BYTE: Jolly January

I'm Paul ... and this is Paul & The Popcorn...

Welcome to a jolly January - and I hope it is so for all of you!

It was an epic 2015 for movies wasn't it? It started off exciting, got amazing, what with the Avengers and Ant-man and everything. Via a few comic cons and even TV show viewings, I finished off the year with no less than 4 screenings of the hotly awaited, Star Wars: the Force Awakens.

This year is just as exciting as we have some more Marvel movies - Captain America: Civil War is looking ace, and of course, another Star Wars movie to contend with before 2017 blows us away with it's offerings. Dropping by also will be Deadpool and DC's juggernaut Batman Vs Superman, and rounded off by a nice slice of Star Trek too.

Celebrations this year include 60 years of Batman (the camp 60's TV series) and the anniversary of Star Trek: the Original Series. So it's going to be an exciting year regardless. Added to that all the comic cons, action and unboxings - it's shaping up to be an exciting year ahead.

I've been blogging on and off for a year now, and I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading me. I got a cheap camcorder for Christmas so I'm going to try and do some vLogs too this year - which is something I'm not really accustomed to. But I'll have a go and you can tell me what you think.  it will complement this blog and my Twitter feed so hopefully it will give you enough new content to be getting on with.

Let's get to the computers then -
 

If you are interested in Steam games but want to expand your horizons from just the triple A rated blockbusters and have a peek at other offerings - including indie developers, you could do no worse than checking out a SteamCrate. It says that each game is worth at least £3 and you get 10 random games each month - which could be anything from the latest releases to goodness-knows-what. I have subscribed to this and I'm going to do a review soon - so keep an eye out for it to see if it is worth it or not. They give you a 10% discount if you subscribe to their mailing list too, so it's worth doing that if you want to take advantage.

Looking at the latest stuff as well:

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month includes:

XBOX ONE gives you:

Thief

Killer Instinct: Ultra Edition Add-on
Zheroes (from 16th Jan)
 

XBOX 360 gifts to you:

DiRT Showdown

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (from 16th Jan)

All the Xbox games have limited availability and are yours to keep once you have purchased them. However, some are only available at the beginning of the month, some at the end and some longer than that. Generally though, there are some games for the first two weeks and then a different set two weeks after, so you need to move quickly.

Every Xbox 360 game that is featured on Games With Gold from now, is now backwards compatibly with Xbox One which means the Xbox 360 games above WILL work on your Xbox one. They are adding new games all the time, so keep checking to see if you can use any of those old 360 games again on your shiny new Xbox One.

>  PSN: PS Plus this month is as follows:

 

PS4 has:

Grim Fandango: Remastered
Hardware Rivals

PS3 gets:

Dragon Age: Origins (yes, really!)
Medal of Honor: Warfighter

Vita receives:

Grim Fandango: Remastered
Nihilumbra
History: Legends of War

 

Of course usual rules apply in that if you stop your subscription those games'll stop workin'. I know this to be true because it has happened to me.

 

Origin has another game on the house and it's Jade Empire: Special Edition - this was an awesome game in it's time so get it now before it's gone forever. As always you need to have an Origin account to get this - but it's really worth the time to get this game as it's fab. If you like Knights of the Old Republic and the more recent Old Republic MMORPG you'll love this.

Origin have a new thing out called Origin Access which is £3.99 a month to play their games and you can cancel at any time. I need to look into this further but it looks pretty cool if you have the time to do it. If you check it out - let me know.

 

As always we have Loot Crate and Nerd Block unboxings to look forward to...

...AND Marvel Collector Corps in February which, I'm told, is Deadpool!

It's time to go now but -  I'll see you soon.

Keep being awesome!

Until next time

Paul

REVIEW: MOVIEBLAST: The Gift (15) & The Man From U.N.C.L.E (12A)

THE GIFT (15) is  the latest movie starring Jason Bateman as Simon, a successful businessman with everything he ever wanted.  Simon gets a dream job and as a result has to move back home to an enviously lavish house with his doting wife. When Gordo (Joel Edgerton) his old classmate appears and leaves gifts outside his door things get creepy. However when Simon decides the gifts are getting too much and tells Gordo to leave him alone, a sinister letter from Gordo saying he will no longer let bygones be bygones threatens everything Simon knows. The Gift is a psychological thriller from Blumhouse Productions (who also were involved with Insidious and Sinister).  Good, thought provoking movie but not the horror I was expecting. 

