Make no mistake about it, Chloe Moretz (500 Days of Summer) owns this movie. She may only be 11 years old, but her performance as Hit-Girl is spunky, sassy, and exciting. Hit-Girl is poised to become a new comic cult icon, and Kick-Ass is quite simply a rollicking good time.

At one of the panels I attended this weekend, someone likened Kick-Ass to a comic type Pulp Fiction, which I would say is a pretty accurate description. British Actor Aaron Johnson plays Dave Lizewski, a nerdy high school type whose only interaction with the popular kids is when he brushes up against one at his locker.

One day out of the blue he decides he is going to become a vigilante superhero. He concocts a hideous green costume that resembles a wet suit, sets up a social media homepage for his alter ego, and starts “training.” When someone asks his name, he proudly proclaims, “I’m Kick-Ass!”

Completely inept and not blessed with any actual powers, Dave gets the living crap beat out of him by a few thugs mere moments after his official debut as Kick-Ass. This results in a multitude of injuries requiring steel plates and rods being placed throughout his body, which makes him a little more impervious to injury, but still not in possession of actual powers.

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Thanks to the cool guys and gals at Yahoo Movies, we can bring you the latest theatrical trailer for Matthew Vaugh’s highly anticipated (especially in Geek circles) film Kick-Ass. As you might be aware, the film is based on the comic series by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., tells the story of teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to take crime fighting into his own hands and don the moniker “Kick-Ass” while he uncovers the true darkness in the city and gets the crap kicked out of him in the process.

The first trailer and the clips looked pretty cool and left us all hungry for more. And I don’t mind saying that this new trailer only increases our level of excitement adding much more to the action and character mix. This movie looks great and hopefully we’ll get to see it once SXSW rolls around.

Check it out after the jump. Kick-Ass, starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage, hits theaters on April 16th, 2010.

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The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin has chosen the film that will open its 2010 festival and its one that will surely please fanboys (and girls) alike: Matthew Vaughn’s highly anticipated Kick-Ass. The film, based on the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., tells the story of teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to take crime fighting into his own hands and don the moniker “Kick-Ass” while he uncovers the true darkness in the city and gets the crap kicked out of him in the process.

In addition to Kick-Ass, the SXSW festival, which runs from March 12-20, announced five other film titles making an appearance at the fest this year including Electra Luxx, from director Sebastian Gutierrez, Cold Weather, the latest from SXSW alum Aaron Katz, and the first public screening of the IMAX space film Hubble 3D. In addition, actor-turned-director James Franco’s Saturday Night, a documentary that takes you behind the scenes during the production of an episode of Saturday Night Live, will also screen at the fest.

Kick-Ass will be released by Lionsgate on April 16. More of the festival’s approximately 125 features will be announced in early February.

Be sure to check back right here for all your SXSW news.

My former colleagues over at Cinematical have an exclusive look at the reported final poster for the CGI-animated adaptation of Astro Boy. You can head over there for a better look at the poster. In the meantime, in case you’re not familiar, Astro Boy, based on the manga and anime franchise of the same name, takes place in the futuristic Metro City. Dr. Tenma, a brilliant scientist, creates a young robot boy in his deceased son’s image.

The robot is, of course, the super powerful Astro Boy. Once alive and kicking, he has to contend with other much more dangerous robots and unfortunately, some not so trustworthy humans as well. The film features the voices of Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy, Kristen Bell as Cora, Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma, Bill Nighy as Dr. Elefun and Donald Sutherland as the President.

It should come as no surprise that Freddie Highmore’s Astro Boy is front and center on the poster, closely followed by Kristen Bell’s Cora. Also included in the poster are Dr. Tenma and Dr. Elefun. In addition to the poster, which looks really cool and fun, I also had a chance to see the trailer for the film while watching a movie last weekend. It also made the film look really fun and also made it seem suitable for kids (of all ages) as well.

Astro Boy hits theaters on October 23rd.

When we brought you the last bits of information on Matthew Vaughn’s highly anticipated action/comedy Kick-Ass, the film, although one of the highlights of Comic-Con, was still looking for a distributor. Well, fortunately for fans of the comic and new fans excited for the film after viewing the bootleg trailer, its search for a distributor has ended with Lionsgate.

According to Variety, Lionsgate got its first look at the film on July 28th and has picked up domestic rights to it in a deal that’s described in the trade as “big.” This also means Lionsgate plans a wide release for the action/comedy sometime in 2010. As a reminder for those of you just joining us, Kick-Ass is based on a comic written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr. and features Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz and Aaron Johnson.

