There’s a few things I can’t seem to get enough of: good beer, fast cars, cool movies, fun comics, first person shooter video games and tv shows where the main character shoots guys in the leg, electrocutes suspects and threatens to stab bad guys in the eye with a pen in order to get them to talk. Of course, I’m talking about the super cool show 24 featuring a great character named Jack Bauer.

24 is one of those shows that’s often over the top but you just gotta love Jack Bauer and his “take no prisoners” attitude. He will do anything to save lives of innocent Americans. And I mean anything. Now, we can potentially add another interesting character to the mix at CTU next season because, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Freddie Prinze, Jr. is joining the cast of the show as a regular character — an ex-marine named Davis Cole who runs CTU Field Ops and wants to follow in the footsteps of Jack Bauer.

I know what you’re thinking and I sorta agree. I’m not sure Prinze, Jr can bring it to the table to play an ex-marine Field Ops guy. I don’t know if he’s got the acting chops. However, I had the same feeling when both Rick Schroder and Mark-Paul Gosselaar joined the cast of NYPD Blue and both of them managed to convince me. Perhaps we should give Freddie a chance to do the same?

Fox’s 24 has begun filming its 8th Season and barring any issues (drunk driving, headbutts, etc.) should premiere next Fall.

Not many stories come across The Flickcast news desk about pirated Asian DVD’s, but when one like this does come along, we need to share it. A few months back, we came across a story by blogger Jeremy Winterson about the wild and wacky world of Asian bootleg subtitles, and of one film in particular: Star Wars Episode 3. Take a look at the video of the opening title crawl and following pictures.

Something tells me this isn’t what George Lucas had originally envisioned. At least it makes for a more enjoyable experience than anything Jar Jar Binks ever brought to the table. I present to you Star Wars Episode 3: Backstroke of the West.

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With all the reboots, rumors of reboots, sequels and prequels coming out of Hollywood lately it should come as no surprise that there’s now talk and rumors of yet another one. According to Bloody Disgusting, the latest franchise getting the reboot treatment is the 1979 horror/sci-fi classic Alien. Yes, the movie that coined the cool catchphrase “In space no one can hear you scream” and showcased a young Sigourney Weaver in her underwear is reportedly going to get the reboot treatment.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon your opinion, it seems Ridley Scott will be involved in the reboot but will only serve as one of the producers, not the director. Taking on the directing chores is first-time feature director Carl Rinsch, who has at least supposedly cut his teeth directing commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott and their Scott Free Productions company.

In case you might not be familiar with original Alien (If not, go rent it) the story starts when the crew of a spacecraft intercepts a transmission from an unknown planet and decides to investigate. Once there they discover an alien creature that has evolved into the perfect killing machine. One by one each of the crew members are killed until only Weaver’s Ripley is left to destroy the terrifying and deadly creature. But how will she be able to do it all alone?

Seeing as this story is only in the rumor stages (Although it does make sense) we will, of course, keep you posted on any new developments. Until then, feel free to enjoy the trailer for the original Alien after the jump.

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It’s funny, even though the major (and minor) Hollywood studios seem to be cranking out as many comic book movie adaptations as they can, most of them don’t really end up being much of anything to write home about. And some others, such as Daredevil, Batman & Robin, Ghost Rider and Catwoman really suck.

In fact, last year I did two articles for ComicMix about the what I considered, up to that point, the Best and Worst comic book to film adaptations. Since then, we’ve had several more movie based on comics. But for the most part, I think my picks still stand as they are. In a similar vein is Zac Bertschy new article over at Topless Robot. In the article, Bertschy outlines what he feels are the five things comic book movies need to stop doing.

I don’t want to take anything away from the article by talking about it too much here. However, here’s some highlights that I particularly like. First, according to Bertschy, Hollywood needs to stop trying to cram so many villains into each movie. Second, he feels comic book movies need to stop wasting awesome side characters like they do, for example, in the X-Men movies.

Finally, he feels strongly that Hollywood should stop making feature-length origin stories because most people either already know where Batman comes from or don’t care — they just want to see him in action. Its a great article and covers a lot of ground.

