Month: November 2019

From the Dark Tower to Nightmare on Elm Street.

Unsurprisingly, Doctor Sleep is a movie that draws from multiple legacies–and as such, has plenty of opportunities for Easter Eggs, references, and callbacks to not only The Shining in both of its forms but the entire pantheon of Stephen King’s horror–and the horror genre in general. It’s jam-packed with winks and nods to King’s history, shout-outs to Stanley Kubrick, and even some carefully placed self-references from writer/director Mike Flanagan himself.

With that in mind, consider this your spoiler warning–not just for Doctor Sleep, the movie, but for the novel, and both versions of The Shining as well. Though, if you’ve somehow made it this far with no knowledge of The Shining, we seriously applaud you. That must have taken some real dedication.

Doctor Sleep follows the grown-up Danny Torrance, now going by Dan, as he copes with his psychic gifts (his “shine”) into adulthood and, eventually, comes face-to-face with an entirely new threat. The True Knot, a band of quasi-vampiric, semi-immortal monsters who feed on the psychic energy released upon death, or “steam,” have set their sights on a young girl who physically connects with Dan. Now he must reckon with the ghosts of his past to save her–and return to some of the most traumatic and horrifying places of his childhood in the process.

Doctor Sleep is in theaters now.

Those opening sounds

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more iconic set of musical chords than The Shining’s blaring bass notes. Bwaah-bwah-bwaah-bwah–you know the ones.

Room 237

The Overlook Hotel’s most haunted room, Room 237, crops up more than once. Both the room itself and it’s most horrifying inhabitant, the bathtub woman, terrorize Dan and Abra.

Room 217

In The Shining novel, The Overlook’s infamous room wasn’t 237 but 217. In Doctor Sleep, the original room 217 gets a nod in the form of the hospice room Dan sees the ghost of Hallorann in for the final time.

Rose’s Hat

Rose’s first victim, a little girl named Violet, points out her hat, which Rose takes care to describe as one of her personal signatures–so much so that it’s even become part of her name. Rose’s hat is one of her biggest defining features in the novel, and one of her most mysterious. The hat’s origin is never explained in either incarnation of the story, but we do get a pretty pointed moment here in the movie where she becomes visibly distressed when it gets knocked off her head and a stranger moves to touch it.

“Doc” Torrance

Danny may be going by “Dan” now as an adult, but his ghostly mentor still calls him by his childhood nickname: “Doc.”

Dick Hallorann

Dick Hallorann’s fate differs between The Shining as a novel and as a movie. In the former, he survives The Overlook and is able to help both Danny and Wendy in the aftermath of the chaos. In the movie, however, he’s killed. Here in Doctor Sleep, it’s almost a blend of the two: Dick is dead, but still able to be Dan’s mentor thanks to his Shine, which allows him to see and communicate with ghosts. Thankfully Dick, unlike the other spirits from The Overlook, is anything but malevolent.

Casablanca

Snakebite Andi lures her victim into a movie theater playing Casablanca, the classic Humphry Bogard/Ingrid Bergman movie about trying to escape Nazi-occupied Europe.

Abra’s Poltergeist-like powers

The first demonstration of Abra’s Shine comes to us in a very Poltergeist flavored scene where she inadvertently makes every spoon in her family’s kitchen dig into the ceiling after seeing a magician use spoons for magic tricks at her birthday party. It may not be a heap of chairs, but it’s pretty close.

Children of the Corn

You can’t put a little kid anywhere near a cornfield in a Stephen King story without evoking the spirit of Children of the Corn, which is exactly the case during poor Bradley Treavor’s abduction by the True Knot, right after his baseball game.

RWBY

Abra’s apparently a big fan of the animated show RWBY–her room is decked out in RWBY posters and figurines.

Nightmare on Elm Street

Abra’s family home is located on quiet, suburban Elm Street. Her dreams aren’t invaded by Freddy Krueger, obviously, but Rose The Hat does a pretty passable impression.

“Tony”

Dan’s imaginary friend/manifestation of his Shine is a person he calls “Tony,” who happens to live in his finger. In The Shining, Dan even did a creepy voice to “speak” for Tony–it never comes up here in Doctor Sleep, but Tony himself does get a number of name-checks.

“Great party, isn’t it?”

Horace M. Derwent is one of The Overlook’s most iconic ghosts, partly because of his massive, bleeding head wound, but mostly thanks to his perfectly memetic line: “Great party, isn’t it?” Which gets a direct shout-out here in Doctor Sleep, alongside a cameo from Horace himself.

