Happy Holidays everyone, and just in time for those holidays there are some excellent comics coming out this week.

From DC Comics, we have the constantly-getting-better Detective Comics. I swear to God, this book just gets better and better with every issue. If you’re not buying this book than you are missing out on one the most groundbreaking comics of the year.

From Image, we have the line of Image United comics. With art by the founding fathers of Image and written by Robert Kirkman, this is sure to be a collector’s dream.

I’m most looking forward to the new issue of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four, I think this book is in my early running for Best Continuing Series, if I was allowed to vote for the Eisners. Dale Eaglesham is off for two issues but I’m sure that it won’t slow down the brilliant writing that Hickman is doing with the characters.

I’ll also be checking out the spoilerific Captain America: Who Will Wield The Shield book. Now that Steve Rogers is officially back, it’ll be intriguing to follow the reaction.

That’s all I’m getting this week. As always, we here at The Flickcast care about what you read so let us know what you liked/didn’t like in the comments. Otherwise, check out the complete list at Midtown Comics.

Have a Happy Holiday!

We just discussed the recently released trailer for Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and a host of other excellent actors, But, now Yahoo has the exclusive trailer for the international audience; and it shows far more Robin Hood-like action, and even the prerequisite shot of the camera being the arrow flying through the trees at a target.

Instead of a pounding “metal” tune backing up the images in the last trailer, this time it seems that the music for this trailer is from The Dark Knight, backed up with some added violins; and then some much more decidedly British-isle sounding music.

We also get a good smattering of dialogue, including the soon to be classic, “Are you ready to be, who you are?” There are glimpses of Marian in action, the Sheriff (Matthew MacFayden) yelling at someone, and the still engaging Max von Sydow giving his best Commissioner Gordon speech, or maybe he’s Alfred.

Despite the fact that I can’t see much of a difference between it and the trailers for Gladiator or even Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, I have to say I’m still interested in seeing what this film has in store for us. I’m not one of the people that claims Gladiator was deserving of it’s Best Picture Oscar in 2000, but I do think that it’s a pretty good flick. And I’d expect similar quality from these same filmmakers.

Check out the newest trailer for the film after the jump, and catch Russel Crowe’s Robin Hood on May 14th.

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In news that should have happened months ago, it seems that Comedy Central’s nightly, satiric look at current events is finally getting upgraded to HD starting on January 4. Not only will these be the first episodes shot in HD, but they will be the first episodes of the year, and the century.

No word on how this upgrade will effect the format of the show, if at all, but we do know that both shows will continue to keep us laughing into the new year.

Most recently, both shows have been nominated for a WGA TV award, which will put them head-to-head (and we know what happened last time).

With both shows doing well in ratings, getting nominated for awards, and getting the boost to HD, it’s no doubt that variety, or more specifically “comedy”, programming is still at it’s peak.

If you doubt that, you could always see Colbert rap with Alicia Keys in a spoof on “Empire State of MInd.”

By now, the likelihood that you’ve seen, or at least heard about the mega-review/breakdown of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is pretty certain. However, for those lucky few that have yet to enjoy it, here is the first video (of seven) that presents a meandering, yet quite funny, synopsis on everything wrong with the first of the three Star Wars prequels.

The filmmaker, who on his YouTube profile page, lists himself as Mike from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, uses his production company’s name, Red Letter Media, to provide a number of sci-fi movie reviews, fan-edits and original content (check out the ‘Dudebros.’ episodes for a laugh).

The review of Episode I has made it’s way into just about every corner of the internet; and I’m sure before it received the backlash that all these meme’s get, enjoy it for the fun that it is. Also, it should be noted that the videos are probably best considered NSFW, and if you care, “spoiler-ific”.

Check out one of seven after the jump, with a list of links if you so choose to continue on.

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The marketing for April’s Kick-Ass has been in full force as of late. Since the release of the trailer over a month ago, the posters have been rolling out on a regular basis, with a new twist to the marketing plan. That new angle is giving focus to each of the other crime fighters in the film, who may or may not actually be all that good.

This is an interesting take on the film, seeing as how the titular character, Kick-Ass, is the main protagonist in the original comic series by Mark Millar. Either way, in the newest red band trailer, we get a few new scenes with Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, Nic Cage as Big Daddy, and of course Aaron Johnson.

Check out the new NSFW trailer after the jump, which only makes this movie look even better, and expect to see more new footage from Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass before it hits theaters on April 16.

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Hollyscoop has reported on a rumor going around that 2009 Grammy winner Taylor Swift is in talks to put on the blue and red costume in an upcoming remake/reboot of the 1984 film Supergirl, that once starred Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway. Their sources say that Warner Bros. is looking to create a new film, and/or possibly a TV series, for the character, despite the original film being a financial failure.

Since this is merely a rumor as of now, the more interesting part was what the source’s said about the scarcity of female superheroes at the moment, “Hollywood is short of female heroes and the time is right for a new Supergirl.” This part seems logical enough – despite the mandate from a couple years ago when studio head Jeff Rubinox supposedly said, “Warner Bros. will no longer feature movies with female leads.”

This comes after a number of financial flops featuring some of the biggest female names in acting (Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, and Hilary Swank all from 2007 in The Brave One, The Invasion, and The Reaping, respectively). However, this may be shown to be false by the number of movies released since 2007 with leads that are women, such as Sex in the City, Whiteout, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 along with the 2011 Zack Snyder film, Sucker Punch and the Sex in the City sequel. So take that as you will.

