We’re back once again with an all-new episode of The Flickcast. Four weeks in a row! This close to Christmas! The record is building once again.

On this week’s episode Chris and Joe discuss a bunch of new and recurring topics. Some of these include names of the new Star Wars characters, much more on the Arrow, Flash and Agents of SHIELD winter finales, a bit on the Sony hack and a whole lot more, more, more.

We should also mention we were scheduled to have an interview in this week’s episode, but due to circumstances, that wasn’t possible. So, this episode might be a bit shorter than usual. Sorry.

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the novel Half a King by Joe Abercrombie and Joe’s pick of the Blu-ray version of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that’s just come out.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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After a week off for the 4th of July holiday, we’re back with a brand new episode of The Flickcast. And you thought we’d forgotten about you. Not likely.

On this week’s show Chris and Joe talk about a lot of different things, as usual. Some of these “things” include the recent Emmy nominations and the worst snubs, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the latest on Doctor Who, more on Guardians of the Galaxy and a bunch of other stuff.

Chris and Joe even make a bet on the opening weekend box office for Guardians. What did they think? Well, you’ll just have to listen to find out. Saw that coming, didn’t you?

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of director John Hillcoat’s Lawless and Joe’s pick of the wonderful, and sadly soon to be extinct, 35mm film.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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The apes are back and there’s gonna be trouble … Yes, we like songs. We also like movies where apes run amuck and kick a lot of ass. Fortunately, we won’t be disappointed with the upcoming Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It’s got all that, and more.

In this sequel to 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield director Matt Reeves brings us the beginnings of the war between man and ape. Our money is on the humans. We cheat.

Look for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to drop on July 11. The trailer is after the break.

The recent reboot of Planet of the Apes was actually pretty good. Yeah, we were surprised too. Naturally, Fox is back with a sequel and there’s a first trailer out today.

The amazing Andy Serkis is, of course, back as Caesar. The also amazing Gary Oldman is in the cast too as the leader of the human survivors of a virus that’s decimated the planet.

In the film, the humans and apes are working together but soon, that truce is put to the test as events unfold pitting human against ape in a struggle to determine who will survive to rule the earth.

Our money is on the apes. Hail Caesar!

Check out the trailer after the break. Look for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to hit theaters on July 11, 2014.

2011 smashed one long-held cinematic rule, that on almost every occasion prequels suck. There were two very high-profile, very low expectation prequels that summer, and both ended up being franchise salvaging hits.

Sequels to those prequels have already been green lit and given release dates by Fox. The creative team behind X-Men: First Class were able to jump right into pre-production with almost all of the behind the scenes crew intact. The ride has been a little more bumpy for the next  Apes film, with Rise director Rupert Wyatt jumping ship.

The rumors have been circulating for a while that Wyatt was on the way out, but it was only very recently made official. However, according to deadline, just as quickly as one director leaves another jumps in his place. That director happens to be Cloverfield helmer, Matt Reeves.

Reeves is a fine choice to step into the Apes universe, as he is one of the few directors who has shown an ability to make a story his own while maintaining the previously established story. If Reeves manages to tap into the tone of Rise of the Planet of the Apes while bringing something new to the table we stand a great chance at getting another great flick.

It seems the popularity of vampires would be winding down with the over-saturation of the market, but Hollywood is moving away from your modern vampire, as seen in Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries, and seems to be looking toward the past to keep the craze going. There has been a sudden explosion of projects based on the classic vampire, Dracula. Names ranging from Adam Sandler to Park Chan-Wook are involved in some kind of story about the classical bloodsucker.

According to Deadline, Sony has purchased a pitch from writer Jason Keller that will tell Dracula’s origin story, with Joe Roth and Palak Patel set to produce. Sony would only admit that they intend to start a period franchise, and with Keller credited for the upcoming Snow White re-imagining Mirror Mirror, that might put two franchises on his plate.

The original Twilight Zone is one of those classic shows that will always be considered as creepy and intellectual as it was back when it first aired. Several reincarnations of the series ended up falling flat to the episodes that Rod Sterling himself presented back in the early 1960s.

For many, the franchise was rejuvinated in 1983 when a series of directors collaborated together to put together a massive anthology film. Warner Bros. is hoping to jump start the franchise’s popularity once again with a new film, helmed by Cloverfield director Matt Reeves.

Here’s the catch: It won’t be an anthology. Deadline has the exclusive:

Let Me In and Cloverfield director Matt Reeves has been chosen by Warner Bros to direct The Twilight Zone, the Jason Rothenberg-scripted thriller based on the classic Rod Serling TV series. Negotiations will get underway early next week, but this is an assignment that was coveted by a number of top directors.

Matt Reeves got put on the map with Cloverfield, solidified his name in the world of horror with his American-ized version of Let The Right One In, titled Let Me In, and now he’s continuing in the trend which so many other great modern directors follow, which is remake a classic story.

This one is slightly different, however, as Matt Reeves is set to do a new version of a classic Ray Nelson short, 8 O’Clock in the Morning, which was the inspiration behind John Carpenter’s 80’s classic They Live. So not a traditional 80s remake, but still a new take on a classic tale. Deadline has the story.

The story is about a man who awakens one morning with the crystal-clear realization that we are surrounded daily by the presence of aliens that are controlling society. It was owned by the studio because it was used as the basis for the 1988 Carpenter film They Live. In that film, aliens were discovered through the use of special glasses. None of that is being used here, and the film is not considered a remake.

Like everyone  else, I was  upset when I heard that they were going to remake the beloved Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In.

However, let it be said that this is one of the most beautiful, poignant, and moving films of the year.

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) maintains the look and feel of the movie by bathing the frequent nighttime scenes in blue hones.  The crisp snowscape is now set in New Mexico, but the apartment courtyard where the two principals initially meet is nearly identical to the original.

Chronically bullied Owen (Kodi Smit-McGhee) notices a young girl and her father who have moved into his complex.  Over the course of several nights, he strikes up a friendship with the mysterious girl, bonding over a mutual love of puzzles and games.

She is guarded at first, but eventually warms up to Owen.  However, it is quickly apparent that she is no ordinary child.  She walks barefoot in the snow, by choice.  She shuns the daytime hours, and her relationship with her “father” appears a bit more sinister as time goes by.

By Shannon Hood and Jane Almirall

Each day we will provide you with capsule reviews and impressions of the films we see at Fantastic Fest, along with any activities or interviews we attend.  Complete reviews and interviews can be found on the site in upcoming weeks.

Day one of fantastic fest we hit the ground running and went straight from the airport to pick up our press badges.  We managed to cram in three screenings for the day, starting at 4pm.  Not too shabby.

Screening: Stone. Directed by John Curran and starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, and Milla Jovovich.  Summary: A convicted arsonist (Norton) looks to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife (Jovovich)  in the lawman’s path.

Jane’s thoughts:  This was an unusual experience for me.  I was half expecting this to play out like a thriller-but instead I watched a slow (but evenly paced) meditative, existential character study.

The performances were great, but I can’t say I enjoyed the film (to its credit,we discussed it a great deal afterwards.)

The characters in Stone never quite feel like actual people, rather they represent certain characteristics of humanity.  Their stories slowly unfold to reveal that in the end, we are back at the beginning and haven’t moved an inch.