Time to Upgrade The Predator

In 1987 the first Predator movie was released and spawned a scifi cult following spanning over 3 decades until today. The franchise comprise three movies with the fourth releasing next week in Malaysia on 13 September 2018. It also had two crossover AVP movies with the Alien franchise, another cult scifi series of that era. The Predator saga is further supplemented in other media by countless comic books, memorabilia, and video games forming a fairly expansive lore. Our geek intel here will recap on a few good-to-know facts about Predator to set context for this year's latest movie outing.

Predators are an extraterrestrial, i.e. alien, species of intelligent bipedals larger and much stronger than the average human. Whilst this alien species has not been named in films, lore from the expanded universe also refers to them as Yautja or Hish-Qu-Ten. An ancient and advanced civilisation, Predators travel the galaxy on their spaceships in search of other dangerous lifeforms to hunt for sport. Worthy prey defeated by Predators are skinned and/or decapitated with the skull & spine taken as trophies.

Like human, each Predator is unique with individual personalities and motivations. There are even sub-species (more about that later). Most Predators hunt separately, although occasionally deploying in small teams up. Their culture seems to dictate a similar assortment of gear and weapons on the hunt, such as bio-helmets, spear, wrist blades and shoulder mounted plasma casters. Their natural vision lies towards infrared spectrum, thereby able detect body heat from prey. Their advance tech also allows them to camouflage with the environment, becoming almost imperceptible to human eyes except for light distortion over its form. See this infographic below for more details on Yautja gadgets (source: geektyrant.com).

The first Predator movie released  in 1987 starred then action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role of Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer. Dutch together with Dillon, Mac, Billy, Blain, Poncho, and Hawkins form an elite special forces unit sent into the jungles of Central America on a rescue mission.

After overwhelming a camp to insurgents, the team proceeds to their extraction point with a guerilla captive, Anna. The team soon realise that they being stalked after Blain and Hawkins are killed by something with green luminescent blood. They set a traps around their camp site but fail to snare their stalker. In the process most of the team are slain except for Dutch and Anna.

The 30th Anniversary Trailer for Predator (1987) back in overseas cinemas last year for fan service.

Our hero then sends Anna away to confront the Jungle Predator one-on-one. The prey eventually outsmarts the hunter, trapping the injured Predator. Beaten by a worthy opponent, it activates a self-destruct and consumes the surrounding jungle in a massive explosion. That, of course, isn't enough to kill the future Governator and Dutch escape in the nick of time to the extraction point.

Oh and by the way, Hawkins as the first spec forces member to be killed is played by Shane Black, now Director of the upcoming movie!

Predator 2 was released 3 years later, this time with a new City Hunter based on Los Angeles of then near-future 1997. Arnie declined to return bringing Danny Glover into the lead role as veteran LA police department officer Lieutenant Michael "Mike" R. Harrigan. Casualties quickly mount amid a gang war between drug cartels as the Predator seeks a worthy adversary.

Now apparently Dutch's adventurers in Central America ten years back (in movie timeline) did not go unnoticed by the CIA where an Other Worldly Life Forms Program (OWLF) has been established to investigate Predator-related sightings. Led by Special Agent Keyes, OWLF sets a trap to capture the Predator but is outmaneuvered by the crafty alien with most of his team slaughtered. However Harrigan manages to severely wound the Predator by severing its forearm.

The Trophy Wall in the Predator spaceship contained the first inkling of a shared universe with Alien Xenomorphs. This moment was so epic in the franchise that an action figure diorama was recently released for it! (photo source: nerditis.com)

Harrigan tracks down the Predator to its spaceship and both dance the final duel. The City Hunter is narrow defeated by Harrigan using its own throwing disc to slice open its guts. In a final epic scene, a clan of Predators uncloak before Harrigan to retrieve their fallen comrade. As a sign of respect to Harrigan as a worthy warrior, the Elder Predator tosses him a vintage pistol from Earth 1715, hinting that the Yautja have been hunting mankind for centuries.

The epic ending unveiling the Predator clan!

Predator 2's box office performance in 1990 was underwhelming and the franchise took a long break until revived in 2004 with Alien Versus Predator (AVP) directed by Paul W.S. Andersen (now of Resident Evil fame). Reviews were mixed with some fans feeling the Predators on their rite of passage were not sufficiently bad@$$ to warrant a fair smackdown with the Xenomorphs. Anyway, the movie made enough money for a sequel Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVPR) in 2007. Reviews were mostly gruesomely negative as the increased level of gore with the movie nominated for Golden Raspberry awards in the fields of Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie and Worst Prequel or Sequel. AVPR did not win.

Come 2010, the third installment of the franchise and the fifth movie featuring the Yautja was released as Predators. Importing nothing from previous installments, the action now takes place on another planet where the most lethal killers of mankind are dumped to be prey. Taking the lead this time is Adrien Brody as Royce, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier turned mercenary.

In line with the title of this sequel, Predators features not one but three new extraterrestrial hunters. Furthermore they are a larger sub-species dubbed Super-Predators and identified individually as Tracker, Falconer and Berserker. Furthermore there appears to be a feud between the Supers and Classic Predators, of which one had been captured.

