What the Hell is going on? Who’s in what car? Which one is the bad guy? These are the questions that arose during the first fifteen minutes of A Good Day to Die Hard‘s car chase. That the action confuses more than excites is a bad, bad sign.

The movie opens in a Russian prison where billionaire Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) is awaiting trial for…um…potentially snitching out the bigwig Chagarin (Sergei Kolesnikov). From the outset, it’s not clear who is actually the bad guy — Chagarin explodes when Komarov refuses to give him a certain file, so maybe he’s the bad guy, but then Komarov is a billionaire — and one who plays chess in prison at that — doesn’t that automatically mark him as the bad guy?

But then we switch to a night club, where Jack (Jai Courtney) assassinates Anton (Roman Luknar). Is Jack the bad guy then? Apparently not, since we’re now in America, where John McClane (Bruce Willis) is at the airport, heading to Russia to bail out Jack, who’s his son. Evidently Jack works for the CIA, which now condones public killings.

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Broken City is no Chinatown. It takes many of the 1974 Polanski classic’s basic elements – both protagonists are private eyes who used to be cops and specialize in extramarital affairs. Both get involved in schemes to bilk to poor schlubs of a major city (both schemes being land deals, no less). Both have troubled pasts, get in over their head, and see a case through when they’d be better off keeping their eyes shut. Both have confrontations with the villains that end with them being told that they may know what they’re doing but don’t. Only Chinatown did it really, really well and has what is widely recognized as one of the best screenplays of all time.

Broken City, to put it mildly, doesn’t. Despite being among the Hollywood “blacklist” of the purportedly best yet unproduced scripts, it’s an immensely plodding and dull story whose “twists” are so predictable, that one can easily lay out the movie’s entire course simply from the trailer.

Wahlberg plays Billy Taggart, the P.I. who’s hired by the mayor of New York City (Russell Crowe) to discover whom his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is schtupping. Naturally, Wahlberg uncovers some sordid details about both the mayor as well as his political rival (Barry Pepper). Someone tips the ruckus, some people get whacked, and Taggart all but ignores it to struggle with his own personal issues including an actor girlfriend (Natalie Martinez) and a history of possible alcoholism.

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The following was discovered in the journal of Sir Heinriech Blossom Bugfellow, Gentleman:

During my travels, I came across a curious figure of Mr. Snipe, a derelict of the town who, for a small sum, would relate his tales from across all corners of the world. On this occasion, he spoke of his journey to the Gallery of the Wizened Master, a painter of rich and moving tapestries. As Mr. Snipe recalled, the Master was well known throughout the world, and his latest exhibition featured works done with a new kind of paint, one which made the images leap from the canvas and poke at your eyes.

The works were representations of a famous folk tale featuring all mixes of animals, people, landscapes, and the like. Mingling with each other, they produced images of great wonder, such as a still ocean reflecting the sky above or endless pools of glowing bioluminscence or a vast and enveloping view of a sunken ship. Certainly they stole many a breath, for one viewer was scared to cough for fear that the painting would disperse. Mr. Snipe, he assured me, found them delightful as well, but noticed, when he walked behind these pictures, that each one disappeared when viewed from a different angle.

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The X-Men film franchise has undergone a roller coaster of quality. Like any good roller coaster there are ups and downs, and some times wicked loops, and right now the franchise is about to hit one of those pretty big, gut churning upside down loops.

Matthew Vaughn’s First Class was welcome return to quality, but was a tad confusing in the continuity department. It was clearly a prequel, and Fox remains steadfast in the concept that the whole franchise fits together. So people have been wondering what, if any, steps the sequel will take to help bring things together.

Recently producer Bryan Singer confirmed the film’s title, which gives us a very good indication of where potential connective tissue can arise to properly connect First Class with the rest of the franchise. The new X-Men film will be known as X-Men: Days of Future Past.

For those uninitiated in X-Men lore, Days of Future Past refers to a story written by Chris Clarmont that revolves around an alternate, dystopian future and the attempts of one mutant from that time to travel backwards to stop an assassination. In other words, a perfect template for a film set in the past to tie in with a set of films that are perpetually set in the ‘not to distant future’.

What makes this even more perfect is that Days of Future Past doesn’t really need to be a perfect adaptation. The story is very malleable so the filmmakers have some wiggle room to change things as they see fit to make a good movie. A luxury Fox hasn’t had in the past when they tried to change the Galactus and Phoenix story arches.

Stay connected to The Flickcast as we will be on top of any new updates on the next X-Film in the coming months.

