Opinion
6 CommentsDead parents, Steven Universe and processing grief
Steven Universe is a show known primarily for its bright colors, fantastic music and handling mature themes about love, gender and consent with a surprising deftness for an action cartoon series aimed at a young audience. But when folks are listing the Cartoon Network hit's virtues, there's one that doesn't get nearly enough attention.
A lot of Steven Universe is about presenting how its characters deal with grief.
Throughout the Crystal Gems' adventures, their familial foibles and attempts to relate to the humans around them, there is a continuous, quiet acknowledgement of loss. The empty space left when their former leader Rose Quartz "gave up her physical form" — died — in order for her half-human son, Steven, to be born, is ever-present.
To Steven's family members, Rose was a...
Recap
47 CommentsGame of Thrones tackles death, the return of a major character and farts in a strong episode
Spoiler alert!
This recap is intended for folks who've already seen the episode, and will include a description of its events!
Jon Snow saw nothing after death. But some force more powerful than death itself brought him back. It's hard to square those two thoughts.
Clearly there's something going on beyond the mortal coil, but what that might be remains obscured. We see through a glass darkly.
"I did what I thought was right. Then I got murdered for it. Now I'm back. Why?" Jon Snow asked, in a bit of dialog that was maybe a bit too on the nose. Davos isn't really interested in that question, much less the answer. What's important is that Snow is back, and he must pick up the fight where he left it. He accepts the magic he sees with his own eyes with only a small bit of shock and...
Movies
1 CommentStar Wars: Rogue One trailer redone in Lego is pretty rad
Two things about this Lego-ized adaptation of the Rogue One trailer make in intriguing. The first is, of course, it's a nice Lego recreation of a familiar video. The second is that Brotherhood Workshop put it together in about three weeks.
With a publishing date of May 4 (Star Wars Day; sorry, we missed this) that means the Worskshop got cracking on it right after the original trailer debuted April 7.
And while we may get a bit jaded by Lego-fied versions of everything, you do have to hand it to these animators, that sequence with the Death Star's satellite TV installation is pretty damn good. The lip sync could use a little work, heh heh, but the AT-ATs are baller. Nice job.
The original trailer is below.
TV
17 CommentsGame of Thrones star explains exactly what happens after you die
Game of Thrones is a series that's abundant in death. It's a show that doesn't necessarily ask what will happen next, but who will be killed off next. Dealing with so much death on the show has led to some of the actors thoughtfully embracing the possible outcomes of their characters and what that means to them.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for last Sunday's episode.
Last week's Game of Thrones finally brought back Jon Snow, and actor Kit Harington has told Entertainment Weekly a bit about what we can expect from the character now that he's seen the other side. What follows is a rather bleak look at death in the world of Game of Thrones.
"There's a brilliant line when Melisandre asks: 'What did you see?' And [Snow] says: 'Nothing, there was nothing at all,'" Harington...
Culture
5 CommentsTamagotchis at the Met Gala: The future of video games and fashion
Last night, celebrities, models, costume designers and New York City's class of elite gathered in Manhattan to celebrate the world of fashion at the 2016 Met Gala.
This year, the theme was "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" and while some red carpet swooners decided that meant elegant black ensembles with wisps of silver threaded throughout, others decided to lean more heavily into the theme. Former One Direction singer Zayn Malik suited up with a pair of metallic robotic arms, for example, while others wore outfits that responded to tweets and changed color based on commands sent in.
What caught our eye at Polygon, however, was Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's integration of Tamagotchis into their formal wear. Some ridiculed the duo for the gimmicky look and some...
Movies
38 CommentsThe film Apocalypse could have looked like this
Tested recently released a fascinating video interview with Ironhead Studio founder Jose Fernandez, where Fernandez describes much of the work he's been doing with superhero design in film, often with little to no credit. Ironhead worked on Batman v Superman, Thor, Tron Legacy, Batman Returns, The Avengers and many others. The company knows how to create and execute on complex ideas.
The entire video is wonderful if you're interested in superhero suit design and fabrication, but the real heartbreaker takes place when Fernandez shows off his concepts for X-Men: Apocalypse.
Here's a good look at his design.
And one more.
This, for comparison, is what made it to screen:
Fernandez said he lost the bid to work on...
Analysis
18 CommentsThe Hearthstone legendary cards you must craft ASAP
With last week's release of the Whispers of the Old Gods expansion and the introduction of standard mode, a lot of new players are checking out Hearthstone and old players who wandered aware are returning. Whatever your status, one cold truth of reality is shared by everyone: There are a lot of cards in Hearthstone, and it's hard to know which ones you really need.
In the smart video above, popular and talented Hearthstone streamer Kripparrian runs down his choices for the most must-have legendaries in the game right now. For his list, Kripparian splits the legendaries into three tiers of desirability. The best of the best are in tier one, the best class legendaries are in tier two, and strong but situational legendaries can be found in tier three. He stresses that legendaries in the...