POPSCORE: 7/10

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E (12A) is Guy Ritchie’s take on the classic 60’s spy series has hit the cinema this week – and the question is – how did he do? Combining acting talents of Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo and The Lone Ranger’s Armie Hammer as Russian KGB agent Ilya Kuryakin, this action fest is ready to blow your mind.

We are at a juncture whereby we are now in 2015 and the Sixties – which seems a long time away now – is ripe for picking from TV series and shows that have been beloved then but maybe forgotten now. Like Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E was a much loved spy series and it has now been given a more modern makeover. I am not very familiar with the original series but remember my parents loving it back in the day – so this time I took my mam with me to see what she thought. Her answer? It’s nothing like the original.

The mismatched duo attempt to foil a standard world domination plan featuring a nuclear bomb. To do so they need to work together despite their differences and obvious distain for each other. Napoleon Solo, a smarmy ex-con with a penchant for speaking exposition and the grumpy but capable Russian special agent, Ilya Kuryakin find themselves in a race against time to save the world. It’s all very predictable and formulaic but it’s a fun movie nonetheless – I enjoyed it but it’s apparently very different from the original.

Henry Cavill plays a good role as Napoleon Solo, and Armie Hammer (known mostly for the dire The Lone Ranger) puts in a good performance as his Russian counterpart. Hugh Grant drops in here and there to add a little Britishness to the proceedings and the love interests are beautiful and deadly in equal measure. It’s a run of the mill spy film, based on a beloved 60’s show and it’s not bad. Good for a Sunday afternoon or if you’ve seen all the blockbusters out then there’s this to fill the void while you are waiting on the next hit movie. It’s not quite up there with Mission: Impossible, but the ending suggests there may scope for some sequels.

POPSCORE: 7/10

BYTE: Jolly July

It's Just July... or is it? Summer is here!

It's sweltering this week in England, UK - which makes a change really as we're used to dark clouds and rain. So out comes the barbecues and chilled drinks and also some serious fun over the next month or so.

Movie wise we are looking at Marvel's latest offering - Ant-Man, featuring Paul Rudd as the titular character. My fellow Popsters have generally been a bit lukewarm about this movie - but I will assemble the Avengers and we will go to see it and let you know what I think. My TwitterMate (tm) +James Gunn (the director of Guardians of the Galaxy among other things) tweeted "I think @AntMan is my favourite @Marvel film since Iron Man (well, excluding one to which I'm partial). Holy cow is it a blast." I guess we'll have to wait until 17th July to find out!

Meanwhile - Terminator Genysis is out today (as I write this) - so that's 3rd July for you guys in the UK. Magic Mike XXL (I'll skip that one) and Minions also have been released recently. We have Ted 2 to look forward to - and Fantastic Four next month - which is going to be interesting to see. it's all going on in the movie world, it really is.

Let's get to the computers - last months Steam Summer Sale was immense - and sadly I didn't keep any money aside but there were some awesome deals. The challenge this time around was a click mouse to shoot aliens type of game - and my goodness did it play havoc on my fingers and mouse. Still it was a unique way to get involved - even if I was at work for most of it and didn't get the best out of it.

London Film and Comic Con is this month - and it looks unbelievable. The line up is beyond astounding - and I thought they couldn't top when they had Stan Lee (when I went!).  But, if you are interested you have the opportunity to meet Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver, Stargate SG:1 and all), Marty McFly himself - Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd (GREAT SCOTT!), Ellen Ripley (aka Sigourney Weaver) and... [deep breath] Neve Campbell from Scream! and more besides. You lucky, lucky people! I'm visiting Sheffield Film and Comic Con, so it's not quite as big but still exciting.
 

Let's get to the computers - last months Steam Summer Sale was immense - and sadly I didn't keep any money aside but there were some awesome deals. The challenge this time around was a click mouse to shoot aliens type of game - and my goodness did it play havoc on my fingers and mouse. Still it was a unique way to get involved - even if I was at work for most of it and didn't get the best out of it.

