WGTC Huddle is a recurring feature on We Got This Covered, where editors discuss news, gaming trends, hot titles, and what they had for breakfast. This week, WGTC editors Griffin Vacheron and Michael Briers are joined by we'll be taking a look at the so-far problematic Wii U. How dire is Nintendo's situation? What can possibly be done? Read on to find out.
Superheroes: fictional characters doing impossible things in implausible costumes. Why is society so fascinated by them? Of course, they inspire us, and reassure us, and certainly entertain us. They also provide a platform for story-telling that is epic in scale – often allowing for sweeping sci-fi or historical drama, alongside intimate tales of relationships and familial bonds. It is hardly surprising that the world of film adopts – and occasionally spawns - so many of these characters as its own.
With the release of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones recently behind us, and with upcoming found footage movies like Devil's Due and Paranormal Activity 5 on the horizon, there seems to be no end for this subgenre in sight. From a studio standpoint, why should there be? Found footage movies are often cheaper to make, they can be tremendous financial successes, and the gamble factor is much lower - but for ever properly executed first-person POV film cranked out The Blair Witch style, there's ten other films made by a group of ill-advised get-rich-quick filmmakers who brought a handheld camera into the woods. Hollywood - if you're going to keep making found footage movies, can you at least do it right?
2013 was a great year for television. The exact same thing was said about 2012 when we kicked off last year’s “Best of” list, so maybe we’re passed the point of having to openly state that TV’s been pretty freaking awesome for a while now. It’s been so good for so long now, critics now spend less time arguing for TV’s place at the artistic big kids table, and more time figuring out what exactly we’ll be calling the last decade-plus of boobtube brilliance years from now. Golden Age, Silver Age, Digital Age –however you put it, the most notable problem plaguing TV lovers these days isn’t finding something good to watch, it’s finding enough hours in the day to try and just keep up with all the shows worth watching.
With new iterations in Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon and a rebooted Tomb Raider cramming up the figurative calendar, 2013 could well stand alongside 2007 as one of the most fruitful and indeed successful years in gaming history. What’s more, it will also go down as the year of Microsoft’s bold and abrupt u-turn back in June, which saw the company reverse all DRM facets of the Xbox One — including the mandatory Internet connection and game sharing — in the wake of a passionate backlash from the community.
The summer of 2013 may go down in history as one known for over-priced turkeys that flopped both with critics and at the box office (The Lone Ranger, R.I.P.D), but that doesn't mean that there weren't some terrific films out there. Here at We Got This Covered, we adore great cinema for what it can do to us. The best movies can make us laugh or make us cry, draw us in with beguiling beauty or shock us with staggering ambition and force. They can make our hearts soar or scare the pants off us, enlighten us about our own world or fully transport us to another. And the summer of 2013 yielded some films that did all of the above.
Anybody who dares to call themselves a fan of science-fiction knows the story of Ender's Game by heart. The story of Ender Wiggin's rise through Battle School and eventual confrontation with the Buggers is one of the genre's most beloved stories, and for good reason. Orson Scott Card became a household name after the first novel of many in the series, going on to add at least a dozen more tales to the timeline. Ender's lifetime has been chronicled endlessly, as have the stories that surround his legacy and siblings, compassionate Valentine and savage yet intelligent Peter.
Explosions, big guns, sculpted muscles, cheesy one-liners and macho men being completely badass, what's not to love about the action genre? It's given us some of the most exciting films of all time and is the go-to genre for those looking to enjoy themselves at the theatre. It is also one of the few genres where the writing and acting doesn't necessarily need to be strong. As long as audiences get the their adrenaline-fuelled roller-coaster ride, they'll leave the theatre satisfied.
James Mangold and Hugh Jackman have made it very clear that The Wolverine won't be connected to the other X-Men films in any way. That makes a lot of sense, because more often than not, fans have been fairly disappointed with the series. But the one thing that has never been disappointing is Jackman's portrayal of the character.
