Even though filming was completed almost two years ago, the trailer for Whiteout has finally been released. The film, based on the Eisner Award winning graphic novel written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Steve Lieber, stars Kate Beckinsale as U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko. Stetko is at the remote base of McMurdo investigating the first murder ever to take place in Antarctica. A location so remote, that its described in the trailer as “the most isolated landmass on the planet.”

Of course, while Beckinsale’s character investigates the murder, she comes to realize a greater conspiracy may be at work. With the help of The Spirit‘s Gabriel Macht, who plays another agent investigating the same murder, she must unravel the mystery before McMurdo is plunged into six months of wintery darkness.

As a big fan of the source material, I’m glad to be finally seeing the trailer for this film. Seeing as how it was finished almost two years ago, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever see the light of day. The trailer makes the film look pretty good so I’m not sure why it took so long to get released. Of course, a good trailer isn’t always an indicator of a good film. But with Whiteout finally getting a release date, we’ll get to know for sure soon enough.

Check out the trailer after the break.

Continue Reading →

There’s a bunch of movies and TV programs out on DVD this week so if you’re looking for something to watch, here’s a big list from which to choose. Our best best include the original Ghostbusters, Burn Notice Season 2 on Blu-Ray and the HBO Gulf War mini-series Generation Kill.

Movies:

Friday the 13th (Reboot)
Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail
Ghostbusters

TV Shows:

Burn Notice – Season 2
Everwood – Season 2
Family Guy – Vol. 7 and 100th Episode Celebration
Generation Kill – Mini-Series
House of Payne – Vol. 4
The Hunger – Season 1
I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single – Season 1
John Adams – Mini-Series (Blu-ray)
Lost – Season 1 and Season 2 (Blu-ray)
Saving Grace – Season 2
The Secret Life of the American Teenager – Season 2
Sgt. Preston of the Yukon – Season 2
South of Nowhere - Vol. 3
Tom and Jerry – Greatest Chases, Vol. 2
Transformers – Season 1 (25th Anniversary)
Zoey 101 – Season 1 and Season 2

From the official Marvel Press Release:

Marvel is pleased to announce that Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1-3 have sold out at Diamond (though copies may still be available at retail level) and will return with Deadpool: Suicide Kings #1 Second Printing Variant, Deadpool: Suicide Kings #2 Second Printing Variant and Deadpool: Suicide Kings #3 Second Printing Variant!

Emmy Award-nominated scribe Mike Benson (television’s Entourage) and fan favorite artist Carlo Barbieri weave a tale of bullets and betrayal as the “Merc with a Mouth” is framed!  Wade Wilson does a lot of stupid things, but it’s the one thing he didn’t do that gets him into the most trouble!  Someone tarnishes the name of this charismatic enigma and revenge is on his mind, but first he must escape a trio of Marvel powerhouses!

Can Deadpool stay out of the line of fire when the Punisher, Daredevil, and Spider-Man come looking for him?  Be sure to catch the stylish art of Barbieri on the cover of these interconnecting second printing variants!

Critics and fans are raving about Deadpool: Suicide Kings:

Continue Reading →

Fox has released about twelve minutes of clips from BSG Exec. Producer Ron Moore’s upcoming tv movie that may or may not end up being a series Virtuality. The footage helps give all kinds of insight into the world, characters and situations that the show depicts. Of course, seeing these makes me hope the show does get picked up. But sadly, that’s pretty unlikely at this point, which is why Fox is airing the tv movie version.

More in the style and tone of Blade Runner or Alien than BSG, this show, in case you’re not familiar, concerns a dozen astronauts on a journey crucial to the survival of life on Earth. The crew can access a virtual world to keep them entertained during their decade-long journey. When problems begin with the virtual system, things get tense and the crew begins to wonder what’s real and what’s just part of their virtual world.

Virtuality was directed by Peter Berg and features Sienna Guillory, Clea DuVall and James D’Arcy. It airs Friday, June 26th on Fox. Check out all the footage after the jump.

Continue Reading →

This week its the massive event Captain America #600 that everyone is talking about, including us. Since we at The Flickcast care about what you read, we can’t let you not pick this book up. With talents such as Roger Stern, Mark Waid, and Ed Brubaker handling the writing, you can bet Marvel ha lined up some all-star artists too, and they have. Leading off with Dale Eaglesham, batting second Butch Guice, batting third Luke Ross and Alex Ross cleaning up. With all that talent assembled, this book is a definite must-read.

