Let’s face the facts: if you’ve already jumped off the Michael Cera bandwagon, this movie will probably not prompt you to jump back on. However, if you’re still straddling the fence, you might be pleased to see that his character in Youth in Revolt is a natural progression for Cera. It is not a full disengagement from the characteristics that made him so endearing to begin with, but it adds a welcome new layer.

Youth in Revolt is based on the first book in a series by C.D. Payne, published in 1993. Touted as a relatable new voice for teenagers, the book’s protagonist Nick Twisp became a popular “Holden Caulfield” type for their generation.

Nick is an old soul in a teenager’s body, preferring French cinema and the crooning of Frank Sinatra to typical high school shenanigans. Consequently, he has few friends, and in lieu of any actual relationships with girls, he studies a well-worn sex manual, bracing himself for the fateful day when sex might become a reality.

As is typical of most teenage comedies, the adults in Nick’s life are a bunch of buffoons. His trashy but well meaning mother (Jean Smart) has a loser boyfriend, Jerry (Zach Galifianakis), who lives with them. She spends her days in bathrobes and negligees, sporting a different fake hairpiece every day, while Jerry wears a “three-wolf moon t-shirt” without a trace of irony, making them a trailer park couple of dazzling mediocrity.

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The subject of vampires seems to be all the rage these days. Between the overwhelming success of Twilight and even the sweeping of yesterday’s People’s Choice Awards in the favor of all things vampire, they are a pretty sure thing these days. Hoping to continue in that success would be the folks involved in Daybreakers, which hits theaters today.

We recently got a chance to sit down with veteran actor Sam Neill (Jurrasic Park, Merlin) about his role and the film in general. While most people would consider this film a horror, Neill’s take is a bit different.

According to Neill, the film is “best described as a futuristic sci-fi thriller about an upside down vampire world. A lot of the vampire stuff that we’ve seen lately, their always the moody, pale-faced outsiders. In this film, everyone is a vampire, and the humans are a diminishing species, and more of a resource.

Of course, in a vampire world, you need lots of blood to keep everybody alive [laughs]. And since there are fewer and fewer humans available for hunting and bloodfarming, it becomes a bit uncomfortable for them.”

The Flickcast: You were pretty excited when this project was first offered to you. What was the appeal here?

Sam Neill: Well, I’ve played a lot of different characters but to play someone who is so evil and demented is not something you get asked to do a lot. I’ve had a blast, and I haven’t really enjoyed myself on a film in quite some time.

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I think at this point Hulu has almost become as incorporated into modern life as Netflix, at least for many people. Recently, charts and statistics were released comparing it to 2009′s biggest blockbusters, and the breakdown of revenues and investors for the site. The charts enlighten us on audience numbers, grosses on opening weekends, and the amount of growth Hulu has seen since it was founded in March of 2007.

While the comparison doesn’t really seem to hold up, (perhaps, it would be better to see it compared to other online content portals, television networks, or possibly even cable providers) it is very interesting to see how Hulu is configured as well as some of the numbers they’ve pulled. With conversations and rumors percolating as to if (or when) the site will move to a subscription service, these numbers should show that the site is doing well enough as-is.

Until then, check out these very nice looking graphics after the break, which were created by the marketing firm Buzzpoint. and let us know what you think of Hulu possibly charging for their content.

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As they say out in the world, get it while its hot. This brand new trailer for Joe Carahan’s upcoming reboot of The A-Team can’t last long so be sure to check it out after the jump. In case you’re not familiar, the film features Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and “Rampage” Jackson as a team of mercenaries convicted of a crime they didn’t commit who now fight for the little guy (or girl) while hiding out in the Los Angeles underground.

We really love this cast, although Rampage Jackson seems to not have much of a sense of humor — much like his character should probably be. The trailer also features a voiceover narration nearly identical to the TV show’s (which is pretty cool), and the action is what you’d expect until the end when it kinda goes too far when a parachuting tank shoots down an airplane. Hey, that could happen, right? But all is pretty much saved, at least for me, with the tag line “There is no plan B.” Nice.

Anyway, check it out and judge for yourself. But hurry.

Update: As we said, the video went fast and is now gone. Look for the “official” one to be released shortly.

Update 2: And now the trailer is “officially” out and if you click through you can see it.

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We’ve been following NBC’s freshmen drama Mercy a bit here at the site and so far, it seems to be doing pretty well and has not been canceled — at least so far. With an interesting premise and a cast that includes relative newcomer Taylor Shilling and Buffy alum Michelle Trachtenberg, the show continues to be one of the surprises of the season and will hopefully last until season two.

In contrast to Mercy, Law & Order: SVU is not a freshmen show and is still going strong after several seasons. Both shows returned to the air this week after the holiday break. In case you missed the premiere of these shows, or even if you saw them and still want to relive the magic, we’ve got lots of video for you today — courtesy of our pals at NBC.

In addition to the recaps, we’ve also got previews of upcoming episodes of both shows featuring guest appearances by The Soprano‘s Michael Imperioli, Lost‘s Naveen Andrews and Studio 60‘s Sarah Paulson.

Check out all the clips and interviews from both shows after the break.

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While the fans have been bouncing off the walls waiting for a glimpse of his newest film, director Edgar Wright has kept things pretty quiet concerning Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (though his production blog may make you think otherwise). Recently, we all got a bit closer to seeing some great action, as the very first image of the film got released, showing off the titular Pilgrim (Michael Cera) with a flaming katana.

The film, for those unaware, is based on the series of comics by Bryan Lee O’Malley about a guy who meets the girl of his dreams, literally. Things get a bit ridiculous from there, so I’ll let the official synopsis from Universal tell the rest.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass–and now is back in town–to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy.

