Whether you’re a subscriber to Fred’s Voice or you think the ASMR boom is all a bit odd, this Hogwarts Legacy video is probably something we can all get behind. The 20-minute video centres on slow, panning shots from Avalanche’s upcoming PS5 and PS4 open world, showing off the stunning architecture of Britain’s best wizarding school – as well as locations like Hogsmeade, where an enchanted watering can is hydrating the plants.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the audio ambience is seriously impressive: there’s one scene where a metallic sign is hanging from a coffee shop, and you can hear every clink and clank as it rocks gently in the wind. Presumably this is all representative of the final product, meaning the 3D audio effect on Sony’s new-gen console should be especially immersive.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is now the highest-grossing video game movie of all time in the United States.
In its third week in US cinemas, the movie held firm at second place in the box office charts, grossing a further $15.6 million on top of its existing earnings.
According to Box Office Mojo, this means the movie has now grossed a total of $146,258,543 in the US.
As noted by Sonic news site Tails’ Channel, this extra $15.6 million takes Sonic 2 above the total US box office of Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Uncharted and the original Sonic movie, making it the highest-grossing video game movie ever in the US box office.
It’s important to note, however, that this only relates to the domestic US box office, and that the film still has some way to go before it can be considered the highest-grossing video game movie worldwide.
Box Office Mojo states that Sonic 2’s total worldwide gross currently stands at $288 million, which makes it just the 10th highest-grossing video game movie worldwide behind the likes of the original Sonic movie, The Angry Birds Movie, Uncharted, Detective Pikachu and, the current number one, Warcraft (which grossed $439 million worldwide).
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It will be some time before Sonic 2’s final worldwide domestic gross is known. The movie won’t be released in Japan until August 19, for example, while paramountsuspended its release in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, with no indication of when (or if) it will ever release in that country.
It’s clear, however, that paramount considers the Sonic movie franchise a success, and wants to continue it going forward.
paramount and Sega announced in February that a third Sonic the Hedgehog film and a live-action TV series focusing on Knuckles have already entered production.
I played it from the start of it being out to the public and most everyday. I liked it, and never paid any real money to play WU. Beautiful graphics and the premise brought you into the game. This game is what pushed me to upgrade my 6S+ to 2nd Gen SE for more processing power and battery life. A lot of people played it, by the comments, websites, and videos about it. Being on Android and iOS, made it more complicated to maintain. Great for adding more user base. For over three months, a lot of Android users were unable to open up portkeys by walking or running. That contributed to a loss of users. on iOS, the game would crash after opening up energy gifts. I’m sure they were hit in revenue by users being unable to visit sponsored places in the game due to covid.
One of the producers of the Sonic the Hedgehog films has said the plan is to create “a Sonic cinematic universe”.
Toby Ascher, who was a producer on 2020’s Sonic film and the upcoming sequel, commented on the plan in production notes released to coincide with the lifting of today’s Sonic 2 review embargo.
“We’re creating a Sonic cinematic universe, so we knew we were going to add characters, like Tails and Knuckles; new to the films but beloved by gamers all over the world,” he said.
The TV series will feature Knuckles, voiced by Idris Elba, who also appears in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It will launch next year on steaming service paramount+.
While unconfirmed, movie site Giant Freakin Robot recently claimed that a Tails solo movie is in development.
Related
VGC’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie review called it a much better film than the original and said there’s a pleasant surprise to be found in the chemistry between its new characters.
“Idris Elba’s performance as the steely Knuckles, which has him channelling the deadpan humour of Guardian of the Galaxy’s Drax, offers the perfect contrast to Sonic’s energetic snark. His backstory also provides a pleasing footing for his connection to the blue mascot, previously not revealed in the games.
“Meanwhile, Tails provides the brains of the trio, with his gadgets and smarts threading together much of the movie’s action sequences. In Sonic 2’s timeline Tails and Sonic have never met before, and there are some genuinely sweet moments where viewers get to watch the pair’s friendship develop on screen.”
“Harry Potter” was a big part of my childhood, but I never would’ve fit in at Hogwarts.
I have a blood disorder, and I didn’t really see any disability representation in the series.