Culture
6 CommentsWatch the heart-pounding conclusion to BioWare's Goose Cam
BioWare Edmonton recently became the unwitting caretakers of Arshonk and Ganders, a pair of Canada geese that took a pit stop on the studio's roof. Naturally, the developer took advantage of the situation by training a camera on the nesting tourists 24/7, to the tune of some sweet BioWare jams (from games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age). Thus began the BioWare Goose Cam, last week's most engaging livestream.
But all good things must come to an end. After discovering that the lady goose Ganders was with-child, BioWare Edmonton launched a name bracket, putting it up to fans to christen the goslings. All six were born shortly thereafter, but now that the family is complete and the children are walking, it was time to send them all home.
In the moving finale to BioWare's unforgettable...
Culture
8 CommentsRe-animated Smash Bros. Melee intro is a delightful video for a Sunday afternoon
A team of 30 animators spent the better part of a year remaking the original Super Smash Bros. Melee opening, and here at last is their video. It's a virtuoso, shot-for-shot remake of the title sequence, all done with varying styles and motifs. It's wonderful.
Anyone with fond memories of this GameCube classic — goodness, the thing is 15 years old this December — will appreciate the stylish takes on such familiar scenes. For purposes of comparison, here is the original:
All of the animators are listed in a credit sequence at the end of the video at top. But they really deserve to be broken out by name, so here you go. The names are listed in the order of their appearance. Take a bow, folks.
Ryan Hobbs
Pat Paradis
Lisa Yin
Brian Blanchard
Scott Lewis
Adam Peerbaye
Y...
Culture
8 CommentsThis Splatoon live concert is equal parts weird and wonderful
Splatoon is many things: Nintendo Wii U's coolest nautical-themed shooter, one of Polygon's favorite games of 2015 and the home to an amazing soundtrack. The music of Splatoon was the focus of a recent concert starring the Squid Sisters, the game's most talkative characters.
Japanese fans were treated to the live show, while others were forced to watch a livestream on Japanese video platform Niconico. An archive of the Squid Sisters Live concert is now up on YouTube, and you can watch it above to hear some choice Splatoon cuts performed on stage. There are even some new songs in the mix, so keep your ears open for those.
You'll probably catch on immediately that the Squid Sisters are Vocaloids. Like Hatsune Miku, the most famous digital pop star, they're virtual projections. But if...
Culture
8 CommentsConan O'Brien gives Mario Kart 8 the old college try in new Clueless Gamer
Conan O'Brien is clueless about many things — gaming chief among them. But in last night's new Clueless Gamer segment, he's joined by his honorary fraternity brothers Zac Efron and Seth Rogen (stars of the upcoming Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising) in a version of Mario Kart 8 where his lack of gaming knowledge comes at a cost.
Rogen and Efron up the stakes on Nintendo's E-rated racing game: Every time Conan loses, the actors get to draw something on his face. That "something" happens to be male genitalia.
In the video above, watch the talk show host play the most important Mario Kart 8 races of his life. Don't expect the self-proclaimed Clueless Gamer to suddenly rise to the challenge, though: He's not much better at the Wii U game than he is at any other title. At any rate, Efron and...
Deadpool is causing a fight over Utah's liquor laws, with the help of Ryan Reynolds
The Associated Press is reporting that undercover agents in Salt Lake City attended a showing of the film Deadpool at a local movie theater that also served alcohol. The establishment now faces up to $25,000 in fines and could lose its liquor license.
The theater has since set up a gofundme page and has raised, at the time of writing, $17,352 out of its $75,000 goal. $5,000 of that came from Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds himself.
Thank god, they've found a way to legislate fun. https://t.co/vUSptxaHb9
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 24, 2016
"Brewvies was founded in 1997 with the purpose of providing a fun, unique atmosphere for adults 21 and over to enjoy great films, food and drink," the company's gofundme page states. "Brewvies has never had a liquor violation,...
Movies
13 CommentsHi-C Ecto Cooler being resurrected in advance of Ghostbusters reboot
The Ghostbusters franchise spawned all kinds of marketing tie-ins and merchandise, and one of the biggest is coming back this year: the "Ecto Cooler" flavor of Hi-C.
Coca-Cola, the parent company of Hi-C maker Minute Maid, announced today that it is bringing Ecto Cooler to store shelves starting May 30. It will be a promotional tie-in for Paul Feig's Ghostbusters, which premieres a month and a half later on July 15.
The revival of the 1980s film franchise provides Coca-Cola with a reason to give Ecto Cooler a modern-day afterlife, like the slimy green character on its original packaging. (As you can see in the image above, the 2016 version of Ecto Cooler does not feature Slimer.)
A citrus flavor of the Hi-C fruit drink line, Ecto Cooler debuted in 1987 as a tie-in for The Real...
