As I was watching the new Eclipse trailer, out of sheer boredom and a hint of curiosity, I found myself wondering why in the world two super-powered boys would fight it out over a girl clad in American Apparel who’s a hell of a downer.

How is there an entire film series devoted to one girl’s delusional obsessions of a fairy tale ending with a born-again killer? Sparkely vampires want to kill you, strapping werewolf shape-shifters want to keep you safe.

Do these Edward fans have a death wish and a yearning for abandonment? Is Bella Swan so heavily marketed as mesmerizing that it erases the history of the brazen blonde that came before her?

A long time ago, otherwise known as the 90’s, there was a series called Buffy the Vampire Slayer where a feisty girl from the southland slayed Urban Outfitted demons. This legendary show paved the way for multi-tasking girls who cheer by day, slay by night, and every once in a while hook-up with a tormented blood sucker.

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What can we say, there’s a brand new preview of the trailer for the upcoming third chapter in The Twilight saga, which is better known as Eclipse, and we’ve got it for you today. Courtesy of the fine folks at Extra, the teaser doesn’t really give us all that much to go on because, basically, it’s just a preview.

Still, what it does do is provide yet another reason to show shots of the cast of the film, which includes all your favorites such as Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, and have them walking, standing, talking and otherwise looking as good as possible. The preview also clues us in just a bit on some plot points of the film, which, if you’ve read the book, you probably already know by heart.

Still, seeing even this short preview reminds us in some way why these movies are just so damn popular. They feature attractive people going through emotional times and doing it with a certain sense of urgency.

While I’m not much of a fan of these books or movies, I can certainly understand the appeal to their target audience. People love them and these characters and in the end, that’s all that really matters.

Check out the new teaser after the jump. The full trailer will debut on Friday at 9AM ET. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse hits theaters June 30th.

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Women, you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them — especially if you’re a grown man-child living in your parent’s basement. That is, until now. The “Women of Marvel” is a year-long celebration of, you guessed it, the women of Marvel Comics.

Marvel intends to celebrate women not only in the superhero realm but also the real life creators and artists. Marvel sees us standing impatiently in lines for Avatar and says, “Hey, maybe she’d like to read something to take her mind off of the 3 hour and $18 dollar ticket price.”

First off, I commend Marvel for spotlighting half of the human population. Yes, we women are out there and some of us are geeks. For the past few years I have been reading about Marvel’s company and comic book events.

I found Civil War to be expertly drawn and relevant, I was thankful that House of M was both brief and Wolverine-centric, and I was patient as Skrullacost (aka Secret Invasion) ended in a forgone conclusion. I was ecstatic when Marvel also dedicated a month to my favorite hairball, Wolvie.

Now that I liked, especially the article about the state of the canuckle’s head when he sat down on the couch for some therapy. It’s safe to say I’m excited about some Marvel events and less so about others, which is fine considering events span the far reaches of the Marvel universe.

However, when I heard about a year-long celebration of a gender I am wholly bias about, a smile spread on my face. Maybe it was due to the fact the most recent San Diego Comic-Con was comprised of 40% women or the line of Twihards stretched for miles, but whatever the cause the impact is slowly changing the marketplace for the well-rounded better and Marney (Marvel + Disney) is diving into the deep end.

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Even when he tackles darker subject matter, Tim Burton always manages to bring a touch of whimsy to his films.  On the surface, Alice in Wonderland seems to be the perfect tale for the eccentric filmmaker to put his own spin on. With Alice oscillating wildly between giant and diminutive proportions, two queens vying for control of the land, and anthropomorphic fauna and animals, the tale seems ripe for a wild re-imagining.

Trouble is, Burton leaves the enchantment at home along with warmth and heart. The resulting movie is rather cold, devoid of color and brightness (save for the mad hatter’s shock of orange hair and startling green eyes) and not a lot of fun. I’m not saying that makes it bad, but it was very different from what I was expecting.

In this particular retelling, Alice is a grown woman instead of a little girl. At a large party she learns she is to marry a stodgy bore of a man. She rushes off to be by herself and falls down the rabbit hole into the “underworld.”  There she encounters the characters that we are all familiar with. There is the white rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), the stoned-out-of-his-cocoon caterpillar (Alan Rickman), and of course, the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp.)

This version of the  Mad Hatter is a more tragic character with a brutal back story to explain his madness.  I found Depp’s portrayal of the Hatter annoying and frenetic, crazy for the sake of being crazy. He drifts in and out of a heavy Scottish brogue for reasons not immediately clear.  I wish the character had been toned down a bit as I think it would have made him a little more likable.

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Originally titled Guardians of the Ga’Hoole, Zack Snyder’s next directorial work, Legend of The Guardians has been picking up quite a lot of steam lately. This is the first thing that Snyder has worked on since he’s finally settled down after the epic task of adapting Alan Moore’s Watchmen last year.

Originally based on the young adult series by Kathryn Lasky, it’s basically an epic adventure of heroism and wonder, but with owls. The book series ended in November of 2008, topping it off at 15 books, and now Snyder and Warner Bros. are planning on taking that success to the world of film.