He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

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Only a day after being announced as writers for the upcoming Deadpool movie, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have gotten yet another gig as the writers for the sequel to another summer movie franchise: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Taking over from the guys who had written the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and giving it to the team that brought us Zombieland, is I think a step in the right direction.

All of the main cast from the first film are contracted to return for sequels, with director Steven Sommers being the possible hold out. But, with the promise of this new writing team, hopefully the next GI Joe film can add more story to go with the anticipated amount of destruction.

The Rise of Cobra, now available on DVD, cost a reported $170 million and has so far brought in just over $300 million worldwide. But with a Rotten Tomatoes score of about 36%, it’s really got no place to go but up.

We’re all pretty excited about the upcoming 8th season of Fox’s 24 next Sunday. We broke the very first trailer back in October, took you behind the scenes earlier this week, and now we’ve got some more goodies to get you excited for Jack Bauer and his upcoming adventures.

A few new clips have recently become available, showing off mostly Keifer Sutherland as Bauer, transporting an informant that may have details on an upcoming assassination attempt. Fans of FX’s The Shield may recognize Jack’s informant, as well.

There aren’t many details about how this season’s “day” will unfold, but we do know that Jack has retired; Kim has a daughter;They both live in New York City, and CTU has been completely revamped, with the addition of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Katee Sackhoff to the team.

Check out the clips after the jump, and catch the action as the eighth season of 24 kicks off on January 17, only on FOX.

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Jay Baruchel has got quite a lot going for him lately. He gets to run along a crazed Nic Cage while he does in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and now he gets to play the not-so-good-looking guy in a romantic comedy called She’s Out of My League.

Leaning towards more “comedy” than “romantic,” the story takes the convention of “Average boy meets hot girl” and throws it on it’s head. Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) plays Kirk, an average Joe who happens across Molly, played by Alice Eve (Big Nothing, Starter for 10). They end up dating, and Kirk has no idea what to do with himself.

The plot doesn’t sound all that inspired (Hello, Knocked Up), but the trailer does it a bit more justice, showing off some of today’s up-and-coming character actors in the comedy world. Nate Torrence (Get Smart’s Bruce And Lloyd Out of Control), T.J. Miller (Cloverfield) and a few others join Baruchel and Eve.

Check out the trailer for She’s Out of My League after the jump, which hits theaters on March 12th.

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In the 1990′s, a pair of French directors brought us two fantastical movies unlike anything I had ever seen before. Delicatessen (1991) and La cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children, 1995) were wildly imaginative, twisted, and haunting, but they were also quite beautiful. Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet packed their movies with so many visual delights that repeated viewings were necessary to absorb even a fraction of them. I forgot how much I loved those films. . . until now.

Watching Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I experienced the same awe and wonderment that those French films evoked in me. Imaginarium is like a grown up version of The Wizard of Oz, painted liberally by the storytelling brush of  the Grimm brothers. It’s dark and twisty, colorful and lovely all at the same time.

Mainstream audiences might recognize some of Gilliam’s work (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Twelve Monkeys, Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but this film will probably not garner him any new fans, it is just too bizarre. The Gilliam loyalist, however, will be richly rewarded by this visual masterpiece. Before I continue, just a warning that this review contains mild spoilers.

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The Directors Guild of America announced the nominations for its 62nd annual awards today with Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, James Cameron for Avatar, Lee Daniels for Precious, Jason Reitman for Up in the Air and Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds all as nominees for its top feature directing award.

The DGA will reveal the winner Jan. 30 at an awards gala at the Century Plaza Hotel based on voting by its 14,000 members. Cameron won the DGA trophy in 1997 for Titanic and Tarantino was nominated in 1994 for Pulp Fiction. Bigelow, Daniels and Reitman are first-time nominees.

The DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has matched the Best Director Academy Award in all but six years since 1948 including last year when Danny Boyle won both trophies for Slumdog Millionaire.

Welcome to the first edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews for 2010! This week both Blackest Night and Siege took center stage with numerous titles, but don’t worry as the Caped Crusader and the Wall Crawler make appearances, too. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Blackest Night #6 [of 8]
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
Score: 9/10

When we last saw our heroes, well… let’s just say that some of them were no longer heroes. As black rings zoomed towards the Flash and Green Lantern, their friends and allies who had suddenly switched sides surrounded them. Superman. Wonder Woman. Green Arrow. And so on. With the universe slipping precariously into a never-ending pool of black, a new group of Lanterns have risen to the cause, and you won’t believe your eyes when you see who they are.

I’m starting to think that Geoff Johns should have been a major league pitcher as opposed to a writer, just with the sheer number of curve balls he’s thrown at readers throughout this series so far. Clearly outdoing himself, Johns put together a new group of Lanterns consisting of some of the most inspiring choices to date. The story beats keep pumping along, making the rapidly approaching ending all the more bittersweet.

Artist Ivan Reis continues to weave his magic in this series. Classic speedster moments? Check. Glorious double-page spreads? You bet. Jaw-dropping panels for significant moments? Of course! All this, and a slew of costume re-designs for the new Lanterns, just in case you didn’t know that Reis is drawing at a level that’s almost peerless. The art in this issue, and the series overall, can be summed up in one word: unparalleled.

The fifth installment of this mini-series received a Pull of the Week and a spot on the Best of 2009 list, so I wasn’t expecting an encore performance with this latest chapter. Shame on me. Both Johns and Reis raise the bar once again, and let the record show that, if this upward trend continues, I might not survive the series in its entirety. For sheer comic brilliance – and Lex Luthor! – this was easily the Pull of the Week.

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