The author has tried to address the confusing oversight, but her explanation was lacking.
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“Harry Potter” is part of the fondest memories of my childhood, and like most kids, I wanted to hop aboard the Hogwarts Express every September.
But my letter from the magical school never would’ve arrived — not because I’m not a witch, but because I’m disabled.
As a fan, I took it hard when I realized I wouldn’t fit in at Hogwarts
I have thalassemia major, an invisible condition where my body doesn’t create red blood cells, so I rely on regular blood transfusions and iron-chelation therapy to survive.
I’ve been on this treatment since I was diagnosed at 6 months, and I’ve managed my condition while regularly attending “normal” school. I’d schedule my transfusions over the weekend and return to the grind on Monday.
Because of the nature of my treatment and the frequency of my transfusions, the local hospital became my second home.
“Harry Potter” had a few doctors and medical staff members — Madam Pomfrey fussed over many a quidditch injury or prank gone wrong — but it felt odd to see them mentioned so rarely, because it was just my norm.
Above all, it was hard to grow up and realize the magical school I loved probably wasn’t built to accommodate me.
It’s not just me who wouldn’t fit in at Hogwarts — anyone with a physical or mental disability would stand out
The Hogwarts castle has moving staircases that could be hard to navigate with a physical disability.
Warner Bros.
The architecture of Hogwarts isn’t exactly disability-friendly or inclusive.
The endlessly moving staircases don’t include a parallel ramp doing the same. Since Hogwarts prohibits the use of underage magic outside the school, it also automatically favors those who are physically able to attend in person.
Performing spells by using the hand to “swish and flick” requires an able body. And we clearly see a lack of accommodation in the Floo Network in “Chamber of Secrets” when Harry ends up in Knockturn Alley after failing to say his intended destination clearly — making the public transportation useless for those with speech disorders.
On top of physical limitations, there’s essentially no discourse on the mental health of the students or professors. (Someone check on Professor Moody — he was trapped in a trunk for a whole goddamn book.)
Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Harry all had traumatic events throughout their childhoods. The school authorities knew about these hardships, but no school counselor, therapist, or advisor was made available to them.
With the fleeting mentions of the Longbottoms being treated for “insanity” after surviving the Cruciatus Curse and of Professor Lockhart’s memory loss, mental-health disorders and conditions are either ignored or used to paint characters as beyond help.
The school seems so far from comprehending basic empathy for its students despite hosting several dangerous creatures and an unending streak of terrible events.
Even when Cedric Diggory dies during a school-sanctioned tournament, all that the students — including Harry, who watched him die, and Cho Chang, his grieving girlfriend — get in terms of comfort and support is a speech from Dumbledore at the end-of-year feast.
Most children and adults living with disabilities, myself included, require some form of regular therapy to cope with managing their chronic health issues — yet another resource that wouldn’t have been available to me at Hogwarts.
Health issues and disabilities weren’t completely left out of the series, but the references were surface-level
Alastor Moody’s dangerous job as an Auror led to his physical disabilities.
Warner Bros.
Most “Harry Potter” fans would probably point to Alastor Moody, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin as examples of characters living with chronic health issues or disabilities in the Wizarding World.
Moody’s numerous physical disabilities are apparent from the introduction of his disdained nickname, “Mad-Eye,” and they’re largely used to add to his grizzled appearance. His prosthetic eye is often discussed in whispers, as taboo in the Wizarding World as it is in our own. And it’s unclear how the Auror managed to navigate the 142 staircases at Hogwarts with a wooden prosthetic leg.
Pettigrew sacrificed his hand to resurrect Lord Voldemort, and the prosthetic one his master replaced it with later strangled him to death.
Lupin acquired his chronic illness, which causes him to turn into a werewolf during a full moon, after the notorious werewolf Fenrir Greyback attacked and bit him as a child.
In all their cases, the disability or condition came from an incident in their lives — they weren’t born that way.
The series’ controversial author, J.K. Rowling, tried to explain her logic behind the nature of chronic conditions and disorders in the series in a postcanonical 2015 Pottermore essay. But it offered little more than an attempt to please everyone.
