It’s debatable, but many say that John C Reilly is one of the funniest working actors today. His range from such films as Chicago and Magnolia to Step Brothers or his recurring role as Dr. Steve Brule on Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! proves that the man has the chops to pull off just about any role — as long as that role can be a middle-aged man with curly hair.

He’s now taking on something else humorous, with a bit of a darker tone: the Duplass Brothers’ Cyrus. The film is about a rundown guy who meets and falls for an attractive older woman, played by the new indie queen Marisa Tomei. Things are going well until he finds that she’s got a 30 year old son, played by Jonah Hill.

The synopsis reads like a different take on Step Brothers, but after watching the trailer, you can be assured that this film actually has a script, rather than Ferrell and Reilly riffing off of each other for 90 minutes. It also sounds a bit like science fiction, if we are to believe that Marisa Tomei birthed Jonah Hill, but we can suspend disbelief for this one.

The film is currently screening at Sundance and turning quite a lot of heads. Check out the official trailer after the jump, and we’ll be sure to have more on a release date and distributor as they happen.

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In the first installment of TV Digest: Canceled, I talked about shows such as Moonlight, Jerico and Studio 60 that were gone too soon. This time I’ve got more shows that were canceled way before their time, and are a testament to both how amazing television can be but also how nearsighted executives can be when making the decision to cancel a show.

While these shows may no longer grace our television sets with shiny, fresh new episodes, they live on in our hearts and on our DVD shelves. These are what I consider to be the most beloved canceled TV shows of our time.

Arrested Development

Produced by brilliant filmmaker Ron Howard and starring a slew of incredible actors, Arrested Development ran for three seasons from 2003-2006. Shot in a documentary style fashion, like The Office, the show is about the wealthy but seriously crazy Bluth family after their father gets arrested and their company faces bankruptcy.

Oldest son Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the glue that holds everyone together while siblings Gob (Will Arnett), Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) and her husband Tobias (David Cross), and Buster (Tony Hale) do their best to make a mess of things. I really can’t say enough about how good this show was.

Other than the incredible casting, this show has some of the best writing and comedic timing I’ve ever seen on television. I have watched all three seasons multiple times and I can watch an episode now and still find something brand new to laugh about, because of how well the writers reference old jokes and spin new ones in their wake.

But the show also can have these incredibly heartfelt moments, in between the insanity, that remind us how important it is to be a family despite how much money you have in the bank. And as the economy continues its slump, this crazy family in the midst of financial turmoil is looking far less eccentric and just plain average. As this show ages it becomes more and more relevant, and it becomes clearer and clearer just how great it is.

Despite all that, as well as numerous Emmy nominations and wins, the show was canceled. Luckily we’ll see more of the Bluth family soon, in a feature length movie that begins shooting this year.

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We’ve been following this one closely here at The Flickcast because we’re big fans of Hulu and think it’s a great way to watch TV shows and movies you missed when they originally aired or to discover new shows. The service has many things going for it but one of its main attractions is that, at the moment, its free. You only have to watch a few commercials during a normal episode of a TV program, for example, and other than that, the service costs you nothing.

As we’ve discussed before, that may change in the near future. And now, Hulu is talking about yet another pricing model: charging users to watch episodes of 30 Rock, Modern Family and House. The move would mark a significant change for the site, which was launched nearly two years ago by a group of studios to distribute TV shows and movies via the Internet without charge.

According to reports, Hulu has spent the last several months trying to figure out how to balance what users expect to see for free with what they would be willing to pay for. Another plan being considered would allow users to view the five most recent episodes of TV shows for free but would require a subscription of $4.99 a month to watch older episodes.

Hulu believes it will need at least 20 TV series — both current ones and those no longer on the air — to make such a pay service attractive to users. A firm pricing model could emerge within six months. Well, at least they seem to be taking their time to figure out the right way to screw serve us.

There are lots of puns that could be mined from the title, but the truth is, Extraordinary Measures is a movie that is much better suited to the small screen. It is a mediocre film at best, but I suppose some people might be find its story of triumph over insurmountable odds moving. The crowd I saw the film with seemed to enjoy it a lot more than I did.

