Latest from Geek Culture
Geek Culture
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
Singapore's First 'Love and Deepspace' Pop-up Event To Steal Hearts In Jul 2025
The heart wants what it wants, even light-years away. After charming players right, left, and centre for the past year, Infold Games' popular otome title – referring to a story-based romance game targeted towards women – Love and Deepspace is bringing its magic to the real world, including Singapore. In a first for the country, ave8 at Resorts World Sentosa will play host an immersive exhibition for the game to mark its latest version update. The event is scheduled to run from 18 to 31 July, but there's a catch: doors are only open on weekends (Friday to Sunday), 11am to 7pm, offering a tight limited-time window for fans to experience it in person. Alongside themed decoration and photo opportunities along the stairs, visitors can look forward to life-sized standees of Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus, and Caleb. Complete the designated event activity to enter a special giveaway, with exclusive official merchandise award to 50 lucky winners, including the grand prize of a one-night stay at Hotel Ora. More details about the event are expected nearer to the date. The Love and Deepspace pop-up exhibition in Singapore is part of a bigger celebration that brings offline events to different parts of the world. The Global Expo Tour was also announced for Los Angeles' Anime Expo, taking place from 3 to 7 July, Bilibili World in Shanghai (11 to 13 July), Gamescom in Cologne (20 to 24 August), and Tokyo Game Show (25 to 28 September). Four pieces of exclusive merchandise will be available during these dates: Witness by Deepspace Large Paper Bag, Sworn by Love Photo Card, Light Blooms Transparent Fan, and Blissful Secret Ribbon. As for in-game rewards, a surprise collaboration with fashion brand Jimmy Choo welcomes an 'exquisitely recreated' version of its Cinderella shoes and jewellery. Love and Deepspace Version 4.0 comes to Android and iOS devices on 3 July, featuring brand-new 5-Star Interactive Memories, a free wedding dress for the player character, a new Caleb 5-Star card, and more. Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. InFold Games Love and Deepspace resorts world sentosa Singapore
Geek Culture
5 hours ago
- Geek Culture
GIGABYTE AERO X16 Presents Slim & Powerful All-In-One Companion For Gamers And Content Creators
If there's one desire gamers and content creators have in common, it's the freedom to engage in their passion no matter where they are. For gamers, this means being able to take quick breaks from a busy work day with intense bouts of gaming, while for creators, it's the ability to efficiently edit captured content on a whim. A slim and powerful laptop can cater to both these needs, providing the portability needed for hassle-free transportation while also possessing the horsepower needed to run games and creative apps smoothly. The GIGABYTE AERO X16, the first Copilot+ PC from the company, not only fulfils both criteria, but sets a new standard as the one laptop that can do it all. With its ultra-slim profile of just 16.7mm and weighing only 1.9kg, the portable powerhouse is easy to carry around and eliminates unnecessary bulk, leaving more room for important peripherals to support a user's lifestyle like gaming controllers, cameras or lighting equipment. Despite its portability, the AERO X16 packs a punch with its top-line hardware, harnessing the power of up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 laptop GPU(RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 variants are also available) and an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, supplemented by up to 64 GB of DDR5 RAM. This empowers gamers to push out the most performance in even the latest titles like Doom: The Dark Ages , utilising tools powered by NVIDIA's latest Blackwell architecture like DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation to provide the AI horsepower needed for silky-smooth framerates and speedy loading times, while content creators benefit from lightning-fast export speeds and image generation in apps like Adobe Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve to help unleash their creativity. It's not just about maximum performance, as the machine also pushes the boundaries of immersion, featuring an impressive 92% screen-to-body ratio for its 16-inch IPS WQXGA (2560 × 1600) resolution display with ultra-slim Bezels on all four sides. Players can take their gaming to the next level with a smooth 165 Hz refresh rate for an edge against the competition, while creators can experience the most accurate picture possible with its 100% sRGB colour gamut, ensuring no details are lost in the creative process. When under an intensive load, a slim laptop can run hot, especially due to the limitations in ventilation capabilities that come with a small form factor but not the AERO X16. Its hardware innovations extend to efficient cooling technologies in the form of its WINDFORCE Infinity thermal management system, comprising a pair of 12V power-enhanced fans to create high thermal-efficient airflows, and its 3D VortX Air-Channelling, which allows hot air to divert out of its two-sided inlets and four-way outlets situated on the rear of the device. With this, its hand-rest remains at comfortable heat levels even after prolonged use, to ensure unhindered fun and creativity. For use in quiet areas like libraries or cafés, the system also features a 0dB fan mode to eliminate