After the obligatory gruesome deaths of the hapless humans and two Super-Predators, Royce attempts to work with the captive Predator to escape the game reserve planet. Plans go awry as the remaining Berserker defeats the Classic Predator and destroys the spaceship before Royce could escape. In an epic one-on-one duel of man versus Predator akin to the original movie, Royce cleaves apart the Berserker and plots another way off the planet when new prey arrives.

One would think Predators should know better by now to leave humans alone, but... say hello next week to The Predator.

Official movie synopsis

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. Now, the universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook (Narcos), Olivia Munn (X-Men Apocalypse), Trevante Rhodes (12 Strong), Thomas Jane (The Expanse), Keegan-Michael Key, and Jacob Tremblay. As mentioned earlier, Shane Black (Iron Man 3) returns to the franchise after three decades now as Director.

The trailer pretty much sums out what to expect from The Predator, including a new “Ultimate Predator”. According to Director Shane Back, this new breed of Predator is more correctly referred to as the Upgrade. What this Predator has done is splice DNA from creatures they have hunted to grant superior traits and abilities. The Upgrade towers 10 feet tall and looks to have hardened skin such that it does not need to wear armour often used by the classic Predators. Abilities other than the standard Predator fit-out should be expected.

The Upgrade Predator, BIGGER and BADDER.

Also clearly present in the trailers is a classic Predator dubbed the Fugitive. No secret from the trailers, the Fugitive Predator seems to (finally) be captured by a human organisation that looks to be researching the creature and its technology. Tapping into the world established in Predator 2, this movie introduces the character of Sean Keyes (Jake Busey), the son of Peter Keyes from OWLF. Busey is in fact the real life son of Gary Busey who played Special Agent Keyes. Will this younger Keyes follow in his father's footsteps?

The other Predator in the movie, dubbed Fugitive, almost looks metrosexual in comparison to the new Upgrade.

Leading the ragtag band of ex-soldiers this time is Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), a former U.S. Army Ranger who's son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) accidentally brings down the Predators to a small town. Among a testosterone-filled posse is school teacher Casey Bracket (Olivia Munn). Expect lots of bloody deaths so put your bets on who will survive this latest Predator outing.

Boyd Holbrook is Quinn McKenna, pitting his Army Ranger skills against the Predators. 

Place your bets which humans will survive this time around?

Here in Malaysia, “Predators” have been sighted recently at AEON shopping malls. But not to worry they are quite “friendly”... just ask nicely for selfies!

This Malaysian Predator clan looks ready to "burn rubber" on the roads!
(Source: 20th Century Fox Facebook)

This mini-sized Pred is kinda cute!
(Source: 20th Century Fox Facebook)

Catch them at these malls and check the respective Facebook Pages of each mall for appearance timing.

Yautja Pemangsa is an extraterrestrial species that travel around planets to hunt dangerous lifeforms. After making a kill they typically skin or decapitate the carcass, converting it into a trophy.
(Source: Fusion Wayang Kulit Facebook)

Blending traditional arts with modern pop culture, the folks at Fusion Wayang Kulit have created a localised version of the Predator named Yautja Pemangsa.

Merdeka Special | Meet our Wayang Kulit Predator
To celebrate Malaysia's 61 years of Independence, we have hunted down local Malaysians with unique talents up their sleeves! Meet the talented team at Fusion Wayang Kulit! Fueled with a passion to revive the wayang kulit scene, they infuse popular culture into the making of their wayang kulit characters. Check out how they came up with a Predator-inspired character! #SayangiMalaysiaKu2018 #ThePredatorMY
Posted by 20th Century Fox on Thursday, 30 August 2018

To stay tuned to upcoming performances, follow Fusion Wayang Kulit on Facebook.

Noting that Yautja prefer hot and humid climates to hunt, our Malaysian tropical weather do seem ideal for Predator vacations. So indeed here's our very own Malaysian Predator:

Merdeka Special | Meet The Malaysian Predator
Keeping up with the #SayangiMalaysiaKu pride, let's continue to celebrate patriotism with THE PREDATOR twist. We hunted down a true Predator Fan, Cikgu Ayie www.facebook.com/PreBrushArt with a passion on creating the most realistic Predator costume. Ugaiz have to check this out! #ThePredatorMY
Posted by 20th Century Fox on Thursday, 6 September 2018

Hardcore fan Cikgu Ayie spent years developing his Predator costume to be movie accurate and certainly makes a memorable presence when appearance at the local cosplay scene. Find him on Facebook as Pre brush Art.

Malaysia's Movie Premiere for The Predator took place on 12 September 2018 at TGV Sunway Pyramid and thanks to 20th Century Fox, we could invite local Yautja clan members to join the Fan Screening that night.

Samurai and Berserker Predators with human marines.

Cikgu Ayie's Jungle Predator (far left) with Berserker (middle) and Samurai Predator.

Tintoy Chou (centre) of Fusion Wayang Kulit displaying the Yautja Pemangsa shadow puppet with "lifesize" counterparts.

