Interstellar, how to get Bloodborne FREE with a PlayStation 4 and more…
Back again highlighting the biggest and bestest new releases of the week, plus how to save on upcoming vidjagames. Speaking of which, there’s an INCREDIBLE PlayStation 4 deal below you really need to see because I’m not sure how long its gonna last. Either way, shopping Amazon using our links below and anytime via he right-hand sidebar gets you what you want AND nets Laser Time a small commission to help keep the lights on over here. Even if you aren’t interested in what we’re recommending, simply entering Amazon through that link and shopping for what you do want can help us out immensely. Thanks again, and happy shopping!
PICKS OF THE WEEK
A fucking PlayStation 4 with FREE Bloodbourne, Last of Us Remastered AND a $20 gift card!
GODDAMMIT! It’s deals like this that makes early adopters wish we’d waited to pick up a next-gen console. If you’ve been waiting for a good PS4 deal, I can’t imagine a better one than this right here. For the standard $399.99 price of a PS4, you’ll also get its newest, and greatest IMO, exclusive game, it’s second greatest game, and a FREE twenty bucks to put towards whatever-the-fuck on Amazon! Although, I’d probably recommend a PS+ subscription if you don’t have one already, and BAM: You’ve got a brand new system with FOUR or FIVE free games right out the gate. Again, this is the best new videogame system, with its best exclusive titles, and an extra $20 bucks for your trouble. Or a PS4 with an added $100 value. (I believe Bloodborne is a physical copy too, so you can trade it in if you’re a fucking idiot.) This is such a good deal, I started to wonder what the hell Sony was thinking, but I’m guessing it has to do with the recent release of Xbone’s Master Chief Collection Bundle. It’s $50 less than the Bloodborne PS4 bundle, but IMO, for a semi-broken console and four old semi-broken games. I’ll stand by the PS4 deal here.
If you recall, I called Interstellar my favorite movie of the year in our 2014 wrap-up episode. Of course, that was before I saw Boyhood, as well as The Wind Rises, but for the most part I feel like that’s still praise I can stand firmly behind. Like many of Interstellar’s detractors, I wasn’t entirely pleased by the ending either. But for all the things that left me befuddled, I ended up researching black holes, relativity theories, and having more actual human conversations about Interstellar than almost any movie in 2014. (Again, give our take some arguments with anti-Boyhood folks, and the fact that I do a weekly podcast about comic books that requires some prolonged conversation about one of the MCU’s greatest years ever.) I loved the future Nolan set up for Interstellar to exist in, I liked that it made me uncomfortable with my lack of knowledge of physics and the universe, and most importantly, I loved that it seemed to take a fetishistic approach towards the beauty of space travel. Don’t know about you, but I grew up obsessed with the idea of space and visiting other planets, and for all its faults, Interstellar is a wonderful meditation on our relationship with the rest of the unknown universe and how ill-suited we are to deal with it. “That’s not how a black hole works!” screams people with no suspension of disbelief and/or lapsed star seekers beaten down by the logistics of intergalactic travel. Well, if you have trouble wrapping your brain around Interstellar, remember that human beings can barely contemplate the celestial phenomena Interstellar’s trying to present. A lot of it is a highly theoretical gamble, and there’s a human story to service along the way too. Interstellar’s a risky fucking movie, and one that only a man who’s made a studio billions with a Batman trilogy would ever be allowed to make. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a breed of excellence you’re not likely to see made on a major budget and well worthy of high appreciation, warts and all. Oh, and I also love how it’s fighting a pop culture cold war with Gravity, which just so happened to release a Special “Diamond-Luxe” edition on the same day to steal Interstellar’s thunder! FIGHT, FIGHT, ETC.!
THE REST BUT STILL COOL
Without a doubt, Imitation Game is the most by-the-numbers Oscar film ever made. It features ever cliched speech, moving musical montage, and all of the pitiable genius character bullshit that tends to run away with Oscar gold. It’s the most desperate movie for Academy acknowledgment I saw this year to the point where it’d be almost pathetic if I didn’t care so deeply about it’s subject matter. As Mikel said in our Annual Oscar Time episode, Cumberbatch’s Alan Turning is essentially the father of computers. That he’s inventing it in service of what some call the biggest blow to Hitler in WWII while also being chemically castrated is certainly compelling enough fodder for a film. But even though I didn’t see Theory of Everything for the same reasons, Imitation Game is the most hackneyed and cliched attempt at Oscar bait as I’ve seen in recent years, making it hard to recommend to folks I know prefer time traveling robots and talking raccoons.
I’m no sports fan, so forgive me for not paying attention, but is this the only Baseball game in town this year? I only poked around a little on Amazon, and it seems even suggested searches like “MLB 2K15” point to nothing, and suggest 2K games is once again not interested in the declining popularity of America’s Favorite Past Time. I hope that means I both don’t have to rundown any of the features of MLB 15: The Show, nor do I have to make fun of baseball any further. If you’re a fan of officially sanctioned baseball games, the single greatest bulletpoint for Sony’s latest version of The Show is a complete and depressing monopoly in 2015.
