Sure to start up a storm of controversy, this film from co-director/co-writer Ricky Gervais is a biting social satire wrapped up in the trappings of a cute little romantic comedy.  It pushes boundaries, and is tremendously bold. The story takes place in an alternate realty where lying does not exist. A blind date between the beautiful Anna (cute as a button Jennifer Garner) and schlubby  screenplay writer Mark (Ricky Gervais) sets up the premise of the movie nicely.

When he rings the doorbell, she arrives flustered, proclaiming that she has been masturbating.  This causes him to blurt out that he is now thinking about her vagina. When they get to the restaurant, a waiter (Martin Starr) greets them with “I’m embarrassed I work here” and later, while delivering a drink, he confesses, ” oh I had  a little sip of this.” Mark immediately tells Anna that he has no net worth and will probably be getting fired soon. She informs him that there is no chance of them having a relationship because he has no money, no social stature, and she fears they would have fat children.

The following day, Mark is fired, and on his way out of the office, everyone is sure to let him know how much they disliked him. It is a sad scene of petty and cruel behavior, and it lays the groundwork for the concept that honesty is not always the best policy. The down-on-his-luck, soon to be evicted Mark has a personal Jesus moment when he is at the bank, and realizes that he can just lie about his account balance. The teller naturally believes him, and assumes their computer must have made an error.

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Granted, most of us here at The Flickcast probably don’t watch Conan O’ Brien and The Tonight Show as often as we should. He’s a funny, talented guy that deserves all the success he has. Unfortunately, time is a precious commodity these days so when I, for example, have time to watch something, its usually more along the lines of a show like Fringe, Dollhouse, Mad Men or Sons of Anarchy. Still, that doesn’t mean we aren’t fans of Conan or his show, especially when he has great guests like the super talented and funny Seth MacFarlane and the politically irreverent Michael Moore .

Recently, Conan had both of these guys on his show and both of them proved to be quite entertaining. As usual, Michael Moore provided several interesting points and managed to crack up the audience a bit with his take on life in post-Bush America. Plus, if his latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, is any indication of how things are, we really need to rethink some things around here.

Next, Conan had on a guest who many, including myself, consider to be one of the true geniuses working in show business today. I’m talking, of course, about Seth MacFarlane. His shows, especially the terrific Family Guy, prove his humor and talent week in and week out. He’s a truly gifted performer. Plus, he’s just so damn funny in person as well.

Check out video clips of both of these guys after the jump. The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brian airs weekdays at 11:30P/12:30C on NBC.

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In what was undoubtedly not very surprising news, Michael Bay has confirmed on his website that there will, indeed, be a Transformers 3. Not only that, the film will hit theaters earlier than its rumored release of July 1, 2012 and will, in fact, be coming to a multiplex near you in 2011, a full year earlier. But wait, there’s even more — and this, while not entirely surprising, is a bit unexpected.

Not only will there be a Transformers 3 and it will be coming out a year earlier than expected, Bay also confirmed that franchise star Megan Fox will be in the third film as well. Given the seemingly hostile nature of their recent public spat, it appears Bay at least has decided to live and let live. I’m sure the many millions of dollars the franchise has made had nothing to do with it.

Bay wrote on his website that he met with ILM in San Francisco Thursday morning, followed by a flight to Rhode Island with Kruger to meet with Hasbro about new characters. “Well, it’s official: We have a great ‘Transformers 3′ story,” Bay said on his site. “Today is Day One.” This point is not better illustrated by the countdown clock now running at Bay’s site. As of today, it shows 636 days until Transformers 3 hits theaters. So, start planning accordingly.

Even though Bay has publicly confirmed Fox’s involvement in the third film, the beautiful star herself has not, as yet, commented. In addition, Shia LaBeouf was not mentioned by Bay at all, so there’s no confirmation on if he will be in the third film along with Fox. Although, according to other sources, both Fox and LaBeouf are slated to return, as is Exec. Producer Steven Spielberg and co-writer Ehren Kruger. So, we can probably expect announcements from Fox and LaBeouf’s people soon.

Transformers 3: The Blatant Grab for Cash hits theaters on July 1, 2011.

Director Rian Johnson hit it out of the park with his first film Brick (2005), a small, quirky indie film with a grade-A cast and some amazing style. The Brothers Bloom looked just as good, but unfortunately had a small run and I was unable to see it in theaters.

The film centers around two brothers, Stephen and Bloom, who after being orphaned and shuffled between various foster homes, become con men to make it in the world. They’re rather good at it, but after having made a name for themselves, Bloom decides he wants out. The two brothers, along with their sidekick and explosives specialist Bang-Bang, plan the perfect con to go out on: showing a reclusive but beautiful heiress, Penelope, a good time on a  journey across the globe. Problem is, Bloom can’t con a woman without falling in love in the process.

