Xbox Live exclusively debuted British comedy Pulp on Monday — a first for Microsoft’s online gaming and entertainment-streaming service.
The movie, about a scrappy comic book store owner’s encounter with a gang of money-laundering criminals, bypassed a theater premiere or straight-to-DVD debut in favor of the Xbox Live coming out party. Pulp had been screened at several film festivals before its March 4 public debut.
Xbox Live‘s product manager Pav Bhardwaj thinks Pulp is a “great fit” for the service’s more than 45 million subscribers.
“The film is really well aligned with our audience,” Bhardwaj told the Telegraph. “All our audience like that sort and types of film and it’s great to support British talent.”
A description of the film under a YouTube trailer of Pulp describes the film as such:
Tony Leary, the nice-guy owner of Junk Comics, is gearing up for one last roll of the dice. His new superhero title, The Sodomizer, launches at the British International Comic Show, and nothing will stop Tony from making it a success. Nothing except a gang of Geordie criminals who are using another comic company to launder their dirty money. Tony is drafted by the police to identify the culprits and bring them to justice. Aided by his trusty geek sidekicks, Rick and Keith, Tony must defy the odds if he is to become a real life hero. You’ve seen superhero movies. You’ve never seen a movie like this. Enter the world of Pulp.
Pulp is available for subscribers to stream in the Xbox Live video hub.
BONUS: 25 ‘Minecraft’ Creations That Will Blow Your Flippin’ Mind
25 ‘Minecraft’ Creations That Will Blow Your Mind
1. Ancient Metropolis
“The Golden City” lives on a collaborative server (we assume in Creative Mode) where players are committed to extremely ornate architecture. Spires, temples, fountains and even hot air balloons punctuate this ancient cityscape. Check out the album for the full scope.
Image courtesy of Sanakan_Soryu.
2. King’s Landing (Game of Thrones)
That sound you heard last month was the jaws of Minecrafters around the world simultaneously hitting the floor.
This ridiculously detailed build of the capitol city from Game of Thrones made headlines in January. The full album is, in a word, SuperCray.
Its builders are dedicated to re-creating the fantasy world from A Song of Fire and Ice. You can get progress reports on their website, and even download the updated worlds as they progress.
Image courtesy of pizzainacup.
3. Space Shuttle
Houston should have no problem with this ode to space exploration.
Image courtesy of crpeh.
4. The Bedrock Dome
Two players on a private server piqued Reddit’s interest when they committed to digging an enormous hole down to the bedrock (the lowest point you can reach in Minecraft) and sealing it up with a giant glass dome. It may not be the most beautiful architecture ever conceived, but it was done “legit” in Survival Mode — meaning, every single block was painstakingly mined, processed and placed by hand.
The result is a giant, artificial biome the players chronicled on their website.
Image courtesy of Geef & JFish.
5. One Block = One-Inch Scale Model of My Bedroom
This odd, myopic little build is actually quite impressive when you think about it. It’s a replica of the builder’s real-life bedroom, complete with closets, windows, a desk, a computer — even a mess of wires near the wall.
One Minecraft block is a meter cubed, so the scale here is actually pretty massive, affording the creator a granular level of detail. See the full album for all the angles.
Image courtesy of randomginger11.
6. Minecraft City Building Project
Another collaborative server aims to construct beautiful modern cities, replete with roadways, traffic lights, interiors and green spaces.
The photos in the full album are renders that add smoother textures and replace the water and sky with realistic images.
Image courtesy of rikkuness.
7. Galleon
Set sail on this beautiful piece of maritime history. See the album for some interior pics and a lovely sunset.
Image courtesy of Chrome.
8. Working Computer With RAM
Redstone circuitry is among the more fascinating aspects of Minecraft. Players use it to power mine cart transportation, crude machinery, lighting and automatic doors and passageways.
Occasionally, a super genius will use redstone to create logic gates – essentially, the electric signal moderators that power actual computers.
A few players have created working computers inside Minecraft that do simple math. This one can load 16 lines of code into “RAM” (memory), perform division and display hexadecimal notation.
It may not look pretty, but it’s a mind-boggling feat of computer science. See a video of it in action here.
Via Escapist Magazine.
9. Minas Tirith (The Lord of the Rings)
The site of the epic battle from The Return of the King is recreated here in painstaking detail. This rendering makes it look all shiny and cool.
Image courtesy of Cornbass.
10. Minecraft Interstate
We can’t all be architects. Sometimes you just gotta mine. In one direction. For 24 hours over two months.