The twins

The twins who ask Danny to “come play with” them are probably the single most famous thing to come from The Shining aside from Jack Nicholson’s performance itself–so, of course, they show back up here in Doctor Sleep.

Gerald’s Game

Mike Flanagan was able to nod to one of his own Stephen King adaptations, Gerald’s Game, during the scene in which Rose’s hand is pretty brutally smashed, and partially skinned, while she tries to rifle around Abra’s mind. In a conversation with GameSpot about the moment, he laughed and confessed that he loves any opportunity to “really f*** up a hand.”

Jack Torrance

Jack’s ghost gets to have a conversation with his adult son in The Overlook’s Gold Room, which perfectly mirror’s Jack’s own conversation with Lloyd at the bar as he spiraled into his own madness.

The Oculus Mirror

Flanagan was able to sneak one more nod to his own work into Doctor Sleep: The cursed mirror from Oculus, which, he admitted he originally pitched as “a portable Overlook hotel” when he was first working to get the movie made. You’ll be able to spot it just outside the Gold Room, lurking down the hall as Dan rounds the corner.

The Overlook’s Fate

The ultimate fate of The Overlook was drastically changed for Stanley Kubrick’s version of the story, which is a legacy preserved here in the film version of Doctor Sleep as well. The Overlook may have been abandoned and left to rot, but it’s definitely still standing–for now, at least.

Screaming Steam

The sounds of the True Knot’s steam canisters are in fact altered versions of the screams of children–specifically the screams of Violet and Bradley, both of whom we were able to see the True Knot take during the events of the film.

Trike Tires

Moments before the big shoot out in the forest, the sound of the True Knot’s tires moving from pavement to dirt was overlayed with the original sound of Danny’s trike tires on The Overlook’s carpeted hallways–a little sonic trick Flanagan and his team used to ramp up the tension of the moment.

Summer vs. Winter

We’re tweeted to a sweeping aerial shot of the journey to The Overlook which mirrors the original approach we first saw in The Shining. Back in 1980, we visited the hotel in the winter–here, in the modern day, we’re returning to the rotting husk in the summer.

The Redrum Door

Of course, the infamous “here’s Johnny” scene gets a direct nod in Doctor Sleep–Dan even peers through the hole his father cut into the door to match the shot.

Dan’s ax

Dan arms himself with an ax before the final fight–just like his father.

Up the stairs

During the last battle, Rose pointedly backs Dan up the stairs of The Overlook’s Colorado Lounge in a perfect mirror of the scene from The Shining where Jack forces Wendy into the same position.

A father/son ending

Dan’s ending here in the movie version of Doctor Sleep is dramatically different from the ending of the novel, but it is directly lifted from The Shining’s original ending for Jack, where he sacrifices himself by blowing The Overlook’s boilers and leveling the hotel. Giving Dan Jack’s ending–the one King never got to see made real in Kubrick’s film–was an important way to button the story for Mike Flanagan, who counts that pitch among the scariest he’s ever had to do.

The Blood Wave

Blood pouring out of The Overlook’s elevators is one of the most dramatic “gore” moments in Kubrick’s The Shining, and Rose gets to experience it first hand as she wanders around The Overlook.

Joe Collins

The theater playing Casablanca where Snakebite Andi lures her prey boasts an upcoming show for standup comedian Joe Collins on the marquee. Joe Collins is a character in King’s Dark Tower universe who is actually a monster that feeds on laughter.

Tet Transit

The bus that brings Dan to New Hampshire is branded with a “Tet Transit” logo, a nod to the “Tet Corporation” which exists within the Dark Tower series.

LaMerk Industries

Bradley meets his tragic fate on the grounds of an abandoned factory–an ethanol plant–which Abra uncovers by peering into the minds of various members of the True Knot. The plant itself is run by LaMerk Industries, a reference to the LaMerk Foundry, a company in the Dark Tower series run by the series’ main antagonist, the Crimson King.

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly  video game podcast. This week we’re discussing Death Stranding, the most important games of the 2010s, the 1990 Video Game Buyer’s Guide, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

Listen on:

Apple Podcasts

YouTube

Spotify

Stitcher

The long wait in between Rick and Morty seasons is basically just part of the experience at this point–whatever creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon may promise about taking less time between future seasons. But that makes it even sweeter when new episodes finally arrive. And with the Season 4 premiere airing this weekend on November 10, Rick and Morty fans have plenty to look forward to.