What the hell? Remember when we were all on board with whatever movie Jason Statham decided to release his special brand of balding, British justice upon? Well, that was so long ago, I’m starting to wonder when and where we lost interest in him making the exact same movie over and over again. Wild Card is something I’ve never even heard of, but the description reads like a dozen other post-Transporter Statham movies released in the past decade. Meanwhile, the Transporter is being made without him?! Something is not right here, but it’s not like I won’t be clapping my wrists together like a fat, happy baby this weekend watching Statham in Fast 7, so why waste time complaining.
You know it’s a slow release week for games when a series most Americans can’t recognize, let alone pronounce, makes its way into the upper tier of retail. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this series, which at a glance, looks to be a bit of a Monster Hunter clone from Tecmo Koei. Given that I’m over 100 hours into the real deal, forgive me I just leave this here and walk away…
Next to Broad City, The Last Man on Earth, and possibly even Better Call Saul, Silicon Valley’s one of the better comedies on the air right now. Of course, the show takes place in my backyard, so I’m more than willing to watch a mockery of tech millionaire shitheads, with its dregs of stupidly well-funded wannabes, who are currently in the throes of making my city financially impossible to live in. Again, great show, but the price on the first eight episodes is beyond steep by the standards of not only DVD season sets, but HBO subscription fees. This Season One Blu-ray will essentially cost you the same as two months of HBO Go/Now/Just steal your parents’ password already! But what can you do? It’s a light release week… speaking of which!
You know Laser Time loves it some Marvel movies, but here’s another set that’s difficult to recommend. Nothing against the Iron Man trilogy, but you’ve had almost two years to scoop up all three, and probably at a better price than this all-new three pack. Personally, and I’m not even bashing on Iron Man 2 here, but I’ve seen Iron Man 1 to death, and just picked up Iron Man 3. And I don’t see any new features listed, only a big old one that’s missing: Digital copies. Either way, I’m sure MCU fans either already own this, and/or I wouldn’t fault anyone for waiting for a more comprehensive Phase 2 set that will almost certainly come out in 2015, after Phase 3 kicks off with Ant-Man.
I’ve expressed my frustration with the molasses release schedule of new games on PS4 and Xbone, but hey, it’s never been a better time for PS360 owners on a budget. Continuing to prove Square-Enix’s purchase of Eidos is probably the smartest thing that company’s done in a decade, you can pick up Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs and Just Cause 2 for less than $10 a game in a single package. Plus there’s an accompanying Ultimate Stealth Triple Pack release featuring, Hitman: Absolution, Thief and Deus Ex for the same price. Good for backlogs on a budget!
CAPE CRISIS RECOMMENDS:
UPCOMING VIDEO GAME PRE-ORDER BONUSES
listed roughly in order of release date
Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster Limited Edition
-Pre-order Final Fantasy X-X2 HD now to receive the Limited Edition. Includes a 2015-2016 calendar featuring X/X-2 Yoshitaka Amano artwork.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
-Pre-order Borderlands: The Handsome Collection for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and get a free digital download of Borderlands Game of the Year Edition for PC.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
-Pre-order and receive Amazon-exclusive 48-page hardcover comic FREE
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain *NEW*
-Pre-order the Day 1 Edition to get a physical map + DLC content which includes: • Adam-ska Special Handgun • Personal Ballistic Shield (Silver) • Wetland Cardboard box • Fatigues outfit (Blue Urban Snake Costume) • Metal Gear Online XP boost
Project CARS
-Pre-order and recieve FREE Modified Car Pack
Mortal Kombat X
-Pre-order and play as the eight-armed Shokan warrior, GORO.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker
-Pre-order and receive free bonus soundtrack
Batman: Arkham Knight
–Pre-order to play as Harley Quinn. Utilize her unique weapons, gadgets, and abilities. Plus, contains 4 Exclusive Challenge Maps
Just bought Interstellar. Each Blu-Ray comes with an authentic 70MM IMAX film cell of the movie, which is the best piece of movie memorabilia I could own as a certified film geek!
I agree and that was one of the reasons for purchasing it day one. Hope more films offer this bonus. What if Dark Knight or Rises had offered the same? I would of purchased as many as it took till I got a Joker and Bane film cell!
My film cell was a shot of the mathematical equations on the chalkboard. It’s not the most visually stunning scene from the film, but it’s perhaps the most scientific shot from the film. So I guess…that’s good?
That is good! I for some reason went on an Ebay bender and looked at every film cell listing and there are some not so good ones lol The back of Michael Caine’s head or a shot of a nasa space shuttle door jk
I just watched Princess Kaguya, and while I liked Wind Rises, I think Kaguya was my Ghibli movie of the year from last year. In fact, after being sort of disappointed by Big Hero 6 recently, and not that thrilled with the Lego Movie, I think Kaguya was my favorite animated movie of last year.
Glad I saw Interstellar, but will admit to having no real desire to see it again outside of an Imax. The PS4 deal is intriguing, Bloodborne is the closest I’ve come to being interested in a “next gen” game so far, still not enough to open the wallet (which will be MGS4/Arkham time) but the closest so far.
But…Goro only has four arms….
As someone who loved Gravity and Interstellar, I don’t understand how Gravity can get all the acclaim and awards while Interstellar does not. Interstellar was one of my favorite films from last year (although I’m happy that Birdman won Best Film), and I loved it even more the second time around when I saw it in IMAX.
For me, Interstellar was light-years ahead of all the blockbusters I seen last year, even the ones I really enjoyed like Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow. I wish there were more original films with the budget and ambition like Interstellar, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails.