First off, let me admit that I jumped the gun getting to Huston’s war documentaries before covering 1942’s Across the Pacific. But I’m kind of glad I did, because it provides a nice break between Let There Be Light and Treasure of the Sierra Madre—two very intense films.

Pacific is much lighter and a lot of fun. It reunites three stars from The Maltese Falcon—Bogie, Mary Astor, and Sydney Greenstreet—all playing the roles we love them in. Bogie is Rick Leland, an undercover Army agent trailing Japanese sympathizer Dr. Lorenz (Greenstreet), who’s intent on bombing the Panama Canal. Aboard the Genoa Maru, bound from Halifax to Panama. Along the way, they encounter a number of mysterious figures, chief among them the all-to-proud-to-be-an-American Joe Totsuiko (brilliantly played by Victor Sen Yung), a second-generation Japanese man who makes a point of showing up when he’s not wanted and talking at you like you’re old friends when he’s met you only five minutes prior.

First-time viewers will notice a lot of similarities between Pacific and Casablanca, from the exotic locations, international intrigue, and Bogart’s performance, right down to his iconic trenchcoat and fedora and even his name. But Pacific actually came out two months before Casablanca. Casablanca‘s the better film, yeah, but the spirit of high adventure is just as good–actually, better.

Huston doesn’t say much about the picture in his autobiography other than he was called away for Army duty right near the end of it, so director Vincent Sherman was called in to finish it. I won’t go into many details, but at the end of it, Bogie’s trapped in an impossible situation, and it was left to Sherman to get him out of it. His solution was haphazard, and Huston said he felt that the picture “lacked credibility” after that point, but that’s all of a scant five minutes, and the action is nevertheless fun.

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No sooner did we get a first look at Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern costume then we now have some more photos from the film featuring the man himself, the lovely Blake Lively, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, Peter Sarsgaard and a floating ring. These pics (scanned and uploaded by the very nice team at iFanboy) are from the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly that had the Ryan Reynolds in costume cover.

These new pics give us additional view of Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris and Tim Robbins as Senator Hammond. Plus, Sarsgaard’s not so healthy looking Hector Hammond and a floating ring of power. Pretty cool.

These photos only serve to build fan’s expectations for the film. I know they do for me. Expect more pics and whatnot to surface next week during San Diego Comic-Con. Until then, check out the pics after the break.

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With Robert Rodriguez’s Predators already unveiled to the world, it’s now time to turn our collective attention over to his next big film, Machete. The film takes itself as seriously as its title and follows Danny Trejo as the titular character, basically shooting and blowing stuff up for a good 90 minutes.

Not enough for you? Well, if there’s one thing Rodriguez has been known to do, it’s cast for the “every fan.” He did it in Planet Terror with Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn, as well as in Shortz with James Spader.

Now, he’s pulling no punches with a huge cast including Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Steven Seagal, and even the recently incarcerated Lindsay Lohan.

Not only do we get each of those names in this 90 minute grindhouse film, but the studio has recently released a series of character posters with each of the cast members.

Check out the all of them in their glory after the jump, and be sure to catch Rodriguez’s Machete in theaters on September 3rd.

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Even if it might be some time before we get a new Superman and Batman movie that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some action featuring both of these great heroes. Fortunately, our pals at DC have decided to grace us with another animated movie featuring not only Superman but Batman as well.

The new movie, called Superman/Batman: Apocalypse features the voice talents of Andre Braugher, Ed Asner, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Summer Glau. It revolves around the quest to save an earthbound Kryptonian so the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight must unite once again – this time to battle the powerful forces of Darkseid.

Sounds cool, right? For more, be sure to check out all the info from the official press release:

THE END IS NEAR!
WORLD’S FINEST WAGE WAR WITH DARKSEID IN ALL-NEW DC UNIVERSE ANIMATED ORIGINAL MOVIE SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE
AVAILABLE FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO SEPTEMBER 28, 2010!

