PS5 / Xbox Series X

 PS5 & Xbox Series X – The 9th Next Generation of consoles

In December 2019, during the Game Awards, Microsoft revealed its latest console to the world the Xbox Series-X. Set to be released in exactly one year of their announcement, December 2020
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The last generations were PS4 and Xbox one which were launched in November 2013, I wrote a blog in November 2014 to summarize the consoles with how they fared in the market, after one year. Ultimately the lessons learned has become this generations biggest Selling point:

Backward compatibility

The largest take away is that gamers can access old catalogues of every saved game from their Xbox one and 360, including every saved file from their library.

Unlike its launch in 2013/2014 the barriers of cross platform multi-player wall of gaming have finally been broken down and every generation game can run on the series X.  The compatibility also means users can also have access to PS4 Library of games.

All Xbox One & Xbox 360 games

Microsoft has also made another important feature that will outmatch Sony, Xbox one game system and PC games systems will be able to play Series X games for its first year of games allowing for a more gradual integration. The incentive of choosing the series X would be that nothing is lost in the upgrade and in fact the processing engine will play even better than on its original platform.

This single move from Microsoft has taking into account every generational game and having it be able to play on the series X, has forced PlayStation to re-think its design on the PS5 in order to compete

As the year has just begun, Sony has not announced if PS5 would be able to play PS3 games, not unless it is streaming using the online platform of PlayStation now. is the only viable option. Sony has confirmed PS4 games will be compatible.  Sony will also not be attending this year's E3 (Videogame convention), and as such no information is available at this time of  any upcoming developing games for 2021.

So what is going on…

Sony doesn't need E3 to showcase their line up of latest games, and the venue itself is shaping up less and less important as  years progress. Microsoft will be making their announcements in their own  Microsoft theatre,  formerly the Nokia theatre which is just off site of the L.A. convention center (from E3). Sony press representatives did indicate that the company will make its presence known in hundreds of other conventions around the world. Ultimately, the titles of PS5 games won't hit shelves for a full year and Sony feels it has time to build a more stronger presentation closer to the end of the year.  While Microsoft has aggressively been working with 15 gaming production companies getting prepared for the December rollout. and the proceeding months to come.

Both consoles share an X82 chip architecture with its previous versions, that will allow software will run on either one without having to re-write the code for the different platform and can actually run better.  Playing games that run at 60fps, 120fps, 8k

In simpler terms PS4 and Xbox one was designed to play games on 720p to 1080P monitor. This new generation can carry these games to run and look amazing on a 1080p to 4k monitor, and with 8k capability.  PlayStation will however need to  cancel that function as some older games were designed with a short-sightedness of not running on higher resolution monitors or providing the proper timing and physics for their particular games to play at that standard.

So PS5 has designs to fool the x82 chip to run slower to run these older games but still look and play better than its initial intention, the noticeable payoff is the load times will be exponentially faster than the previous incarnations.  Thanks in part of the EVO SSD storage.  and a GPU that is said to be twice as fast than its previous generation.

While PS5 games will only be available for PS5 consoles, forcing consumers to jump directly to their new systems while Xbox has allowed existing users to access the largest line of products without needing to immediately purchasing new hardware. The gaming landscape has never looked brighter and run deeper for those who are nostalgic of games going back over a decade.

As pricing, has not been made public for either system. here is what we do know.

PS5 controller: as PS4 latest hardware add-on feature (introduced in January 2020) was ‘a back-button controller’ which allows users to modify button arrangement on a controller, complimenting an individual preference of what are the button allocations that they use for their game.  The attachment makes the front more rounded, instead of that cliff like style; so, it has a smoother and ergonomic feel. The Dual Shock is going to be greater than its predecessor and will offer 3D sound.

Xbox series-X Controller will have a share screen button to share screen for multi gameplay, its reduced in size compared to Xbox one, based on studies of current gamers around the world that use Xbox controller this new version was to compliment the majority of users.

The Xbox series-X itself is a monolith tower, that can be placed on its side to accommodate placement setting, the controller can work on Xbox one and PC Games, as part of its forward thinking to work with pre-existing multi-player games

Both systems will  carry a ultra high definition player

And finally, The Games

On the release of Xbox Series-X. The videogame Halo - Infinite, and possibly Forza Motorsport 8 will be available on the consoles roll-out.

The PS5 will maintain its logo similar to PS4, and has the game Godfall and possibly Horizon Zero-Dawn during its initial roll-out.   With Lord of the Rings: Golum, Watchdog: Legion, and Battlefield 6 expecting to be released later in 2021

With all users being able to try titles from the cloud so its easier to access the games.