“I decided that, broadly speaking, wizards would have the power to correct or override ‘mundane’ nature, but not ‘magical’ nature,” the author wrote.
Does this mean that Harry’s poor vision — demonstrated by his need for glasses — is a case of a spell gone wrong?
The author said she “pondered the issue of illness and disability very early in the creation of Harry’s world,” but in her explanation, she listed only ailments and afflictions that happen to people via spells, bites, accidents, and contagion, not naturally occurring ones.
Where does my genetic blood disorder rank in this mundane-to-magical spectrum?
This unexplored distinction limits conversations around the Wizarding World’s capacity to be disability-friendly and inclusive.
Hogwarts could’ve benefited from accommodating a more diverse pool of students, including those living with disabilities
It’s a pity — I think I would’ve been an asset in the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Children like me, who consider hospitals their second home and have strong relationships with medical professionals, likely would’ve had a better understanding of basic treatment, which could’ve saved lives during the Battle of Hogwarts.
But the fact that Harry Potter and the majority of his worthy teammates are healthy and nondisabled reminds me where I stand when the teams are divided.
If only ableism were one of the “mundane” symptoms wizards could cast away with a spell.
Anisha’s identity is known to Insider but has requested not to have her last name included due to job-security concerns.
There is something outlandish yet gorgeous about the K.G.F franchise that they no longer make such films. That they no longer imagine scenes propelled by absolute madness. After all, K.G.F films are written on steroids.
There is a moment in K.G.F: Chapter 2, where Rocky Bhai (a rocking Yash, bathed and cleansed in masculine orgy) takes a machine gun out to blow up a police station, in the garb of a “field test”. With a cigarette hanging from his lip, he fires aimlessly to show his prowess as bullets zoom past the station and everything in between. Bullet casings drop to the ground and Bhai walks in slow-motion to light up his cigarette from the gun’s nozzle with an equally electrifying background score by Ravi Basrur.
There, in that one single shot, Prashanth Neel highlights what the K.G.F films are for: to create a delirious cinematic experience, where there is barely any time for us to contemplate logic and sense. There is only one way to look at K.G.F for it to work for you and that is to partake in the madness it offers — from scene to scene; one set piece to another; one giddy stunt choreography to the next.
The most amazing achievement of Prashanth Neel has got to be the marrying of the Hollywood motifs from influential figures — Coppola, Scorsese, Mel Gibson to Peter Jackson and George Miller — with masala flourishes from Indian filmmakers. This meeting of the two worlds is powerful and visceral, even if it remains just a possibility throughout. Let me illustrate this marriage with the most terrific scene of K.G.F Chapter 2 which concerns Bhai but isn’t about him.
Reena (played by Srinidhi Shetty) attempts to convey to Bhai that she is pregnant with his child. She doesn’t straight away tell him but drops hints that Bhai, who is preoccupied with business, doesn’t catch. Now, the usual way is to make Reena say she’s going to become a mother or Bhai is going to become a father. Instead, she says, “ amma vara poranga,” a callback to Bhai’s emotional struggle with memories of his mother. Not to mention the lullaby score in the background. I choked. This is masala and it is pure.
Come to think of it, the only emotional stake that is anchoring both the K.G.F films is the sufferings of Bhai’s mom, which again is a throwback to a popular trope from the masala universe of a previous era — but. There is something singularly distinct about Prashanth Neel’s idea of masala in comparison to SS Rajamouli’s, who, we must acknowledge, brought about a much-needed renaissance to the masala tradition of Indian cinema. Neel’s films are more focused on the extremes, while Rajamouli’s are a work of visionary.
Speaking of tradition, it is truly a remarkable decision to cast Sanjay Dutt as Adheera. There could possibly be no other actor to have done justice to a film universe teething with masculine rage than Dutt, who used to be the poster boy of hyper-masculinity at one point. Remember Vaastav? Khal Nayak? But the reason to induct Dutt appears as if Prashanth Neel wanted the actor to repeat his menacing looks as Kancha from Agneepath. Although when Yash and Dutt face-off, it does feel like the latter has passed on the hyper-masculine muscle man that he is known for, to the former. Which in itself could have been a befitting conclusion to celebrating the Angry Young Man heroes of a bygone era.