This film’s story makes it stand out. Because it’s a movie about con men, it’s hard to know when to trust what’s going on as the absolute truth. The movie will trick you, but that’s what makes it great to watch for the first time. You’ll be guessing the brothers, especially Stephen, at every turn.

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After her appearance Kitty Pryde in 1989s X-Men: The Last Stand, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Ellen Page returned to the world of superheroes. During an interview to promote her latest flick, Whip It, Page revealed exclusively to MTV that she has signed on to play Rainn Wilson’s sidekick in the upcoming comedy, Super.

As Page explains, Super is about a “character (Wilson) whose ex-girlfriend gets into a sticky situation and he becomes a superhero, essentially, to solve the problem. I play a slightly eccentric girl who works at a comic book store who really wants to be his sidekick.”

So, what should fans expect from said sidekick, especially one of Page’s caliber? A tricked out motorcycle? Kung Fu moves? Witty repartee?

“Let’s just say there might be some skintight yellow suits,” she revealed. “I don’t know for sure. Who knows what will happen?”

The mention of Page being a caped crusader resulted in some laughter, but it doesn’t sound like it’s totally out of the question.

“I don’t know, okay? I have to figure that out first,” she explained. “I have to go deep inside. But, it’s gonna be really fun. I think it will be really rad”

Super will be written and directed by someone who isn’t a stranger to the world of capes and mysteries. James Gunn wrote 2000′s The Specials about a band of rag-tag superheroes, as well as the first two Scooby Doo live-action films. Live Tyler also joins the cast.

Part monster movie, part buddy road comedy with a dash of romance thrown in, Zombieland manages to deliver on pretty much every level. Featuring terrific performances by the entire cast, including Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, this film is able to deliver genuine laughs, genuine scares and genuine entertainment for its entire running time. Its a solid piece of filmmaking by director Ruben Fleischer, and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, that should definitely find an audience.

The premise of the film is, as it should be, relatively simple. The world as we know it has come to an end due to some unspecified reason and the dead are now walking the earth. In this world we first meet Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) who, being the introverted, Mountain Dew drinking, pseudo-loser he is, has managed to stay alive due to his nature and adherence to rules he’s come up with as a new citizen of Zombieland. His rules, such as “Cardio Good, Bathrooms Bad, Always shoot zombies twice, etc.” and his loner, anti-social nature have served him well and enabled him to survive.

So, its somewhat against his better judgment that he decides to team up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) on a road trip to find out if any of his family might still be alive in, you guessed it, Columbus. In case you’re wondering, the names characters call each other in Z-land are where they’re from and not their actual names. Better to not develop real ties with anyone seeing as how they might be eaten by zombies at any moment. This provides a bit of insight into the characters and also a bit of humor as well.

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Fans who have been waiting to see if Seth Rogen can really deliver as a masked crusader are one step closer to either breathing a sigh or relief, or eating their proverbial hats. Some brand new set pics have surfaced showing off Rogen taking on the role of Britt Reid’s alter ego, and by the looks of them, he may be emerging as a true pulp hero. While these aren’t the first pics we’ve seen from the film’s set, they are the first we’ve seen of Rogen in the domino mask and fedora.

Written by Rogen and partner Evan Goldberg (Superbad) with Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) sitting in the directors chair. The Green Hornet follows the adventures of Britt Reid, newspaper publisher by day, masked superhero by night, and his sidekick Kato (Jay Chou). Starring alongside Rogen is Edward James Olmos, Cameron Diaz, and Christoph Waltz.

Since the movie doesn’t hit theaters until December 17, 2010, we’ll be seeing plenty more where these came from. In the meantime, check out the brand new, action-packed images of both Rogen and Chou running around in costume after the jump!

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Before all you Billy Zane fans out there start drooling, know that this isn’t your mom and pop’s Phantom. This Phantom has cool guns, and sunglasses, and a hoodie! The premise follows Chris Moore (Ryan Carnes), who learns that he’s a part of a long line of jungle crime fighters who have sworn to protect the world from evil.

The show has a bit of a Smallville feel to it, with a few light nods to the original costume, but establishing itself as a newer, “hipper” entity.  There are a few modern elements thrown in, such as secret agencies and terrorist factions. Also, you can expect to see lots of purple in the show, which is great if you are hoping the color will make a comeback in the fashion world.

Star Carnes is no stranger to the world of Sci-Fi TV, as he starred in two episodes of the BBC’s Doctor Who. Alongside Carnes is Alias’ Isabella Rossellini (who is totally not crazy) and Sons of Anarchy’s Cameron Goodman.

Check out the first trailer for the new SyFy series after the jump, and stay tuned as we get closer to 2010 for more on the air date.

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Not many know this, but PBS’s Sesame Street has aired 4,186 episodes since it’s debut in 1969, making it one of the longest running shows since the news, and THE longest running show with Muppets. In that time, there have been some pretty impressive cameos and references from Will Arnett to President Obama.

In the past few years, the educational series has been aiming it’s programming not only at their desired child demographic, but their parents as well. With last year’s Elmo’s Christmas Countdown special, Ben Stiller hosted, with special appearances by Paulie from The Sopranos and more.

It looks like even the non-specials are getting the same cross-age treatment, as a recent episode had a parody of the hit AMC series Mad Men. The skit was obviously written for the literal jokes, (“We are MAD men!”), but there are a few funny moments, including how they worked the word “sycophants” into the script. Check it out after the jump.

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Roger Avery, the Oscar-winning writer of Pulp Fiction (A common misconception is that Tarantino wrote the entire film solo. He did not.) has been sentenced to a year in jail and five years propation. Sentenced in Ventura on Tuesday the charges were pretty serious:

“Avery, 44,  pleaded guilty in August to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges stemming from the January 2008 collision that killed his Italian friend Andreas Zini and injured Avary’s wife. The crash occurred in the city of Ojai, 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles.”

While best known for Pulp Fiction, Avery also wrote Silent Hill and the Robert Zemeckis’ version of Beowulf. No word yet on how this will impact his writing and directing duties on the film adaption of  popular video game Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The film was set for a 2010 release but will probably be delayed unless the studio decides to bring someone in to replace Avery.

Either way, here’s hoping this incident doesn’t undermine Wolfenstein completely because that could be a great movie. We’ll be sure to have more information on Avery’s sentence and what this could mean for the film as it develops in the future.

Pull of the Week:

Green Lantern #46 – DC – $2.99
Score: 7.5

As Blackest Night continues, as does the rest of the saga of Hal Jordan and the other Lantern Corps. This issue picks up immediately following the Indigo Lantern teleporting Hal away from the Flash in Blackest Night #3, Hal finds himself in the middle of the Star Sapphires battle with the Sinestro Corps as well as the Black Lanterns.

In the process of the attack from the Black Lanterns, the Star Sapphires must also worry about the threat of the Predator being released. Sharing the secret of how to destroy the Black Lanterns with Star Sapphire, Indigo-1 quickly transports away Hal, Sinestro and Star Sapphire as they try to gather bearers of the various lights. But to unite the various Corps, the split within the Sinestro Corps must be mended and only have one leader. Hal, Sinestro and Star Sapphire quickly realize that the Indigo Lantern has transported them to face off against Mongul, the Yellow Lantern who has tried usurping Sinestro’s power.

Green Lantern #46 is a great addition to the “Blackest Night” story. In many ways, it has a touch of the epic galactic storytelling that made War of Kings such a good story as well. The encounters of this book don’t just affect those on planet earth. This story is one that feels like it has the potential behind it to change everything. But even as this monstrously large storyline takes place, Geoff Johns makes sure to include some quality character building on top of the story. There are tons of callbacks to Sinestro’s past, especially focusing on Abin Sur, the Green Lantern who passed his ring on to Hal Jordan and had always spoke openly of the prophecies surrounding the Blackest Night.

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Last night in Austin at Fantastic Fest producer Jon Landau screened footage from Jim Cameron’s upcoming major motion picture Avatar. Having not managed to see the footage at Comic-Con in San Diego and having not made it to Avatar day either, I was obviously curious to see what all the fuss was about. So, with a packed house of over 200, I watched several scenes from the film. Some already screened and some never before shown.

Don’t worry, I won’t be doing a review of the film based on this footage — I’ll save that until I see the entire film. However, I will render a few opinions on the footage, characters, action and the 3-D process I did see. My opinion can be summed up in one word: interesting. I know that probably doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but if you’ve followed my opinion on 3-D on The Flickcast podcast or here at the site, you know I’m not really a fan of this 3-D resurgence.

That said, I can tell you that the 3-D of Avatar is probably the best I’ve ever seen. The effect is pretty seamless and Cameron obviously knows his way around the process. Some of the scenes on the planet Pandora, in particular one where Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as his Avatar has to tame a flying beast and bend its will so he can fly it, was outstanding. The sweeping vistas of Pandora, which would probably have looked great in 2-D, were made even more spectacular with the added third dimension.

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