply a tongue-in-cheek trick; this is specifically how Deadpool operates and it’s sure to make the movie weird in all the right ways. Oh, and that’s also why he’s oft-referred to as “The Merc with the Mouth”–he’s got a dirty mouth and he’s not afraid to use it. Deadpool is rated-R, allowing the unfiltered, comic book version of the character to really come alive.

When the red-band trailer releases tomorrow, I’ll be sure to amend this post accordingly. Reynolds is sharing it on Conan Tuesday night, and a lighter green-band version will play in front of Fantastic Four in theatres at the end of the week.

Deadpool also stars Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, and Brianna Hildebrand, and it’s directed by visual effects artist Tim Miller. Due out February 12, 2016. Continue reading Marvel ditches fourth wall: ‘Deadpool’ is coming [Update: Red-band trailer is here] →

Kid Cudi drops guitar-infused single ‘Confused” off his next album ‘Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven’

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It’s been a minute since Kid Cudi shared new music with his cult following. It happened back in early March when he dropped the Ratatat-sampled “love.,” a track that was left on the cutting room floor during the making of his third studio album Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon.

Late last night, Cudder made his comeback by releasing the first official single off Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven, his next album. “Confused” is produced by Cudi and features guitar and bass instruments played by the artist. “Who am I? / Who are we? / Confused, truth is what I choose / Heal I never do,” he croons on top of a grungy beat.

What makes Cudi such a refreshingly unique player in the hip-hop community is that he’s bold enough to reinvent himself on a whim. The third and final installment in his Man on the Moon trilogy is still in the works, and in the meantime he’s been experimenting with a more rock-n-roll vibe, plucking his guitar and traversing in and out genres. It’s hard to call him a rapper these days–Cudi simply cannot be cornered into a single definition. Whether or not you enjoy the deviating paths he’s taken to get here, you’d be remiss not to applaud his resilience to be different.

In a series of tweets from early July, Cudi expressed that “This album is 100% the purest form of my artistic self” and “I’ve ripped my heart out and carved it into tiny pieces of musical madness.” He confirmed that “There are no synths or electronic sounds” on Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven and that it will “consist of all guitar and bass played by myself.” Though the album’s release date has yet to be solidified, Cudi said that it was “98% finished” on the 4th of July. Stay tuned!

“Confused” is streaming on SoundCloud. Thoughts?

Derek Zoolander is back on the scene, has difficulty with sequel’s title in new teaser

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I went to see the new Mission: Impossible this weekend (it was good, not great), and prior to the movie, a trailer pondering the origins of the universe and the human species started to play. I gripped my seat tight in anticipation of what was unfolding. A robotic narrator (I was thinking Stephen Hawking at the time) talks up the big bang and how it led to life on Earth. Suddenly the clip torpedoes you into a human brain, and that’s when things take a turn for the comedic and I started to wonder what’s going on here? 3+4=34…E=mc(hammer)…the definition of the word “Eugoogly”…a don’t-turn-left sign…neon blowdryers and an orange mocha frappuccino…cameras and mermans…it’s all starting to make sense now. Hawking poses: “The one question that has puzzled mankind since the beginning of time?”

“If God exists, then why did he make ugly people?” submits Ben Stiller as dim-witted male model Derek Zoolander. That’s right–all along this was the first teaser trailer for the hotly anticipated Zoolander sequel. Is it 2oolander, or Zoolander II? The teaser has fun with all that towards the end.

I’m not so sure that the teaser lives up to the hysterical unveiling of the sequel during Paris Fashion Week when Stiller and co-star Owen Wilson crashed the runway in character. Though I will say, going into this at the theatre thinking it was a first-look at a new sci-fi flick and then seeing it spin into Zoolander was quite the treat.

Stiller directs a script penned by Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder). Will Ferrell and Christine Taylor reprise their roles from the 2001 original, and joining them are Penelope Cruz and Kristen Wiig. Lots of fun cameos are expected.

2oolander (yeah, I’m sticking with that) hits theatres February 12, 2016. Continue reading Derek Zoolander is back on the scene, has difficulty with sequel’s title in new teaser →

AMC wants more Synth action, renews ‘Humans’; FX cans Billy Crystal’s ‘The Comedians’

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A satisfying renewal and a sour cancellation have taken place this summer. Good news first. AMC, and its international production partners Channel 4 and Kudos, has greenlit a second season of Humans. The show about people cohabitating with androids (or Synths) will return for an eight-episode second season next year.

“We’re so pleased to announce a second season of Humans,” AMC & Sundance TV original programming president Joel Stillerman said in a statement. “As one of the year’s top new cable series, Humans has been embraced by fans and critics across the U.S. and UK. We’re looking forward to continuing this very captivating story and further exploring the show’s parallel, Synth-filled world that hits so disturbingly close to home.”

