Watch Dogs 2 surprised me with how it handled the microaggressions that black folks in the tech sector often encounter. Considering the way the first game served up an unlikeable stereotype of a misanthropic hacker, the sequel is a breath of fresh air. The hero of the game is Marcus Holloway, a sympathetic young black hacker, and my favorite scene includes Horatio Carlin, the other black hacker we get to know in DedSec. There are characters I could identify with, and who spoke to my experiences. That’s all too rare in gaming for many players. Consider the ridiculous argument that Battlefield 1 is “blackwashing World War I.” The creators of Remember Me likewise had a hard time selling their game with a black female lead until Capcom picked it up. I hadn’t expected to like, let alone find...

A stand-alone film is supposed to be a movie that doesn’t take place within a larger story. It’s a way to describe a film that may happen inside a well-known fictional universe, but exists to the side of that central narrative. Or maybe it focuses on the characters and decisions that take place at the same time as a story we already know. But every stand-alone film should, ideally, be a movie that anyone can see without knowing the larger backstory and walk out feeling like they saw a complete narrative that doesn’t set up a sequel. Honestly, I’m struggling to even define the term. That’s kind of the whole problem. But everyone seems to be in agreement that Rogue One is one of them. Wired calls it the first stand-alone Stars Wars film. So does The Wall Street Journal. I’m sure I have...

Blade Runner died an ugly death at the box office when it was released, but slowly found its audience over many years and seemingly just as many re-releases and edits of the original film. It’s worth revisiting, especially on the day that we finally see a teaser for its sequel. While most people remember, and quote, the legendary “tears in the rain” speech that closed the film, one of the most terrifying moments takes place when replicant Roy Batty meets his literal maker, Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Without rehashing the plot of the film — and Blade Runner remains one of the best science fiction films ever released, including the muddled original theatrical cut with the unnecessary voice-over — Batty is a synthetic organism with implanted memories that allow him to operate in a way that’s...

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first stand-alone Star Wars film. In that regard, it shares a lot conceptually with its own plucky band of heroes. It is surrounded on all sides, not by stormtroopers, of course, but rather by expectation. And to me, at least, it feels like it broke under the strain. Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Rogue One. This was Disney’s first try at creating an annual movie event for the Star Wars universe. It’s clearly an attempt to replicate Marvel’s success at the same, and who can blame them for trying? But this movie had a lot of heavy lifting to do. Some of that weight comes from fan expectation while some of it comes from the poor choices that the movie makes along the way. I’ve only seen the film once, mind you, and my thoughts are...

One only has to look as far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see the benefit of a shared universe of interconnected movies. Producers get more out of each movie because each one builds on an extant franchise, and has its meaning deepened by the content of other films. It’s no surprise that Warner Bros is trying to establish a cinematic universe with competing superhero brand, DC Comics, trying to parallel or surpass Marvel Studios’ 2012 success with The Avengers. However, Marvel presently has fourteen movies behind them, and DC has been trying to compete with only three. These are incredibly packed movies, and the lack of clear connective tissue between them has made it difficult to bring either critics or even general audiences up to speed, especially when the MCU has been able to...