Malaysia's Predator Biker gather for photo ops. There's clearly a Star Wars fans amongst the clan.

Some action before the movie screening as Samurai and Berserker Predators battle a trio of human soldiers.

[CONTEST CLOSED - THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING]
Thanks for 20th Century Fox, we have five (5) pairs of invites to an exclusive Fan Screening of The Predator on Wednesday 12 September, 9pm at TGV Sunway Pyramid. Follow the steps below for the chance to win:
1. React (Like, Love, Wow, etc.) to this post on our Facebook Page.
2. Share the same post onto your Timeline, setting privacy to Public.
3. Comment in the same post on "why you are the BIGGEST Predator fan in Malaysia" within 100 words (photos permitted).

Make sure your entries reach us by Sunday 9 September, 11.59pm.

TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
1. Participation only for residents in Malaysia ages 18 years & above able to attend the Fan Screening. If you are unable to attend please do not participate and potential derive a fan of the opportunity.
2. Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries will forfeit all entries.
3. Selection of winners will be based on most creative submissions in Comments.
4. Contest closes on Sunday 9 September 2018, 11.59pm. Submissions thereafter will not be eligible.
5. Winners will be contacted via Message by or before Tuesday 11 September 2018. It is the contest participants' own responsibility to lookout for the said Message and respond accordingly to the redemption instructions given.
6. Invites / tickets to be collected in person at the cinema foyer of TGV Sunway Pyramid from 8pm onwards. Winnings are forfeit if not collected by 9.00pm.
7. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook.
8. We reserve the right to revise these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice.

The Predator opens in cinemas nationwide on 13 September.
#ThePredatorMY
#OutpostGiveaway

Disclaimer: Predator and other trademarks are copyright 20th Century Fox, referenced here for fan service engagements without intent to infringe.

Players get ready to enter The Oasis – watcha need to know about READY PLAYER ONE

The ultimate video game inspired movie of the year is about to be uploaded into cinemas worldwide this week. From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the action adventure READY PLAYER ONE based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Movie Synopsis:

In the year 2045, the real world is a harsh place.  The only time Wade Watts truly feels alive is when he escapes to the OASIS, an immersive virtual universe where most of humanity spends their days.  In the OASIS, you can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone—the only limits are your own imagination.  The OASIS was created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday, who left his immense fortune and total control of the Oasis to the winner of a three-part contest he designed to find a worthy heir.  When Wade conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends—aka the High Five—are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS.

Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Wade Watts. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Three-time Oscar winner Spielberg (Schindler’s List [director & picture], and Saving Private Ryan [director]) directed the film from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on the novel by Cline, which has spent more than 100 weeks on the The New York Times Best Sellers list and recently shot to #1.  READY PLAYER ONE stars Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) as lead protagonist Wade Watts with Olivia Cooke as Art3mis, Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One – A Star Wars Story) as main antagonist Sorrento, T.J. Miller (Deadpool) as I-R0k, Simon Pegg (Star Trek,  Mission: Impossible) as Ogden Morrow and Oscar winner Mark Rylance (Dunkirk) as James Halliday.

Wade Watts alter-ego Parzival in The OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Hear from Steven Spielberg himself and the cast of READY PLAYER ONE in this behind-the-scenes IMAX featurette:

It is certainly no secret that geek pop culture references are aplenty in this movie, drawn from classic video games over the last 30 years like Streetfighter and Overwatch as well as cult movies of like Back to the Future and The Shining. In the movie this is explained as OASIS creator's James Halliday's fascination with the 1980's when video games were born and conception of the internet. Find out more about Halliday and the dystopian future of READY PLAYER ONE at www.jointhequest.io as well as play some retro video games via the web.

Yes, that's the DeLorean time-machine from Back To The Future serving as Parzival's ride in The OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Outpost Productions managed to catch an early screening of READY PLAYER ONE in Malaysia. Here are reactions immediately after the movie:

READY PLAYER ONE opens nationwide at Malaysian cinemas on 29 March with advance screenings starting the night before. Follow the official Facebook Page Ready Player One Movie for latest updates as well as locally on Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia.

Also thanks to the nice folks at Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia, we are giving away Preview Tickets for Ready Player One screening at GSC Mid Valley on Tuesday 27 March, 8.45pm. Check at the bottom of this post for instructions on how to win a pair of tickets.

For the first time ever, Outpost Productions is posting here trilingual movie reviews thanks to contributing writers Carolyn Hai (English), Ezli Qamari (Malay) and Micho Teh (Chinese):

MOVIE REVIEW by Carolyn Hai ( StarFyr3z )

Are you a fan of hunting for easter eggs in movies? Not literally the chocolate ones, the Easter egg in this context can be an intentional inside joke, hidden message or image, or secret feature of a movie or video game. Whether or not you are a fan of easter egg hunting, READY PLAYER ONE is the movie for you!

Anorak's Quest for all players to find the ultimate prize: an Easter Egg that would bequeath the winner control of the OASIS and immense wealth.

