by The Flickcast, Apr 29 2011 // 5:45 PM

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.
Let’s get started!
• Chuck Lorre is developing a Sheen-less reboot of Two and a Half Men for CBS. Would this be considered #cheating?
• As if Lex Luthor didn’t have enough reason to hate him, Superman recently renounced his US citizenship in the comics so that DC can appeal to a more global audience.
• A brand new poster for Green Lantern has hit the web showing off way more Corps members than we can name. Check out the full-res image here.
• Zach Galifiniakis is out, but Jeff Bridges may be picking up the slack to play alongside Ryan Reynolds in the big-screen adaptation of R.I.P.D.
• Those of you hoping for an animated Ant-Man film with Pixar and Marvel Studios are sadly out of luck, as Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter says there are no plans for a team-up.
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Posted in: Action · Movies · News · On The Radar · Sci-Fi
Tagged: Ant-Man, Beastie Boys, Brother's Justice, Charlie Sheen, Chuck Lorre, Fast Five, Green Lantern, Jeff Bridges, Lex Luthor, Pixar, R.I.P.D., Ryan Reynolds, Superman, Three and a Half Men, X-Men: First Class
by Nat Almirall, Apr 29 2011 // 4:45 PM

Oh, just make out already! Or go hog wild on Tom’s desk. Or have Chris or Ron or Ann Perkins or all three catch you in bed together, Leslie and Ben! You guys were doing so well avoiding the trap of lingering romance that every damn sitcom and its mongoloid step-brother trips, I hope you can chew your foot off before it’s too late.
“Jerry’s Painting” continues pushing the Leslie/Ben thing that, hopefully, will culminate in an upcoming episode where the two take a road trip to Indianapolis (I saw it on the Wikipedia), and Chris even goes so far as to set Ben up with someone who has what he deems “compatible traits,” to the natural chagrin of Leslie. But the bulk deals with the eponymous (damn, I hate that word) Jerry’s Painting—on full display at the Pawnee community art exhibit—which depicts a topless female centaur slaying a deer while a Reubenesque cherub looks on.
But, of course, it’s by Jerry, so naturally it has to have something wrong with it, which is that the centaur resembles a topless Leslie and the cherub resembles Tom (I wonder what mythical Greek creature Ron would be…Zeus?). However, while Tom is (in a cosmic sense unjustifiably) incensed, Leslie loves it and feels empowered that it’s her flailing boobies taking down a stag. What woman wouldn’t? Still, topless art is topless art, and Marcia Langman, the same Bible-beating woman who tries to find some anti-Christian message in everything objects to the implied beastiality of the painting and wants it destroyed, as does Tom, though for completely different reasons.
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Posted in: Comedy · NBC · TV · TV Recaps
Tagged: Adam Scott, Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Comedy, Jerry's Painting, NBC, Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation, TV
by Eric Medina, Apr 29 2011 // 3:30 PM

Once in a while there comes along a show that not only is able to entertain audiences week after week, season after season, but relate to people on a very personal level. The Office is one of those shows. Besides having one of the strongest ensembles casts on television and an original mockumentary form, one of the biggest reasons for this show’s success has been Steve Carell’s performance as Michael Scott.
To get a complete picture of what Carell has brought to this character over the years you must start at the beginning. The pilot episode was shot using the same script as the pilot to the original British version with Carell mimicking the awkward, incompetent boss as Ricky Gervais played it. Seven seasons later, what we find is a much more likable, sympathetic character that the audience genuinely roots for and cares about.
But what exactly defines the perfect Office episode? Is it the episode with the most laugh-out-loud lines? Or is it the one with the cutest Jim and Pam moments? No, what ultimately takes the show from a regular sit-com to an Emmy Award winning show are the episodes that give you a glimpse into the humanity and vulnerability of Michael Scott.
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Posted in: Comedy · NBC · TV
Tagged: Amy Ryan, Jenna Fischer, Michael Scott, Rainn Wilson, Steve Carell, The Office
by Chris Ullrich, Apr 29 2011 // 2:30 PM
I guess its’s a good thing I decided not to cancel HBO. If you’re considering ditching your premium subsctiption to the HBO service, you might want to re-think it too. Why? Read on.