Andre Braugher, Summer Glau, Ed Asner join popular voices Kevin Conroy & Tim Daly; New DC Showcase GREEN ARROW on Special Edition Blu-ray & 2-Disc Special Edition DVD

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Here we are, one week away from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and we’ve already got a huge piece of comic news. The costume for the upcoming Green Lantern film has been revealed from the cover of next week’s Entertainment Weekly, and it looks….interesting.

There has been plenty of speculation about what the costume will look like, once we found out that it will be completely made up of CG, and now we’re finally seeing it.

We won’t take up any more of your time, so click through to take a look at the cover after the jump (via i09) and let us know what you think. Green Lantern hits theaters June 17, 2011.

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Here it is your first official look at the full cast of AMC’s adaptation of the Robert Kirkman comic The Walking Dead, courtesy of the cool cats at i09. We’ve previously had a bunch of info about this upcoming series but now we get to see something that as fans of the comic and the upcoming series, I know we’re excited to see.

In a world where a single photo can cast doubt on an entire movie, this new photo from The Walking Dead goes a long way to putting fears to rest that this adaptation will somehow suck. There’s always some doubt, given the track record of Hollywood and comic book adaptations (Ghost Rider or Daredevil anyone?), but with a cast that looks this perfect for their respective roles and if this look continues for the series, we seem to be in good hands with Frank Darabont and company. Although, I still want to know who’s playing Michonne? Perhaps we’ll find out during Comic-Con?

Check out a larger version of the pic after the jump. The Walking Dead debuts on AMC later this year.

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It’s official. DJ Hero 2 has gotten the biggest lineup of dance and hip hop artists all into one place at the same time (and thankfully no one is getting shot). Just to name a few, DJ Hero 2 will feature 2Pac, 50 Cent, The Notorious B.I.G., Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Tiësto, Deadmau5, Eminem, Puff Daddy, Metallica, Stevie Wonder and a slew of others.

Though the full song list of mashups featuring these all-star artists hasn’t been released yet, you can already tell it is going to be big when looking at the level of talent being used in the game.

Take a peek below at the full list of artists coming to DJ Hero 2 and stick to the Flickcast for more news on it as it becomes available.

• 2Pac
• 50 Cent
• Adamski
• Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force
• Armand Van Helden
• A-Trak
• B.o.B.
• Basement Jaxx
• BlakRoc
• Bobby Womack
• Bruno Mars
• Busta Rhymes
• Calvin Harris

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When I first heard that David Fincher was directing and Aaron Sorkin was writing The Social Network, a movie about the founding of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s adventures at Harvard University, I have to admit I wasn’t completely sold on the idea. Sure, Facebook is a giant beast that millions of people use every day to communicate with friends and family around the world but still, I wondered if it would make an interesting movie.

As more and more info, including the first teaser, came out for the film I began to see the appeal. Now, with this new full trailer, just put up over at Yahoo Movies, I’m even more convinced that this film will really be one to watch. Apologies Mr. Fincher and Mr. Sorkin, I should never have doubted you.

In the new trailer we get our best look yet at Zuckerberg’s life at Harvard as well as some insight into his motivations for starting Facebook. In short, he was a nerd that wanted to fit in so he decided to start a website detailing college life so he could get noticed by his peers and perhaps, one day, be accepted by them. Plus, the trailer is accompanieed by a great choral rendition of  “Creep.” A very nice touch.

I wonder how those people that ignored him back in college feel now that Zuckerberg is not only a rich man but is having a movie made about him by none other than David Fincher? Based on how he seems in the movie from this trailer, they probably still don’t like him.

Take a look at the full trailer and believe after the jump. The Social Network hits theaters on October 1, 2010.

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Hot on the heels of Verizon’s Twitter campaign (follow @DroidLanding for details), as well as our own coverage of the Droid X here at The Flickcast, the wireless company has now released a sneak peek of a 60-second trailer for their hot new Android-based smartphone.

