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“What Happened to Monday?” Deals with Real Life Hunger Games

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Currently in production, the sci-fi epic, “What Happened to Monday?” from director Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow) tackles the serious global concerns of overpopulation and starvation in a classic dystopian manner. Written by Kerry Williamson (Alex Cross) and Max Botkin (Robosapien: Rebooted), “Monday” is currently filming in Bucharest, Romania and stars Willem Dafoe, Noomi Rapace, and Glenn Close, with a supporting cast that includes Marwan Kenzari, Christian Rubeck and Pal Sverre Hagen amongst others.

The film focuses on a near future Earth where a surging populace and dwindling resources force many global governments to enforce the strict regulation of a one-child-per-family law, similar to China’s family planning policy. A group of septuplets, who amount to public enemy numbers 1 through 7, try to evade the fascistic Child Allocation Bureau led by Nicollete Cayman. The now-adult doppelgangers, raised and trained by their grandfather, undertake the rotating role of one woman, Karen Settman.

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“Hi, I’m Karen. This is my sister Karen, and this is my other sister Karen…”

Named for the days of the week, each sextuplet has the opportunity to interact with the outside world only on their eponymous day. Otherwise, they’re hermetically sealed inside their apartment—the one place they can actually be themselves. This decades-long routine goes swimmingly until one day, Monday goes missing, and a movie title is born.

If handled properly, “What Happened to Monday?” has the potential to not only be a smart, little sci-fi thriller, but it could also open a real dialog about some of the controversial issues facing our planet in the not-too-distant future. Our own elephant in the room is the rapidly approaching juncture when our population surge overwhelms our food production capabilities. When this happens, how will we cope? Will we be forced to limit procreation or build encampments to enclose the starving poor? As we race towards this nearly inevitable problem, a well-made movie could bring about a real awareness to a topic most of us would rather ignore.

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Worst comes to worst, with a gutsy director like Wirkola (sorry about the zombie pun) behind the film, we’ll at least be able to enjoy a suspenseful picture with an intellectually chewy center. If nothing else comes from “Monday,” there’s at least a slight hope that somewhere, in the far recesses of our minds—next to that Brawndo joke from Idiocracy, a leftover snippet of Nietzsche from Philosophy 101, and a line from Shakespeare via Wrath of Khan—a less-than-140 character question of note begins to percolate: what happens when there are too many people to feed?

With a Creative Writing degree in one hand and an endless curiosity in the other, Andy dabbles in many creative fields. He's published blog posts, articles, hotel copy, fiction, and poetry professionally. Currently he dwells in Austin, TX, with his brilliant and understanding fiancee, Kim.

Gaming

ReFantazio Takes a Different Approach to Romance, Setting Itself Apart from the Persona Games

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Atlus’ highly anticipated RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio, appears to incorporate familiar systems reminiscent of the developer’s acclaimed Persona series. The game features turn-based battles that heavily rely on exploiting enemy weaknesses. Additionally, players have the ability to summon warrior spirits during combat. However, the most significant aspect of this game, which will be discussed in this article, is the bonding system. Through this system, players can spend time with important characters and gain deeper insights into their personalities and stories.

In contrast to the Persona games, the bonding system ends at that point. Unfortunately, players will be unable to pursue romantic relationships with their beloved waifus, which may come as a disappointment to those who have developed strong feelings for Hulkenberg, the party’s charismatic red-haired elven knight.

According to Siliconera, the absence of romance came up during a recent question and answer session. Atlus emphasized the continued opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with your allies while also introducing additional narratives through substories. In addition, familiarizing yourself with the supporting characters will grant you access to new archetypes, which serve as the game’s character classes.

In the Persona games, romance is not obligatory; rather, it serves as a means to customize your playthrough. However, it is quite unexpected that Metaphor has chosen not to pursue such a venture, considering the significant amount of discussion it typically generates!

Were you anticipating any romantic elements in Metaphor? If you’re not satisfied with your pre-order, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Shift Up unveils the intriguing details behind the physical packaging of Stellar Blade for the PS5

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It appears that many

are eagerly anticipating the launch of the highly anticipated PS5 exclusive, Stellar Blade. Shift Up, the developer, has shared a lengthy video showcasing the “secrets” found in the physical box of the game for PS5. From what we can gather, these secrets include a reversible cover/dust jacket and a download code for cosmetic items.

We must clarify that while we do appreciate the variant cover, it may be more appealing than the game’s standard art. However, it is not something we would typically classify as a “secret.”. However, what’s interesting is that Shift Up has confirmed through the comments section that this will be the case in all regions. Additionally, the visually striking action RPG will remain uncensored worldwide.

It’s refreshing to witness a developer going the extra mile for physical collectors, and it’s evident that the developer is determined to leave a favorable mark in the console realm. Stellar Blade is set to make its highly anticipated debut this Friday, April 26th, exclusively on the PS5.

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Here are all the patch notes for the new PS5 firmware update that adds the community game help feature

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Sony has recently launched the newest PS5 system software update, which is always an exciting occasion for avid PlayStation fans. With a size of slightly over 1GB, you can download and install it right away. As always, the question remains: What exactly does the update bring to the table?

According to the official patch notes, there have been some notable improvements, particularly in the area of game help. We are introducing an exciting addition to our platform: the Community Game Help feature. This feature enhances the PS5’s Game Help system by providing you with gameplay videos from fellow players. Players have the option to choose whether or not they want their gameplay videos to be shared using this feature.

If you’re concerned about it, you can now hide your Remote Play connection status as well.

Presenting the complete patch notes:

  • Game Help has been enhanced with the addition of Community Game Help features
  • Within Game Help, players can find Community Game Help hints in supported games. These cues come from gameplay videos that other players have shared.
  • If you’re up for it, you have the option to contribute to Community Game Help by giving permission for your gameplay video to be automatically recorded and included in the feature after it’s been reviewed
  • If you want to join in, navigate to Settings, then Captures & Broadcasts, followed by Captures, Auto Captures, and finally Community Game Help. From there, simply choose the option to participate. Users have the option to unsubscribe whenever they choose
  • During Remote Play, players now have the option to hide the persistent message “Remote Play connected.” that appears on their game screen. To ensure a seamless gaming experience, navigate to the Settings menu, then proceed to the System section. From there, locate the Remote Play option and activate the Hide Remote Play Connection Status feature
  • The system’s software performance and stability have been significantly enhanced
  • The messages and usability on some screens have been enhanced

While not the most groundbreaking update, the Community Game Help feature has the potential to be intriguing, contingent upon the number of games that offer support for it. What are your thoughts on the latest update? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

 

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