As a new feature here on The Flickcast, Dave Press, who normally does our comic book recommendations, will be doing recaps of some of our favorite TV shows. Enjoy — Ed

The new Lost clone brought to us by Batman Begins writer David S. Goyer and Star Trek Deep Space Nine creator Brannon Braga is actually better than Lost. Which is really not hard to do. You know the premise: the entire planet blacks out for 137 seconds and everyone sees their individual futures for the date of April 29, 2010.

Joseph Fiennes, Shakespeare himself from the Oscar winning Best Picture Shakespeare in Love, leads a team of FBI agents that includes Seth McFarlane and “New Sulu” John Cho, to investigate the blackouts.

The first episode starts with Fiennes and his team encountering their blackouts. Fiennes, in his blackout, sees his board  in his office with various random and completely ridiculous names and numbers and pictures creating a mosaic of clues. As of the first episode his character is a recovering alcoholic, and as he drinks in his flash forward, his office is being invaded by Dead Presidents with machine guns and laser sights. Spooky.

Fiennes’s wife, played by Sonya Walger, sees herself with another man, which disturbs her and causes tenson between her and her husband. John Cho’s character doesn’t see anything, which frightens him to the point of thinking that he won’t be alive on April 29.

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As a big fan of Warren Ellis and his writing, I’m particularly happy to report that one of my favorite comics of his, Gravel, has now been optioned by Legendary Pictures for development as a feature film. This latest acquisition by Legendary makes a lot of sense considering they have several genre projects already going including Inception, Sucker Punch, Jonah Hex and Clash of the Titans.

In case you’re not as familiar with Gravel as you should be, it was created by Ellis in 1999 and is published by Avatar Press in its most current form. It centers on William Gravel, a soldier in the British S.A.S. who uses his skills in dark magic to moonlight and battle supernatural beings for clients in order to make extra cash. Along the way he encounters all manner of nastiness but still manages to not only survive, but to flourish.

According to the trade, Ellis will do the first draft of the screenplay and will also serve as an Executive Producer on the project, with Rick Alexander Producing. Given my fondness for Ellis’ work, I hope this continues the trend of his projects being adapted for the big screen.

No word on a director on any casting for Gravel, but for my money I would like to see Zack Snyder make this his next project after Sucker Punch. And, while we’re at it, how about Gerard Butler as Gravel? I think that combo, when combined with Ellis’ story, would make one hell of a movie.

We have been a bit hard around here on 2012, the new Roland Emmerich film about the end of the world, but given the director’s track record and the fact that the trailer doesn’t look like anything we haven’t seen dozens of times before on the big screen, we think we probably have just cause.

It looks like we aren’t the only people making fun of it, as a new fan film has popped up online using the first five minutes of the film. The edit proves that this film can become two things without it’s overblown special effects: quite pointless and outrageously funny.

For those interested in the film itself, it stars a cornucopia of celebrities from John Cusack to Woody Harrelson and Amanda Peet and is about a prophecy where the world comes to an end in December of 2012. Roland Emmerich is also the director that brought us gems like 10,000 BC and The Day After Tomorrow.

Check out the fan film after the jump. Catch 2012 in theaters everywhere this November.

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The Hills Run Red, sadly, has almost nothing going for it or to recommend it. Its a combination of the worst elements of the latest genre of horror filmmaking and not a very well put together combination of them either. The story, if it can be called that, follows four young adults who’ve set off to make a docudrama about an obscure, unfinished horror films called The Hills Run Red. Along the way they encounter citizens of a small town where the original film was made and, of course, trouble follows.

What happens during this film can be best described as a mismatched, cliched unfolding of coincidental and needlessly violent and bloody events that taken as a whole, signify almost nothing. Usually, at least in the better films of this genre, you hope the audience feels some empathy or, at the very least, pity for the poor characters trapped in this scenario. Or, as in the case of the recent Zombieland, the film has other things in it favor such as humor. Unfortunately, because the characters in the film are developed so haphazardly and so poorly and there’s basically nothing much here in other areas, I felt nothing for them and was not the least bit concerned as they met their individual demises.

In fact, most of their actions in the film were patently stupid in so many ways, they probably deserved what they got — at least in the context of the film. One of my biggest pet peeves is stupid characters in movies who do stupid things that no real person would ever do. As an example, if someone calls and tells you the disturbing phone calls are coming from inside the house, you don’t go upstairs to check. Or, if you hear an odd noise on a dark and stormy night, you probably shouldn’t go and investigate.

Sure, there’s exceptions to this and also in many cases you need to suspend your disbelief to keep the story going, but for this film, that was a very tall order. Whatever thoughts the filmmakers were thinking when making this movie, logic and common sense were obviously not among them — which is one of the few things that does come across clearly with this film.

