Giant Freakin Robot

Vin Diesel’s space outlaw Riddick is one bad mother. A recent trailer reminded us of how many times he’s been counted out and left for dead, which makes the situation pretty clear. But somehow if, by some miracle, you managed to miss that oh-so-subtle point point, this new banner ad for the upcoming Riddick movie makes it explicit. Riddick bows to no man. And it looks like he’s coming to kick your ass.

Riddick is the third chapter in the trilogy from director David Twohy, which began in strong fashion with Pitch Black and then took something of a nosedive with the sequel, Chronicles of Riddick. The story follows the titular badass as he is left stranded on the surface of what appears to be a dead, desolate planet. Unfortunately for him, there are giant alien monsters, and before long he’s in the fight of his life. The only way off the rock is to reveal his whereabouts to the cadre of bounty hunters that dog him across the galaxy. When his pursuers touch down, he finds a dangerous new breed of mercenary, as well as a familiar face that is none too pleased to see him.

I have to admit, I’m getting a little weary of the post-apocalyptic thing. I understand why the genre is popular and compelling: it’s a mix of optimism (We survive!) and bleak cynicism (…but everything really sucks!) that speaks to daily life for a lot of people. Still, it makes me long all the more for the optimism of things like Roddenberry’s vision of Star Trek. Still, I know that the post-apocalyptic craze isn’t going anywhere, so if they’re going to keep returning to that well, they should at least make sure the water is clean and tasty. Whether Ubisoft Massive’s upcoming post-apocalyptic console MMO The Division will be a worthwhile trip through familiar territory remains to be seen, but the gameplay above is slick, polished, and suggests MMOs will be able to thrive on this new generation of consoles in a way they never did on the current gen.

While a segment of the hardcore gaming population likes to rag on Telltale Games for the ways in which they deliver their episodic gameplay, it’s a game’s storytelling capabilities that keep me interested in the long run. And Telltale has been keeping point-and-click games extremely interesting for years, especially with licensed properties like Back to the Future that wouldn’t otherwise be offered to gamers. They may have hit their new pinnacle with last year’s morality-challenger The Walking Dead. The overwhelmingly positive response got a follow-up season in the works almost immediately. But before that even, Telltale is giving fans a gnarly, bleeding bite-sized bonus episode called The Walking Dead: 400 Days.

Neil Blomkamp’s Elysium, his follow-up to 2009’s District 9, is one of our most anticipated movies of the summer. We’re all slavering over the sci-fi action, and the portrayal of a dystopic future world. Both should be fertile soil for Blomkamp’s allegorical and political leanings. We’ve seen the first trailer, but now we have a new TV spot for the impending August 9 release.