Nearly ten years after the first movie wowed audiences around the world, Hiccup and Toothless are back. How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World concludes the trilogy and it’s slowly making its way out of theatres and into home video. The best is being saved for last as this physical release comes with a bevvy of extras! The release is coming to Digital on May 7, 2019, and to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray™, DVD, and On Demand May 21, 2019, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
The physical release features over an hour of exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus content including an alternate opening, two DreamWorks animated shorts, deleted scenes and more.
AR or VR enthusiasts have the choice of playing two versions of Ghostbusters World. Adaptations of this franchise have manifested in many forms and the part many gamers get the most thrill from is in blasting a ghost and sending them to the aether. Well, to put ’em into a trap. From the Commodore 64 game to PlayStation 3, I have almost played them all. None can be as exhilarating as having that right first person shooter perspective.
With this new game by Sony, Ghost Corps, 4:33, and Next Age, the idea is almost there. For some reason, I think playing this game with a selfie stick holding the smartphone can add to the idea of welding a photon pack proper. Even without, the idea of chasing after spirits feel good! The best part of this game is to see the work of local artist, Dan Schoening (who illustrates IDW’s comic books) make up the part of this game. I’m fairly sure some of his art is used in the story mode.
Lenovo + Disney’s Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is an imperfect augmented reality game. This product can be ordered direct from the manufacturer or online. Best Buy had this product as an exclusive before the movie The Last Jedi. Fans lucky enough to get this product as a gift were no doubt excited, and hopefully, they did not have to return it as not all smartphones work. This product supplies the hardware to play and the software needs to be downloaded. This game is definitely for the lightsaber enthusiast. Trials of Combat, provides one heck of a workout for the arms and the other two (Insight and Leadership), knowing some board game battle strategy helps.
However, one huge problem exists: The tracking beacon (aka the Holocron) is supposed to indicate where the “floor” is. When I held it in my hand, the software did not recognize how close it was to my face and the hologram being projected did not scale down like it is supposed to (as seen in the series). I was often staring at the lower part of the map or my opponent’s feet.
Both Videogames the Movie and the upcoming eight-part documentary, Unlocked, the World of Games Revealed are a passion project from filmmaker Jeremy Snead.
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Both Videogames the Movie and the upcoming eight-part documentary, Unlocked, the World of Games Revealedare a passion project from filmmaker Jeremy Snead. With the former, he focussed on certain aspects of an industry that he knew he could comfortably cover — history, culture and business — but as for what’s next, the seeds were already planted and to see the idea grow was required.
“I met a couple of producers that asked me what to make next if I could take my pick, and that’s where Unlocked started,” said Snead.
This new series will become available online Dec 15, through iTunes, Google Play, Steam and Amazon and a physical release with bonus material is being planned. The topics explored present more than a look at videogames impact upon society. It has celebrity correspondents who are genuinely interested in the subject they are presenting. To decide on what topics to explore was not easy for this producer. The list was huge. To match the right person to look into that particular aspect of an industry or part of the culture was not always easy. To decide on having eight topics explored throughout the eight episodes felt right, according to this director, and he joked, “How long do we need [to tell the story] without lingering too much without making it a Ken Burns 15 hour style docu-series?”
Nicholas Gyeney is an independent filmmaker based out of Seattle, Washington and his upcoming film, Beta Test, will definitely break one cinematic record that I’ve seen and am excited for. It will feature a really long continuous shot of well-coordinated fight scene! Getting a film noticed in the sea of summer blockbuster material is tough, and I feel this director succeeded.
His past works include The Penitent Man (2010) with Lance Henriksen in an important role, and Matt’s Choice (2013), starring Edward Furlong, Lee Majors and Margot Kidder. In my interview with him, he revealed that he creates the characters with specific performers in mind, and that alone has me interested in seeking out his earlier material to check out. After seeing his latest movie, I found myself appreciating Manu Bennett (Arrow) and Larenz Tate’s (Crash) talents more. A review can be found on this website titled, “Playing Video Games Can Be Dangerous in the Film, ‘Beta Test'”
This movie is set to debut in select theatres across the USA on July 22nd (see below for listings) and it will arrive on VOD the following month at outlets like iTunes, Google Play, Amazon. I have to thank Gyeney for taking the time to answer my questions.
ES: Can you please introduce yourself to readers unfamiliar with your movies?
NG: I fell in love with film at a young age. Dad introduced me to it all. He died when I was 12. It changed my life. I discovered filmmaking when I realized the impact movies had on my ability to get through losing my father. I decided to work towards creating films that could return the favor.
ES: How did the story come about?
NG: It was born out of a desire to make an indie action film that injected, hopefully, a bit more class into the indie action sub-genre. Most of the films we see in this market are plagued by sloppy production values from the top down. I wanted something to help change the conversation. A movie that says, just because we are small, doesn’t mean we have to be bad. With that said, I knew I had to come up with some sort of spectacle that could sell the film, which is where the idea for the longest single-take fight sequence was born.
Nearly ten years after the first movie wowed audiences around the world, Hiccup and Toothless are back. How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World concludes the trilogy and it’s slowly making its way out of theatres and into home video. The best is being saved for last as this physical release comes with a bevvy of extras! The release is coming to Digital on May 7, 2019, and to 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray™, DVD, and On Demand May 21, 2019, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
By Ed Sum
By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)