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International Creative Management (ICM) has started zeroing in on the comic industry’s more notable assets, with the announcement of signing writer Grant Morrison. Being one of the world’s largest talent and literary agencies, ICM already boasts an impressive list of clients such as actors Jodie Foster and Al Pacino, director Woody Allen, television personality Ellen DeGeneres, author Patricia Cornwell and musician Beyoncé, to name a few.

As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Morrison has 20 years under his belt, penning fan-favorite works like JLA, X-Men, Doom Patrol and the current Batman and Robin. The spotlight has shined on him even more lately thanks to his ‘Batman: R.I.P.’ and Final Crisis projects, and the gaming world got a dose of Morrison thanks to his classic Arkham Asylum: A Serious Place On Serious Earth graphic novel that became the inspiration for the hit video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The newly formed DC Entertainment also counts on Morrison’s contributions and consulting as their goal of emulating Marvel Studios’ approach to comic movies intensifies. Other notable comic creators under ICM’s management are Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and legendary artist Neal Adams, who signed with them in August.

If you were anxiously awaiting a movie featuring Kristen Bell and Christina Aguilera fighting it out to see who becomes queen of the neo-burlesque stage (undoubtedly while wearing skimpy outfits), then this is your lucky day. Why? Well, it seems Bell has signed to take a role in Screen Gems upcoming musical drama Burlesque, which features that exact scenario.

Just in case you’ve never hard of this movie or needed a minute because you were picturing Kristen Bell in lingerie, Burlesque tells the story of “an ambitious small-town girl (Aguilera) with a big-town voice who finds love and success in a Los Angeles neo-burlesque club, reminiscent of the nightclub in Bob Fosse’s Cabaret.”

Bell will play Nikki, the “loose-cannon lead dancer and main attraction” at the club who, to say the least, is not so pleased when Aguilera’s character suddenly gets the spotlight. Of course, an intense rivalry is formed which probably can only be resolved with song, dance and hopefully a good cat fight. Cher has already been cast as the nightclub owner in the film along with Stanley Tucci as the guy who helps turn Aguilera from bumpkin to bombshell — much like he did with Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada.

Shooting on Burlesque begins Nov. 9 for a Thanksgiving 2010 release.

Looking for some highbrow comedy? Keep on looking. If you loved the trailer for this movie, go watch it again. There, now you know the entire plot and you have seen all the funny parts of the film. I  just saved you an hour and 47 minutes and at least ten bucks. You’re welcome.

It’s not that this is a terrible film, it just doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Couple’s Retreat tries to be the rom-com version of  The Hangover, and fails. The laughs are there, but they are anemic at best and spread too thin over a far too long running time.

Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are a tightly wound yuppie couple who pull their friends aside at a child’s birthday party and ask them to attend a quick presentation. Believing that they are going to see another power point presentation about testicular cancer prevention, the friends are stupefied when the couple announces that they are considering a divorce. Seems a year of fertility issues has taken a toll on the couple, and they are ready to part ways.

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Not many people are fans of Nicolas Cage. It could be that his hair is a bird, or that he has been known for many poor film choices like Wicker Man, Next, Knowing, Bangkok Dangerous, World Trade Center or Ghost Rider. The trailer for his newest film, however, doesn’t look half bad — even if it is a remake.

Bad Lieutenant is a remake of the 1992 film starring Harvey Keitel about a cop who walks the line of moral and amoral, drinking and gambling along the way. The idea may feel a bit beaten to death for anybody who watched all 6 seasons of FX’s The Shield, but director Werner Herzog is pushing through regardless.

The script was adapted (or copy-and-pasted) by a veteran of the world of police drama, William Finkelstein, who’s writing credits date all the way back to 1990 with Cop Rock. This remake also changes the settings from New York City to a post-Katrina New Orleans, which opens itself up to a series of outdated references and plot points.

Joining Cage in the remake is Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Jennifer Coolidge, and Brad Dourif. Catch Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans in limited theaters in November. Until then, check out the first full trailer after the jump.

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Much to our dismay here at The Flickcast, Variety reports NBC has canceled Southland. The cop drama was set to start its second season October 23rd. Insiders say the dark nature of the show was a big factor in the cancellation.

Southland centered around Los Angeles and the members of the LAPD. The OC’s Ben Mackenzie played rookie Officer Ben Sherman, and while the first season only had a seven-episode run, the show made enough of an impression that NBC had renewed it, before its cancellation yesterday.

However, the show may have some hope. “I’m disappointed that NBC no longer has the time periods available to support the kind of critically acclaimed series that was for so many years a hallmark of their success,” said John Wells, the show’s creator. “We remain extremely proud of ‘Southland’ and are actively looking for another home for the series.”

NBC hopes to be able to air the six episodes already shot of season 2. In the meantime, the actors will remain under contract while the producers find the show a new home. With Southland out of the running and Dollhouse still hanging in the balance, we hope here at The Flickcast that all our favorite tv shows stay on the air for our viewing pleasure.

