For those video game geeks who remember their childhood, they'd probably remembered the cult classic building-bashing video game called Rampage by Midway (now WB Games). The first game starred monsters such as George, Lizzie, and Ralph and what players do is destroy all buildings and eat humans. That was the goal of the Rampage games and while we really do miss the Rampage games, this movie adaptation wants viewers to remember the good old days of playing the Rampage game but that's what they want us to believe.
Rampage (2018 film)
Starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello, Jake Lacy, Marley Shelton, and The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan, this film is loosely based on the cult classic video game series of the same name. In this film, Dwayne plays the role of a primatologist who teams up with an albino gorilla named George, who was been mutated into a giant monster by some top-secret experiment, as they are trying to save the world against heavily mutated beasts such as a wolf named Ralph and a crocodile named Lizzie.
The Rock pretty is no stranger to action-adventure flicks. He once trying to survive the powerful earthquake in San Andreas, exploring an unknown island in Journey 2, being a lifeguard in the Baywatch movie, and most famously, being a video game character in last year's Jumanji film, but in this monster movie, looks like his on-screen appearance got overshadowed by the monsters because this is what Rampage is all about. Seeing our memorable video game mutant monsters destroying cities like every monster movie you know, it really takes us back at the time you pair up with a buddy to play as their favorite monsters destroying the world, but even though is great to see the original Rampage monsters come to life in this film, this film is way too much exaggeration for an action thriller flick, underachieving for a movie based on a video game series, and downright scary to watch.
The producers are trying very hard to show the video game community if they still remember the Rampage games with this film but by such standards, it was good at first but it wasn't really make the cut to appeal the moviegoers and gamers alike.
Would Warner Bros want to bring back the Rampage video games? Well, after you saw this film, it's everybody's guess.
With two weeks to go before the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, South Korea's presidential office has confirmed another meeting betwee working-level officials from the two Koreas will take place early next week.
They will continue negotiating the details on protocol, security, communication, and media coverage for the April 2018 summit. A senior Blue House official relayed the information this morning, but didn't disclose the exact date of the meeting.
He also confirmed high-level delegations from the two Koreas will have another meeting next week, which is expect to take place on Wednesday.
Regarding the denuclearization roadmap being negotiated between the US and North Korea, the same official said the South Korean government has its own solution.
- Former Health Secretary Janette Garin questioned the motives of Sen. Richard Gordon in coming out with a report on the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s investigation into the Dengvaxia controversy even when it was still a draft and had not yet been reviewed by other members of the panel.
- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte publicly apologize for the 2010 bus hostage incident in Manila that killed eight Hong Kong tourists, which his predecessor had declined to make. Speaking before a large crowd of Filipino workers in Hong Kong, the firebrand leader addressed his apology to the Chinese government and its people and vowed it would never happen under his watch.
- CIA Director and Trump nominee for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised he would be willing to break from President Donald Trump if necessary, saying he would take a tough line with Russia and that he wanted to “fix” the Iran nuclear deal. Pompeo blamed tensions between Moscow and Washington on Russia’s “bad behaviour” and said he would support more U.S. sanctions against Russia.
- British PM Theresa May won backing from her senior ministers to take unspecified action with the the United States and France to deter further use of chemical weapons by Syria after a suspected poison gas attack on civilians. After warning Russia on Wednesday of imminent military action, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was holding meetings on Syria and expected to make decisions “fairly soon.”
- Fans of Britain's royal family eagerly awaiting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding next month can read about their romance in a comic book.
- Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Muller has resigned from his position and his post will be field by Herbert Diess, chairman of the board at the Volkswagen brand.
- Ford will not sell and make the fourth-generation Focus to Thailand citing poor sales.
- Keiko Kubota will leave the singing unit Kalafina as remaining members Wakana Ootaki and Hikaru Masai continue their musical activities.
- Actor Sacha Baron Cohen will play the role of a real-life Israeli spy who operated in Syria in the early 1960's in a Netflix original series, The Spy
- Sherlock Jr.'s Ruru Madrid agrees to the Duterte administration's decision to temporary close Boracay for over half a year.
North Korea'a Supreme People's Assembly took over where state finanxes weee discussed while leader Kim Jong Un appeared to be absent from the proceedings.