It didn’t take long for Humans to strike a chord with viewers, myself included. The series takes place in a future that doesn’t seem like it’s that far away from now. How would your family react to an extremely life-like robot taking up space in your home? Humans works because it tells a tantalizingly grounded story that is inherently complex as it is relatable. It asks lofty questions about what it means to be alive and conscious, and it does with with a lineup of unabashedly good-looking Synths. Leading the pack is family servant Anita, played to perfection by Gemma Chan. Her robotic nature in tandem with her spurts of humanity lend to a captivating performance.

AMC airs the Humans first season finale this Sunday, Aug. 2 at 9pm.

Getting the axe is FX freshman comedy The Comedians starring veteran Billy Crystal and the rising Josh Gad. EP Ben Wexler made the news official in a tweet: “#TheComedians is cancelled at FX. I could not be more proud of the work we all did.”

I happened to enjoy watching Crystal and Gad play TV versions of themselves. Also, having worked in TV production, pretty much all of the scenes that took place in the production offices (including the writers’ room, the break room, etc.) were flat-out riots. In addition to being funny, The Comedians eventually slid into a particular groove of matching the laughs with heart. Crystal turned out to be a solid mentor for Gad, the young and in comparison inexperienced comic. If there’s anything to take away from the first and only season of this series, though, it’s that Stephanie Weir is a comedic force to be reckoned with, and she deserves more time in the spotlight. The Mad TV alum was featured in some outrageously funny sequences here, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the origin of everything in eight minutes

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Via Cosmos and StarTalk, renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is able to wonderfully articulate the wildly compelling complexities of the universe. This month, YouTube channel MinutePhysics got Dr. Tyson to narrate in his trancing voice “A Brief History of Everything,” an 8-minute condensed tale of the universe from conception to modern day. The clip, embedded above for your viewing pleasure, is nothing short of fascinating. NDT’s words and descriptions for the layman are entirely digestible, Henry Reich’s stop-motion illustrations are perfect aids, and Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” orchestration provides a deserving epic backdrop. Now, mash play and satiate your curiosity. And don’t forget to keep looking up.

This singing machine alleviates our inevitable A.I.-run future

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Artistic takes on artificial intelligence, such as Alex Garland’s excellent sci-fi film Ex Machina and AMC’s new synth series Humans, provide a glimpse into our not-so-distant future. A future where humans and robots co-exist and it is hard to tell where the “natural” line breaks. What you see here, an art installation by German creative technologist Martin Backes, is a primitive stab at the future of AI. And yet, this fully automated machine which endlessly sings classic ballads from the ’90s, manages to mimic real human emotion. Hit play and close your eyes; if you weren’t told this was machine belting out Whitney Houston and Celine Dion tunes, you might just think it was coming from a muffled human singer. It’s kind of frightening to think about, sure, but I also find the sound soothing.

“As the computer program performs these emotionally loaded songs, it attempts to apply the appropriate human sentiments,” Backes says on his website. “This behavior of the device seems to reflect a desire, on the part of the machine, to become sophisticated enough to have its very own personality.”

Behind the scenes, Backes has a paired a computer with SuperCollider, a programming language used by musicians, scientists, and artists working with sound. The minimalist execution impresses: the screen, the stand, the mic, and the captivating graphical interface supplanting human eyes with lyrics and a mouth constructed of a fluctuating white bar matching note inflections.

Whether you know it or not, you’ve likely already accepted primitive AIs into your life. Siri and Cortana and Google Now are all proactive assistants on your phone that communicate with you and learn your preferences and habits. Imagine Siri going off and starting a band; Backes’ creation is just that. Can you imagine a future where Taylor Swift is competing against a machine for a Grammy? It’s strange, but I can.

Steve Jobs documentary examines the multifaceted trendsetter

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“Bold. Brilliant. Brutal.” That’s the tagline for Alex Gibney’s documentary focusing on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Gibney, who directed the critically-acclaimed HBO scientology doc Going Clear, picks away at Jobs’ sheen he accumulated over the years as he helped build Apple into a major technological innovating machine. By the end of the trailer you get a sense that Gibney aims to shine a light on the good, the bad, and the ugly surrounding Jobs’ rise to iconic status and yes, emotions run high. Apple exec Eddy Cue publicly denounced the film calling it “an inaccurate and mean-spirited view of my friend.”

Apple fanboys and fangirls will get their opportunity to conjure an opinion about Gibney’s doc when Steve Jobs: The Man In The Machine hits theatres and digital platforms (including iTunes and On Demand) September 4.