The episode, titled “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat,” sends the titular characters on two distinct adventures, separate from one another (sort of). In one, Morty uses a “death crystal” that lets him see how he’ll die to reverse-engineer a future in which he winds up with his crush, Jessica. Meanwhile, Rick’s consciousness gets re-routed to other Ricks’ back-up clone pods in a series of increasingly strange alternate realities.

In many ways, these types of stories are what pass for “standard” Rick and Morty fare. Bonkers alien technology, Morty’s adolescent obsessions, alternate realities in which the characters are giant shrimp-people or everyone is a Nazi–or both; this is the baseline level of fun-filled chaos that Rick and Morty fans expect at this point. The show’s Season 4 premiere doesn’t do anything so outlandish that we haven’t seen its match (or better) before; it doesn’t expand Rick and Morty’s horizons or open up a whole new dimension, like Rick Potion No. 9 or anything involving the Citadel of Ricks have in the past.

If you’re disappointed by that, your expectations are too high. What “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” does is showcase Rick and Morty at the top of its game: This is an episode made by Roiland and Harmon at their most confident and assured. They’ve explained over and over again how taxing and challenging Rick and Morty is for them to make, but in the Season 4 premiere, they make it look easy. The episode gives off the impression of two creators who know exactly what they’re doing and what they want to say.

And this is exactly what they set themselves up for with the Season 3 finale. This show has gone down some astonishing, horrific wormholes over the years, but in that finale, they somehow managed to maneuver themselves into something of a reset. The question of whether Beth is a clone was never really answered–but does it matter? Jerry and Beth are back together, and about as happy as they’ve ever been; Rick grudgingly remains with the family instead of jettisoning their baggage so he can live up to his infinite potential. Morty and Summer have experienced so much and grown as people, but in the end, they too are right back where they started.

From that springboard, the show can embark on more Rick and Morty adventures, and with the Season 4 premiere, that’s exactly what we get. “Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat” doesn’t tear any new holes in space-time, send the duo down any particularly existential tangents, or span entire galaxies with a story that redefines reality itself as a simulation inside a car battery or a VR game at a galactic arcade. It’s just a solid, disgusting, shocking, disturbing, and hilarious episode of Rick and Morty. And isn’t that what everyone really wants?

Marvel Studios is lining up writing talent for two of its upcoming Disney+ shows. Both She-Hulk and Moon Knight have head writers.

The Hollywood Reporter reveals Rick and Morty writer Jessica Gao has been picked to oversee writing on She-Hulk. Gao may be best known for penning the Emmy-winning episode “Pickle Rick,” which would seem to indicate the tone Marvel is aiming for with this series.

Also per The Hollywood Reporter, The Umbrella Academy’s Jeremy Slater will serve as head writer on Moon Knight. Slater created and developed the Netflix adaptation of the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba.

Continue reading…

Only Bring These Essentials

One of the most challenging parts of Death Stranding is deciding on what to bring with you on a delivery run. Fret not, weary traveler; we have your back! Like a metaphorical bridge leading you over a river of confusion, let us clue you in on the vitals to tools necessary to survive in the world of Death Stranding. So grab a ladder and PCC, and come with us on this expedition!

Below we detail some of the best items to bring before embarking on a delivery. For more Death Stranding features, check out our in-depth beginner’s guide and our explainer highlighting all the most significant celebrity cameos we’ve found so far.

For more Death Stranding features, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide, and another that explains how long it takes to beat the game.

You can also check out our full review, where reviews editor Kallie Plagge gave the game a 9/10 and said, “Death Stranding is a hard game to absorb. There are many intertwining threads to its plot, and silly names, corny moments, and heavy exposition belie an otherwise very simple message. That comes through much more clearly in the game’s more mundane moments, when you find a desperately-needed ladder left behind by another player or receive a letter from an NPC thanking you for your efforts. It’s positive without ignoring pain; in fact, it argues in both its story and its gameplay that adversity itself is what makes things worth doing and life worth living. It’s a game that requires patience, compassion, and love, and it’s also one we really need right now.”

Ladder x2

Ladders are one of the most useful tools in your arsenal and can be handy when facing treacherous terrain. They can be used not only for climbing up to or down from high areas, but can also be placed horizontally to help bridge gaps and get over dangerous areas, like pitfalls and rushing rapids. Carrying two ladders is our general recommendation, but if you’re lacking space, one should suffice.

Climbing Anchor x1

Ladders aren’t the only essential tool to bring along; climbing anchors are just as important. With these, you can descend from any point with ease, but be mindful of how far you need to go. After all, a single anchor only has about 30 meters of rope to use, so try to be mindful of the distance you’re climbing. Where the climbing anchor is most useful is the long-term value once you place one into the environment. You can use it on return trips to climb up or down, sparing you the inconvenience of navigating steep areas on foot.