An empty sear presumed to be the leader's could be seem in photographs distributed by North Korea's central news agency and there was no mention of his attendance in the state media reports.
This rubber-stamp parliament holda these meetings once or twice a year to approve decisions on issues such as governing structures and budgets that have been created by the Workers' Party, members of which form the vast majority of the assembly.
- Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate Committe on Health, agrees with Senator Richard Gordon's decision that the procurement of Dengvaxia was done hastily. However, Ejercito doubts that former president Benigno Aquino III was involved in the issue of corruption regarding the controversial anti-dengue vaccine.
- Fliptop artist Zaito was arrested for allegedly possessing illegal drugs. Authorities had a search warrant against Zaito in his residence in Brgy. Toclong, Kawit, Cavite.
- US House Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he will not seek re-election and will leave his post starting next year, delivering a blow to the Trump administration ahead of mid-term elections.
- US President Donald Trump warned Russia of imminent military action on Syria over a suspected poison gas attack, declaring that missiles "will be coming" and lambasting Moscow for supporting Syrian leadet Bashar al-Assad.
- Ahead of this weekend's Rome e-prix, Pope Francis suprisingly blesses a Formula E car at a ceremony.
- Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino confirmed that all of their main titles will have a Switch version as the company is moving on from releasing its main titles on Nintendo 3DS. They're also planning a new work to commemorate Level 5's 20th anniversary this year.
- The upcoming Coachella music festival will showcase holograms of late X JAPAN members Hide and Taiji for their performances on the 14th and 21st of April.
- Homeland actor Damian Lewis will play the role of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford in the film Run This Town.
- Actress Ryza Cenon is now part of ABS-CBN.
- Baste Duterte, the son of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, says no to politics.
Captain John Hart (played by James Marsters), a wild ex-time agent who lives by his own rules, lives to tell the tale on the final moments of Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) in the first of the Torchwood audio drama CDs rolling out for the year 2018 and expect madness in store for this latest mission full of dark humor.
Torchwood: The Death of Captain Jack
Written by David Llewellyn and directed by Scott Handcock, this latest Torchwood mission not only brings back the ones mentioned about but also familiar faces such as Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto Jones, Kai Owen as Rhys Williams, and Tom Price as Sgt. Andy Davidson, among many others. In this mission, the death kneel of Captain Jack is nigh and in his deathbed comes a wild ex-time agent to tell the tale about something he should have had.
This is all about the madness Captain John Hart unleashed throughout the pages of history and and in typical Torchwood fashion, you can really feel the madness plunging through the atmosphere as you follow along with this deranged by unique storytelling only Captain John could ever imagined and while this is downright crazy and downright vile, it fits right perfectly to one of our favorite villains ever mentioned from the Torchwood archives.
Fans of the Doctor Who spinoff series are very pleased about the return of Captain John Hart ever since his madness spills from the first and the last episode of the second series and with this audio drama, his madness forever plagues through the hearts of many because fans surely missed that wild attitude of his. This is a must-listen for every Torchwood fan, even if they are on a mood to listen to some of the forgotten archives from the history of Torchwood and looks like we have to give the hardworking folks from Big Finish a paralyzing kiss. Literally. Like Captain John does.
With two weeks left before the 2018 Inter-Korean Summit, Seoul's summit preparation committee briefed South Korean leader Moon Jae-in on their progress so far.
It was the inter-agency committee's fifth meeting since being launched in mid-March. The briefing focused on last week's inter-Korean working level talks on security, protocol, and media coverage.
Later in the afternoon, the South Korean leader is scheduled to meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono who is on a visit to Seoul.
Topics expected to be discussed: Japan's position in the rapidly changing regional dynamics with the inter-Korean summit and North Korea-US summit fast approaching and the meeting between Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo.
- A lawyer described the recent statements of President Rodrigo Duterte against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as "a flagrant violation" of the Philippines' constitutional process. Few days ago, the President announced that he will "egg" Solicitor General Jose Calida in the quo warranto petition that seeks to remove Sereno from her position as the head magistrate of the Supreme Court.