 

Looking at the latest stuff as well:

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month includes the full game of Plants Vs Zombies on XBOX 360 and for the posh 'uns who have XBOX ONE you are treated to Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag (yes, really) and Massive Chalice (still) to download free if you are a subscriber.
 

>  PSN: PS Plus this month hasn't really updated just yet so nothing new to report on this front. But rumour has it the following games will be available from 7th July:

 

PS4 has:

Entwined, MouseCraft, Rocket League, Styx: Master of Shadows

 

PS3 gets:

Entwined, MouseCraft, Rain

 

Vita receives:

Entwined, Geometry Wars 3, MouseCraft

Personally I'm excited for Geometry Wars 3, but that's just me. Of course usual rules apply in that if you stop your subscription those games'll stop workin'.

 

As always we have Loot Crate and Nerd Block unboxings to look forward to...

 

...AND Marvel Collector Corps in August after July's fantastic Ant-man offering!

It's time to go now but - have a Jolly July and I'll see you soon.

 

Keep being awesome!

 

Until next time

Paul

BYTE: Avengers April

Welcome to April - yes I know it's nearly over, but we still have some excitement left!

How are you? I haven't really had chance to get to the computer to write a Byte recently but now, before I have to go work, I'm taking a time out to connect with you guys once more.

How is it going? I hope you've been keeping up to date with my Twitter as I can update that more frequently with things that have been happening while I've been out and about. It's been a quite month Convention-wise but some interesting things have been happening. It's been a very exciting trailer-centric April, especially over the last week or so. We've been treated to the final Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, and, to be fair, it looks blummin' awesome! Marvel have released some clips too - 4 no less, and they all look awesome - check out the YouTube stuff - https://youtu.be/_AFtMIBwKho?t=1s and check the other links too.

Other studios have got in on the act too though and we've seen trailers for the upcoming Batman Vs Superman and the much anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. the latter nearly broke the internet when it concluded with an older Han Solo and Chewbacca saying "Chewie, we're home".  Oh, and let's not forget Ant-Man, the other Marvel movie release this summer.

Marvel has been very busy with those movies, and announcements about the furture - Dr Strange and Captain America 3 no less, they have also been working with Netflix on the new Daredevil TV series. I've seen the first episode and after 7 minutes I was impressed - it's is a quantum leap forward from the dismal Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck. After I've seen the series, expect a review up - but for now, I'm really impressed - especially the little references to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

My blog is getting more views and I'm working behind the scenes to set up my youtube channel and getting everything in place for that. I'm looking to do a little tune for the YouTube channel and looking into that - so expect it soon.

There's more film releases this month too - the major one, of course is Avengers: Age of Ultron next week - so expect a review (and I'll try and not spoil anything) especially for those of you who read my blog in the US (you poor guys have to wait til May 1!).

I've signed up to subscribe to Star Wars Online - that is, The Old Republic AKA SWTOR so if you'd like to join me on there - add paulosolo and you can explore the galaxy with me.

Looking at the latest stuff as well:

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month celebrates the success of Xbox Live they are doubling the free games and check this out! The full game of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on XBOX 360 and for the posh 'uns who have XBOX ONE you are treated to Pool Nation FX, Rayman Legends AND Child of Light to download free if you are a subscriber.
>  PSN: PS Plus this month hasn't really updated just yet but as of today you have Dishonored on PS3, MonsterBag and Killzone: Mercenary for the Vita and Never Alone on PS4. If you're into multi format there is also a game called Tower of Guns and Aaru's Awakening that you can download for all three. Of course these are active while your subscription is and will cease working if you are not a member.

As always we have Loot Crate and Nerd Block unboxings to look forward to.

Anyway I've wrote enough now - have an AWESOME APRIL and I'll see you soon.

Until next time

Paul

BYTE: Merry March

Hey guys

It's been the calm before the storm for me and a quiet week geek-wise. I've been mourning the passing of Orange Wednesdays at the cinema.  I have been trying to find out more about the tease of Compare the Market doing it - after seeing the meerkat advert at the cinema last week. No news has come forward so far so as soon as I find out I will let you know.