Taylor Swift, who will next be appearing in February’s Valentine’s Day (along with most of Hollywood), has only other acting credit to date; an episode of CBS’s CSI. What do you think about the idea of a new Supergirl movie, and/or with Taylor Swift in the role?

Jonah Hill (Funny People, Superbad) who has been working on an update of the 80′s television show 21 Jump Street for Sony, has announced that the movie is in negotiations to sign it’s directors. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who directed September’s Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, are potentially signing on, according to the Hollywood Reporter blog.

For the duo, who have also written for shows How I Met Your Mother, created MTV’s Clone High and Extreme Movie, this will mark their first time directing a live-action feature. Fans of Clone High may also remember Lord as the voice of the deranged Principal Scudworth.

The new version of the undercover teenagers high school drama, as described by Hill in Complex Magazine, will be “an R-rated, insane, Bad-Boys-meets-John Hughes-type movie.” With Hill executive producing and probably starring, along with writer Michael Bacall, currently on the upcoming Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, directed by Edgar Wright.

Hill has also gone on record saying that there is room for Johnny Depp to make a return, if he wants. This sounds like a pretty interesting project, but all I want to know is if they’re going to get Holly Robinson (Peete) back.

Just because this week is Christmas doesn’t mean everyone is on vacation. Case in point, your friendly neighborhood folks at Marvel Comics who’ve got some great comics for you coming out this week, just in time for your last minute shopping needs.

This week we’re particularly interested in the Captain America Reborn: Who Will Wield the Shield, the latest Punisher Max, a new New Avengers and the latest Secret Warriors. As always, be sure to check out cover art for some of these books after the break. Happy holidays!

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #611 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #612 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (GNTLT)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #616 (GNTLT)
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #31 (S)
BLACK WIDOW & THE MARVEL GIRLS #2
CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN: WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIELD?
CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN: WHO WILL WIELD THE SHIELD? DAVIS VARIANT
CRIMINAL: THE SINNERS #3
DARK AVENGERS: ARES #3

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Sometimes Hollywood’s Cinderella stories come from behind the camera instead of what we actually see up on the big screen. Take a look at Tarantino’s rise from working at a video store to directing such classics as Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. Now, a virtual unknown named Fede Alvarez looks to make a similar impact because of a video he put on YouTube.

No, it’s not a video of Afro Ninja or the Star Wars kid. Instead, Fede produced a four minute short film of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital being destroyed by a robotic invasion. The amazing part of this short is that it only cost him about $300. Fede told the BBC, “I uploaded ‘Ataque de Panico!’ on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of emails from Hollywood studios.” After a bidding war, Fede settled on signing with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures for a reported $30,000,000 deal.

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Not many people know director James Gunn by name, but most can pick his work out of a lineup. He’s had a pretty eclectic career behind the camera. He got his start working with the people such as Lloyd Kaufman and his Troma bunch.

From there, Gunn went on to write such films as Scooby-Doo, Dawn of the Dead, and most recently, Slither starring fan favorite Nathan Fillion. Gunn has always had an outspoken love of the superhero and comic book genre, especially with his superhero spoof film The Specials starring Rob Lowe back in 2000.

It looks like Gunn is at it again, with his newest project, Super, starring Rainn Wilson (The Office), as an everyday guy who is thrust into a extraordinary situation. The film is set to star Liv Tyler and Ellen Paige alongside Wilson.

It has now been announced that Kevin Bacon will be joining the cast, playing the super villain to Wilson’s super hero. From Screen Daily:

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With 2009 coming to a close, the challenge was to pick and rank the 10 best comics from the entire year. I’ve estimated reading approximately 1,500+ issues over that time frame, so obviously it wasn’t the easiest task to complete. Still, after much deliberation, these are my picks for the 10 best comics of 2009.

1. Jonah Hex #50
DC Comics
Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Originally reviewed on December 3, 2009

Perfection. Defined as the highest degree of proficiency, skill or excellence, perfection is near impossible to achieve, especially when every comic ever printed is subjective in nature. You know, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that jazz. Still, when I thought about all the comics I’ve read this past year, this issue of Jonah Hex kept coming back to me. While not perfect (frankly, what is?), it’s pretty close.

A wonderful done-in-one tale following our “hero” as he diligently goes about his day job, in this specific case while hunting down 50 various bad guys who had it coming to them. A fine story on it’s own. Now add a dash of romance – or the bounty hunter’s version of it – to the mix, sprinkle in a little personal vengeance, and top it off with a jolting reminder of how cruel life can be, and you’re left with a portrait of a man who makes no excuses for who he is or what he does, life expectations be damned.

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As expected, James Cameron’s epic 3-D adventure Avatar easily won the weekend with over $73 Million. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but it is hardly the type of money that studio dreams are made of. Take into account that the number is slightly inflated because IMAX tickets cost more than regular tickets, and you come out with a good, but not great, weekend.  The movie didn’t break any records, and came in under many projections.

There is some conjecture that a winter storm that blanketed the East coast might have had a deleterious affect on ticket sales.  Worldwide, the film fared better, and hauled in over $232 Million. The film is enjoying great word of mouth, and received a solid “A” cinemascore  .

Other than that, the weekend before Christmas was silent.  Disney’s holdover The Princess and the Frog dropped 50%, and managed an okay $12 Million, and yep, there was the ever reliable The Blind Side in the number three spot.

Audiences did not want to hear about the Morgans, so the Hugh Grant/Sarah Jessica vehicle Did You Hear About The Morgans? limped in at $7 Million.  The Twilight Saga: New Moon rounded out the top five.

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