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg navigated through the first of two US Congressional hearings without making further promises to support new legislation or change how the social network does business. During almost five hours of questioning, Zuckerberg repeated apologies he previously made for a range of problems that have beset Facebook, from a lack of data protection to Russian agents using Facebook to influence U.S. elections.
- US President Donald Trump cancels his South American visit, triggering mixed reactions from a region he lambasted over immigration, narcotics, and trade. Trump wants to focus on his response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, and will send his Vice President Mike Pence to the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, in his place, the White House said. The announcement comes as Trump rails against a Federal Bureau of Investigation raid on the offices and home of his personal lawyer.
- Russia and the United States got tangled at the United Nations over the use of chemical weapons in Syria as Washington and its allies considered whether to strike at President Bashar al-Assad’s forces over a suspected poison gas attack last weekend.
- Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said his landslide re-election gave him a powerful mandate to restrict migrant rights and push for a European Union of independent nations. The nationalist leader whose resounding victory on Sunday dismayed opposition parties, also said he planned to revamp his government, “in large part with new people and a new structure”, but that he would not seek a presidential system.
- The European Commission raided the offices of numerous companies involved in sports broadcasting rights, including FOX as part of an investigation into a possible cartel. Sports broadcasting is a huge business in Europe, with networks spending billions of pounds to secure exclusive rights to show games in top-flight leagues to attract viewers.
- As sales of crossovers in the United States continue to rise, some car companies are taking drastic measures. Chevrolet is reportedly axing the Sonic compacts while Ford plans to remove the Fiesta and the Taurus from the US market. Meanwhile, Ford unveiled the fourth-generation Focus that will go on sale in Europe and China late this year to be followed by North America in the second half od 2019.
- The new Audi A6 now has an Avant variant with bigger boot space than its predecessor.
2019 Audi A6 Avant
- The Porsche 919's farewell tour kicked off with their de-restricted 919 Hybrid Evo touring around the globe to break lap times and now, it managed to lap Spa-Francorchamps faster than Lewis Hamilton's best lap time last year in 1:41.770.
- Actor Derek Ramsay has left TV5 after six years.
When the first ever Gran Turismo game was launched in the PlayStation since late December 1997, the R33 Skyline GT-R and the JZA80 Supra are the cover cars of the first GT game and with these cars now playable on GT SPORT, it's time to savor the moment with the original GT heroes.
Here they are. They were the cover cars of the original game and twenty years later, these originals still looking fresh in the prime of their lives. This is definitely the dream where all motoring dreams are made of thanks to these cars and the Gran Turismo series itself since the beginning.
Before having a blast with the originals, let's get to know the originals that became immortalized in the world of Gran Turismo through the years, beginning with the R33 GT-R. Penned by its advert as the "minus 21-second roman", the R33 GT-R lapped the legendary Nurburgring 21 seconds faster than its R32 predecessor. The hood is now made of aluminum along with the front fenders and the engine that powers it is the RB26DETT engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivering power through all four wheels via Nissan's ATTESA E-TS all-wheel drive system. This generation once participated the 1995 Le Mans and one of them finished in 10th place overall, fifth in class.
Hailed as "The Sports of Toyota", the A80-spec Toyota Supra was launched in 1993 and its unique styling makes it one of the most iconic sports cars ever to come out from Japan. This generation comes with two engine choices; a naturally aspirated and turbocharged version of the 3.0L 2JZ straight-six engine. The turbocharged variant produces 276HP of power but the ones used in the JGTC (now called SuperGT) produces between less than 400 to 500HP, although speedo boys love to tune the Supra to Fast and Furious levels. Toyota says that this Supra is the best handling in its class because of its double wishbone suspension setup. Despite being discontinued in 2002, it remains popular among speedo boys and if its good enough for Paul Walker, it's good enough for every speedo boy worldwide.
So, now that I got my word on these two cars, let's bring these "originals" to that one track that stirs a lot of nostalgia for speedo boys everywhere and I think I got one. Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a trip to Tsukuba Circuit.
Ah, Tsukuba Circuit. This track takes us all back because for speedo boys, this track was commonly used for comparison tests as demonstrated from those direct-to-video Best Motoring tapes and now that Tsukuba's back on GT SPORT, it's the ideal place to take these GT heroes for a spin.
