Welcome to Episode 10 of The Flickcast. We’re very happy to have reached this milestone and thank you, the readers and listeners, for making it happen. We appreciate you. Okay, enough pats on the back, let’s get on with the show.

Previously on The Flickcast, Chris, Matt and Christina discussed various topics including a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie without Joss Whedon, the reboot of Flight of the Navigator, and the merits of Terminator: Rise of the Machines.

This week the team is back once again and ready for action. In this episode, they discuss a broad range of topics including the Twilight phenomenon, the MTV Movie Awards, the success of Pixar’s Up, the merits of Drag Me to Hell, some cool Deadpool and E3 news, Danny McBride’s new movie project, the Megan Fox as Wonder Woman “controversy”, who we think should star in a Wonder Woman movie and that Matt, for some reason, doesn’t seem to like Jessica Biel or Hallle Berry.

Plus, there’s some new picks this week including Matt’s favorite new horror movie, Drag Me to Hell, one of Christina’s favorite movies, Closer, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Chris’ favorite video game where you get to kill terrorists, drive fast, shoot machine guns from an airplane and blow stuff up.

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.

Following Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort and Mario filled press events, Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s CEO and President Jack Trentton took the stage. Jack said that despite numerous press leaks, Sony still had some tricks up their sleeve. He was proud to announce Sony would be releasing 364 games this year before pointing out that Sony was the only company currently running three separate systems at the same time (which isn’t entirely true as Nintendo has the Wii, DS and DSi, which has some different games not available to the DS). After giving some projected sales figures for the Playstation 3, he applauded the success of Infamous, calling it the first successful summer blockbuster game with ratings averaging over 90%.

The first new title shown, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, was presented by Evan Wells, CEO of developer Naughty Dog. The single player gameplay footage showed Drake and a female companion climbing across rooftops when they were attacked by a helicopter. Running toward the copter and then through a building dispatching enemies on the way, the game looked beautiful.

The backgrounds expanded in the distance as the town Drake is adventuring in is burning in certain spots. In addition to the ability to kick over furniture to create cover, the demo ended with a great scene of the building you are in toppling over with furniture crashing all around you before a harrowing escape.  Jack Trentton made sure to add that Uncharted 2 is a PS3 exclusive as it was something that “could only be done on the Playstation 3.” This turned out to be the “phrase of the day” for the Sony representative.

Continue Reading →

Apparently, this New Moon movie is quite popular with the ladies (and probably a few gents as well). So much so that they keep releasing one or two photos or a video here and there to help build the anticipation and the excitement for the film’s release on November 20. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say all this “anticipation building” is probably not necessary. I think the audience will find the film and they will come — in droves.

Still, far be it from us here at The Flickcast to deny fans of the Twilight series more pictures of their favorite characters. So, in that spirit, here’s three more photos from the new film to help with that “anticipation building” we were talking about.

In these new ones, from Teen Gossip, we’re treated to Bella and Edward staring at each other intently, Peter Facinelli as Carlise Cullen and a shot of Jacob looking angry (probably because its raining and he doesn’t have a shirt).

Check out the full sized pics after the jump.

Continue Reading →

While most of the country is getting excited for this weekend’s release of The Hangover, there’s another little film also coming out that seems to be a contender for “Comedy of the Year” as well. This film is The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and it features Entourage star and multiple Emmy winner Jeremy Piven, among others. The first trailer for the film just went up, and it looks like it may just have the star power to drag in the Old School and Role Models audience.

The film is written by Andy Stock and Rick Stempson, who have only one film in their repertoire with the direct-to-dvd comedy Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach starring Sean William Scott. The Goods brings in comedy names like Tony Hale (Arrested Development), David Koechner (Anchorman), and Ken Jeong (Role Models) which, by names alone, could prove to be a pretty funny film. Not to mention Ving Rhames, who is making his return to the genre since 2007′s I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and Jeremy Piven, who has been pretty good with picking projects over the last couple of years (Smokin’ Aces not included).

Focusing around Piven’s Don Ready, the film is about this well-traveled salesman who is asked to help save an ailing local car dealership from bankruptcy. Ready and his ragtag crew take on the job. Selling, drinking, selling and going to strip clubs is their stock and trade. And they do it well.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard hits theaters hard on August 14th. Meanwhile, check out the trailer after the break.

Continue Reading →

Even with all the E3 news coming out today, we haven’t forgotten that we also cover movies, tv and comics here at The Flickcast. So, with that in mind, here’s a bit of news concerning a movie that pretty much everyone has heard of but most people know almost nothing about. I’m talking about, of course, James Cameron’s mysterious virtual reality film Avatar.