My second recommendation this week, and if I haven’t said enough about it before,  is Starman Omnibus Vol. 3.  Starman is written by James Robinson (currently handling Superman and World of New Krypton) and drawn by Tony Harris (Ex Machina). This completely brilliant series explores the idea of legacy and turns it on its head in the DC Universe. Started in the mid 1990s, these Starman collections boast art from such talents as Gene Ha, Phil Jimenez and J.H. Williams III, so if the story doesn’t do anything for you (and if that’s the case, you and I should not speak) you at least have some pretty, pretty art to look at.

My final recommendation is Image Comics’ Red Mass for Mars #3.  Written by Secret Warriors writer Jonathan Hickman, this series was another independent project of Hickman’s that raised his profile, and his talent, from Nightly News to Pax Romana. This book tells the story of a Superman-like character that refuses to save the Earth. Drawn by newcomer Ryan Bodenheim, if you’re finding yourself addicted to all things Hickman (and you should be) you cannot go wrong with this series.

That’s all for this week. As always, if you don’t like what I recommended, check out Midtown Comics for this week’s releases and find something else you do like. Also, be sure to let us know in the comments what you liked this week.

If you love zombies, are a fan of Max Brooks’ excellent novel World War Z and are excited a feature film version of the novel is being made, then this news might be a bit disappointing to you. According to Fangoria News, the adaptation of Brook’s novel about a war against a virtually unstoppable zombie horde is going to take a bit longer to hit the screen than originally thought.

In an interview with the Swiss site Migros-Magazin referenced in the article, World War Z director Marc Forster, of the recent Quantum of Solace, said that the screenplay by J. Michael Straczynski is in development but “still far from realization.” And instead of waiting around for it to be ready, Forster has moved on to another project, the thriller Disconnect. As for World War Z, hopefully we’ll get to see it eventually after the script is ready. It just doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing it any time soon.

When I interviewed Max Brooks last year, he was pretty sure the scrip was moving along nicely. Although, as he said in the interview, he didn’t really have that much to do with it except for the fact he was thrilled J. Michael Straczynski was the writer. Now that the script seems to be taking longer than expected and the film is delayed, I wonder how he feels about it now?

I know how I feel. This delay is unfortunate for sure but I choose to look on the potential bright side here. Mayabe Stracyznski is taking so long because he wants the script to be awesome? And maybe the departure of Forster isn’t such a bad thing? To be honest, I didn’t really like Quantum of Solace very much so if Forster never comes back, maybe we’ll get an even better dirctor? One can hope.

I greet this news with a mix of excitement and trepidation. But no matter what, it seems inevitable its going to happen. According to an interview with Shia LaBeouf over at the BBC News, director Steven Spielberg has apparently figured out what the story for the next Indiana Jones film should be and is now working on it.

According to LaBeouf in the interview: “Steven just said that he cracked the story on it before I left, and I think they’re gearing that up.”

At the moment, there’s no word on what the story is or if LaBeouf’s character, Mutt Williams, will be returning for the sequel. Obviously, Harrison Ford would have to sign on for another film as Indiana Jones. Or he would have to at least be in the film long enough to pas the torch to the next generation, if that’s the way the story goes.

To be honest, after the disappointment of the last Indiana Jones film, I’m not sure I want to see another one at all. For better or worse, it seems inevatible we will get a fifth film — especially as the last one made over $750 Million worldwide. You can’t argue with figures like that. And really, my concern isn’t as much what the story is, if Harrison Ford is in the film or even if Shia LaBeouf returns. I just don’t want George Lucas anywhere near it.

If you happen to live in Los Angeles, or don’t mind driving a few miles (Or many miles) to the city and you happen to be a fan of Heroes and/or its star Milo Ventimiglia, then this is news for you.

From the official Top Cow Productions press release:

Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that fans of Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia will get to meet and greet the actor/producer during the last weekend of June at two separate Los Angeles area comic book stores.  Ventimiglia will be promoting the release of Berserker #1, a comic book published by Top Cow Productions, Inc. in conjunction with Ventimiglia’s production company, DiVide Pictures.

Ventimiglia will be signing copies of Berserker #1 on Saturday June 27, at Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood from 1 to 3 P.M.  Joining Ventimiglia at the store located on 7018 Melrose Avenue will be DiVide Picutures’ partner Russ Cundiff and Berserker artist Jeremy Haun.

On Sunday June 28, the Berserker crew proceeds to Collectors Paradise, located at 7131 Winnetka Avenue, where they will be signing from 12 to 2 P.M.  Fans are encouraged to visit the store websites at www.goldenapplecomics.com and www.comicsandcards.net respecitvely to learn more about the signings and Berserker.