The long-anticipated HBO Go app just hit the iOS App Store and Android Market, bringing original HBO series and a variety of blockbuster films to your mobile device. You’ll need an HBO subscription with your cable or satellite provider to get past the login screen, but unlocking all that the service has to offer is a pretty easy experience.
Although, it doesn’t seem Time Warner Cable is participating so if you’ve got that cable service, you’re out of luck — at least for now.
However, as I’m both a Time Warner and DirecTV subsciber (don’t ask) I was able to authenticae using my DirecTV sibsctiption and was off and running. This app features a pretty amazing collection of programming including pretty much every episode of every show HBO has ever aired plus many of their movies as well. Plus, you can also watch these programs via your computer as well. But you’ve got that fancy iPad or iPhone so why not watch it on those instead, right?
So, if you’re an HBO subscriber, head on over to your iOS or Android stores and check this app out. It’s pretty cool.
Posted in: Android · Apple · HBO · Mobile · Mobile Apps · Movies · News · Software · Tech · TV
Tagged: Android, Apple, Froyo, Game of Thrones, Gingerbread, Google, HBO, HBO Go, HTC Incredible, iOS, iOS4, iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4, Mobile, Software, The Wire, Treme, True Blood
by Jonathan Weilbaecher, Apr 29 2011 // 1:15 PM

“We travel in different directions, every time we meet I know him more and he knows me less”
-River Song
There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and Doctor Who. The longest running sci-fi show in TV history returned this week with the premiere of the 6th season of the revamped run that started in 2005. This episode marked several firsts and introduced what might be the scariest monster the show has ever thrown at us.
For the first time ever the show shot principle photography in America, Utah to be exact. Also for the first time BBC America is airing the episodes day and date with the British premieres. All of this while we are getting a returning Doctor and companion for the first time in the new era of the show. With such an historic start excitement has been breeding a ton of hype for start of the season. Does “The Impossible Astronaut” live up to it?
In a word, yes. In seven words, holy god damn hell yes it does. “The Impossible Astronaut” delivers on nearly everything we have come to expect from the Moffat/Smith run. It has excitement, rich production values, humor, a well crafted story and the scariest monsters yet. I am going to get into some spoiler territory from here on out so if you haven’t seen the episode yet, I urge you to go do so immediately and then come back and read this review.
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Posted in: BBC · News · Reviews · Sci-Fi · TV
Tagged: BBC, BBC America, Doctor Who, Matt Smith, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Stephen Moffat, The Impossible Astronaut, The Silence, TV
by Nat Almirall, Apr 29 2011 // 12:15 PM

Goodbye, Michael!
I’m not sure which one we all knew was coming: Michael Scott leaving, Steve Carell leaving, or The Office pretty much getting cancelled now that they’re gone. Maybe my emotions gauge isn’t properly calibrated, but I wasn’t tearing up during this one; of course we’ve all known about Michael/Steve’s departure since before the Eisenhower administration, so it’s no big reveal, and many other writers have given him a far more lugubrious analysis than I.
I’ve lost a good deal of interest in the show over the years and gotten progressively more annoyed with Michael’s character, but I still maintain an appreciation for all the good things the US Office and Steve Carell have accomplished over the last six years—they did, after all, take a British favorite and put their own distinct spin on it, creating a show that will go down as one of the ‘00s best.
And, to it’s credit, “Goodbye, Michael” doesn’t dwell on the loss and is actually pretty damn funny. One of its many smart moves is to play down Imbecile Michael and play up Caring Michael, who’s leaving the office on a good note by dispensing gifts and compliments, including his neon St. Pauli’s beer sign to Ryan, a velvet pool table to Stanley, the ten best accounts to Andy, and not telling everyone about Phyllis’s long-lost child.
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Posted in: Comedy · NBC · TV · TV Recaps
Tagged: Comedy, Goodbye Michael, NBC, Rainn Wilson, Steve Carell, television, The Office, Will Ferrell
by Joe Gillis, Apr 29 2011 // 11:15 AM
Even with the proliferation of Film Festivals, some still stand above the others in terms of credibility and prestige. One of those is the Tribeca Film Festival, which takes place each year in the Tribeca section of new York.
Founded in 2001 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the festival was created to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture. The Festival’s mission is to help filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.