Since before production began on the film, Cameron has been very secretive about it and has taken great pains to keep the details under wraps. But now, the academy award winning director has gone on record about the upcoming film during the Ubisoft press conference where he also announced details concerning the Avatar video game.

According to Cameron, Avatar takes place in the 22nd century on Pandora, an Earth-like moon with 1,000-foot-tall trees and creatures both beautiful and terrifying. There’s also a race called the Na’vi, who are primitive humanoids but are also 10 feet tall, blue-skinned and striped like tigers. They are wise and fierce warriors who live harmoniously in their forest environment.

Because the atmosphere on Pandora is toxic to humans, there are human-Na’vi hybrids called “Avatars,” which are living, breathing bodies in the real world, controlled by human “drivers” who project their consciousness into the Avatar bodies. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paralyzed war veteran who can live within his Avatar and finds himself caught between the humans and the inhabitants of Pandora.

Complications arise when he also falls in love with a Na’vi woman, perhaps causing what Cameron describes during the press conference as “massive battles featuring flying creatures called “Banshees.” Besides Sam Worthington, Avatar also stars Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi and CCH Pounder. Avatar hits theaters on December 18th.

Check out Cameron’s full video, which G4 took at the conference, after the jump.

Continue Reading →

We’ve got some men (well, at least one or two) on the ground in Los Angeles today for all the E3 excitement. There’s going to be a lot of cool announcements coming along throughout the show. We’ve already dropped some info on Microsoft’s big stuff from yesterday and we expect some Sony news any time now.

But until then, sit back and enjoy a few pictures from the show to get you in the mood. Most of the usual players have returned to E3 this year with big booths, big announcements and lots of other interesting stuff. With all that’s going on, E3 looks to be returning to its former glory — well mostly anyway.

Sadly, there’s a bit of space left on the main hall floor and the show doesn’t seem quite so well attended as it was in years past here at the LA Convention Center. Although, that could be due to the show’s adherence to a strict “no one under 17 admitted” policy as well as extremely stringent hoops for media and trade members to jump through.

Check out all the full sized pictures after the jump.

Continue Reading →

In case you hadn’t heard, in Los Angeles today, tomorrow and Thursday there’s this big video game convention called The Electronic Entertainment Expo. It takes up pretty much the entire available space of the Los Angeles Convention Center and over the three days showcases all that it new, cool and about to explode in the world of video games and online content.

Yesterday, we brought you news from Microsoft about all their great announcements, including some really cool games and a project called Natal which basically allows players to use their own bodies as game controllers — eliminating the need for any traditional controller. All in all, some pretty exciting announcements.

As of today the show is “officially” underway and we’ll bring you more news, announcements and game videos as much as we possibly can. We’ll also attempt to show you many of the sites, sounds and other interesting aspects that make E3 what it was and what it may be again this year.

And yes, if there’s any booth babes, we’ll try to get pictures of them for you. Don’t worry.

Be sure to check back right here over the next three days for all sorts of E3 news.

I can safely say that this week, I am looking forward to ONE really big release. And because I care about what comics you read, and so does everyone else here, you simply must buy this book:

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s Batman and Robin #1. The team that brought you the stellar and perfect All-Star Superman is now ushering in the new age of Batman and Robin.  With Bruce Wayne now “dead,” Dick Grayson has taken over as the Caped Crusader with Bruce’s murderous son Damian as Robin.

In a recent interview with IGN, Morrison described the book this way:

It was taking that aspect of the Batman TV show and then trying it in with David Lynch and Twin Peaks. [laughs] And creepy European cartoons and marionettes and stuff like that. That bad dreamlike feeling of a Marilyn Manson video in the ’90s, or like Chris Cunningham’s video for ‘Windowlicker’. [laughs] Again, it was about trying to fuse those two things together into a bad trip, Lewis Carroll kind of world. I realize I give a massive, long answer every time we speak, Dan. But that was kind of what obsessed me about Batman and Robin going into it – to take these weird elements and marry them together to see what we could get.

I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds like the sh*t. Morrison is a very good salesman but, to say the least, when he is teamed with Quitely, they pretty much always deliver great stuff.

My second recommendation is something quite different than superhero, its Jason Aaron’s  Scalped #29.  Drawn by R.M. Guera, this Vertigo title is near perfect. It follows an undercover FBI agent on an Indian Reservation. Part Sopranos and the natural successor to 100 Bullets, Scalped, like a firmly executed noir, tickles a bone that is really only rivaled by Ed Brubaker and Sean Philips’ Criminal series for Marvel/Icon.

Other than that, there isn’t much else going on this week. As always. feel free to head over to Midtown Comics to check out what else is coming out this week. And be sure to leave us a comment telling us what you liked, and didn’t like,  from this week’s comics.