I agree with almost everyting he says in it as well. Although, I did enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman Begins and Iron Man, all of which are origin stories. I guess Hollywood can get it right sometimes.

Director Guillermo del Toro has had a unique and varied career so far. His range of films from Mimic, Blade II and Pan’s Labyrinth to Hellboy I and II, have managed to keep us interested, entertained and sometimes even a little scared. Currently, del Toro is working on a live-action version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit. But apparently, that’s not enough to keep him busy.

He’s also co-written a novel with Chuck Hogan called The Strain, which concerns a mysterious virus that turns humans into horrifying vampiric creatures. Over at Wired, they’ve got a first look at the video trailer for the book. Yes, even books have trailers now — especially if they are co-written by directors.

The video, according to Wired, “includes brief NSFW language and some monstrous imagery, (and) offers a glimpse of the gory horrors that await upon The Strain’s printed pages.”

The Strain, published by William Morrow, goes on sale June 2. Meanwhile, click through to check out the trailer.

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We’ve been covering this one for a bit now and are pretty darn excited for it to come out. Well, at least some of us are. Now, over at Empire Online, they’ve got the first look at the brand new international poster for G.I.Joe: Rise of Cobra.

The film, based on the hugely successful line of toys, features Sienna Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Quaid and Channing Tatum as Duke, the hero who is part of an elite military force that must take down an evil organization bent on world domination: the sinister and mysterious Cobra.

The Stephen Sommers directed film hits theaters on on August 7, 2009. Until then, be sure to check out the full poster after the jump.

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We’re all eagerly anticipating the next installment of the Iron Man movie franchise here at The Flickcast and have been excited to bring you pretty much any bits of information or photos from the film. Now, we’ve got a few more pictures to share thanks to the men and woman of Edward’s Air Force Base. Direct from Edward’s own site are pictures taken and information concerning the Iron Man 2 team filming at the base from May 11 – 13.

Although the pictures don’t really reveal anything about what was being shot (And that’s not a surprise, is it?) they do show a happy Jon Favreau and Robert Downey, Jr. spending time with the servicemen who work at the base. Favreau also commented recently on Twitter that he was having a great time at the base and working with “some cool toys.”

Iron Man 2 hits theaters May 7, 2010.

Coming to you directly from the “this sounds interesting but could really end up sucking” department (yes, we have on of those here at The Flickcast) is this bit of news from Variety about a new series for HBO called Hung. The show, which stars Thomas Jane (The Punisher), concerns a man with a rather large member (read penis) who decides he wants to make some money with it. Yes, you read that correctly.

How does he want to make money with it? Well, you’ll just have to wait for the show to debut to find out. Fortunately, that won’t be too long from now as it starts on June 28th and will run at 10:00 pm — right after the second season of True Blood, which returns on June 12th.

Also according to Variety, the first episode will run for 45 minutes, with all others being 30 minutes in length. Co-Starring with Jane in the series are Jane Adams and Anne Heche. Also of note is that the pilot for Hung was directed by Alexander Payne, who directed, and won the Oscar for writing, Sideways. He was also nominated for directing Sideways and for writing Election.

Jane and Payne together again for the very first time. Could be interesting. I guess we’ll find out on June 28th.

Just about everybody has lived this scenario at one time or another: you go out on a Friday night to see that movie you’ve been looking forward to, be it a Transformers or Night at the Museum, and about 30 minutes in, that gigantic, watered-down soda you were talked into buying is now sitting in your bladder but ready to find an exit. There’s no way you can hold it in but you don’t want to leave the theater, thinking that you’ll miss the awesome scene where R2-D2 pops up next to the Enterprise. So, you stay, squirming and holding it until the bitter end, turning what could have been a great experience into a nightmare.

You can now forget about those moments, all thanks to RunPee.com. RunPee, which is currently in beta, was designed to be a bible for fans who need to know when is the best time during a movie to leave the theater and hit the restroom. The site not only gives you the minute mark and accurate description of the scene in which you can leave, but it even tells you how long you’ll have to do your business and get back.

This probably also works for smokers who need to get in that last cigarette and can’t miss the pivotal scene. The films are as recent as each week’s releases, and as old as A Haunting in Connecticut, so you can check back often to find out when is the best time to do your business during the latest movie. This probably also makes for a better movie experience in general because if you go out to pee, you’ll be missing the weakest part of the film — almost like it never even happened!

Over at USA Today they’ve posted the first pictures from the Denzel Washington starrer The Book of Eli. In case you’re not familiar, the film, which is directed by The Hughes Brothers and co-stars Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Ray Stephenson and Jennifer Beals, concerns a man who’s fighting his way across a post-apocalyptic America to protect a book that hold the key to saving humanity.

In addition to the photos, USA Today also posted some questions and answers with the film’s directors. Some of the tidbits that the brothers reveal include the fact that Washington shed 55 pounds for his role in the film and that shooting conditions in Albuquerque, New Mexico were less than ideal, but did provide a great location that really helped enhance the depiction of post-apocalyptic America.

“You occasionally ask yourself why you’re shooting a movie in these conditions,” says Allen Hughes, who co-directs the film with his brother Albert, in the article. “When the wind is really blowing, it looks like the earth is meeting the sky. It looks like the end of the world.”

The desolate landscape also helped set the mood of the film as well. “We had one scene where Denzel had to kill off one of his enemies,” said Albert Hughes in the article. “Right after he kills the guy, a little dust storm picks up and blows right over them. It was eerie. We’re going to have people thinking an effect was computer-generated, when really it was just from shooting out here.”

The Book of Eli hits theaters January 15, 2010. Check out the larger version of all the pictures after the jump.

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Last week on The Flickcast, Chris, Matt and Christina discussed, debated, dissed and did time with topics such as the exciting new Fox TV schedule, the renewal of some their favorite shows like Dollhouse, Fringe and Chuck and how many of these shows will have reduced budgets and casting conflicts next season. The team also talked cool casting news from the worlds of Thor, Red Dawn, the A-Team and a whole lot more!

This week, its a whole new show and the team is back in action. This time around, your intrepid threesome take on topics like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie without Joss Whedon, the reboot of Flight of the Navigator, the merits of the Land of the Lost, Terminator: Rise of the Machines, Fame and the fact that Hollywood seems to have run completely out of original ideas.

Plus, Chris, Matt and Christina make some cool picks for you to watch and enjoy. This week Chris picks a movie written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) called The Way of the Gun, Matt picks a tv show called The Venture Bros. and Christina adds Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law to her list of picks. Be sure to check them all out.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

I know, I miss Battlestar Galactica too. As I’ve said before, it was one of my favorite tv shows of all time and each Friday I feel a sense of loss due to the hole in my TiVo schedule where BSG used to be. I also miss the great characters and actors from the show like Edward James Olmos’ Adama, Katee Sackhoff’s Starbuck and James Callis’ Gaius Baltar. Well, if you miss Baltar like I do and wish he would return to tv, you will almost get your wish when the actor who played Baltar, James Callis, returns to the Sci-Fi Channel in a tv movie called Merlin and the Book of Beasts.

In this “Sci-Fi Original Movie” Callis plays the heroic Merlin who must fight to save a book which, if it feel into the wrong hands, could spell the end of mankind. . . or something like that. As a bonus, the movie actually takes place in Camelot, with all that entails, and the director, Warren P. Sonoda (director of other “classics” such as Ham and Cheese and 5 Girls) has compared his movie to Braveheart. Hey. its possible this movie is as good as Braveheart. It could happen. Okay, probably not.

Still, you gotta give Sonoda props for aiming high. At least he didn’t say his movie compared to something like In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, which we all know sucked big time. Good or bad, Merlin and the Book of Beasts, which also stars the attractive Laura Harris, hits Sci-Fi Channel this Saturday at 9 p.m. Until then, be sure and watch the trailer. I know you’ll find it as “magical” as I did.