Continue Reading →

It looks like the “gracious and classy actor award” is going to Patrick Stewart and not William Shatner — at least according to a post over at IMDB. After Shatner’s much publicized disappointment with being left out of J.J. Abrams highly successful Star Trek reboot, Stewart’s delight with the film was a welcome display of his class and style.  Then again, that’s why we love Patrick Stewart and sometimes want to kick Shatner’s Denny Crane in his legal briefs, right?

Star Trek: The Next Generation star Stewart says he “loved” the much anticipated Star Trek movie, but says  “It was a very odd experience to be in the cinema watching a Star Trek movie that I wasn’t in. With the exception of Leonard Nimoy, I didn’t know any of the cast but it’s still Star Trek. I got a great kick out of it.”

He even had kind words for newcomer Chris Pine, who plays a young Captain Kirk, calling him “brilliant, charming, funny and utterly delightful.”  Such a British gentleman, that Jean-Luc. The J.J. Abrams film is a reboot of the Start Trek films and of course, the iconic 1960’s television series. With spinoffs like Stewart’s Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and four Next Gen films, the Star Trek franchise has fans of all ages, from my father to my six-year-old nephew, and most of the geeks in between.

Many of you may or may not be aware that Diamond Comic Distributors recently upped their minimum order guidelines for comics to be carried by them. Diamond, being the largest and virtually only comic distributor in the United States, has a monopoly on the industry. If small press is unable to make the minimum sales requirements, they will lose their only real means of offering their titles to stores across the country.

Unfortunately, with economic times in this country as turbulent as they are, Diamond’s decision isn’t something that should be held against them. They are a business and need to do what they can at the moment to stay profitable despite downward trends in the comic sales industry. But to give some perspective on the effects of this guidelines, some of the comics listed in the Diamond Top 300 List might not even meet this requirement.

Some popular titles that everyone today is more than well aware of that would have fallen by the wayside due to this guideline include both Bone and the original issues of 30 Days of Night. These mainstream works of popular fiction might never have seen the light of day. From the same perspective, well known artists and writers also may not have been given the exposure that has lead them to the positions they are in now. Imagine where Brian Michael Bendis would be right now if not for his early titles such as Jinx.

So what can be done to help remedy with this problem? The first comes from the consumer level. Everyone has a comic or two that they purchase on a monthly basis, more so out of habit than actually enjoying it anymore. So once a month, skip a book that hasn’t been enjoyable anymore and pick up something new, something that you’ve never heard of from a small press. Chances are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with a story you weren’t expecting.

Continue Reading →

We here at The Flickcast have been reporting a lot on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which smashes into theaters and IMAX screens on June 24th. Great news, right? Well, not so much for the excited fans of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, whose IMAX release is getting delayed due to epic robot fighting.

Slashfilm is reporting that due to Paramount’s deal for a four week long IMAX run for Transformers, the sixth film in the Harry Potter series will have to be released in IMAX on July 29th, two weeks after it’s initial release in regular theaters. This delay is a primarily a result of a Warner Bros. decision back in November 2008 to push back the release of Harry Potter.

With movie tickets already at a ridiculously high price and IMAX tickets even more expensive, are either film worth checking out in IMAX? Maybe so. The IMAX cut of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince will contain 12 minutes of 3-D footage not available in regular theaters, similar to the IMAX release of the last film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The IMAX version of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will also be longer and feature scenes shot with IMAX cameras, which is something we haven’t seen since last years smash hit, The Dark Knight.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince hits theaters July 15th.

If you were one of the people waiting for a live-action Akira film to be made, you’re not really going to be very happy about this latest news. Why? Well, according to reports over at Bloody Disgusting, the live action version of the film that had been in development at Warner Bros. is now “dead as a doornail.”

Originally, the movie was to be a massive two-part, live-action epic produced by Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way productions. It was also to be the directorial debut of Ruari Robinson, best known as the Oscar-nominated director of the sci-fi comedy short Fifty Percent Grey and the short The Silent City. But now, with Robinson reportedly leaving the project, the fate of Akira as a live-action film is very much uncertain.

In case you’re not familiar with Akira, it originally came out in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. The story, set in a futuristic post-nuclear war “New Tokyo” in the year 2019, concerns a teen biker gang member called Tetsuo who is subjected to government experiments which unleash his hidden and terrifying powers. Kaneda, the gang’s leader and Tetsuo’s best friend, must then find a way to stop the ensuing destruction caused by his friend, even if it means killing him.

I first saw the animated film in the early ’90s and was blown away. At the time it was like no other animation I had ever seen and I’ve always secretly harbored a desire to see it as a big-budget, live-action feature. I guess I’ll take that much longer now to get my wish.

To get an idea of just how cool this movie is and to see what might have been, check out the trailer for the animated Akira after the break.

Continue Reading →