Lay track the entire distance (eight miles, in-game) and set your mine cart’s cruise control. The result is a lovely video that will take you through the procedurally generated landscape of the game – a half hour ride, condensed into about 3.5 minutes.
Its creator used mods to generate rail resources and change some textures, but it’s an accomplishment nonetheless. It even caught the attention of Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson in the early days of the game’s development.
Via PC Gamer.
11. Mines of Moria (The Lord of the Rings)
Another LoTR creation, this time the incredibly detailed dwarven ruins from The Fellowship of the Ring.
Image courtesy of Eliteabix.
12. Babylonian City
This Bronze Age metropolis recreates the height of Babylonian architecture in the setting desert sun.
Check out the full gallery for some epic shots.
Image courtesy of swifsampson.
13. Mirror’s Edge
Redditor Lord_Pancake recreates the minimalist rooftops of the parkour action game Mirror’s Edge in vivid detail. Fans of the game might do a double-take when they realize it’s not an ME screenshot.
Image courtesy of Lord_Pancake.
14. Nyan Cat Pixel Art
Pixel art is big in Minecraft (one block = one pixel), so giant 8-bit creations from web and gaming culture are prevalent on multiplayer servers.
What’s better than a 20-meter tall Nyan Cat?
Image courtesy of blackgoomba67.
15. My Little Pony Pixel Art
Taking pixel art to the next level, forum user Thegoon3 posted a collection of his 2D My Little Pony creations, which contain anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 blocks.
We’re going to assume he’s working in Creative Mode here, as the time it would take to dye 50,000 blocks of wool is about a gajillion years.
Image courtesy of Thegoon3.
16. Flame Atronach (Skyrim)
Conjurers of Skyrim will recognize this incredibly detailed rendering of the fire Daedra.
More than mere pixel art, this full 3D work is one of many undertakings by BlockFortress, who posts videos of his elaborate, fantasy-inspired creations on YouTube.
Image courtesy of Block_Fortress.
17. The Battlestar Galactica
Nerd alert. This work-in-progress star ship from the eponymous TV series is built to scale, with 5 million+ blocks and counting. It features a hanger deck, working lifts, control rooms and a drive core, among other interior spaces.
While you might assume this was ported into the game via a 3D model (a common practice for large-scale replicas), a friend of its creator assures protesters in a Reddit thread that it’s not. This gallery shows how the framework came together, block by block.
You can download the world file and keep tabs on the project over at Planet Minecraft.
Image courtesy of Ragnur Le Barbare.
18. Mousecraft
This builder created a one-bedroom apartment at massive scale. Remember, one block is a meter cubed, so you’re looking at a fridge as tall as a skyscraper.
The details here, from the broom and dustpan, to the fish tank, to the food inside the fridge, make this Creative Mode masterpiece a memorable one. Check out all the angles to get a sense of the scale.
Image courtesy of Colonel_Poopcorn.
19. Nether Cathedral
This architectural beauty inside the dark, parallel world of The Nether would make for a great desktop wallpaper. Grab the hi-res version here.
Image courtesy of UltramarineXIII.
20. Plane Crash
Though somewhat morbid, this downed jet in an unforgiving jungle biome might be the start of a new J.J. Abrams series, LOST: Minecraft Edition.
Image courtesy of CARDTRICKSTER.
21. Renaissance Town
A delightful render of a European-style cathedral by the bay. The water and sky are enhanced for the photo op.
Image courtesy of crpeh.
22. Sonic the Hedgehog Mini Game
Ever wonder what a Sonic level would look like in 3D? You can play this custom mini-game, complete with a redstone-powered digital stopwatch, checkpoints, power-ups and spring-loaded pressure plates.
See the build in action here.
Image courtesy of disco_.
23. Marine Traffic
Just a map full of giant, pretty boats. See more here.
Image courtesy of georgem1000.
24. The Tower of Babel
A modern architectural spin on the biblical tower, the gallery of its completion includes a blueprint citing 100 floors, 7 million blocks and 90,000 lights. The interior and crowning dome are pretty cool up close.
Image courtesy of Hyta.
25. The Winter Palace
Part of the self-described “biggest and most detailed Minecraft city ever,” Reddit user/YouTuber Rigolo shares a collaborative effort to build a neo-classical metropolis.
This palace is just one of many inspiring works that inhabit the city. The video fly-through is worth a peek.
Image courtesy of IamNewAsWell.
Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/03/04/pulp-xbox-live-movie/