The film has a pretty huge cast list, as most big-budget CGI films do these days. Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Emilie de Ravin, Ryan Kwanten, Jim Sturgess, Geoffrey Rush, and Helen Mirren round out a pretty well known list of players.

USA Today recently got their hands on the first images from the upcoming film, which is currently set for a September 24th release date. Check out the pics along with the very first trailer after the jump, and be sure to keep it here for any new info as we get closer to the release date of Legend of The Guardians.

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Back in November, lots of PlayStation 3 owners got to enjoy the classic games God of War and God of War 2 once again, this time with a new upscaled look to accommodate their fancy HDTVs. With that, a reinstated excitement for the upcoming third installment of the game was found.

The games follow Kratos, a Spartan soldier who makes a deal with Ares in order to slay his enemies. That deal immediately turns sour as he becomes the God of War’s right-hand man, killing thousands. Kratos inadvertantly kills his family in the process and vows to take down Ares. From there, the following games become incredibly deep, with plenty of references to all things Greek Mythology.

The newest game involves Kratos waging war against the gods of Olympus, with the titans on his side. The game hits stores on March 16th, and the newest trailer gives us just that much more to get excited about.

Check out the trailer for God of War III after the jump, and keep it here for updates and more for the upcoming title.

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UPDATE: Apparently, the image wasn’t supposed to be let out of the proverbial bag yet so at the request of Summit Entertainment, we’ve taken it down. But fear not, we’ll be back with it, and more, when we can.

Over at FearNet they’ve got the first pic of Bryce Dallas Howard as the vampire Victoria in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. She takes over the role occupied by Rachelle Lefevre in the first two films.

In this new pic, it looks like Howard is looking to sink her teeth into Robert Pattinson’s Edward and have him for a nice snack. Edward, obviously, doesn’t look to happy about it.

According to the site:

The new image shows Victoria (Howard) with her hands around Edward’s (Pattinson) head, preparing to kill him the old-fashioned way: by tearing his head clean off. Victoria’s boy-toy Riley (Xavier Samuel) is also present, restraining Edward who kneels in pain.

Twilight devotees will notice that nothing exactly like this happens in the book, although Edward does face off with the vengeful Victoria in the snow, so it seems as though screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg has taken some creative liberties to raise the stakes in the third, and more suspenseful, film installment.

Well, there you go. For more pics from the upcoming film, head on over to Screencrave and also check back right here for further updates on Eclipse as we get them. In the meantime, click through to see the full image.

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This week we’re pleased to have guest reviewer Jane Almirall join us at The Flickcast. Here’s her review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief — Editor

Until very recently, I hadn’t even heard of Percy Jackson.  I have not read any of the books and managed to not read or see anything about the movie until I saw the film trailer a few weeks ago. Now, having seen the film, an adaptation based on The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, I couldn’t help but notice similarities between Percy Jackson and another literary figure who has successfully segued onto the big screen.

I am speaking, of course, of Harry Potter.  Both young men resemble one another physically, grew up with absent (or dead) fathers and struggle to find acceptance within the context of the real world. Each discovers at a young age that they are powerful and special and are introduced to a magical world in which they are especially gifted and (for the most part) are made to feel welcome.  Both Harry and Percy are accompanied on their adventures by their two best friends – a boy and a girl.

That Percy Jackson & the Olympians:  The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus, who also helmed the first two – and my least favorite - Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), is bound to invite comparisons between the two series – in which Percy Jackson will certainly fall short.

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While much of the movie-going population will be headed to Valentine’s Day this weekend, there are two other large releases to look forward to: Universal’s Wolf Man and 20th Century Fox’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

Based on the first of a series of books starting in 2005, the film focuses around a group of half-human, half-god hybrids that are introduced to the very real world of the Olympian Gods. There are five books in the series total, so expect to see Fox take the franchise a bit further than New Line did with His Dark Materials and The Golden Compass.

This year is shaping up to have an ongoing theme of Greek Mythology, as this film opens tomorrow and Clash of the Titans hits theaters on the first weekend of April. With that in mind, we’ve got plenty of clips for you to get ready for tomorrow’s film.

Check out five brand-new clips from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, starring Uma Thurman, Logan Lerman, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Kevin McKidd, and many more, after the jump.

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Much like the shark was in Jaws, I tend to think cool monsters should be left in the shadows and revealed at the last possible moment. I think that definitely should apply to a creature like the Kraken. Apparently, the studio in charge of the upcoming Clash of the Titans movie, Warner Bros. to be exact, doesn’t agree.

In fact, they’ve let the cat, er Kraken, out of the bag way early, in the form of a new poster released exclusively by the folks at UGO. In this latest poster, the Kraken looms large and Perseus is, well, looking rather small. In fact, it looks like he’s about to become a nice late afternoon snack for the Kraken, complete with Pegasus chaser. Not a great way to spend your day.

Click through for a larger look at the new poster. In case you forgot, Clash of the Titans, directed by Louis Leterrier, stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston and Gemma Arterton. It hits theaters on March 26.

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