Hi fans! This week, Jaz is off fighting bad guys (i.e. germs) and left the PMW in my dubiously-capable hands. So, what’s in store? How about some new aliens! Cue the Star Wars theme music, please!
WHO THE FRIK IS BABU?
December 20th. Don’t forget it. Because it’s my birthday. It also happens to be the release day for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This week, Lucasfilm revealed a peek at one of its new characters, Babu Frik.
This tiny be-whiskered cutie is an Anzellan droidsmith who works among the Spice Runners of Kijimi. It’s said that he can “reprogram or modify virtually any droid — regardless of the security measures protecting its systems”. Considering Babu was first revealed as a toy as part of an accessory with the C-3PO Hasbro Black Series, I have a feeling our bronze friend better watch out!
JOKER: ASHTON WAS ON TO SOMETHING
So our reviewer Ashton wasn’t kidding when he described Joker to be his new favourite film of all time. He even gave it the mighty, coveted rating of 10/10. Turns out, his opinion is pretty popular with the rest of the world too. Despite security threats in U.S. theatres and an R-rating, this dark origin story is predicted to have a global debut of $155M. That puts it in second-place, just behind Venom ($207.4M) for the month of October.
Personally, Heath Ledger’s Joker was dark enough for me. Ashton warns that it’s not a film for the faint of heart – and to be honest, I probably count among the faintest of hearts. But it looks like Joker won’t need any of my help getting those dollars in!
IT’S NO VIDEO GAME
Gamers – we’re used to problem-solving, working as a team, and saving good from evil. It’s now time to save a planet. Our planet. And this time, it’s for real.
With rising concerns over climate change, some of the biggest names in the video game industry have united under the banner of the Playing for the Planet Alliance. These include Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Google Stadia, and Ubisoft. With a combined audience of 970 million people, the alliance hopes to inspire their audience to address the climate emergency.
In addition to this, the commitments made by these 21 companies will result in “a 30 million tonne reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030, millions of trees planted, new ‘green nudges’ in game design, and improvements to energy management, packaging, and device recycling.”
Well, if Sony and Microsoft can put their differences aside and come under one banner, maybe it’s time we all did our part.
AND FINALLY: WHY DIDN’T WE DO THIS WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL?!
North Farmington High School in Detroit knows how to do school ID photos. Last year, the senior class at NFHS dressed up as their favourite pop culture icons for their high school ID pictures. This year, the class of 2020 decided to carry on this new tradition. Well, I don’t know if you can you call it a tradition if you’ve only done it once before, but I, for one, am all for making this a world-wide phenomenon at least:
