According to our friends over at ComicMix, the official word is in that Fox has picked up the DC comics series Human Target as one of its new Fall television series. The pilot, based on the comic created by Len Wein, Carmine Infantino and Dick Giordano, was apparently the most popular one shown at Fox’s recent network screenings.

In case you’re not familiar with Human Target, it concerns bodyguard Christopher Chance, played by Mark Valley in the new show, who has a rather unique way of helping his clients: he assumes their identities and becomes the “human target” to protect them. Others in the cast include Jackie Earle Haley, recently of Watchmen and the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street and Chi McBride from Pushing Daisies and House.

The pilot was written by Jon Steinberg and directed by Simon West of Con-Air and Lara Croft fame. Steinberg and West exec. produced the pilot along with McG, director of the upcoming Terminator: Salvation. Also according to ComicMix, this latest show continues a long streak of Len Wein’s comics work being adapted for the screen. Some of his others include Swamp Thing, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Lucius Fox.

Apparently, even Even Human Target has been adapted before for TV before in a 1992 series on ABC starring Rick Springfield — which only lasted seven episodes. Let’s hope this new show does a little better.

Last week on The Flickcast, the team discussed all sorts of topics including the box office success, and relative merits, of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the latest G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra trailer, the upcoming District 9, produced by Peter Jackson and renewals of shows like Southland and Heroes. They also made some great picks including TV’s Party Down, Hot Fuzz, Garth Ennis’ Preacher and Robert Altman’s The Player.

This week, Chris, Matt and Christina talk all-things Star Trek, take on Terminator: Salvation, toss around various casting news and take it home with some great picks for the week. Speaking of great picks, this time around the team’s include another of Matt’s “shows you’re not watching but should be” called Smallville, Christina’s top MTV/Internet show Five Dollar Cover and Chris’ favorite Jake Gyllenhall movie that also features a six foot tall time traveling rabbit and Patrick Swayze. We’re talking about, of course, Donnie Darko.

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.

Thanks for listening.

Have you ever heard the saying “It’s so stupid you can’t make this stuff up”? Well, apparently you can if you’re one of the creative team at The Asylum. Presented for your amusement and entertainment, the new trailer for their upcoming film Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus wherein C-movie staple Lorenzo Lamas and former singer Deborah (aka Debbie) Gibson are locked in a battle of wills, and wits, with two recently thawed creatures who don’t like each other, or the human race, very much.

The film hits DVD next week on May 19. In the meantime, bask in the glory that Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus because sometimes stupid is just what’s required and for some strange reason, this sorta works. Who will you root for?

We’re glad to see Alan Ball’s entertaining, interesting and sexy show get a second season on HBO. Its mix of vampires, Southern charm, murder, suspense, sex, action and did we also mention vampires, make it a compelling show to watch each week.

The new season of True Blood starts on June 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Season one drops on DVD and Blu-ray on May 19 and so does the soundtrack.

Check out the new trailer below.

These days it is sometimes tough picking out comics that are worth your hard-earned dollars, but here at The Flickcast we care about what you read.  So with that in mind this week’s Dave’s Weekly Comic Book Recommendations is dominated by a group of misfits, a little girl who kills giants, super-secret super-spies and an author who joins a think thank to dream up nightmare terrorist attacks.

The final issue of Umbrella Academy: Dallas hits stands this week and if you haven’t been reading it I highly encourage you to do so.  There’s a reason Gabriel Ba won an Eisner last year for this engaging read written by My Chemical Romance front-man Gerard Way.  For those of you ignoring it for its vague similarity to Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol, please put aside your opinion for five minutes and read this truly beautiful comic that is, well, better than Gerard’s band.

Mark Sable, the writer behind DC’s excellent mini-series involving the Teen Titan Cyborg, brings a new book from Boom! Studios called Unthinkable. The book involves Alan Ripley, a young novelist who joins a think tank after 9/11 to dream up the Unthinkable–or nightmare terrorist scenarios so his government can safeguard against them, but when his colleagues are being killed in scenarios they’ve dreamed up, Ripley takes matters into his own hands.  Part Tom Clancy novel, Sable’s comic asks the question: “Just because you write about action heroes, doesn’t mean you can become one.”

Continue Reading →

Here at The Flickcast we really like all-things Joss Whedon. Of course, that obsession began with his first, and still the best, television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sadly, the show went off the air in 2003. Fortunately, its managed to live on in comic book form and got its season eight courtesy of the fine folks at Dark Horse Comics.

Now, over at Comics Continuum, they’ve got a preview of a brand new Buffy comic called Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Vampires to further entertain and delight fans of the Slayer.

According to the press release from Dark Horse, Tales of the Vampires is about:

“A small town in Massachusetts, where a young man named Jacob goes about his day as usual — wakes early, eats breakfast with his mom, and heads to school. He’s a hard worker and a reliable friend to Alexia, an athletic and headstrong young woman. But at night Jacob likes to cut loose at the local arcade, where he’s befriended a reckless gang of vampires who enjoy drinking his blood. Jacob craves the high and the easy escape from the monotony of his life that this ‘bloodletting’ provides. Enter the mysterious and sultry May, who can help Jacob leave those high-school days behind — that is, if Alexia doesn’t stop her first.”

Sounds good to us. Check out the big page previews after the jump. But if you do, please be beware of potential SPOILERS. Enjoy.

Continue Reading →

“Luke, I am your father” is a famous line from The Empire Strikes Back, one of the best Sci-Fi films of all time, right? Wrong. The line, which tops a list from the site I love film and is highlighted over at The Guardian, is actually “No, I am your father.” Its a line Vader says in response to Luke who told him Obi-Wan Kenobi said Vader killed his father. Oh well, it was pretty close.

Some of the other famous misquotes include a classic from Casablanca where Ingrid Bergman’s character supposedly utters the line “Play it again Sam.” Like the line from The Empire Strikes Back, this one isn’t in the movie either. What’s actually said is “Play it Sam. Play As Time Goes By”, which is close, but not correct. Also not correct is Dirty Harry’s famous “Do you feel lucky punk?” line form the movie of the same name. In the film, Harry actually says: “”You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya punk?” Again, close but not correct.

Its a fun list and really helps to illustrate how things can evolve and change over time as more people tell the same story. Fortunately, with the help of the Internets, we can keep better track of this kind of thing and characters from famous movies can get credit (or blame) for saying things they actually say.

Initially, I never intended to read The Lovely Bones because I assumed it was a touchy-feely tearjerker about the brutal death of a child and how a family copes with their loss.  And well, who needs that if you read the newspapers or even watch the evening news?   Let’s face it, the media never seems to have a shortage of stories covering the depravity of humankind towards children.  Quite frankly, it’s depressing.  That was initially, when the book was first published, several years ago.

However, when the book came out in paperback a couple of years later, I was lured by the hype and hyperbole of glowing book reviews and Costco’s low prices. Yes, indeed, I succumbed to the pressure of mass marketing and found myself the owner of a brand new paperback edition of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

I have to admit that the first reading of the book a few years ago left me vaguely dissatisfied.  Now don’t get me wrong.  The writing was excellent.  The details and authenticity of the characters were creative and compelling.  The story line was engaging and well paced.  And the first person voice of the fourteen years old, alliteratively named, Susie Salmon, the victim, who narrates the story was pure genius.

After all, it is practically the ultimate voyeuristic experience, going inside the mind of the victim, seeing through her eyes, before, during and after her brutal rape and murder by a neighbor, and then following her to heaven and then back to earth again.  Talk about your creative license!  Isn’t that what good literature is all about?  It takes us above and beyond the ordinary, engages us in a world we would not otherwise know, and allows us to feel, think and see, through the eyes of another, from a different perspective.  It nourishes our minds and emotions and broadens our horizons.  The Lovely Bones satisfies all these criteria, and does so with a sense of quiet composure and restraint.

Continue Reading →

Previously on The Flickcast, we had reviews from both Matt Raub and Chris Ullrich on J.J. Abrams new Star Trek film. In case you missed those reviews, both Matt and Chris loved the film and thought it was a lot of fun. Now, in the interest of fair and balanced, we’ve got another review for you that paints a slightly different picture.