During my sighting laps, I find myself nervous upon driving both of these 90's JDM legends round Tsukuba. The R33 has a tendency to understeer while the Supra is downright tricky to drive due to its rear-wheel drive nature, but the more I get to know these cars, the more I realize that it doesn't take a lot of effort to master these legends. With my sighting laps done, it's time to get scientific as I'm going to find out which one of the cover cars from the first GT game is still the hero of Gran Turismo. As a matter of face, there can be only one so let's get cracking. This is going to be the most interesting moments I have ever done in my GT life.
And now, I got the times...
R33 - 1:08.268
JZA80 - 1:09.129
It's unbelievable! The gap between them is almost a second and looks like Godzilla nicked The Fast and The Furious by almost a second. Consider that a close shave but I had a lot of fun driving these two JDM legends.
As the Gran Turismo franchise continues to evolve through the next two decades, it's impossible to forget the cars that stamped "the real driving simulator" in the first place and these cars have a strong place in the history of Gran Turismo now and forever. Looking at the cover art of the first Gran Turismo game and these two cars with your eyes, it's certain that why they are loved by many because they really are the originals that forged from our passion for cars and it's certain where we are now without them.
It's been an honor to drive the cover cars of the first GT game right here on GT SPORT and whether you are either regrettable or dignified, it's never too late to take a bite with these icons because these cars played a very important role in Gran Turismo history and that is the bottom line.
US President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next month or early June to "hopefully" reach a deal on denuclearization of the regime.
Trump made the remarks at a cabinet meeting where he also acknowledged the two sides were in talks to prepare for the meeting. The White House previously said that the president would meet with Kim before the end of next month.
Trump said direct talks should've happened years ago, but stressed that he was looking forward to the summit.
The meeting was arranged through a group of South Korean envoys who met with Kim in Pyongyang last month. The envoys said Kim had expressed a commitment to denuclearization and promised to halt nuclear and missile tests.
- President Rodrigo Duterte ordered mining companies yesterday to conduct tree planting projects and threatened to ban all open pit mining next year. The Southeast Asian nation’s mining sector has been under fire by Duterte’s government for environmental damage and alleged violations that include building mines in prohibited areas like watersheds. The fiery leader said miners should make an extra effort to plant trees in areas denuded by mining.
- Returning to the Grab-Uber drama, a former LTFRB member pointed out that the company still has a local competition. Atty. Ariel Inton, founder of the Lawyers for Commuters Protection clarified that the LTFRB accredited three TNCs in the Philippines: Grab, Uber, and U-Hop, a local company. However, Inton questioned the capability of U-Hop to compete against Grab since the Filipino TNC is not well-known.
- Over two months after former president Benigno Aquino III, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, and other officials were slapped with a complaint over their alleged violation of the Omnibus Election Code in relation to the Dengvaxia fiasco, another complaint will soon be filed against the same former government executives.
- Only about 6,700 out of the 400,000 Filipino war veterans recognized by the United States are still alive.
- Sinclair Broadcast Group is facing an attack on its own stations as a certain advocacy group spent "six figures" on ads targeting against the company after a Deadspin video featuring news anchors reading the company-mandated script criticizing "fake news" went viral last Holy Week. In its defense, Sinclair aired their 15-second message before and after the ad in question, saying they are "proud to present both sides of issues" but calling it "misleading" in their post-ad message.
- The Audi Vision Gran Turismo was unveiled, in hybrid and e-tron guise, and it's now playable on GT SPORT via the latest update. In addition, the Audi e-tron VGT will be making a real-world appearance at this weekend's ABB FIA Formula E Rome e-Prix.
2018 Audi e-tron Vision Gran Turismo
- The sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro gains a facelift for the 2019 model year with all automatic models now armed with a 10-speed AT.
2019 Chevrolet Camaro
- Seiyuu Atsuko Enomoto is one with the #MeToo movement and discusses about harassment in industry.
- Actress Bea Alonzo unfollows but follows back Gerald Anderson on Instagram.