We’ve been following the game DJ Hero for some time now and are definitely looking forward to its release. As fans of other games like this, including the original Guitar Hero, Rock Band and the recent Beatles Rock Band which, yes, we purchased with all the extras, these games have certainly become a mainstay of our popular culture. Now, the wait is almost over as you can finally pre-order this must-have game right now from your favorite retailer.

But wait, there’s more. Not only can you now order the game, if you do you can get some extra cool stuff as well, depending upon where you order from. Want to know more? Of course you do.

Fortunately, the folks at Activision have provided all the info you could ever need right here in this handy press release.

Be the first to order the DJ Hero Renegade Edition Featuring JAY-Z and EMINEM and DJ Hero by heading to the following URL: http://www.djhero.com/buy. Those who pre-order DJ Hero from the below retailers will receive the following bonus items:

Amazon.com – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition from Amazon.com and get a $5 credit towards the music tracks that inspired the music for the game

Best Buy – Pre-order DJ Hero from Best Buy and receive a free code that unlocks a Daft Punk level

GameStop – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive two free playable song downloads

Guitar Hero Store – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive free two-day shipping

Hollywood/GameCrazy – Pre-order DJ Hero and receive an exclusive turntable slipmat

Walmart.com – Pre-order DJ Hero at Wal-Mart.com and receive a $10 electronic gift card

DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition ship to major retail outlets across North America on October 27th for Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and PS2.

Welcome to the new The Pull List Comic Reviews! We’ve expanded our weekly offering of comic reviews to a whopping 10 issues each week, so kick back, enjoy and let us know what caught your eye this week! Also, the prerequisite WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Daredevil #501 – Marvel Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Andy Diggle Artist: Roberto De La Torre
Score: 9.5

Following the events of Daredevil #500 and the Dark Reign – The List: Daredevil one-shot, Matt Murdock is now in control of The Hand. But what he doesn’t know is that other players are moving their chess pieces into position, and Matt doesn’t like surprises. Meanwhile, Foggy and Dakota try to figure out what Matt’s up to over a box of doughnuts.

Writer Andy Diggle has really amped up the playing field for Daredevil and his little corner of the Marvel Universe, so much so that you might not recognize your favorite horned-hero once you get to the end of this issue. Diggle has managed to dramatically shift the title character into new, uncharted territory, and admittedly it’s a great ride. Sacrifices aside, this is definitely not your daddy’s Daredevil…

I think one of the keys to making a Daredevil story great is the choice of artist. Many artists have come and gone with a few making significant contributions to the character – Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Mack and Alex Maleev come to mind – so it’s no wonder that artist Roberto De La Torre fits right in with some really beautiful work. This could be the run that puts him firmly in the public’s eye.

Overall, a near-perfect issue that’s also suited for newcomers to jump on board. Even if you missed the aforementioned issues leading into this new arc, do yourself a favor and enjoy what most people will be talking about this week.

OTHER PULLS:

Astonishing X-Men #31 – Marvel Comics – $2.99 US
Writer: Warren Ellis Artist: Phil Jimenez
Score: 9.0

When S.W.O.R.D. Agent Abigail Brand has a run-in with The Brood, narrowly escapes and is on a collision course for San Francisco, who’re you going to call? That’s right, the Astonishing X-Men! Naturally, Abby’s boyfriend Beast jumps at the rescue mission to save his sweety, but what really raises eyebrows here is the return of Laurie Collins, also known as Wallflower. Not all is how it seems, however…

Superstar writer Warren Ellis has proven that he’s not perfect, if the last arc is any indication. He’s not a superstar for the hell of it, though, as he bounces back in a big way with this first installment. Full of action and those X-Men moments we know and love, this issue’s got everything we could possibly want. But how does new-to-the-title artist Phil Jimenez compare to the previous arc’s Simone Bianchi? It’s a step up, no question about that. Jimenez’ art is dynamic in every sense of the word, which makes it a no-brainer for this title, especially if Ellis continues to make this story as fun as the first chapter was.

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It should come as no surprise that fans of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse have, due to the show’s sagging ratings, already started a “Save Dollhouse” campaign. Complete with a shiny website, the plan is to keep the low rated show going strong on Fox for as long as possible by spreading the love and making people aware of the show and how good it is.

Of course, we’re big fans of the show here at The Flickcast and hope it goes on for a long time. However, in the past these campaigns have rarely seemed to work, with some notable exceptions like when fans sent pounds of nuts to CBS in an attempt to save Jericho. Sadly, most of the time these decisions are driven by pure economics. Is the time slot on the network making enough advertising money for the network to justify having that particular program occupy that time slot?

If the answer is yes, the program most likely can stay where it is. If the answer is no and reruns of some other show or a thrilling reality program would be more profitable in that time slot, chances are your favorite show is gonna get the axe — even if the network honchos happen to like the show and/or its creators. Like the old saying goes: “It’s not show friends, its show business.” Hopefully, this campaign will help save one of our favorite shows. Do your part and help spread the word.