The video as well as the Twitter campaign have really served to build the hype in advance of the official Motorola Droid X launch, which begins today at Verizon retail stores nationwide. Since June 21st, Team Droid X has been tweeting tantalizing details concerning the whereabouts of  twenty of their so-called ‘Droid Designates’.

Advanced copies of the massive smartphones hidden in various states across the U.S. As the weeks rolled on, the hints became more and more specific, eventually culminating in a GPS coordinate that could be entered into Google Maps to learn an exact location.

Obligatory twitpics of the winners of the Droid X scavenger hunt began popping up late last week. One-by-one, the beaming faces of Droid X owners holding up their new smartphones really had me thinking that Verizon knows how to run a successful viral twitter campaign. And clearly, getting advanced copies of a hot new phone out in the wild only stokes the interest all the more.

Hit the jump for all of the launch-day details as well as the sneak-peek video!

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The fan with knowledge of video editing is a marvelous creature. They are just like the rest of us, but they are able to show their love and geekdom off by producing some pretty high quality viral videos, thus creating an infitine loop of fans and enjoyment.

The Monocular Group, who also brought us the famed 2012 retro trailer last year are at it again, and this time they are sending out a call to arms for men everywhere to go see The Expendables on August 13th.

The trailer takes a pretty strong stand against the state of Hollywood lately, and points out that Expendables, which can easily be considered the quintessential “guy movie”, will be opening against the film adaptation of Eat Pray Live starring Julia Roberts. Basically (according to the message of the trailer) if you are a “real man”, you’ll go see The Expendables that weekend, and help it beat out the alleged “chick flick”.

Check out the fun fan trailer after the jump, and be sure to live up to it’s directions and catch Stallone’s The Expendables on August 13th.

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Well, that didn’t take very long, did it? No sooner did Ed Norton get the boot off of Marvel Studios’ The Avengers (or left for “creative differences”) we already have a strong contender to take over the role. His name is Mark Ruffalo and you may know him from his many appearances in films such as The Last Castle, Zodiac and the recent Shutter Island.

According to the report, the deal is now in “late-stage discussions” between Marvel and Rufflo’s brand-new agency United Talent for the actor to play this key member of The Avengers. Like Norton, Ruffalo is a very capable actor who brings something extra to each role he plays. But unlike Norton, he isn’t a movie star but more like an accomplished character actor. This may actually serve the film better.

Even though I enjoyed Norton’s work in The Incredible Hulk, his on-set reputation isn’t one of collaboration. Instead, most reports paint him as quite the diva and “difficult” to work with. Not something you want on a big budget ensemble film as important as The Avengers.

Ruffalo, in contrast, is almost universally regarded as a “good guy” and easy to work with. With the actors being relatively equivalent talent-wise, why wouldn’t Marvel want to work with the nice guy? Seems like a solid decision to me.

When you discuss the Western, there’s three shadows that loom over the main street at noon — John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Gary Cooper.  The sturdy Randolph Scott (who made dozens upon dozens of Westerns) doesn’t warrant much of a mention except in exhaustive compendium books about the genre.

I suspect this is because a lot of his Westerns were the muddled, bloodless movies most people associate with the genre. He didn’t really have a script that would allow him to stretch out and strike an iconic pose like Wayne or Eastwood. The makings were there, though.

To quote THE BFI Companion to the Western (by way of Scott’s Wikipedia page):  “In his earlier Westerns … the Scott persona is debonair, easy-going, graceful, though with the necessary hint of steel. As he matures into his fifties his roles change. Increasingly Scott becomes the man who has seen it all, who has suffered pain, loss, and hardship, and who has now achieved (but at what cost?) a stoic calm proof against vicissitude.”

It’s true. Scott was, in a weird way, his own icon or character — this stalwart and sad survivor of many a gunfight.   I think this is what makes Ride the High Country so affecting. Like The Shootist or Unforgiven,  Scott is looking back at the long and dusty trail, and wondering what it all meant and whether it mattered.  It seems particularly poignant for him since he was so overshadowed by successors and competitors.

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