Wade Watts (Gamer Tag, Parzival) is one of many Gunters, gamer slang for egg hunters, caught in an extremely dangerous adventure, one that might even cost him his life in the real world when competing against the “evil” mega-corporation Innovative Online Industries, or IOI of short (not to be confused with Malaysia's IOI Corporation).

That's NOT a Xenomorph egg in the background! it's the ultimate Easter Egg.

I went in without expectations much from the movie. I wasn’t attracted the trailer, the poster (above) gave me the impression that I wouldn’t like the movie and the name wasn’t even catchy. So when I got the opportunity to watch READY PLAYER ONE, I was treated to an endless stream of adventure through the various virtual realms and enjoyed nearly every moment of it (except for the slightly horror part lah, since I am terrified of anything to do with horror in general). The poster (especially) didn’t do much justice for the movie at all!

The moment they introduced us to the OASIS, I was quickly enchanted by the beauty and the endless possibilities of that virtual reality universe, something I wish that we will definitely be getting by the time we reach 2045. The Possibilities. Are. Endless. From fully customized avatars to traveling through different worlds of various themes, I really felt like I belonged there. The contrast between reality and virtual was very clearly distinguished, and it made a lot of sense why the people in the movie would treat the OASIS as a sanctuary from reality.

Ben Mendelsohn swaps his Imperial uniform for a corporate suit as Nolan Sorrento, CEO of Innovation Online Industries. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The cast were also fantastic, especially the main antagonist Nolan Sorrento, CEO of IOI. To simply put it without spoiling anything, every action and every decision made by the characters felt like they have been carefully analyzed, all the way up to the flaws of being human.

If you have not watched the movies or played the games featured in this movie, like me, fear not! You will still be able to follow the main story line as they made sure to include helpful scenes, conversations and characters to help you stay on track.

The movie also subtly highlighted the dos and don’ts of dealing with people in virtual reality, sending a very strong message across to create awareness to the audience about the dangers of virtual reality. As a casual gamer, I could relate to some of the things mentioned, having experienced it first hand before (and guilty for some).

The Iron Giant stomps into action in The OASIS battlegrounds. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

For a movie focusing on a global scale easter egg hunt, they included many characters and references from games and movies for your hunting pleasure, especially if you are a hardcore gamer or movie enthusiast.  According to an interview, the production team spent three years getting all the legal rights for all the characters featured so I am pretty sure you will at least find some that you know in here. Amongst some that were spotted were Tracer from Overwatch, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider (ED: catch her prequel movie still in showing in cinemas), Chun Li & Ryu from Street Fighter, King Kong and the T-rex of Jurassic Park. I swear that there was a laugh that came from Plant vs Zombies in the last leg of the film. Maybe you could help me confirm that easter egg when you check it out in cinemas ;)

Happy Easter egg hunting and may the force be with you *wink*

== / ==

ULASAN FILEM oleh Ezli Qamari

Sinopsis:

Pada tahun 2045, akibat kesempitan hidup ramai yang memilih hidup dalam dunia virtual dari dunia sebenar. OASIS adalah tempat untuk melarikan diri dari realiti yang dicipta oleh James Halliday (Mark Rylance). Setelah kematiannya, Halliday meninggalkan seluruh harta melalui pertandingan dunia virtual untuk mencari 'Easter Egg'. Apabila Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) menjadi juara pada pertandingan pertama, dia diburu Nolan Sorrento yang tamak mahu menjadi juara dan merampas harta Halliday.

Berapa kali kita keluar pawagam selepas menonton filem berdasarkan game/komik/novel/sejarah dan mendengar hujah “Kau kena baca/main dulu baru faham cerita ni”. Persoalan timbul, kenapa perlu reference tambahan untuk menguatkan cerita sedia ada? Kenapa filem itu tidak boleh berdiri dengan sendiri?

Persoalan itu dijawab dengan baik oleh Steven Spielberg dalam satu babak dalam filem, watak Aech (Lena Waithe) memasuki dunia filem yang dia langsung tak tahu sebelum ini tetapi apa yang  dihadapi, walaupun pengalamannya menakutkan, dia menempuhinya dan membantu rakannya mencari klu penting. Anda tak perlu jadi ulat buku, kaki game atau pakar sejarah untuk menghargai READY PLAYER ONE.

Spielberg kembali kepada root asal dalam pengarahan seperti filem-filemnya awalnya seperti Jaws, Indiana Jones dan Back To The Future. Bukan mengarah untuk memenangi Oscar, bukan untuk pecah kutipan Box-office, tetapi mengarah sekadar menjadi penglipulara menghiburkan penonton sambil berseronok dalam proses pembikinannya. Secara bijaknya dalam filem ini Spielberg berjaya membahagi masa secara seimbang dunia virtual dan dunia realiti supaya penonton tidak rasa bosan.

Penulis novel asal Ernest Cline bertugas sebagai Penulis Layar untuk filem.