ambient fan noise. It's not just innovative heat management systems that enable the AERO X16 to thrive in extended usage scenarios, as the device is designed with longevity in mind, thanks to its powerful 76Wh battery, meaning users won't have to constantly scramble for the nearest power plug. Even when battery does run low, recharging is a breeze thanks to fast charging and PC 3.0 support, capable of a 50% charge within 30 minutes. Users can rest easy, no matter where their journey takes them, be it in a café, on public transport or even outdoors, this is one device built to last. It's the age of connectivity and bringing your work (and play) with you means the uncertainty of network speeds and availability. With its support for Wi-Fi 6E, the AERO X16 ensures that users can make the most of the connections available to them, providing up to six times faster internet speeds and 75% lower latency compared to the previous Wi-Fi 5 standard, allowing competitive gamers to take on quick online matches with a stable ping, and creators to easily download assets or upload their work without any fuss. As a Copilot+ PC, the AERO X16 also comes with a suite of AI-powered tools to enhance a user's everyday experience, giving content creators guidance with Cocreator, improving language accessibility with Live Captions, or aiding professionals with AI-powered video call enhancements. These features are further supplemented by GIGABYTE's proprietary AI-powered smart assistant GiMATE, a one-stop shop for customising multiple aspects of the device from overclocking, fan speeds, power saving and privacy settings, with the laptop also including a dedicated Press and Speak button for voice activation. As a prime example of the flexibility of modern devices, the GIGABYTE AERO X16 proves that not every product needs to be a one-trick pony, making it an indispensable companion for any gamer or content creator, empowering them to take their passions on the move. The GIGABYTE AERO X16 is now available on Techyard, with its RTX 5050 GPU variant starting from S$1,899, its RTX 5060 GPU variant from S$2,399 and its RTX 5070 GPU variant from S$2,499. The laptop comes in two colourways: Space Gray and Lunar White (available in August 2025). Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Advertorial gigabyte Gigabyte Aero laptop Notebook
Geek Culture
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
F1: The Movie – Review
Formula 1 has been basking in its Drive to Survive (2019 – present) glow for years now, transforming what was once a niche motorsport into a global sporting obsession. Netflix's slick docuseries introduced newcomers to the sound and fury of the paddock, giving the sport an emotional engine. In a sudden turnaround, names like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris were common parlance, even in households that couldn't tell Monza from Monaco. The show didn't need to explain what DRS (Drag Reduction System) was every episode, as it trusted viewers to catch up while feeding them the interpersonal drama that comes from a high-speed chess game played across 24 cities a year. For many, it was the gateway drug as Formula 1, once considered opaque and elitist, became dinner table conversation. F1: The Movie knows that the audience is already onboard. Directed by Joseph Kosinski ( Tron: Legacy ) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer ( Bad Boys , Pirates of the Caribbean ), both fresh off the mega successful Top Gun: Maverick (2022), the duo have once again built a world of roaring engines, grizzled veterans, and daredevils who mistake the edge of disaster for home. Brad Pitt ( Fight Club , Troy ) plays the ageing underdog (because of course he does) while British race champion driver Hamilton ( Cars 2 ), serving as co-producer, ensures the technical details stay true to form. The result is a movie that doesn't stop to hold your hand as it drops viewers straight onto the grid, where every tenth of a second is a career-defining margin and every decision at 300 kilometres per hour has consequences. Pitt slips effortlessly into the racing boots of Sonny Hayes, a semi-mythical driver cut from the same cloth as Tom Cruise's ( Mission: Impossible ) Maverick – weathered, stubborn, dangerously charismatic and a savant in the driver's seat. When Hayes enters the 24 Hours of Daytona track for a one-off endurance race, he drives like a man shaking off ghosts, and wins. Then he leaves, no fanfare, back into obscurity. Enter Ruben Cervantes, Hayes' longtime friend and former teammate played by Javier Bardem ( Skyfall ). Bardem leans into his trademark mix of unhinged charisma and wounded charm, playing an ex-racer turned desperate team boss with a half-smile and a mounting pile of debt. APXGP, the team he now runs, has grown far more familiar with the back of the pack than the winner's podium, and with US$350 million on the line, he needs a miracle to survive and that miracle is Sonny Hayes. Once neck-and-neck with Ruben for Formula 1's spotlight, Hayes flamed out after a brutal crash during a race against Brazilian motorsports racing legend Ayrton Senna. Rather than stage a fictional wreck, director Kosinski splices in real footage of Martin Donnelly's horrifying 1990 Spanish Grand Prix crash, itself an audacious, borderline exploitative move that lends visceral power at the cost of taste. There's something eerily meta about the way Hayes is written, as if Pitt is circling through echoes of his old roles: grimy charm in a trailer à la Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), a