- New Pokemon Sun and Moon toys from Takara Tomy on the radar! The Pokemon plushies range welcomes Pikachu and Dusk Forme Lycanroc, in their Ultra Guardians duty, as well as the legendary Pokemon Lugia in honor of this summer's Pokemon film. These plushies will arrive this May. New in the Poke Del-Z range is the DX Battle Set featuring Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, available this late April, with a Groudon and Kyogre set coming this June.
The story starts with a French legend known as the Alpine A110, a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive coupe that became a sensation in the world of rallying.
First produced in 1961, the A110 is one of the most successful cars ever made, although it has some bits and bobs from the Renault 8 while featuring a steel backbone chassis with a fiberglass body. Prior to Renault's takeover of Alpine, the A110 involved in the world of rallying and where it scored eight wins out of 13 events since 1973. When the A110's production ended in 1977, a total of 7,160 cars are built. The A110 remains one of the most important sports car in history and it's so important, Renault decided to revive it for the 21st century.
And here it is, the 21st century Alpine A110, arrived exclusively at GT SPORT for the first time and when they said exclusive, THEY MEAN IT.
Unveiled to the world at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the 21st century Alpine A110 brings back the spirit of the legendary machine while promising a new kind of driving experience in the real world. Of course, for a car like this, it wasn't really meant to be fast on the straights. It was design to go fast in the real world, making it a serious car for serious drivers only. As a lightweight car, the new A110 not only uses a lightweight and rigid aluminum chassis but the stuff on the inside is pretty much lighter than everyday cars and as a result, it weighs about 2,432lbs. Powering the new A110 is the turbocharged 1.8L inline-4 engine producing 248HP of power and 320Nm of torque while mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, resulting to a 0-100kph time of four and a half seconds and a top speed of over 250kph. The suspension setup uses double wishbones at all fours.
Anyway, no time for dribble about that car because it's time to find out just what is like to drive one...
Despite being a light car, the A110 is surprisingly scary to drive if it oversteers. This is like getting wrestled by a gerbil bothering your home all day and all night and because it's mid-engine, there's no weight to the front, resulting to a questionable dynamics that puts themselves between a rock and a hard place. I know, I tried.
Scary the new A110 can be, I managed to get a hold of it and when I'm starting to familiarize with the questionable dynamics of the new A110, I'm starting to be with it. Yes, it can be somewhat unforgiving to drive if you're new to this but by getting the most out of it, the new A110 can be a potent track weapon that is made for serious drivers only, not made for people fancying themselves as cowboys. Anyway, to see how serious the new A110 can be, I'm looking for a very serious track to put this car to test its own theory and I found one.
The Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit is the ideal proving ground to see how serious the new A110 can be and by thorough investigation, having myself in the new A110 is a bewildering experience but in the interest of science, I'm stuck with it and to my amazement, the new A110 never fails to impress drivers with its racing pedigree honed by its legendary ancestor, even if its on a race track instead of the ancestor's favorite homefront. As I spent several moments toying around with the A110, I had a brainwave because since this is a lightweight mid-engined sportscar, how about comparing this to the other mid-engined sportscar worth noting?
Here's one, it's the Alfa Romeo 4C. It's lightweight and mid-engined just like the Alpine I'm driving. As I checked these two cars, the Alpine is slightly more powerful than the Alfa but the Alfa's got more torque and more lighter than the Alpine, making this a one-sided match. So, let's translate numbers into action with some timed laps to see which one is better. Let's cue the tape.
With the laps completed, let's find out the results...
A110 - 2:32.651
4C - 2:33.284
By amazement, the new A110 is over half a second quicker than the 4C, making it a shock result no one saw it coming but I'm impressed with what Alpine did to it.
That said, the new Alpine A110 is somewhat scary to drive for me but this is one of the most interesting sportscars ever driven in the game and between you and me, this could be your next favorite car. Although not as fast in the straights, the new A110 cares about its dynamics more than its performance and as a serious car made for serious drivers, it's all about getting the job done with no questions asked and I admire such tenacity this car possess.
Speaking of which, I had a little present for the new Alpine...
This is the new A110 I wanted it to be, which is a shame for everyone now that the new Alpine A110 is a certified Gran Turismo-exclusive. So, what can I say? Should I bash this new Alpine A110 for being a Gran Turismo-only car? Nah. Just burn it. Oh wait, someone already burned it so there's no need to do it. He he he...