Satu lagi aspek penting kejayaan filem ini ialah penglibatan penulis novel asalnya, Ernest Cline bersama Zak Penn sebagai Penulis Layar. Jika mahu dibandingkan dengan novel, banyak elemen berat yang susah difahami oleh penonton 30 tahun ke bawah seperti lagu Discovery (1976) oleh kumpulan Rush atau pun reference filem Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). Ia telah diganti dengan reference baru dan lebih dikenali ramai sebagai contoh karakter dari game Overwatch.

Pemilihan pelakon terbahagi kepada 2 kategori: pelakon baru Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Lena Waithe, Philip Zhao dan Win Morisaki dan pelakon veteran Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg dan Ben Mendelsohn. Kemudian mereka perlu dibahagikan kepada 2 lagi kategori, sebagai watak dunia realiti dan watak dunia maya. Identiti seimbang dalam 2 dunia dibawa dengan baik oleh setiap karakter walaupun menggunakan motion capture sehinggakan watak yang mempunyai screentime sedikit seperti Shoto, Daito dan Aech sangat memorable. Hanya watak F'Nale lakonan Hannah John-Kamen saja yang agak mengecewakan.

Watak Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) dalam dunia virtual OASIS. Copyright: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Akhir kata, READY PLAYER ONE adalah salah satu karya terbaik Spielberg setelah sekian lama yang bukan sahaja bersandar pada easter egg, reference dan nostalgia semata-mata tetapi mempunyai elemen perjuangan, kesaksaman, cinta, kekeluargaan dan persahabatan diselang-seli dengan visual dan muzik yang memukau.

Rating:

== / ==

《头号玩家》影评 (by Micho Teh 咪啾)

作为大导演史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格(Steven Spielberg)的粉丝，本来就会期待他的任何新作。更何况数月前《头号玩家》(READY PLAYER ONE)发表的预告片里我们看见男女主角穿梭在众多叫人怀念的电影及游戏名作的角色人海里，立刻让大家对这个充满彩蛋文化的虚拟世界设定眼前一亮。虽然我没看过小说原著，却不受控制地幻想其电影里无限的好玩和可能性：究竟还有什么不一样却叫人熟悉的经典角色会出现？电影原创和异空间的角色们又要如何在这个虚拟环境里共处并交流甚至比赛打斗？就这样抱着各种期待踏入了电影院想要理个清楚，观后果真没失望，整个人好想立刻抓着谁来讨论刚才看到的画面与其后的背景，内涵，情绪。

《头号玩家》讲述着未来世界里面临着温室效应，人口爆发等居多问题都没得到解决，导致现实社会世界都令人失望，而天才游戏创作人詹姆斯·哈利迪(James Halliday)所创造的“绿洲”(OASIS – Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation 全沉浸式虚拟现实感官模拟游戏)允许众人以廉价的方式在虚幻的世界里以自己渴望的身份过上梦寐以求的好生活。男主角韦德·沃兹(Wade Watts)双亲在他年幼时就去世，他只好寄住姑姑和她暴力男友的屋檐下过着不堪的日子，和许多贫民区的住户一样，他每天的娱乐也就仅存于绿洲里所给予的“做美梦的自由”。当然“绿洲”里不全是玩乐的设定，当中也包含着会让任何玩家失去一切的危险游戏关卡，可不少勇士还是会想尽办法踏上战场想要赚些虚拟金币来升级，买装备等。

在“绿洲”创始人哈利迪临终前，他给全世界人宣布视频信息说明他在游戏里隐藏了三道彩蛋关卡，谁人能闯关成功获得隐藏钥匙就可以获取高额遗产和整个“绿洲”的掌控权。这样诱人的奖励不止让所有玩家踊跃挑战，更是造就了设法掌控“绿洲”及社会未来的大反派科技巨头 – IOI组织，当中的组织管理者诺兰更是阴险狡猾，不惜拿出各种卑鄙手段追求获胜。

在哈利迪去世五年后，一直无人破解第一关卡。然而机缘下，有着超强游戏天赋的韦德·沃兹利用自身游戏角色帕西瓦尔(Parzival)挑战第一关卡时靠着对哈利迪的深度了解和日复一日的研究，成功破解了了第一关卡的彩蛋谜题获得了第一把铜钥匙，这样的成就让他瞬间在虚拟世界里爆红成了个大名人荣登第一名排行榜。这样的轰动变化也给帕西瓦尔迎来了两世界里的杀身之祸，所幸他身边有着四位彩蛋猎人同志 – 让帕西瓦尔一见钟情的实力玩家和网络主播阿尔忒密斯(Art3mis)，“绿洲”最好的机械师好友艾奇(Aech)，“绿洲五强”(High Five)里的日本兄弟武士大东(Daito)和忍者修(Sho)及时出手相助。在彼此的扶持下，他们决定要破解哈利迪剩余的彩蛋关卡，并且阻止IOI组织终极垄断自由互联网权的阴谋。