I’d almost forgotten that the last time Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn teamed up was in 2004′s Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and if you asked me why I like that movie so much and am pretty indifferent on The Watch, I’d be hard-pressed to explain why. Both have very simple premises, feature largely improv performers, and The Watch has the added benefit of Jonah Hill — playing a younger, more broad version of Walter Sobchek.

Then again, Dodgeball had cleverer jokes, Vaughn in the lead (instead of Stiller), and Rip Torn, who trumps pretty much everything in the universe. It also seemed to be having a lot more fun. The Watch, on the other hand, is kind of like the unpopular kid at the playground that’s consigned itself to the tilt-a-whirl: functioning on autopilot and trying to find bits of entertainment when they come. Even the trailer has no qualms revealing the twist of aliens coming to earth, and since there’s not much else after that, for the first half hour or so, we follow Stiller around waiting for the movie to get going.

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Ang Lee has never really been known for visual flair. His films are always beautiful, but his best works always seemed to have a quite beauty to them. The major exception of course being Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but it seemed for a while that we might not get another visual stunner from the master filmmaker.

Thankfully that is not the case, it looks as if he knocked another feast for the eyes out of the park, and knowing the story of Life of Pi it will know doubt be a feast for the soul as well. For those in the dark on this film, here is its synopsis:

Director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a tragic disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While marooned on a lifeboat, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with the ship’s only other survivor — a fearsome Bengal tiger.

It is really starting to feel like 2012 is going to end up as one of those great cinematic years, and if this trailer is any indication Life of Pi might be one of those marquee titles that headline a long list of quality films.

Check out the gorgeous trailer after the jump.

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Sigourney Weaver is about to star in a new USA channel politics themed show, Political Animals. Which as put her on the press circuit that looks to gain some knowledge on her future endeavors. Which may or may not include a sequel to the most successful film of all time.

While talking to the fine folks over at Showbiz 411, Mrs. Weaver let slip what might be the future plans for Cameron’s blue-tinted billion dollar franchise:

Then she films “Avatar” 2, 3, and 4 with James Cameron. That’s right: they’re making three sequels to the blue 3D phenom all at the same time. Weaver says she has no idea how long it will take, or how it’s going to work. “I just show up,” she said. If “Political Animals” is renewed, USA will have to wait until all that’s over.

The rumor mill suggested that there would be two Avatar sequels in the works for a simultaneous shoot, but this is the first we have heard of a full trilogy shooting back-to-back-to-back. This news also begs the question of exactly how does Sigourney Weaver’s character return, she didn’t seem to make it in the first film.

Keep tuned to The Flickcast for any updates on this franchise as they break, it is kinda popular so I guess we are honor bound to cover it.

I don’t think anyone expects Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter to be good. Or decent. Or anything more than this summer’s Snakes on a Plane. Which, to some degree, it is. I liked Snakes on a Plane because it delivered precisely what the title promised.

The movie opens with the young Lincoln defending a freed slave from being taken back to the South and otherwise cruel treatment at the hand of vicious Jack Barts (Marton Csokas). That night, Barts sneaks into the Lincoln household and promptly kills his mother.

Some years later, Lincoln (Benjamin Walker)’s working as a clerk for Joshua Speed (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Jimmi Simpson), biding his time until he can kill Barts. After a heavy night at the bar, Lincoln makes his move, shooting Barts in the eye and getting quite the surprise when he discovers that Barts is a vampire.

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This is an open letter to anyone at 20th Century Fox, with how I would handle their X-Men Universe in the wake of The Avengers and their successful First Class Pre-Boot-quel-thing. 

The X-Men cinematic universe was the first major franchise launched in this modern era of comic book blockbusters. The original X-Men film managed to successfully lay in the groundwork of how these types of films can be a success without losing their comic book soul.

The sequel was a massive leap forward in both action and general cinematic quality. While the other sequels have received mixed reviews, it was clear that despite the reboot happy tendencies of modern hollywood. Fox remained committed to the continuity of the universe they established in 2000.

Just a few weeks ago The Avengers made more money than conceivable in its debut, representing the culmination of a five-year, 6 movie plan. The newly established ‘shared universe’ model demonstrated by Marvel Studios could be a new gold standard for what a studio can do with these types of properties.

So it is with that context that I present my plan for a smaller scale ‘shared X-universe’ that can allow Fox to use it’s already established property in an exciting new way.