laid-back Vegas smoothness like Rusty Ryan in the Ocean's franchise (2001-2007), and flashes of moody introspection from Roy Richard McBride in Ad Astra (2019). Hayes is a remix of archetypes who doesn't just break rules; he cruises past them like they're race markers that don't apply to him. And somehow, the movie agrees. But even a superstar comeback needs tension, which arrives in the form of Damson Idris' ( Snowfall ) Joshua Pearce, a hotshot rookie with something to prove and no interest in sharing the spotlight. He's put in the work, earned his place, and sees Hayes as a relic of a past he's trying to surpass. The bravado feels earned, but you can see the cracks when no one's looking. Idris plays those cracks with a kind of restrained grace, letting sarcasm and swagger slip into vulnerability at just the right moments. What makes their relationship work is that Hayes sees it. Maybe for the first time in years, he recognises someone else walking the same razor-thin line between arrogance and doubt. As the races tick by, their relationship is built not on dramatic monologues, but on wariness, competition, and the kind of grudging respect that only forms when both men realise they're chasing the same ghosts. Hayes sees in Pearce a younger version of himself – cocky, hungry, and terrified of losing it all before he ever really gets started. Pearce, in turn, watches Hayes with the suspicion of someone who's had to fight for every inch and isn't about to give up pole position. Their tension softens without ever vanishing, resulting in a partnership built on mutual recognition rather than contrived mentor-mentee sentiment. Adding a different dynamic to the pit is Kate McKenna, played by Kerry Condon ( The Banshees of Inisherin ), who serves as APXGP's sharp-edged technical director. She's sceptical from the moment Hayes walks in, understandably so, since her job (and the team's survival) depends on performance. Condon brings a steely intelligence to Kate, and she reads as the most competent person in any room she walks into, which makes the film's choice to fold her into a romantic subplot all the more deflating. There's an attempt to show mutual respect (two professionals finding a brief connection under pressure), but it ends up feeling like a reluctant box-tick for formulaic storytelling. What's frustrating is that McKenna represents a growing shift within motorsport, where more women are entering roles beyond the sidelines: engineers, strategists, team bosses. You can feel F1: The Movie trying to nod to that progress, especially with Condon's presence and a few quick shots of women in the pit lane and grandstands but it's clear intent only gets you so far. Formula 1's gender imbalance remains glaring, and the movie gestures at change without committing to saying anything meaningful about it. What makes it worse, for all the attention to realism in Formula 1's mechanics, it stumbles when it comes to believability. Kosinski's eye for speed and chaos hasn't dulled, but when Hayes repeatedly pulls off stunts that would trigger immediate disqualification from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in real life, the film starts to veer dangerously close to parody. There's one particularly egregious moment involving a purposeful crash that feels less like a daring move, and more like 2008's Renault Formula One crash controversy, also known as Crashgate, minus any of the consequences. Any viewer remotely familiar with how tightly Formula 1 is regulated would find it hard to believe the FIA would let APXGP continue unchecked after that incident. That being said, the film is at its strongest when it respects the visual grammar of the sport, even as it occasionally rewrites the rules. Kosinski smartly grounds the film by weaving his fictional team into real events, blurring the line between fabrication and fandom (drivers Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, and more appear in short cameos that add to the overall realism of the film). The pacing lifts with the hum of engines and squeal of tyres, elevated by Hans Zimmer's ( Inception , Interstellar ) kinetic score fresh off his Days of Thunder (1990) legacy. His music pulses through each turn, feeding into the tension of a slick curve or a critical pit stop, where every second counts. And just when it feels like the engines can't scream any louder, cinematographer Claudio Miranda's ( Oblivion ) camera launches into overdrive. Mounted on cockpits, wedged into wheel wells, swinging under spoilers… with some shot using Apple's iPhone camera technology, it captures every frame like it's riding shotgun with a death wish. It's bravura technical filmmaking that evokes Grand Prix (1967) and Le Mans (1971), but juiced with modern precision. If Top Gun (1986) made you feel like you were flying, F1: The Movie plants you in the driver's seat and slams the pedal hard into the visceral rush of it all. That's the formula Kosinski sticks to: grip, go, don't over-explain. Where some sports dramas dig into soul-searching monologues or try to reinvent the wheel, F1: The Movie just wants to go fast in its 2 hours and 36 minutes runtime (roughly the time Ferrari needs to make a strategy call), and damn if it doesn't look good doing it. The emotional beats may be familiar, the dialogue occasionally pre-programmed, but once the tyres screech and the camera dives, none of that really matters. Because sometimes, all you want is for the car to go so fast it starts to shake the screen and leave rubber marks on your retinas. And honestly? It might be onto something. Summary For all its missteps, F1: The Movie understands one thing better than most: speed is cinema. The plotlines may veer close to parody, but every pit stop, downshift, and overtaking manoeuvre buys it just enough goodwill to keep racing toward the finish. Story - 6.5/10 Direction - 7.5/10 Characterisation - 7/10 Geek Satisfaction - 7.5/10 Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she's not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she's probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Caleb from Love and Deepspace . F1 F1 The Movie Joseph Kosinski Review