It’s important to note that holding a climbing anchor’s rope gives you perfect stability no matter what you’re carrying on your back, which can be great for walking down steep hills when you’ve got a lot of cargo on your back. With all this said, we recommend taking at least one climbing anchor with you–maybe two if you have the room.

PCC x2

Another essential piece of equipment is the PCC (Portable Chiral Constructor). It’s possibly the most critical piece of equipment you’ve got in your arsenal. The PCC functions similarly to a portable 3D printer and can be used to generate structures that can help you and other porters out immensely. These structures include postboxes, generators, watchtowers, bridges, and more.

On a standard delivery, it helps always to have at least two PCCs at all times, which should suffice for constructing generators to charge any energy-consuming gear or vehicles you’ve taken with you. If you’re the type to emphasize helping others, then you’re always welcome to bring more, since PCCs don’t take up too much space in your inventory.

Hematic Grenades x1

Hematic Grenades are your first line of defense against BTs when your effort to sneak past them goes south. They siphon Sam’s blood into a grenade that explodes on impact–instantly taking out any BTs the explosion touches. Until you get the grenade pouches for the backpack in Episode 3, it’s wise to keep at least one box of Hematic Grenades at all times, as each only contains five grenades. It should be more than enough to get you through BT territory early on.

Bridge Boots x1 (On Boot Clip)

You’re going to be doing a lot of walking in Death Stranding, and something you may not consider is the boots that you’re wearing. The more you walk, the more they gradually wear down, and once they’re ruined, Sam’s blood levels begin to drain–because his feet are literally bleeding. So the last thing you want to happen mid-delivery is to get stuck wearing torn-up shoes. To avoid some of the most uncomfortable shower scenes in video game history, you should always carry an extra set of Bridge Boots with you. It’s possible to bring two, but it’s not entirely necessary.

Exoskeleton x1

You don’t unlock exoskeletons for use until Episode 3, but once you do, they’re mandatory equipment. The first exoskeleton you get is the Power Skeleton, which is unlocked for fabrication after making a few deliveries for the Engineer. This lovely exoskeleton increases your carrying capacity significantly and even helps with traversal a bit by allowing you to sprint while carrying cargo that would generally make you fall over.

More exoskeletons are unlocked the further along you get, and each excels at different things. For example, the Speed Skeleton allows you to move and sprint much faster at the cost of increased battery drain speed. Once you get a few more options, weigh in on which best suits your needs during a delivery. Regardless, once you get access to exoskeletons, there’s no looking back.

Bola Gun x1

With BTs and MULEs running around, you never know when you’ll need to defend yourself. To ensure you’re prepared, it helps to have a firearm. The Bola Gun is handy for quick self-defense against MULEs. You first unlock it from the Craftsman during Episode 3 after finding and delivering his tools. If you keep doing deliveries for the Craftsman, you’ll eventually unlock the Bola Gun (LV. 2), which infuses Sam’s blood into its ammo, allowing you to disable BTs temporarily.

Since the Bola Gun is a medium-sized piece of cargo, it does take up a bit of space. To help circumvent this issue, we recommend equipping it to your tool wrack to clear up space in your backpack. If you use another tool, the Bola Gun will get rearranged onto your back, but when this happens, quickly reorganize to get back the ideal backpack space.

Container Repair Spray x1

Always be sure to pack a Container Repair Spray, which you unlock for fabrication early on. This handy tool can restore cargo containers after exposure to Timefall, which can be extremely helpful in preventing cargo from taking damage during long treks. We recommend using it right before your about to complete a delivery at a terminal.

Any Delivery Vehicle x1

It’s not always necessary, but sometimes the burden you need to carry is too much no matter how you redistribute the cargo on Sam’s person. Vehicles like the Reverse Trike and the Truck can assist with what you can’t carry. When you fabricate a vehicle, you’re free to distribute cargo onto it. Though be mindful that too much cargo on a vehicle will dramatically decrease its top speed. We recommend the truck for most deliveries due to its high carrying capacity. Its long-range variant is especially useful when taking on multiple deliveries at the same time thanks to its extended battery power. On the other hand, long-range Reverse Trikes are also great for essential deliveries despite the cargo space trade-off.

Bonus: Floating Carrier x1

You unlock the floating carrier later on during Episode 3. It’s basically a carrying cart you can attach to your belt that holds more cargo. It takes up a lot of space in your backpack, so we don’t wholeheartedly recommend bringing one with you before every delivery, but it’s essential if you’ve got a large order that requires you to go through territory that doesn’t allow vehicle access. It’s also worth packing with you when you need to transport a ton of materials to a large structure you’re building.