In that spirit, the festival announced the winners of this year’s awards. And, here they are:
WORLD NARRATIVE COMPETITION CATEGORIES:
The jurors for the 2011 World Narrative Competition were Souleymane Cissé, Scott Glenn, David Gordon Green, Rula Jebreal, Art Linson, Jason Sudeikis and Dianne Wiest.
• The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – She Monkeys (Apflickorna), directed by Lisa Aschan, written by Josefine Adolfsson and Lisa Aschan (Sweden). Winner receives $25,000 and the art award “Anna Christie Entering the Bar, 1965-1967” by Robert De Niro Sr. Sponsored by AKA Hotel Residences. The award was given by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro and Larry Korman from AKA Residences.
• Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film – Ramadhan “Shami” Bizimana as Yvan in Grey Matter (Matière Grise), directed and written by Kivu Ruhorahoza (Rwanda, Australia). Winner receives $2,500. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.
• Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Carice van Houten as Ingrid Jonker in Black Butterflies, directed by Paula van der Oest, written by Greg Latter (Germany, Netherlands, South Africa). Winner receives $2,500. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.
• Best Cinematography in a Narrative Feature Film – Luisa Tillinger, Artificial Paradises (Paraisos Artificiales) (Mexico). Winner receives $5,000 and $50,000 in post production services provided by Company 3. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.
• Best Screenplay for a Narrative Feature Film – Jannicke Systad Jabobsen, Turn Me On, Goddammit (Få meg på, for faen) (Norway). Winner receives $5,000. The award was given by Rula Jebreal.
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Posted in: Film Festivals · Movies · News · Tribeca
Tagged: Bombay Beach, David Leon, Film Festival, Give Up Tomorrow, Grey Matter, Like Water, Man and Boy, Marcus McSweeny, Michael Collins, Pablo Croce, Park Jungbum, Robert De Niro, She Monkeys, Tribeca Film Festival
by Nat Almirall, Apr 29 2011 // 10:00 AM
Maybe I should preface this with the disclaimer that I’ve not seen any of the previous installments of The Fast and the Furious. I’m not a fan of Vin Diesel. I’m not particularly interested in fast cars and, most of the time, I’m more irritated than outright furious.
I also didn’t know anything about the characters’ backstories going into the film nor was I, in full disclosure, looking forward to this screening. That said, I had a lot of fun with this flick—and evidently so did everyone else at the screening, from the critics, who laughed snarkily at the plot contrivances and flagrantly obvious exposition, to the rest of the audience, who clapped at every conceivable moment and in general ate it up like hotcake-crepes wrapped in unicorn butts.
If you have seen the other movies, you may be happy to know that the original trio of Vin Diesel (Dominic Toretto), Paul Walker (Brian O’Connor), and Jordana Brewster (Mia Toretto, Dominic’s sister and Brian’s lover) are back, as are Sung Kang (Han Lue), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce), Matt Schulze (Vince), Ludacris (Tej Parker), a whole bunch of others I’m not sure were in the other several thousand Fast-and-Furiouses, and, what the hell, they got The Rock, too.
The movie begins with the jail-springing of Toretto, a stunt so implausible that not even the film itself takes it seriously, and soon the gang’s in Rio (and, after seeing the animated film Rio recently, I’m guessing that somewhere there’s an elephantine warehouse filled with stock shots of the cityscape as leered from behind Christ’s shoulder), plotting a car-jack heist for their shady friend Vince, who’s after three seized cars being transported across the country by train.
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Posted in: Action · Movies · Reviews · Universal Pictures
Tagged: Action, Dwanyne Johnson, Elsa Pataky Joaquim de Almeida, Fast Five, Jordana Brewster, Justin Lin, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Paul Walker, Sung Kang, The Fast and the Furious, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel
by Sebastian Suchecki, Apr 29 2011 // 9:00 AM
We’re still months away from getting to experience Chris Evans dodging bullets and throwing his mighty shield in Captain America: The First Avenger, but we shouldn’t get too tied to that suit, as it may be the last time we see it.
According to a recent interview Evans did with MTV Splash Page, his patriotic Captain America costume from the film will be getting a complete makeover for him to do battle alongside Iron Man, Thor and Hulk in 2012′s The Avengers.