Geek Culture
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
'Days of Thunder' Crossover Pitched For 'F1' Sequel To Reunite Brad Pitt And Tom Cruise
Both Top Gun: Maverick and F1: The Movie share two common threads — satisfying the need for speed, and putting Joseph Kosinski in the director's chair. As the Brad Pitt-starring movie steers into theatres, the filmmaker has shared his dream vision for a sequel, and it goes full throttle on the ambition. Speaking to GQ Magazine UK, Kosinski expressed interest in exploring a Days of Thunder and F1 crossover, which would reunite Pitt and Tom Cruise for the first time after 1994's horror classic Interview With the Vampire . 'Well, right now, it'd be Cole Trickle, who was [Cruise's] Days of Thunder character, we find out that he and [Brad Pitt's] Sonny Hayes have a past,' he said. 'They were rivals at some point, maybe crossed paths… I heard about this epic go-kart battle on Interview With a Vampire that Brad and Tom had, and who wouldn't pay to see those two go head-to-head on the track?' The idea first blossomed when Kosinski was working to bring his own version of Ford v Ferrari to the big screen. It would have seen the actors pulling off the driving stunts by themselves, but his desired budget was not approved, resulting in a hand-off to James Mangold ( Logan ) and the leading pair of Christian Bale ( The Dark Knight ) and Matt Damon ( The Martian ). Based on the Formula One World Championship, F1 is developed in collaboration with FIA, its governing body, with Damson Idris ( Snowfall ), Kerry Condon ( Better Call Saul ), Tobias Menzies ( Outlander ), and Javier Bardem ( No Country for Old Man ) serving as co-stars. The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Kosinski, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Chad Oman. It shares some similarities to the 1990 sports action drama pic Days of Thunder, which follows Cole Trickle, a talented racer who befriends Rowdy after they both end up in a hospital for their antics on a race track, while another competitor tries to create problems for Cole and defeat him. It featured appearances by real-life NASCAR drivers, including Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Neil Bonnett, and Harry Gant. As for the Top Gun: Maverick sequel, Kosinski previously revealed that it was still in the scripting stage with returning screenwriter Ehren Kruger ( Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen , Ghost in the Shell ), but fans can expect an 'ambitious' premise: 'It was about coming up with an idea that, again, felt like a new challenge. Something that opens up the story in a way you just can't let go. And I think the idea is so ambitious. That's what's exciting to me.' (image credit for header image: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images) Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. Brad Pitt Days of Thunder F1: The Movie Joseph Kosinski Tom Cruise
Geek Culture
14 hours ago
- Geek Culture
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones — Review
Active noise cancellation (ANC), comfort, and sound quality are the core pillars of a competent headset, and Sony seems to have mastered the formula with its WH-1000 series of offerings. From its early days to the more recent WH-1000XM4 and XM5, the persistent fan favourite has never failed to stick the landing…until now. Stepping back into the fold after three years, the arrival of the WH-1000XM6 spells excitement for audio enthusiasts and casual listeners. The pair of headphones is immediately familiar right out of the box, sporting the same premium and fresh look that users have come to love, with a welcome bonus in tow: the return of its signature foldable design, making it more suited for travelling. Weighing in at 254 grams, the XM6 is only slightly heavier than its predecessor (259g), leaving no complaints about its compact build. Other notable features include a new 12-mic setup, a Sony QN3 chip that promises a sevenfold increase in noise-cancelling speed, 30mm drivers, and more. While the headset continues to dominate in the field of active noise cancelling (ANC), its tight clamping force proves to be one of its major missteps, alongside a steep price tag of S$649. This flip-flopping is perhaps the best description of the entire experience — for every strength that it brings, there will also be an accompanying downside. Check out our full review in the video above. Summary The Sony WH-1000XM6 remains the king of the hill when it comes to ANC, but the clamping force and overall comfort make it difficult to justify the hefty price tag. Aesthetics - 7/10 Build Quality - 7/10 Performance - 7/10 Value - 6/10 Geek Satisfaction - 7.5/10 Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth's theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia's greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really. Audio Review Sony Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Headset
