Thor: Ragnarok Is Very Different, And You Can Thank Kevin Smith’s Criticism For That

Anyone who has seen Thor: Ragnarok–or any of the trailers for the movie–knows it’s a huge departure from the previous movies centered around the god of thunder and his portrayals elsewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What caused such a massive change in how Thor was approached? According to Chris Hemsworth, who plays the titular superhero, it was Clerks director Kevin Smith.

It seems Hemsworth heard Smith bashing previous installments of the Thor franchise in a podcast. “Hearing someone like Smith, who represents the fanboy world, was such a kick in the ass to change gears,” the actor tells Vanity Fair. “We sort of had nothing to lose. People didn’t expect what we did with it this time around.”

It’s what they ended up doing with it that makes Thor: Ragnarok so interesting. All of the traditional hallmarks of the character are stripped away. As Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige explains, “He has blond hair; he has a hammer; he has a cape. These are the things that make Thor.” Luckily, the concept of Thor has changed to the general public thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. “He has now appeared as that character so many times [that] Chris Hemsworth is Thor,” he says. “So we cut his hair, we got rid of his hammer, and it’s still him.”

As it turns out, though, after hearing Smith’s take on the other Thor movies, getting rid of the hair, hammer, and cape were Hemsworth’s ideas. Thankfully, director Taika Waititi agreed with him. Now, after seeing the outcome, Hemsworth has learned a valuable lesson: trust your instincts.

“It’s about trusting yourself, and listening to your gut, and the pure education you receive making these films. I take responsibility for that. I’m not pointing fingers at writers or directors. But then it became predictable, or overly earnest, self-important, and serious,” he says of the first two Thor films. “Nothing that was unexpected.”

Now, in the aftermath of Thor: Ragnarok and its massive opening weekend at the box office, new life has been infused into the series. While it remains to be seen whether there will be another standalone Thor film in the future, the character will next be seen in Avenger: Infinity War, when it hits theaters on April 25, 2018.

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A Modder is Bringing Back Nintendo’s Classic Promotional Flash Games

Modder, YouTuber, and Nintendo aficionado Skelux is working on restoring the entirety of Nintendo’s old promotional flash games.

As spotted by Motherboard, Skelux claims in a video on his YouTube channel that he has retrieved the game files piece by piece using the Wayback Machine for games like Zelda: Wind Waker and Animal Crossing: Wild World – Trivia. Skelux searched via the Internet Archive for missing game files. He then compiled the files into working games, giving them a second wind for anyone to enjoy for free on his online game archive.

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LEGO’s 11 Largest Sets Ever Will All Be Available in 2017

With its classic Taj Mahal set being re-released later this month, LEGO’s 11 biggest sets ever will all be available to purchase by the end of 2017.

According to The Brothers Brick, the nearly 6,000-piece Taj Mahal set will be re-released on November 27 and retail for $370 USD. On that date, all 11 of the company’s largest sets will officially be available at the same time.

Click through the slideshow below to see the list of LEGO’s biggest sets.

Taj Mahal was LEGO’s largest set for nearly a decade, until this year’s release of the Ultimate Collector Series Millennium Falcon. According to LEGO’s online store, the $800 USD Star Wars set will remain exclusive to VIP members “at least through November.”

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Star Wars Battlefront 2 Gear Coming to FIFA, NHL, More

To celebrate the impending release of Star Wars Battlefront II, EA has announced that players will be able to obtain Star Wars-themed items in FIFA 18, NHL 18, NBA Live 18, and Battlefield 1.

Battlefield 1 players will be able to score a Totokia War Club melee weapon, also known as a Tuskan Raider “Gaffi Stick,” if they log in starting November 8.

Players can also obtain Inferno Squad gear in FIFA 18. Log in to FIFA Ultimate Team between November 7-28 to score outfits for your team.

Additionally, Inferno Squad equipment will be given to all NHL 18 players that have logged into Hockey Ultimate Team accounts before 11:59 PST, October 31. The Star Wars-themed gear will appear in players inboxes until the packs are opened.

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Marvel’s CinemaScores: Which MCU Movies Audiences Loved

Generally, a high CinemaScore rating — the survey of what actual audiences thought of a film — is a pretty good indicator that a movie will do well at the box office. Is it any wonder then that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is such a huge moneymaker when these films almost always score at least an “A-” with moviegoers?

As Thor: Ragnarok becomes the latest epic blockbuster to line Disney’s coffers, let’s take a look back at how every MCU movie has fared in the CinemaScore department and how those scores compare to their critical reception and box office gross.

We assume Marvel Studios is pleased with the performance of the latest Thor movie. Ragnarok just had the fourth-biggest opening of the year in the US, surpassing Spider-Man: Homecoming but not quite outpacing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

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Three More Xbox 360 Games Are Getting Enhanced For Xbox One X

In addition to Xbox One games, a limited number of Xbox 360 titles will look better on Xbox One X. After announcing four Xbox 360 titles that will be enhanced on Xbox One X back in October, Microsoft today confirmed three more–and they are some good ones.

Skate 3, Mirror’s Edge, and Gears of War 3 are joining Assassin’s Creed, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Halo 3. So there will be a total of seven backwards-compatible titles. It’s not immediately clear if the three newly confirmed titles will be enhanced on Xbox One X from the start or if that will happen later. We also don’t know the specifics about how they are being enhanced for the new console.

Skate 3
Skate 3

For the four previously announced games, Microsoft said they will run in a “higher resolution, 9X the original pixel count, and [with] expanded color details,” according to Microsoft. This is done using the Heutchy Method–named after the Microsoft engineer who developed it–which is also used to play improved versions of original Xbox games on Xbox One.

This “leverages the power of Xbox One X to let the Xbox 360 emulator present the very best version of the game possible with the existing assets–all without touching the game code.”

The Xbox One X launches on November 7, priced at $500 in the US. The new console plays all Xbox One games and works with the same controllers. For lots more on the device, check out GameSpot’s feature, “Xbox One X Release Date, Games, Review, And Everything You Need To Know.”

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