Agent Carter

Agent Carter One-Shot, is one of the more longer short films directed by Louis D'Esposito, Executive Producer and Co-president of Marvel Studios.  Phase one  brought a beloved character in Peggy Carter, the first legitimate leading lady of the MCU, and a more fully formed heroine than Black Widow, Captain Marvel, or Wasp; Characters whose names headline the billboards & marquees in the MCU.  It's star Hayley Atwell, who could continue to fill out  Hall H at the San Diego Comic Con or any convention center is a presence that commands the screen. This One-shot displays the essence of the character, instilling a strong feminist roll, not in a preachy way, but a strong confident woman who can take charge of a situation and delivery a high caliber quip as well as a chop. Written by Eric Pearson,  A Marvel studios screenwriter's graduate and known script doctor who oversaw the script of both Ant-Man & Thor Ragnarok to fruition, as production looked to stall, Breathes not only life to this short film, but gives the heroine heart, a set of skills that would rival Liam Neeson's taken character Bryan Mills for a spin.

 Taking place sometime after the events of First Avenger, Peggy sets out on a mission to acquire the mysterious Zodiac, in light of working for a very boys-club SSR establishment. With Dominic Cooper reprising his role as Howard Stark and featuring Bradley Whitford as division leader; Agent Carter navigates the waters of a Men-Only dominated world, while proving she can get the job done, and better than most, unlike previous one-shots this short is more effects driven and clearly has a bigger budget. Clocking in with a runtime of almost 15 minutes. Agent Carter provides gadgetry of a James Bond spy thriller  and suspenseful action caliber of a Jason Statham's Transporter. This is one of the more thrilling and satisfying one shots of the series.

Captain America: First Avenger

Captain America: First Avenger is like a fine wine, it gets better when I re-watch it and holds up remarkable well in the passing of time. To be honest it was a movie which held low expectations, and I did not want to see it in theatres.  Knowing there would be a sizeable amount of time being spent in the USO, and the reiterations of the shield that I had seen in previous art work and production designs,
I was wary of it dragging; and with having Captain America 1990 a movie I had come across late one night on cable television  a few years prior. It discouraged me on wanting to pay full price and see it in the theatres. Similarly to Matt Salinger an actor unproven in a big motion picture, This film's lead star Chris Evans was only known as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four movies and Not Another Teen Movie. The trailer had to convince me otherwise; but during the time of its theatrical release momentum and anticipation for the superhero team came into light.
On one hand I knew it was going to be special, a newly formed Marvel Studios was planning something big, rolling out Iron man 1 & 2, Incredible Hulk and Thor in just a short space of each other and the impending Avengers Movie arriving soon after next. Disney had just purchased Marvel and flat out bought paramount pictures' distribution  rights, so  there was something unprecedented forming. With director Joe Johnston attached to the project and being aware of his filmography to capture inspiration and wonder, in a thrilling adventure, that has always been his trademark, as you view his complete body of work, he has not disappointed me, and this movie was no exception.

First Avenger kept that train of thought going from beginning to end, It set up the villain Arnim Zola perfectly and framed him in his very first shot in such a way that it foretells his future, Chris Evans transformation both physically and in the moments of his character, continues to hold up right through to the entire infinity saga. It introduces us to the first lady of the MCU Peggy Carter, a hero and a starlet who can hold her own with any other character in the movie. First Avenger managed to keep just the right amount of dramatic beats, with a pace that never made me check my watch or tune out of the story. It was compelling and not a single actor dialed in a performance. I tip my hat to Tommy Lee Jones an unspoken MVP.  Now of course on the flipside there is the story with actor  Hugo Weaving who did not enjoy his experience in the role, and opted not to return, but he was professional and delivered a solid performance as the red skull.  Emoting those right touches of disjointed uncomfortableness under the skin moments.

On his own the character of Steve Rogers would be boring or even goofy considering the outfit and design, but this iteration of Captain America keeps relevant by holding up a mirror to the status quo and keeps the checks and balances in place. Its an origin story, that in the lense of the infinity saga and beyond, it sets up characters and introduces us of the beginning of their story arcs like Zola, Bucky, Red Skull, and  Carter and we see how they start and get repositioned for future stories and evolve as characters.

