games

953 – Saints Row IV (2013 video game)

joc-pc-deep-silver-saints-row-iv-178770Saints Row IV is an open world action-adventure video game with third-person shooter elements developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the fourth title in the Saints Row series. In the game, the playable character is the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, a street gang that has become the world’s most powerful and popular organization, and must fend off an alien invasion after becoming President of the United States and receiving superpowers.

The player is free to explore their environment while completing main and side missions at their leisure. The game incorporates elements from science fiction video games and films, and continues the series’ reputation for over-the-top parody. It was released in August 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Linux in 2015.

The game is set in a nearly identical simulation of Steelport, the fictional city setting from Saints Row: The Third, though individual story missions have new, custom-designed levels. 

Saints Row IV‘s story parodies science fiction video games, especially Mass Effect 2, as well as films like The Matrix and Zero Dark Thirty, and other “nerd culture”. Some story missions are propelled by individual characters’ existential crises, as each Saint character is stuck in a personal simulation of their own hell, and must be rescued by the player. Other elements borrowed from video game culture include BioWare-style character romances games and a Metal Gear-style mission with an unhelpful partner.

Saints Row IV received several limited and summative edition releases, and was briefly banned in Australia.

System Requirements (Minimum) CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 | AMD Athlon II x3. / OS: Windows Vista (x86 or x64) / VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GTX 260 | AMD Radeon HD 5800 series. / FREE DISK SPACE: 10 GB. / DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 896 MB.

steam

movies

0895 – Venom (2018)

e453aa8143adfaf6a9dd036b981ea1f5Venom is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the first film in Sony’s Marvel Universe, adjunct to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Ruben Fleischer, it stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom, alongside Michelle WilliamsRiz AhmedScott Haze, and Reid Scott. In Venom, journalist Brock gains superpowers after being bound to an alien symbiote whose species plans to invade Earth. The film released in the 30th Anniversary year of Venom’s debut in Marvel comics (May 1988).

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The film was primarily inspired by the comic miniseries Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) and story arc “Planet of the Symbiotes” (1995). (wiki)

The filmmakers cite the films of horror directors John Carpenter and David Cronenberg as an influence on the film, as well as the horror comedy films An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Ghost Busters (1984).

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imdb

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At the end of the closing credits, a preview of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse(2018) appears.

series

762 – Electric Dreams (2017 TV series)

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, or simply Electric Dreams, is a British anthology television series based on various writings from author Philip K. Dick, each of the 10 stand-alone episodes are set in a different and unique world — some that lay in the far reaches of the universe and others that are much closer to home. While the stories may be worlds apart, central to each is the exploration of the importance and significance of humanity. (rt)

imdb   /   wiki

movies

0722 – Extinction (2018)

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Extinction is a 2018 American science fiction thriller film directed by Ben Young and written by Spenser Cohen, Eric Heisserer and Brad Kane. The film is about a father who has a recurring dream about the loss of his family while witnessing a force bent on destruction. The film stars Lizzy CaplanMichael PeñaMike Colter, Lilly Aspell, Emma BoothIsrael Broussard, and Lex Shrapnel. It was released on Netflix on July 27, 2018. (wiki)

imdb

documentary, quotes

691 – The Wonder of Weeds (2011)

“…when something does get labeled alien, an entire industry will spring up dedicated to its destruction.”

The Wonder of Weeds

Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins celebrates the humble and sometimes hated plants we call weeds. He discovers that there is no such thing as a weed, botanically speaking, and that in fact what we call a weed has changed again and again over the last three hundred years. Chris uncovers the story of our changing relationship with weeds – in reality, the story of the battle between wilderness and civilisation. He finds out how weeds have been seen as beautiful and useful in the past, and sees how their secrets are being unlocked today in order to transform our crops.

Finally, Chris asks whether, in our quest to eliminate Japanese Knotweed or Rhododendron Ponticum, we are really engaged in an arms race we can never win. We remove weeds from our fields and gardens at our peril.

YOUTUBE


“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”

Inversnaid (1881)

Gerard Manley Hopkins

games

0684 – Crysis 3 (2013 video game)

timespace coordinates: 2047  New York City

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Crysis 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Officially announced 16 April 2012, it is the third main installment of the Crysis series, a sequel to the 2011 video game Crysis 2.

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Set in the year 2047, the game takes place in New York City, which has been encased in a giant Nanodome created by the corrupt CELL corporation, and turned into a veritable urban rainforestCrysis 3s story revolves around Prophet, a Nanosuit holder who is on a quest to take revenge on the Alpha Ceph, the leader of the Ceph alien race, with the help of Prophet’s former comrade, Psycho. The game’s story serves as the end of the Crysis trilogy. Gameplay revolves around the use of the Nanosuit, which grants players a variety of abilities such as being invisible. New features introduced in Crysis 3 include a new Nanosuit ability called “Rip & Throw”, a new compound bow and the “hacking” feature, which allows players to hack into enemies’ equipment, drones, and automated security defenses.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic New York City, in an effort to combine the urban landscape of Crysis 2 and the forest setting of the original Crysis. The game introduces the “Seven Wonders”, with each wonder having its own unique landscape and tactical layout. Due to complaints about Crysis 2s linearity, the game’s levels were opened up so as to grant players more freedom. The development team also put efforts into creating a more emotional story, and the story’s protagonist was inspired by the lead character of District 9. The game was developed by a team of 100 people during its 23-month development cycle. (wiki)

minimum system requirements:  CPU: Intel Core2 Duo 2.4 Ghz (E6600) / AMD Athlon64 X2 2.7 Ghz (5200+) //  RAM: 2GB Memory (3GB on Vista) //  GPU: DirectX 11 graphics card with 1Gb Video RAM  Nvidia GTS 450 / AMD Radeon HD5770 //  DX: Directx 11 //  OS: Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 // Store: At least 17 GB of free space

https://www.ea.com/games/crysis/crysis-3