《头号玩家》导演史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格一直以来就特别喜欢和擅长导演狗熊到英雄的演变故事，这次的电影也是打造在同样的情节概念上 – 电影里我们可以看见男主角韦德·沃兹在现社会里不过无存在感的宅男极客一名，有着悲惨过去，活在贫困的现在，放眼未来也只见不变的普通。但看似再平凡没用的人也会有能动摇世界的力量，极客韦德这个不合群特尴尬之弱点也意外成了他的优势，因为他比任何人更能理解“绿洲”创始人詹姆斯·哈利迪脑海里的思绪，毕竟两人都是在现实里找不到属于自己地位的大孩子。游戏玩家总会说：知己知彼百战百胜，摸清了也是游戏极客哈利迪的脑子后，韦德推断得出哈利迪会设下的彩蛋概念，和想要表达的心声，再透过同伴的帮忙，大家突破重重难关拿下了最后的胜利。

打着科幻爆米花片的名头的《头号玩家》，里头的场景却让我们不觉得陌生遥远，可能是VR技术的画面确实在现实里慢慢普及化，加上现今社会里的人民时时流连于虚拟网站和真实的界限中，那种“无非逃避现实里的哀败，寻求虚拟的慰籍和发泄欲望”的概念容易让人产生无限联想。

虽然电影情节中规中矩，也没有震撼人心的结尾，却也实实在在，让观众可以更好地把注意力放在作者和导演想要传达的主要思想内涵：要反思现代科技网络所带给我们的不仅是方便美好，不要一味的逃避现况然后沉陷下去忘了现实才是人生的终点，再后悔没能及时活在当下和珍惜身边人。电影里可看见众人利用游戏世界里的资源打造出自己想要成为的“完美”，这不就和我们在社交网络上给自己空间里投资大量时间打卡发帖上“照骗”打造出自己的美好虚拟形象和世界，再期待可以借此活得更好和渴望被接纳崇拜的概念蛮相似吗？《头号玩家》里的人文关怀提醒着大众：“虽然现实如此可怕和叫人痛苦，但它也是唯一能找寻真正的快乐的地方。”我们终究是活在现实，勿忘时时提醒自己不要过分沉迷于虚拟世界，忽略了现实里也要“升级”自己并完成人生里的现实关卡和任务。

观赏《头号玩家》后心里只有满满的感动 – 许多人的电影游戏回忆以彩蛋方式重现荧幕，极客爱好被认真对待。《头号玩家》提供另一个角度去正面看待本来只属于小众人群的“极客文化”。在急速发展的科技社会里，它慢慢地演变成大众语言。曾经被看低的，现在可能不止被接纳了，甚至被崇拜着。毕竟电影里和现实里都让我们目睹不少羞涩古怪的宅宅极客可能就是改善和打造未来的人才，或许了解他们也能帮助大家更精准判断未来社会和主流文化的走向。

而我作为一个几乎沉迷游戏的极客宅女，在看见哈利迪对韦德说“谢谢你玩我的游戏”时，潸然泪下。在当下，我们理解的彩蛋是一个游戏制作者将自己灵魂，爱和谢意埋藏于作品里的一种形式，所以当玩家们特地研究破解出这些被隐藏起来的彩蛋和享受游戏全程，这就是给予游戏制作者最深刻的回应和致敬。原著作者恩斯特‧克萊恩(Ernest Cline)和导演史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格完美地记录了两方都是那么的需要和崇拜彼此的情景。或许这就是为什么我会特别有感触，毕竟我万万没想到会在虚构情节里，反映出我能理解的真实。

长话短说，对于《头号玩家》这电影，单刷是不够的。 至少对我们这批极客粉丝而言，起码要刷到能看清楚电影里头所有堆叠的彩蛋吧？哈哈，开玩笑的...吧？

== / ==

Here are a few more opinions about READY PLAYER ONE from gamers and geeks from the local ACG community and movie fans during a Special Screening with Outpost Productions thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Malaysia:

Now for a chance to win a pair of tickets to our READY PLAYER ONE movie preview screening, just follow these steps:
1. SHARE our post for this blog article on our Facebook Page here.
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4. Fill-up the Google Form below with your contact details so we can quickly notify you upon selection of winners.

Contest closes on Monday 26 March 2018 at 3.00pm and subject to the Terms and Conditions below.



Terms and Conditions for Movie Preview Screening contest:

• Participation only for residents in Malaysia able to attend the Movie Preview Screening on Tuesday 27 March 2018, 8.45pm at GSC Mid Valley Megamall.
• Only 1 entry per person. Multiple entries after the first entry will be automatically rejected.
• Qualified entries must fulfill the participation requirements as indicated above.
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GUNDAM

TRACER

DELOREAN

KING KONG

THE IRON GIANT

SO many Geek-Gasm moments!

READY PLAYER ONE 

is in our 

Top Ten MUST-WATCH Geek Pop Culture movies 

for this year.

Enter the OASIS from 29 March 2018.

#ReadyPlayerOneMY

Disclaimer: READY PLAYER ONE and associated trademarks are copyright to Ernest Cline and/or Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., referenced here for fan service announcements only without intent to infringe.

