Trailer – The Baxter Report

One of the joys of being an ‘old man’ (I’m 36, but the ‘yoof’ of today make me feel MUCH older) is being able to say ‘I’ve been a fan since day one’ (it’s a weird bragging right, but I’m having it) and being a fan of Pokemon since day one is one such claim. This film is beyond how I can explain…but ill give it a go.

If you are of a similar age then you probably grew up watching some TERRIBLE ‘game to film’ adaptations. Mario, Street Fighter, all the way up to Resident Evil. Video games have just never been able to make it in film format. Which just baffles me because games these days (more ‘old man’ talk there) are full of movie moments. As much as I enjoyed the always brilliant Duncan Jones foray into The World of Warcraft it just didn’t hit the mark for me. That was the last video game film I saw, and I never thought it would be beaten…until now.

This film (Detective Pikachu) has THE most realistic (and in proportion) looking Pokemon we ever could have wished for. It’s so earnest. They look terrifying and cute and even better than I ever could have imagined! I just…honestly, words fail me. I thought I was passed the age of ‘the magic of the movies’ and the ‘cinema experience’ but this trailer makes me feel like a kid all over again. I’m excited, I’m full of anticipation… I seriously just cannot wait.

What’s even better than all this is the fact that I get to witness it all with my daughter. We don’t go to the cinema that often as there aren’t many films that capture her imagination, but she’s super excited about this one. I get to see, first hand, her face light up when she gazes at the screen in awe of these ultra-realistic creatures, that have, until now, been nothing more than pixels on a DS or cute and loveable looking characters in cartoon format. I will not only get to relive my youth but also share this magical moment with my daughter. THAT, for me, is why this trailer (& film) is going to be one to watch over, and over again.

The latest Sims game pack is soon to be available and the trailer for it has dropped. It seems that some form of alien life is inhabiting the bodies of the population. Specifically the army?

Now, call me a cynic, but it kind of feels like it’s borrowing from Stranger Things, which is fine…just a little out of time (I know season 3 will be dropping sometime in the future, but it’s not quite in the air at the moment) what IS rather disturbing is its (unintentional?) ‘homage’ to Momo. If you’re not familiar with Momo…well, you’re in for a treat.

According to Wikipedia, The ‘Momo Challenge’ is an alleged form of cyberbullying that spreads through social media and mobile phones. After phone users are enticed to contact a user named ‘Momo’ they receive graphic threats from the user and are instructed to perform a series of dangerous tasks. Despite claims that the phenomenon was reaching worldwide proportions in July of 2018, the number of actual complaints is relatively small, and no police force has confirmed that anyone was actually harmed.

It’s currently prevalent as recent as today, with schools up and down the country are warning parents about the ‘dangers’ of the game.

So what has all this got to do with the newest Sims game? Well, below is a picture of one of the ‘infected’ Sims characters, and below that, a picture of Momo…

Now, this is just my own personal opinion…but they’re pretty blooming similar…right? Even if you don’t agree, doI have a problem with it? Not at all. Is it intentional, who knows? Regardless, it could swing either way for the release of the game; other people may also see the similarity and try cause the game to be ‘banned’ (or whatever it is outraged parents do these days) or the potential publicity may help sales.

Or…all of this could be absolute pointless nonsense and the game is what it is. What ever happens, I look forward to seeing. I might even give it a play too…