If you thought for one second Ryan Reynolds appearance as Wade Wilson and then as the killer Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a coincidence or in some way not a ploy to spark interest in a Deadpool spin-off movie, I’ve got a bridge in New York to sell you. Of course it was and 20th Century Fox has announced that the movie is in the works. Now that we know the movie is being made, there are still many questions that need to be answered.

Chief among them is if Deadpool will be disfigured as he is at the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine or if he will be somehow portrayed by Reynolds without the make-up and as the actor normally appears. Another question is what character will stand opposite Deadpool as the defacto ‘hero” of the movie. Finally, when in the X-Men timeline the movie would take place seeing as how the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine take place well before those of the other X-Men movies. Well, perhaps this interview over at Hitfix with Reynolds himself can shed light on some of these questions.

According to Reynolds, when asked about the Deadpool feature in the article he is “Intimately involved with it.  We’re just trying to break a story right now and figure out who the villain is going to be and all that stuff.  But, it’s going to be just like the comic books.  I’m gonna have a messed up face and you may see some flashbacks of Wade earlier in his life, but primarily what you see is what you get in the comics and that’s the goal.  And there is no better place to draw material from then the comics which are incredible.”

Well, there you have it. It seems that if Reynolds gets his way (and he might) the character will be depicted exactly as he is in the comics. No doubt this is great news for fans of the comics everywhere. Now, if he can just stick to his plans and not get sidetracked or swayed by studio pressure, this movie might have a chance. Whatever happens, we’ll find out when the film hits theaters in 2012.

As an amateur photographer, I often find it necessary to use Adobe’s Photoshop software to enhance, color correct and otherwise improve some of my photos. When used correctly, judiciously and with a little common sense, its a great tool that most of the time is incredibility useful and vastly improves whatever photo you’re working with. However, this is not one of those times. Case in point, this brand new promo image for Season 9 of the CW’s television series Smallville.

Today, the CW released this promo image to advertisers promoting Season 9, and in so doing, according to Kryptonsite, created a weirdly Photoshopped mess where Tom Welling’s (Clark Kent/Superman) has his Season 8 head on his Season 6 body and Erica Durance (Lois Lane) has her head on Kristin Kreuk’s (Lana Lang) body.

According to the site, the promo image also lists “Sam Witwer as Davis Bloome” as part of the cast, so it may also be outdated. Although, oddly, Aaron Ashmore as “Henry Jimmy” is not listed. This same image can also be found on the CW’s official site, along with some equally badly Photoshopped images from 90210, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries and more.

If you happen to be a Photoshop expert looking for work, you should really get in touch with the CW. Obviously, they could use the help.

Continuing on with Microsoft’s Press Conference from today. If you recall, Part One focused on the games announced and now, Part Two will focus mostly on the XBox 360 console itself and the amazing announcement of “Project Natal” and the AI known as Milo.

In the years since the XBox 360 was released, Microsoft has done whatever they could to make their console the essential entertainment centerpiece of your home — and this time around that trend continues. They lead the charge with streaming music coming to the console with a partnership with last.fm, which will give XBox Live Gold members free access to the service featuring millions of songs.

Netflix service will also be getting upgraded soon as users won’t need to even use their PC anymore to stream video to their XBox 360 console. Instead, they will be able to browse the entire library of “Watch Instantly” movies from the Dashboard and watch them on the spot. Additionally, many people outside of the US have not had access to this service. That will change as the UK which will feature live television with both cricket and football.

The Video Marketplace will be changing it up some as well as Microsoft expands it to the Zune Video Store. From there, users will have access to “Instant On 1080p HD” video for movies and television. No downloading will be required for even the true high definition video experience. The Zune Video Store will go from being available in 18 countries, more than doubling its previous reach of only 8. To further the community aspect of the XBox online community, all these video and music services can be viewed together with friends over Live in a lobby-like feature called “Live Party.”

Continue Reading →

It seems to be “film footage day” today here at The Flickcast what with clips from The Twilight Saga: New Moon and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra having already dropped. Now, we can add another movie to that growing list because we’ve got footage from Michael Bay’s sequel to Transformers, known as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, to bring you too.

In this new TV spot, we’re treated to, of course, more LaBeouf, more action, more robots, more explosions and much more Megan Fox (which is never a problem). Also, we get a glimpse of some new faces in the robot repertoire including what might be Ravage.

But you really have to squint hard to see it. Of course, its also possible I just thought I saw something I really didn’t see. Guess I’ll watch it again to be sure — and so should you. Check out all the footage after the break.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters on June 24th.

Update: We’ve also got the footage shown during last night’s MTV Movie Awards from the film as well. Be sure to check that out after the break too.

Continue Reading →