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While Marvel may be raking it in and giving every other alien invasion movie a run for their money, Fox is definitely turning the genre on his head by way of Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller, & Vince Vaughn in the upcoming comedy The Watch.

Originally titled Neighborhood Watch, now shortened to The Watch, the film accentuates the one thing that most other alien invasion films are missing: dick jokes. Here’s the premise, for those who need that sort of thing.

A group of friends (Stiller, Vaughn, Hill, and Ayoade) form a neighborhood watch group for their suburb to allow them time to bond and escape from their families. However, when the group discovers a plot that threatens the entire world, they are forced to confront it head on.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump, and catch The Watch in theaters on July 27th.

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There is one unpleasant truth about the current wave of 3d Re-Releases hitting cinemas in the coming weeks, months and years. The door is now wide open for some directors to continually fiddle with their films post-release.

It is one thing to release a director’s cut, or advertise an alternate take on a film, but, as George Lucas has proved time and again, sometimes the filmmakers just make changes and don’t acknowledge previous versions at all. Cementing what ever current release as ‘the’ version of the movie everyone is meant to see. This rarely goes over well.

So has James Cameron gone down this potentially dark path with his new 3D Re-Release of Titanic? Well according The Telegraph, yes and no:

After 3 decades of having a pretty solid streak in the realm of science fiction, Steven Spielberg has finally hit a dud with his very expensive show Terra Nova. Fox has decided to not renew the sci-fi series about a civilization that saves their future by going to the past, or an alternate universe…we’ll never find out.

THR says that while the show may be over on Fox, there still may be hope on a different network.

The news comes as Fox has an increased roster of hourlong dramas, including J.J. Abrams’ Alcatraz and Kiefer Sutherland-Tim Kring’s Touch, and heavy hype surrounding its drama development. Given Terra Nova’s international appeal, however, its studio, 20th Century Fox TV, will attempt to shop the big-budget series to other networks.

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After an arduous search for the actor who could play John McClane’s son in the newest installment of the Die Hard franchise, 20th Century Fox has finally settled on Jai Courtney.

Courtney is best known for playing Varro in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood And Sand. In the series, Courtney played a close friend and confidante of Spartacus until they were forced into a battle to the death. Courtney has had a bit of a big screen surge as he will next be seen starring opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount’s One Shot, the Christopher McQuarrie directed adaptation of the Lee Child bestseller. He is also attached to star opposite Aaron Eckhart in I, Frankenstein.

A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, puts McClane on unfamiliar ground, taking the hard-ass  New York City cop to the streets of Moscow. The flick introduces McClane’s estranged son Jack (Courtney). The McClane’s butt heads due to their similar personalities. Despite their differences, they must work together to keep each other alive and keep the world safe for democracy. This film positions Courtney to become a recurring character alongside Willis, and possibly take over for Willis as the lead as the sequels continue.

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The line that got the biggest laugh at my screening of This Means War was not in the film. It was uttered by colleague Pete Sobczynski. The print cut out two minutes in on the line “Remember: This is a covert mission,” immediate cut to black, cue Pete shouting out, “Oh come on! It can’t be that covert!” At which point Chicago Film Critics Association President Dann Gire nominated Pete for the Roger Ebert Award for Best Witticism. He deserves to win.

So what does this moderate digression have to do with This Means War? It was one of two times I laughed – the other was a throwaway gag where one character asks why the love interest (Reese Witherspoon) is talking to that old man (Chelsea Handler).

This Means War tries to mash two genres and succeeds in making both of them boring. The first is the dreaded rom-com. In this case, a love triangle between two men and one woman. The second is action-spy-thriller, as the two men work together for the CIA. That they’re all but suspended from duty in the first five minutes of the movie is not a good sign.

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If there is one thing George Lucas has mastered over the past few decades, it’s reminding us that the first three Star Wars films were a fluke. Between pre-teen Darth Vader, Jar Jar, and a ridiculous dance sequence in Jedi, we have all come to the realization that the phenomena of Episodes 4-6 should be untouched and never tainted by the hands of its creator.

With that in mind, Lucas is (kind of) backpedaling from a drastic change to A New Hope that had fans up in arms when the Remastered version was released. In it, the famous scene where Han Solo kills Greedo was brought into question. The original had Han shoot first, killing Greedo before he gets a chance to fire. In the new version, Lucas changed history (Long Time Ago, etc etc) by having Greedo shoot first and miss, allowing Solo to shoot to kill.

Turns out, Lucas never changed anything, he just pulled the camera out a bit. Yeah.

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t.

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