“This is a story that’s amazing,” Jobs exclaims in the trailer. “Its got theft, stolen property, extortion, there’s sex in there. Somebody should make a movie out of this!” It’s already been done…and then there’s this doc…and coming this fall is another movie based on his life. Steve, whether or not you stand by them up there in the clouds, movies are being made about you and your wish is coming true.

Christoph Waltz steps out of the shadows in latest ‘SPECTRE’ sneak

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The first full-length trailer for Bond 24 aka SPECTRE has arrived. Sam Mendes directs Daniel Craig as the actor suits up to portray the British Secret Service agent 007 for the fourth time. All of the major players get some screen in this extended look at the action-packed movie, even Bond’s new getaway vehicle, the Astin Martin DB10. Christoph Waltz’ Hannes Oberhauser remains shrouded in mystery, but at least we get a better look at him here than before. “You came across me so many times and yet you never saw me. What took you so long?” And then: “It was me, James. The author of all your pain.” Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) has perfected playing sinister. The official film synopsis follows:

A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.

Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot.

As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.

SPECTRE hits theatres November 6.

‘Wet Hot American Summer’ featurette takes you back to the summer of ’81

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We’re only four days away from the launch of the Wet Hot American Summer revival on Netflix! To celebrate this momentous occasion, travel back in time to 1981 in this nearly three-and-a-half minute Wet Hot featurette. In it you’ll go behind-the-scenes and witness the sheer excitement taking place during the first day of shooting when the entire cast from the 2001 cult comedy reunited for the 8-episode streaming series. Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks and all the rest return to play younger versions of themselves since the new Wet Hot takes place during the first day of camp at Camp Firewood (the movie took place on the last day of camp). You’ll hear from the returning cast, as well as some of the newbies including John Slattery (Mad Men), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Jason Schwartzman (Bored to Death), Jordan Peele (Key and Peele), and Lake Bell (Childrens Hospital).

“Working on this just feels like when we shot Wet Hot—it’s really cold, we’re moving really fast and, you know, everybody’s having sex with each other,” says Poehler.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is out this Friday, July 31. Watch the official trailer here.

Disclosure & Sam Smith drop new collab “Omen”

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Disclosure and Sam Smith are back with their second major collaboration. The followup to “Latch” is “Omen” and it features the rising crooner on top of moody Lawrence brothers beat. “Omen” is the second single off Disclosure’s imminent sophomore effort, Caracal. The steamy music video, featuring Smith in a Mexico City club, is the second of a four-part series directed by Ryan Hope. Last month, when Disclosure dropped “Holding On,” part one of the series, they laid out Caracal‘s initial rollout via Twitter:

“We wanted to create something very different with our music videos this time around…something unique that would connect all the songs from the album and the videos in a special way. This is the first of a series of four amazing videos directed by Ryan Hope that come together to create a short film… ‘CARACAL.’ As each music video comes out… The plot unfolds. Hope you enjoy!”

If you’re interested in following the trials and tribulations of Mariela, a rebel caught up in a heavily surveilled dystopian future, watch the video for “Holding On” first (featuring vocals from Gregory Porter) and then mash play on “Omen.” The synth-pop house duo will likely release the final two installments prior to Caracal‘s launch on September 25. Preorder Caracal today, and stream “Omen” on Spotify.

What do you think of the new Disclosure x Sam Smith collab? Think it’ll take over the radio waves like “Latch” did last year? When Disclosure released that Settle single in 2012, it took about two years for it to explode onto scene in the US. At the time, Smith hadn’t even released his solo debut In the Lonely Hour. Now, Disclosure is more of household name here in the States, and Smith has piled on the accolades since his first album dropped. In summation, “Omen” is destined to reach the top of the charts.

2015 MTV VMA nominations: Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” dominates the competition

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This year’s MTV Video Music Awards nominations were announced today on Beats 1, a major coup for Apple’s infantile Internet radio station. Too bad the station went down during the live feed. Anyway…

No surprise here: Taylor Swift, the artist who pushed Apple to pay royalties to all artists during Apple Music’s free trial period, comes out on top with the most nominations: nine. Her hit single “Bad Blood,” whose music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, earned seven nods total, including Video of the Year. Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé garnered six and five nods, respectively, thanks to their singles “Thinking Out Loud” and “7/11.” Those music videos join T-Swift’s “Bad Blood” in the Video of the Year category along with Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”

The 2015 VMAs airs Sunday, August 30 at 9pm (ET), hosted by Miley Cyrus. Jump after the break for the full list of nominees. Continue reading 2015 MTV VMA nominations: Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” dominates the competition →