This time around, The Flickcast contributor and long-time Trek fan Tom Mahoney gives us his take on the new film. If you haven’t seen the film yet, know that this review contains SPOILERS so read at your own risk. Check it out.

_____

As a point of reference to what I am about to write, you should know that I am a 61-year old geek who grew up a huge fan of Star Trek.  I was fortunate enough to watch the series on television from the very beginning, get to know the personalities of the crew, and week-by-week go through the sense of eager anticipation until it was time for the next episode to air.  I have continued to follow the franchise through Star Trek: The Next Generation (loved it) and Deep Space Nine (not so much) to the disappointing dreck of Enterprise.  It was with this personal history that I went to see the new Star Trek, hoping that my spark would be rekindled and my devotion rewarded.  Alas, the film did not make it so.

The film’s opening was excellent.  I thoroughly enjoyed being pulled in to the literal birth of James Tiberius Kirk, even though I had to wonder why, in the 23rd century, his father and mother were surprised at his gender when he was born, much less that they were unprepared with any baby names for the occasion.  Fortunately, though, amidst all of the death and destruction aboard the starship “Kelvin” (imagine that name being pronounced by Jerry Lewis) they had sufficient medical staff to overlook the dying and injured to have four of them tend to one pregnant crewmember’s wife.
I did however, eventually discover the “Legend” of James T. Kirk.  In his early years, young Jim steals a car and nearly dies when the car careens over a cliff and into a gorge.  Kirk, however, is saved when he is able to cling to the cliff’s ledge.

Continue Reading →

If you are one of the many fans of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse and were hoping for some sort of last minute miracle repreve from the chopping block for your show, sadly it seems the chances of that have gotten even smaller. According to info from the Hollywood Reporter, ratings for last Friday’s season (or series) finale of Dollhouse were the worst yet for the freshman series.

2.8 million viewers watched the show and it earned a 1.0 preliminary adults 18-49 rating. That rating could improve slightly in the national average as the show had a minute of Prison Break overrun. But that would only help the show match last week’s season low of a 1.1. Not great.

So, will Dollhouse get a second season? With ratings like these and Fox’s track record with Joss Whedon shows, the chances are slim. Still, Fox may want to bring back at least one of its high-profile Sci-Fi shows for next season and ratings for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were not any better and its now, supposedly, out of the running. Maybe that will give Dollhouse the edge it needs?

We’ll find out on May 18th when Fox reveals its new fall schedule.

You may be one of the millions of people who went to see J.J. Abrams new Star Trek this past weekend. If so, you probably had one of several reactions. You loved it as Matt and I did, thought is was just average as other people did or, if you’re a die-hard Trekkie, hated it for what its done to your beloved franchise and characters. If you happen to be in that last category, this video from the weekend’s Saturday Night Live is just for you.

In the video, available over at NBC’s Website, actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto (along with another actor you may recogzine) stop in at the Weekend Update desk to address Star Trek fans and try to relive some of their stress about the new film. It’s pretty funny. Enjoy.

As you probably know from last week’s episode of The Flickcast, I’m a fan of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillion’s Preacher comic book. It was one of my picks of the week. I’ve also followed it through its various television and cinematic incarnations to its present home at Columbia Pictures in the hands of director Sam Mendes and writer John August.

During last week’s show, I mentioned that the script for the film was in progress and now, thanks to an article over at MTV Spashpage, we know even more about the script and that progress. According to the article, Mendes was being interviewd about his other upcoing film and also decided to take a few questions about Preacher. About the current state of the script and August, Mendes said: “He’s doing pretty well. “He’s about halfway through. There’s a long way to go yet, but I’m very, very hopeful. I think it could be amazing.”

When asked about the possibility of sequels or a franchise, Mendes was quick to point out his desire to make the first film a complete story. “You have to try and get one really good and then, if you’re lucky, you can make a second or a third,” said Mendes. “You can create something that’s going to run. But I think that there’s certainly more than enough for one good movie and plenty left over.”

No casting has been announced for the film as yet nor does it have a release date. But when there is more on this movie, rest assured we’ll bring it to you.