Meanwhile, on the movie front, I think I have not seen a movie this week! I'm so letting you down. However, Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer 3 dropped and is whetting our appetite even further. If you are eagle eyed, or good with the pause button, you will get to see a glimpse of The Vision at the end of the trailer. Also, I'm going to see the new Divergent film, Insurgent soon, so there will be a full review of that.

As for the blog and stuff, well, I've managed to add my logo to the blog, and I hope you like it. I'm still working on the vlogging stuff - I have purchased some software to have a crack at learning editing before I get cracking unleashing my presenting skills onto the unknowing internet. I've set up a Facebook Page, but I will have to get the page address - it's the one with the Paul & The Popcorn logo on of course! And while you are there - don't forget to follow me on Twitter too - @paulandpopcorn if you haven't already. Once I get the youtube up and running I'll bring all the links together.

Also, fancy some free stuff? I've been looking about and I've seen that:

> Google Play is celebrating 3 years of existence - so you can get a free download of Fast and Furious movie (handy since the 7th instalment is being broadcast to a cinema near you in the very near future). Some amendments to this though - a) you will need a google play account that's active (I got this offer through the email) and b) it's not the first one but the one without the "The"'s in it from 2009.

> Origin: If you are registered with Origin you can get a free "on the house" copy of early 1990's classic Syndicate for free download for a limited time.

>  PSN: PS Plus this month has updated now and the new roster of games for the PS formats are:
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes And Punishments and Papa & Yo on PS3 and Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty (what?!) and Valiant Hearts: The Great War on PS4.
If you're into multi format there is also OlliOlli2: Welcome To Olliwood bundled for PS4/Vita and the triple bundle for all three of a game called CounterSpy. Of course these are active while your subscription is and will cease working if you are not a member.
PSN Store also have a special offer on Final Fantasy games for the moment too - do now's your time to get some of those FF gaps in your collection filled. As always, these are for a limited time and access/costs may be dependent on whether you are a subscriber or not so check first before purchase.

>   Xbox Live:  Games with Gold this month hosts the full game of Tomb Raider on XBOX 360 and for the posh 'uns who have XBOX ONE you are treated to Rayman Legends and #IDARB to download free if you are a subscriber.

Also I've signed up to Star Wars Online - that is, The Old Republic AKA SWTOR so if you'd like to join me on there - add paulosolo and you can explore the galaxy with me. I have been playing it this week and am at the grand old rank of level 10. I'm a Jedi Sentinel so it means I can use two lightsabers. That's gotta be good, hasn't it? If you play - let me know what you think.

Anyway that's enough update for now; hopefully next week I will get my rather fetching Paul & The Popcorn T-Shirt, but who knows?

Until next time

Paul
 

BYTE: 2nd February 2015

Hi guys

How are you?

In the scheme of things I'm only just starting out on my new idea of having an entertainment site to keep you guys up to date with all the goings on in everything that interests me. I'm trying to keep active on Twitter especially, and going to try doing some uploads on YouTube as well of some unboxings, reviews and lots more.

It's great to see people checking out my writing and blog and I'll keep adding as I find things to say and things that I do. Hello to all my new internet people! I hope you are finding it interesting too.

Right now I'm researching a logo for the Paul & The Popcorn brand and I will be sharing it with you once I have confirmed the one I like.

I'm going to at least 2 conventions in March - so there will be some serious discussion up on the blog and Twitter when I go and come back. If you are going to any and see me - come and say hi. if you are interested in the ones I am going to spend time at they are : The Sci Fi Weekender in Wales (I've been so often I have Trooper Status now!) and the Newcastle Film & Comic Con.

There's a lot of amazing movies coming out soon including - Divergent Series: Insurgent, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Jupiter Ascending, Ant-Man, The Fantastic Four and much more.

Keep it locked here for my opinion, and as always, your comments are welcome too. I've worked out how to incorporate pictures as well - so I will have more pictures in my blog soon too.

Anyway, I've waffled enough now - have a FABULOUS FEBRUARY and I will be back with you soon.

Until next time

Paul