K.G.F: Chapter 2 begins right where the first part ended with Rocky Bhai announcing himself as the messiah, breaking the shackles of 20,000 men, women and children in KGF. There is nothing new to the way things are dealt with in the second instalment, except the addition of three new villains in Adheera, Ramika Sen and Inayat Khalil. All those things that were flat and derivative in K.G.F: Chapter 1 continue to be, in the sequel.
This film too suffers from the leanness in writing, though the dialogues in Tamil (written by Ashok Kumar) are terrific. There is a line about a hard rock and a hammer that hits you like a bullet. Early on, we get a scene about a boy, born and nurtured in KGF who joins Bhai’s camp to train as an armed guard. When his mother (played by Eswari Rao) advises him against this, he reminds him that the reason they were able to do namaz in the first place was because of Bhai. The irony of the scene screams at you. They all remain loyal to Bhai as long as they maintain the social order of that place. In that sense, the freedom which they think they have is controlled in nature. But K.G.F: Chapter 2 isn’t about this contemplation. It is about high-accelerated stunts and oh boy, are they wild (stunt directors are Anbarivu).
There are hardly any effective women in this festival of male toxicity. Of course, this is not a film for women. That is explicitly outlined in Rocky Bhai’s introduction scene, where Reena is brought into KGF without her consent. That is not the troubling part. When she asks the reason, Bhai says she is her “entertainment”. Reena’s character comes across as so silly and dumb that she is an insult to all the one-note women characters in our masala cinema. Raveena Tandon as the Prime Minister Ramika Sen looks deadly; her character not so much.
The familiar problems of the first part — the accelerated manner in which scenes are edited, near-deafening background score and the tiring back-and-forth narration (this time by Prakash Raj) worshipping the hero — resurface in part two. You notice the weight of the narrative in the middle section as Prashanth Neel’s struggles with the political chapter of Rocky Bhai. All these make you feel if K.G.F: Chapter 1 felt more complete and wholesome. Another chapter? I’m out.
K.G.F: Chapter 2 is currently running in theatres.
Editor’s Note: BuzzFeed does not support discriminatory or hateful speech in any form. We stand by the LGBTQ+ community and all fans who found a home in theHarry Potterseries and will work to provide a safe space for fans. If you, like us, feel impassioned about trans rights, learn more or donate here.
SAN ANTONIO – Movie theaters around San Antonio are kicking off the summer with free and discounted tickets for families.
EVO, Hometown and Santikos cinemas are participating in programs locally that offer family-friendly options at discounted rates.
View details for the respective theaters below:
EVO
The Kidflix Summer Movie Clubhouse at EVO will take place over 10 weeks with $1 family films showing at 10 a.m. every Wednesday.
All EVO locations are participating in the program which kicks off June 8.
The KidFLIX Summer Movie Clubhouse schedule released by EVO officials is as follows:
Hometown Cinemas
Hometown Cinemas, located at 1373 E Walnut Street in Seguin, is also providing a free summer movie series for families.
Showtimes will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for the following movies:
Santikos
Movies are free at Santikos this summer for select days and screenings. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. from June 7 through July 27, Santikos is offering free movies for guests.
Palladium, Casa Blanca, Cibolo, Mayan, Embassy, Northwest, Galaxy, New Braunfels and Westlakes locations will all feature the free, family-friendly movies.
The free summer movie series will be playing the following movies:
We’re back once again to share all of the latest new releases on Netflix for this week. As always, you can see everything Netflix has been adding to its library this year in our huge roundup of all the best movies and series. But for now, let’s focus on the Netflix releases this week.
Some of the notable highlights coming to the platform during the week of May 29th includeFloor is Lava season 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, three Mission Impossible movies, Anchorman, Dumb and Dumber, The Departed, The Fighter, and The Hurt Locker.
Those are all of the Netflix releases from recent weeks. We will be back every week with more new movies, TV shows, and specials coming to the world’s biggest streaming service.
More Netflix coverage: For more Netflix news, check out our coverage of the latest new Netflix movies and series to watch.