Star Trek Discovery launches a new vision for the franchise that is familiar yet different

Star Trek has been a huge impact to the scifi geek community worldwide. The franchise has spawned 5 television series, 13 movies and 1 animated series. Star Trek started out as a television series in 1966 for 3 seasons before being revived as a movie in 1979, thanks in no small part to the blockbuster success of Star Wars. More movies then followed together with multiple TV spin-offs: The Next Generation (TNG), Deep Space Nine (DS9), Voyager, Enterprise. The last series Enterprise ended in 2005, leaving fans devoid of Star Trek on TV for over a decade... until NOW. Star Trek fans, or Trekkies, of all generations can join on adventures where no one has gone before with the release of Star Trek Discovery early this week!

Star Trek: Discovery is co-created by Bryan Fuller (Star Trek DS9 & Voyager) and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek 2009 reboot & Into Darkness, Transformers) for CBS, a US media corporation currently custodian of the Star Trek franchise. The series lead goes to Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) as Starfleet Commander Michael Burnham. The support cast includes Doug Jones (Hellboy) as Lt. Saru, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as Captain Phillipa Georgiou, James Frain (The Lone Ranger) as Vulcan Ambassador Sarek, Shazad Latif (Spooks) as Lt. Ash Tyler, Anthony Rapp (A Beautiful Mind) as Lt. Paul Stamets, Jason Issacs (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) as Captain Gabriel Lorca, Mary Wiseman (Baskets) as Cadet Sylvia Tilly and Chris Obi (American Gods) as Klingon leader T'Kuvma. Since the departure of Bryan Fuller in November last year, Executive Producers Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts currently serve as showrunners for the series, i.e. the ones with overall creative authority and management authority, or figuratively the joint-Captains of Star Trek Discovery.

Behind-the-scenes featurette.

This new series is yet another prequel ("can we not finally move forward in the timeline?" - editor's rant) that takes place 10 years before Kirk and Spock begin their missions in The Original Series. It is is not affected by the reboot films (Star Trek, Into Darkness, Beyond) which have since been classified as the Kelvin timeline. Therefore taking place in the Prime timeline, the adventures of Discovery occur in the time-span between Enterprise concluding in the year 2161 and The Original Series commencing in 2266; let's not get into stardate namenclature, it's just confusing!

Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham (centre), Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou (right) and Doug Jones as Lt. Saru on the bridge of the USS Shenzhou.

The main protagonist Michael Burnham is a human black woman raised on Vulcan as a ward of Ambassador Sarek; yes Spock's father. Michael (show creator Bryan Fuller likes assigning female characters male names) has since joined Starfleet at the urging of her adoptive father and progressed to the position of First Officer of U.S.S. Shenzhou, serving under Captain Phillipa Georgiou for the last 7 years. So begins the pilot episode of the series "The Vulcan Hello".

The opening title sequence of Star Trek Discovery is departure from the typical starship flybys of preceding series (Enterprise excepted).

Introducing the Starfleet crew circa 2256:

Senoque Martin Green as Commander Michael Burnham, First Officer of the U.S.S. Shenzhou.

As a result of her Vulcan upbringing, she maintains an air of cool logic with emotions held in check yet not totally suppressing them unlike true Vulcans. Burnham is a Xenoanthropologist and inherently a first contact specialist.

Malaysia's Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh as Captain Phillipa Georgiou of the U.S.S. Shenzhou.

She is a veteran of war and Michael Burnham's Starfleet mentor.

TV trivia: Most US TV productions task their cast to speak English in American accents. As a departure from this norm, Michelle Yeoh as Captain Georgiou retained her polished Chinese-Malaysian accent as a statement on global diversity in the hopeful future. Read more into this from an article on SyFy. Whilst here in Malaysia we are much accustomed to this as her normal accent, Americans may be just tempted to flick on the English subs to catch every word!

"Easter Egg" found! Captain Georgiou keeps a piece of asian culture in here ready room / office. Can you spot it? Read more about this at TheHypedGeek.com. 

Doug Jones as Lt. Saru, Science Officer on the Shenzhou.

Saru is a Kelpian, an alien species that has the ability to sense threats including rather pessimistic premonitions of death.

Jason Isaacs as Captain Gabriel Lorca of the U.S.S. Discovery.

A brilliant tactician with a decisive charisma but he hides some secrets.

Anthony Rapp as Lt. Paul Stamets on the Discovery.

An Astromycologist by training means Stamets specializes in space fungus ("seriously how useful is that going to be?" - editor's rant)

Shazad Latiff as Lt. Ash Tyler, Security Officer of the U.S.S. Discovery.

Mary Wiseman as Cadet Sylvia Tilly.

A final year cadet of the Starfleet Academy working in Engineering of the Discovery.

Listen directly from the Starfleet crew themselves as they introduce the mission of Star Trek Discovery.

James Frain is Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan.

Father to the soon to be infamous half-Vulcan Mr. Spock, and adoptive father to Michael Burnham.

In every incarnation of Star Trek, the lead starship (or space station in case of DS9) is every bit a character by itself. The starship brings our Starfleet heroes to adventures where no one has gone before and often times is an adventure itself.

U.S.S. Discovery NCC-1031.