Captain America 1990

1990 represented the growing heights in comic book interests.
Captain America: The Motion picture, was what fans wanted to see, and yet it continued to undermine expectations.
Marvel and DC Comics by 1990 was beginning to see a surge in sales and a rabid fan base wanting to see more on both the big and small screen.  The fall of 1989,  debuted Tim Burton's Batman, Bill Bixby's began airing a trilogy of Incredible Hulk made for TV Movies, and Dolph Lundgren's Punisher went direct to home-video. So on some medium, fans were getting their content, A teaser with the shield began showing in select theatres in the summer of 1989, sparking interest. With a release slated for August 1990 to commemorate the 50 years of the character inception. All plans got pulled in the eleventh hour and only a small international release in the UK and some Slavic territories was given in December. It  finally appeared on direct to video in 1992 and  on cable network for its North American debut.
 21st Century Film Corporation, an off-shoot of Cannon Group Inc. produced the film, with many big name stars pitched for the title role, Val Kilmer, Dolph Lundgren, Schwarzenegger, were just a handful of stars who were shown the script and Michael Dudikoff and Steve James of the American Ninja movies had sat down for 2 meetings discussing a Falcon and Captain America movie with Cannon Films. But talks broke down, scheduling conflicts arose, and the script initially read by the chosen actors was not the script of the film they had signed on for, and with a limited budget to work with director Albert Pyun and writers Stephen Tolkin & Lawrence Block, shot the movie mostly in Yugoslavia.
 Beginning in Fascist Italy, a kidnapped child prodigy Tadzio de Santis witnesses his family killed and is experimented on with the super soldier procedure, it's inventor Dr. Maria Vaselli escapes to America and several years later perfects it on a frail soldier stricken with Polio Steve Rogers. Vaselli is murdered shortly after the Roger's transformation and the secrets of the procedure dies with her. Rogers' is given his first order stop a prototype ballistic missile aimed for the white house controlled by Santis now the Red Skull.  The two fight and Rogers is strapped to the missile and causes it to derail into the Arctic, Now 50 years later an unearthed from ice Steve Rogers returns as a man out of time re-connects with the daughter of his true love and sets off to save a pro-environmentalist US President Tom Kimball from being kidnapped and potentially brained washed by the Red Skull.

Not sure who to trust in this time, Steve Rogers is not adequately equipped to handle the new world and seems to runs a lot,  stealing cars from those who are trying to help him.  Its unintentionally comical, and rigid in its action set pieces. Pyun who is known for creating the cyborg action sub-genre of the 80's and 90's, is constrained here with limited resources and an unproven leading man.

The movie got re-released as part of Captain America: First Avenger studio promotion and Pyun  was invited to speak on behalf of his work, there are allegedly three different cut versions of this movie.  The movie is also a reunion of two if its' big name stars, Ned Beatty and Ronnie Cox who first appeared together in Deliverance.

Captain America (1944)

At it's core, Captain America is about a man who grew up less fortunate and frail, in a working class neighborhood. He was given peak human strength and abilities, with the respect and understanding of what these gifts were, and  never lost sight of those to whom are without. Trying to find a balance and doing the right thing; Serving his country in the midst of war and later maintaining those core ideals in the new world. Even if its not always the most popular of opinions; Seeing both sides to an argument and still doing the right thing.
This is not that Captain America, in fact its not the story of Steve Rogers. Released by Republic Pictures in 1944, at the early set of the second world war, this Captain America is a costume vigilante  who exist in a world before the war, bestowed not with Olympic strength and abilities, nor shield. But we are introduced to Grant Gardner, a by day district attorney who drives around is his Buick Sedan with a pistol shooting criminals in his dark navy blue with red and white strip costume.
It was the most expensive serial of its time.

To begin, Captain America is the creation of Jack Kirby (artist) and Joe Simon (writer), from publisher of Timely comics, which eventually would became Marvel comics. The character was the first intellectual property given by these publishers to a studio and made for motion pictures. With several screenwriters of Republic Pictures carving out their own interpretation of the character.
Republic Pictures was known for its serials,  B-films and westerns. And casting good character  actors in their pool of talent would be easy. Republic pictures had contract working deals with Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Orson Wells at the time,  and their writing staff worked on serials for the Three Stooges and other Republic's bigger named projects. Purcell who had a long list of credits was cast in the title roll and was a little heavier set in this stage of his life, this was also Purcell's final project as shortly after production wrapped, Purcell died of a heart related condition, and did not live to the see the release of the series, which ironically is the project he is most remembered for.

This serial stood out from its contemporary in the fact that it was the first to reveal who is the master mind from the very first episode, as most serials set up the reveal in the climatic finale. Also being a Studio production;  the art design and large set pieces really gave a richer looking world for these characters to live in. The henchmen were plenty, and many working stunt men doubled as foil for Captain America to defeat and shoot.
 MGM and other studios adapted many of the practices created by Republic pictures, Character types like in the 60's Green Hornet and Batman can be attributed from Captain America. The Chief O'Hara and Commissioner Gordon  archetypes. The Lenore Case and D.A. Scanlon where the only known confidants in the heroes' pursuits.

After the studio's demise it consolidated and became Republic Corporations and eventually bought outright by CBS in 1967. It was during the time of  1963 did it began leasing out it backlot to other firms which was how CBS acquired Batman. and produced the 1966 movie.