Oh, and you can jump on the floating carrier and ride it like skateboard down steep hills. It’s super fun…and dangerous.

Red Dead Redemption 2 has finally landed on PC and, launch woes aside, it’s glorious. If you have the gaming PC to run it, it is one of the most visually stunning games available today. But what does it take to run it? That’s the question we’re out to answer. We tested half a dozen of the most popular graphics cards today and put them up against the game’s meaty, system-straining benchmark. Wondering if your PC is up to the task? Saddle up and let’s find out.

Continue reading…

From Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, here are the best Blu-rays, DVDs and Ultra HD releases coming out in November.

Remember the Disney Vault? It was the House of Mouse’s cute way of keeping their glorious animated movies out of your hands, only releasing certain films for a limited time in retail stores of return engagements in movie theaters. You either bought them during this window or you had to wait until it was released again, which usually took years. However, with the streaming service Disney+, the vault is gone.

When Disney+ arrives on November 12, the vast majority of Disney movies that have been locked away will be available to stream on Day One. That means you don’t have to wait around for a Blu-ray release of Robin Hood in order to watch it. You can stream it on Tuesday.

The new streaming service officially goes live at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET on November 12, and you can get a reminder from Twitter when the service launches. Sadly, those in Europe will have to wait until Spring 2020 to join in on the fun. While Disney+ will cost $7–or $13 a month bundled with ESPN+ and an ad-supported version of Hulu–certain Verizon customers can get it for a year for the low, low price of $0.

There is plenty to watch on launch day for Disney+, including a ton of Marvel movies and TV shows, animated series you may have forgotten about, all the Star Wars stuff on the service, and even Avengers: Endgame. Below, you’ll find the complete list for Disney animated movies available to watch on Disney+.

Disney animated classics on Disney+

• 101 Dalmatians
• The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
• Aladdin
• Alice in Wonderland
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire
• The Aristocats
• Bambi
• Beauty and the Beast
• The Black Cauldron
• Brother Bear
• Cinderella
• Dumbo
• The Emperor’s New Groove
• Fantasia
• Fantasia 2000
• The Fox and the Hound
• The Great Mouse Detective
• Hercules
• Home on the Range
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• The Jungle Book
• Lady and the Tramp
• Lilo & Stitch
• The Lion King
• The Little Mermaid
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Moana
• Mulan
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Oliver & Company
• Peter Pan
• Pinocchio
• Pocahontas
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Rescuers
• The Rescuers Down Under
• Robin Hood
• Sleeping Beauty
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Steamboat Willie
• The Sword in the Stone
• Treasure Planet

While there have been no new developments since it was first announced at D23, there’s finally some movement on the She-Hulk TV show, which is in the works for the Disney+ streaming service. Marvel Studios has reportedly found the writer to develop the show and lead its writers’ room.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rick and Morty alum Jessica Gao has been chosen to develop She-Hulk for Disney+. Among Gao’s credits is the Pickle Rick episode of Rick and Morty, which she wrote. Other shows she’s worked on include Comedy Central’s Corporate and HBO’s Silicon Valley.

Gao’s hiring points to a more comedic tone for the series than you might have imagined. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed at D23 that the show would at least somewhat follow comic book continuity, with the She-Hulk in question being Jennifer Walters. In the comics, Walters is a lawyer and the cousin of Bruce Banner, who retains her personality and intelligence when she turns into She-Hulk.

No other details about She-Hulk have been revealed just yet, but it’s only one of a handful of Marvel Cinematic Universe shows being developed for Disney+. It was also announced at D23 that Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight would be getting their own standalone shows, joining the likes of Hawkeye, Loki, WandaVision, and The Falcon and Winter Soldier–which is currently filming.

Disney+ launches in the United States on November 12. Make sure to take a look at every Marvel and Star Wars title available on Day One, plus a look back at the best ’80s movies you’ll be able to stream.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Titans: Season 2, Episode 10! If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s our review for Season 2, Episode 9. And then check out our feature comparing DC Universe to the upcoming HBO Max service.

As much as Titans has taken on more comic book trappings in Season 2, this is still a much darker take on that source material at the end of the day. “Fallen” is a stark reminder of that fact, transforming an already grim superhero series into a prison drama of all things. But while this episode manages to tie some of the show’s many loose ends together, it’s not clear why the series needs to shift in such a dramatically different direction.

Continue reading…