The film is loosely based on the book The Cure, by Geeta Anand, which chronicles the true story of the Crowley family and their battle with pompe disease (a neuromuscular disorder related to muscular dystrophy). It follows their race to find a treatment  before two of their three children die from the disease. Having one child with this horrible disease is horrible enough, having two is incomprehensible.

Brendan Fraser plays John Crowley, a father who risks his job, his family , and his sanity on a desperate gamble to find a treatment.  Late nights spent poring over the Internet eventually lead him to a renegade scientist, Robert Stonewell (Harrison Ford).

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This season of Chuck has had more action-packed, guest-filled episodes than the previous seasons combined, and there’s no way that could have happened without the relentless support from the fans. Each of us should give ourselves a huge pat on the back when we enjoy each new episode, as it was our doing that it’s even on the air. With that in mind, next week’s episode, “Chuck vs. First Class” looks to be a good one.

Last week, we got such names as Superman Returns star Brandon Routh and Angie Harmon. This week, things get more interesting as Smallville’s Kristen Kreuk and WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin join in while Chuck racks up his frequent flier miles. From NBC:

CIA agent Daniel Shaw (guest star Brandon Routh) assigns Chuck (Zachary Levi) to his first solo mission in Paris, ignoring Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey’s (Adam Baldwin) wishes. During the flight to France, Chuck befriends Hannah (guest star Kristin Kreuk) and flashes on another passenger – the imposing Hugo Panzer (guest star Stone Cold Steve Austin). Meanwhile, Casey helps Morgan (Joshua Gomez) battle Jeff and Lester for control of the Buy More.

Check out four brand-new clips from next week’s episode after the jump, and be sure to catch “Chuck vs. First Class” next Monday on NBC.

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Last week, we got the fortunate opportunity to visit the set of NBC’s newest medical drama, Mercy. There, we got an official Q & A with the cast of the show, including stars Taylor Schilling, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jaime Lee Kirchner, James Tupper, Diego Klattenhoff, James Legros, Guillermo Diaz, and newly added cast member James Van Der Beek.

One of the stars we got to speak with in particular, Guillermo Diaz, stuck us as interesting. Diaz is best known for playing the bad guy in many roles, from Weeds to The Shield, to guest starring as the drug dealer in plenty of Law & Order or The Closer episodes.

Guillermo is now stepping out of his “bad guy” suit and into the role of the charitable male nurse, Angel. When we asked Diaz about his role change, he was even a bit surprised to be playing the good guy for once.

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I’ll admit it, when I worked at Barnes & Noble a few years ago, I used to read on the clock when there were no customers around and no books to put away. My favorite book that I read that year was a kid’s book called The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The story is about a boy who lives in a train station and stumbles upon a mysterious robot, which he labors tirelessly to repair.

The book is so magical, because it blends illustrations with an incredibly detailed story, and I could see it all in front of me as I read. I couldn’t help thinking just how great this book would translate to the screen. Better news couldn’t be coming out of that front, as Martin Scorsese has officially signed on to direct the adaptation for film.

The film is set to take place in 1930′s Paris, which is good considering how well Scorsese worked with period pieces such as The Aviator and Gangs of New York. The film is being fast-tracked for a June 1 production date, with such mega producers as Graham King (The Departed), Tim Headington (Edge of Darkness) and even Johnny Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil.

We can expect to see plenty more from the project, with productions starting up in 6 months. In the meantime, you can catch Martin Scorsese’s next film, Shutter Island in theaters on February 19th.

While most of the internet community got to bask in the glory which was the MacGruber red-band trailer earlier this week, some people wouldn’t mind it with a little less profanity, and a little more action. Luckily, the first official green-band trailer recently hit the net for all of those folks.

The new trailer doesn’t give us a whole lot more, with the exception of a few more great lines like “I was talking to the missile”, a few more explosions, and way more WWE wrestlers. MacGruber’s “team” consists of WWE’s Kane, Christ Jericho, Great Khali, Mark Henry, and The Big Show. It’s surprising that Vince McMahon himself isn’t producing the film.

The film, for those not “in the know”, stars Will Forte as he reprises his character from Saturday Night Live, which is basically one big MacGuyver spoof. The film also features fellow SNL cast member Kristen Wiig, Powers Boothe, Ryan Phillippe, and Val Kilmer as Dieter Von Cunth.