The lead starship of the namesake series is captained by Gabriel Lorca. Nothing much is known about this starship yet of its capabilities ("although it could be used as a giant space pizza cutter!" - editor's rant). Fan speculation suggests it is one of Starfleet's newer starships and conceivably fast with its lengthy warp nacelles. This speculative video by Hybrid Network might provide more insights:

U.S.S. Shenzhou NCC-1227, Walker-class starship.

The other major Starfleet vessel to feature in this series is the U.S.S. Shenzhou, commanded by Phillipa Georgiou. It is designated a Walker-class starship and apparently an older model, although how then its registration number of NCC-1227 exceeds that of the Discovery's NCC-1031 may indeed suggest otherwise. Unusually the bridge for this class of starship is located at the bottom of the saucer section.

The Shenzhou in atmospheric flight.

It's no spoiler that Klingons feature heavily in this series and looks to provide the over-arching plot. At the start of the serious, relations between The Federation and The Klingon Empire is icy, unlike most of the TNG era where both are staunch allies. There are 24 Great Houses in the empire and whereby a formidable leader T'kuvma steps forth attempting to unite them all against the Federation.

Chris Obi is Klingon T'Kuvma.

Outcast albino Klingon V'oq serves T'Kuvma as his devote right hand.

What, those are Klingons? We have seen the smooth forehead Klingons from TOS evolve to their bumpy forehead versions in TNG, explained as side-effects of genetic engineering gone wrong in the Enterprise series. Then Klingons in the JJ Abrams Kelvin timeline sported another variant. Now here is yet another variant of Klingon in Star Trek Discovery looking even more alien. And not just in physical look but also dress (ouch, spikey!) and cultural look (organic ships?). No clues yet as to whether this will be explained over the course of the series in a logical explanation acceptable to fans. Read more about the new Klingon look in this article by USA today.

REMAIN KLINGON: A cool Klingon trailer version for Star Trek Discovery as seen from their perspective!

There are many more Klingon characters and look towards which ones to be the major antagonists as the series progresses. Oh, in Klingon scenes, our Klingons now fully speak Klingon! Worry not there are subtitles provided... in fact each episode contains Klingon subtitles for our English-speaking characters!

Star Trek Discovery is now available to us here in Malaysia via Netflix. New episodes will be released on Mondays at approximately 3pm Malaysian time. There are 15 episodes for this season with the first 8 scheduled until 6 November 2017. After a mid-season break, the remaining episodes commence on January 2018.

The first two episodes of the series has been released this Monday 25 September 2017. Here are initial reactions for episode 1 "The Vulcan Hello" & episode 2 "Battle at the Binary Stars" during a mini-viewing party for Malaysian Trekkies by Outpost (no spoilers):

This two episodes can be seen as a pilot to the new series, introducing some key characters and the tone for the season. For a more in depth look into Star Trek Discovery, watch our video review hosted by Vulcan cultural officer Mr. Smock with local Trekkies Thomas Kuan and Chow F.C. aka Mr. Engineer:

Here are snippets of what to look forward to in the coming episodes including the U.S.S. Discovery in action (beware MAJOR SPOILERS if not yet watched first 2 episodes):

Now for some goodies to our valued readers!

OUTPOST GIVEAWAY

Thanks for Netflix, we have more GOODIES to GIVEAWAY! Up for grabs we have 3 complimentary 3-month subscriptions for Netflix so you Trekkies can watch Star Trek Discover legit. Also 1 lucky winner with receive a Netflix tote bag, notebook, lanyard, and pen.

To stand a chance to win this Outpost Giveaway, just follow these few simple steps:

• Like our Facebook Page Outpost Productions.
• Like / Wow / Love this Facebook post.
• Share the Facebook post to your timeline (set privacy to public) with reasons why your friends should watch Star Trek Discovery, .e.g. I want to watch Star Trek Discovery to see Michelle Yeoh as a Starfleet Captain.
• Include in your shared post hashtags #StarTrekDiscovery #Netflix #OutpostGiveaway.
• Join local Trekkies on Facebook Group Starbase MY - Star Trek Fans Malaysia
• Fill in your details in the form below which include permalink to your shared post.

This contest will be closing on Monday 2 October 2017, 11.59pm. winers will be notified. So make sure to follow us and stay tuned!



Other Terms & Conditions:
a. Participants must be resident in Malaysia.
b. Giveaways comprise 1 tote bag with Netflix gift card (main prize), and 2 Netflix gift cards (consolation) for total 3 winners.
c. Winner of tote bag must be able to arrange self-collection of prize within 2 weeks of notification. Collection point will be in Klang Valley.
d. Only 1 entry per person.
e. Submission to Join the Facebook Group Starbase MY - Star Trek Fans Malaysia must be received before closing deadline.
f. Selection of winners are final
g. We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions without prior notice.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

Stay tuned to Outpost Productions on the following channels for our geeky news and intel plus Trekkie meetups in Malaysia:

• Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: OutpostMY
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Disclaimer: Star Trek and other trademarks are copyright to CBS and/or Paramount, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.