“[It's a] new costume,” Evans told MTV News of Captain America’s visual change-up in the 2012 blockbuster. “Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s really cool.”
“I was worried because I started to get really attached to the old one,” he said. “I really started digging it. It’s not that easy to move in, but I started really liking it. The first time we tried a new one on, I was like, ‘Oh, I miss the old one.’”
“I was just in Albuquerque a couple days ago [shooting Avengers] and we did a camera test with the new suit,” he said. “It’s pretty rad.”
We probably won’t get to see much of this new outfit until after the July 22nd release of The First Avenger, but we’ll be waiting eagerly!
Posted in: Action · Announcements · Comics · Marvel · Marvel Studios · Movies · News · Paramount
Tagged: Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Evans, Costume, Iron Man, Joe Johnson, Marvel, The Avengers, The Hulk, Thor
by Matt Raub, Apr 29 2011 // 8:00 AM
You know you can tell a good trailer when 90% of it is all doom and gloom. That’s just what we’re getting with the first full-length feature trailer for Michael Bay’s Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.
If you’re just now coming into the franchise or you have already forgotten the robot balls from Revenge of the Fallen, here’s the official synopsis.
Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.
This trailer gives us all of the goods: tons of destruction, introduction of both the human and robot villain, and lots of visible robot battling. Joining the regular cast of humans this time is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, and the always evil Frances McDormand.
Take a look at the brand new trailer after the jump, and get ready for Transformer action (and hopefully Dinobots) on July 1st.
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Posted in: Action · Movies · News · Paramount · Prequels and Sequels · Sci-Fi · Trailers · Video
Tagged: Dark of the Moon, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Ken Jeong, Michael Bay, Patrick Dempsey, Peter Cullen, Revenge of the Fallen, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Shia LaBeouf, Transformers, Tyrese Gibson
by Chris Ullrich, Apr 29 2011 // 7:00 AM
Remember that movie The Cabin in the Woods we first told you about almost a year ago? What ever happend to that one?
It had a lot going for it, coming from Cloverfield writer and director Drew Goddard and co-written by the man himself Joss Whedon. It also starts Chris Hemsworth, soon to be seen in Marvel’s Thor extravaganza.
With all that going for it, why haven’t we seen it yet? Well, it was initially postponed for conversion to 3D. Why? Who knows.
Then, it fell victim to MGM’s money troubles and ended up being put on the shelf until the company emerged from its money troubles or found another company to distribute the film. Fortunately, both of those things seems to have happened and Lionsgate has agreed to take on the film and bring it to a waiting audience.
With all this good news we still have a bit of bad. We don’t know the exact release date for the film and we still don’t know exactly what the film is about. However, based on prior experience with films of this type we can guess it involves several attractive people, a cabin, blood, death, creatures and a bit of humor. Sounds good. I’m in.
In addition to Hemsworth, the film features Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Brian White. When we get an official release date, we’ll let you know.
Posted in: Horror · Lionsgate · Movies · News · Whedon
Tagged: 3D, Bradley Whitford, Cabin in the Woods, Chris Hemsworth, Cloverfield, Dollhouse, Drew Goddard, Fran Kranz, Horror, Joss Whedon, Lionsgate, Movies, The Cabin in the Woods, Thor
by Matt Raub, Apr 28 2011 // 3:00 PM
In a world where Hollywood is ruled by animated animals, teenage vampires, and movies about driving fast, it’s nice to see a fun classic science fiction story make it through the gate and get into the hands of a legitimate production company.
That’s exactly what’s happening with a new spec script The Greys by writer Adam Cohen. THR has the details on the flick.
Dimension Films has preemptively purchased the spec script The Greys, a sci-fi thriller from writer Adam Cohen and producing partners Sean and Bryan Furst.
F. Javier Gutierrez, the Spanish director of 2008’s Before the Fall, is set to direct.
The Fursts will produce in partnership with Radar Pictures’ Ted Field and Mike Weber. Overseeing for Dimension are svp of production Matthew Stein and vp of production and creative affairs Matthew Signer.
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Posted in: Announcements · Drama · Movies · News · Sci-Fi · Weinstein Co. · Writers
Tagged: Adam Cohen, Bryan Furst, Dimension Films, F. Javier Gutierrez, Matthew Signer, Sean Furst, The Greys