Check out the official green-band trailer after the jump, and expect to see MacGruber blow stuff up on the silver screen starting April 23rd.

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This week more than one thing involving Conan seems to be getting settled. Yesterday, we told you about Conan O’Brien making a deal with NBC to step away from The Tonight Show. Now, word comes from Deadline Hollywood that Millennium Films, Lionsgate and Paradox Entertainment have chosen an actor to take on the role of Conan the Barbarian in their brand new Conan movie — and that actor is Jason Momoa.

Momoa, who has appeared in Stargate Atlantis and also stars in HBO’s Game of Thrones, reportedly beat Kellan Lutz of Twilight fame for chance to play the titular hero. Apparently, Conan director Marcus Nispel was sold on Momoa, and won over the filmmakers by shooting some test scenes that allowed Momoa to wield a sword and behave very “Schwarzenegger-like.”

The film, which re-boots the Conan franchise and tells the origin of Robert E. Howard’s famous character, is now on course for a March 15 production start in Bulgaria. No word yet on additional casting or a release date but we have heard that producers have reached out to Mickey Rourke to play Conan’s father in the film. More on that as it develops.

As our own Matt Raub pointed out recently, there are some pretty great, and some pretty awful, movie titles out there. Luckily, a few talented screenwriters and actors feel the same way and are bringing us Hot Tub Time Machine — which, I’m sure you will agree, is an awesome title for a movie.

The movie itself, written by Sean Anders and John Morris with direction by Steve Pink, sounds pretty great too. Four guys decide to bond on a ski trip and party hard all night on Red Bull and Vodka. They continue the night in the house’s hot tub, which transports them to 1986, where hi-jinks then ensue. With a cast that John Cusack, Craig Robinson (The Office, Zach and Miri Make a Porno), Clark Duke (Sex Drive, Superbad), and Rob Corddry (What Happens in Vegas, Harold and Kumar 2) the film seems to be a sure-fire winer.

And now, we’ve got a brand new Red Band trailer for the film which was just released this afternoon. In this latest one, we get more action, more sex, more drugs and more time travel. Sounds like a great time to us (pun intended).

The film, which also stars Chevy Chase, Crispin Glover and the terrific Kat Dennings, hits theaters on March 19th.

Check out the trailer after the jump. By clicking through, you certify you are 18 years of age or older. Go get it!

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If you’re a fan of Eric Powell’s awesome comic book series The Goon but often find yourself having trouble getting to the comic store to pick up the recent issues, then you’re in luck because this post is for you. According to Dark Horse Comics, publishers of The Goon, several issues of the comic including the graphic novel Chinatown, the Mystery of Mr. Wicker and The Goon #7 are going digital and will be available on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Intrigued? Thought so. Check out all the sccop from the official Dark Horse press release.

THE GOON ARRIVES ON THE iPHONE THIS WEEK AND IS BACK IN PRINT WITH THE ALL-NEW BUZZARD MINISERIES THIS SUMMER

Fans and critics alike rejoiced in 2008, when creator Eric Powell took his redneck zombie noir, The Goon, monthly for an entire calendar year. Following the release of the landmark graphic novel Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker, Powell laid out his most complex story line to date, spanning twelve issues. In 2009, the creator celebrated the tenth anniversary of the title, releasing a special anniversary issue to coincide with a burlesque anniversary party in his honor in Nashville, followed by a special all-silent issue in November. While both were strong standalone issues, the significantly lighter release schedule left fans wondering what’s next for the madcap mercenary.

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While Adult Swim may just be a subdivision of Cartoon Network, a cable network that bases itself on mainly animated programming, they seem to be doing quite well for themselves. They’ve been able to stack the deck with highly watched syndicated shows, and outrageously funny original programming. One original show in particular is doing better than even the show creators were expecting is Robot Chicken.

The show, which is a 15-minute comedy done entirely with stop-motion animation and old MEGO dolls, was created back in 2005 by Seth Green and partner Matt Senreich. Since then, the show has grown in leaps and bounds, popularity-wise.The network has just ordered a whopping 40 new episodes (roughly two new seasons) of the show, and according to Variety, the creators are more surprised than we are.

“It’s kind of amazing,” Green said. “We never expected to do a second season, let alone a fifth and sixth. We’re really busy, but we’re still having a lot of fun making it.”

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