It follows the adventures of teenager Dave Lizewski, a New York City high school student, who takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. When his exploits are recorded by an onlooker with a cell phone and posted to the Internets, he becomes a sensation and is given the moniker Kick-Ass. This is good news. Lionsgate knows how to release films like this. Glad it found a home.

I don’t always like to post bootleg copies of trailers and other things of “dubious” origin here at the site. However, this one is just too cool to pass up and has already popped up at other sites so there’s no use it holding back now. So, in that spirit, here’s the trailer — via Trailer Addict –  they showed at Comic-Con in San Diego for Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Kick-Ass, the comic written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita, Jr.

In case you’re not familiar with the comic or the movie, it follows the adventures of young Dave Lizewski, a regular New York City high school student, who takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. When his exploits are recorded by an onlooker with a cell phone and posted to the Internets, he becomes a sensation and is given the moniker Kick-Ass.

Along the way, he fights injustices found through his MySpace page and eventually team up with other like-minded wanna-be heroes including Hit Girl, Big Daddy and The Red Mist, to take down a local drug kingpin. The film, which is currently seeking distribution, stars Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz and Aaron Johnson.

Check out all the bloody fun after the jump. But you better hurry, seeing as this is a bootleg, it might not last long on the Internets.

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Even though he didn’t divulge exactly what character he’s going to be playing or very many other details, everyone’s favorite Admiral Edward James Olmos did say he’s joining the cast of the Seth Rogen starrer The Green Hornet. During an appearance this past weekend at Wizard World in Chicago, the Battlestar Galactica star and The Plan director said that he’s definitely in the film — as told to the folks at Hollywood Snitch, who were on-hand for the event.

According to Olmos, he was leaving the convention and pretty much heading to the set to start work — or that’s the way he made it sound at least. Said the actor/director: “I’m on my way to do The Green Hornet. It’ll be a lot of fun with Seth [Rogen], Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz.”

That’s just about as vague as you can get and still be information. Of course, it is news that Olmos will be in the film, so that’s something. Still, it would be nice to find out what character he’s going to be playing. We already know that Asian pop star Jay Chou will be playing Kato in the film, that Nicholas Cage is playing a bad guy and that Cameron Diaz is the love interest. But what of Olmos?

My guess is that he’ll be some sort of authority figure, much as he’s been on BSG and even way back in the Miami Vice days. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s a cop in the movie and maybe even a world-weary cop reluctantly forced to allow The Green Hornet to go about his crime fighting business. Along the way they build a grudging respect for one another and finally learn to work together to help save the city they both love. We’ll see if I’m right.

The Green Hornet, directed by Michel Gondry, also stars Seth Rogen, Nicholas Cage, Cameron Diaz and Jay Chou. It hits theaters in 2010.

Here’s a list of some of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week. Plus, some old favorites coming out this week on Blu-Ray.

New Movies:

• Knowing ~ Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne (DVD and Blu-ray)

• Push ~ Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning (DVD and Blu-ray)

• The Unborn ~ Odette Yustman (DVD and Blu-Ray)

• Night Train ~ Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn (DVD and Blu-ray)

• Five Fingers ~ Laurence Fishburne, Colm Meaney, Antonie Kamerling, Saïd Taghmaoui (DVD and Blu-ray)

• A Day in the Life ~ Omar Epps, Faizon Love, Michael Rapaport, Tyrin Turner (DVD)

• Flying By ~ Billy Ray Cyrus, Heather Locklear, Olesya Rulin, Patricia Neal (DVD)

• Applause for Miss E ~ Vanessa Bell Calloway, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gina Torres (DVD)

• Power Rangers RPM, Vol. 1: Start Your Engines ~ Eka Darville, Ari Boyland, Rose McIver, Milo Cawthorne (DVD)

• Flight 666 ~ Iron Maiden (Blu-ray)

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Nobody seems to know if this trailer is “official” or not or even if its supposed to be released online. Until the men in dark suits and earpieces break down the door of The Flickcast offices, we’re gonna bring you this trailer featuring Nicholas Cage in Werner Hertzog’s remake/sequel to Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant known as Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

The original film featured Harvey Keitel in what can only be described a an “interesting” performance. And while I’m still not sure if this new film will be able to match the insanity of Ferrara’s original, it sure seems like its going to try in a whirlwind of guns, cocaine and women. This time around, Cage’s “Bad Lieutenant” character is not so concerned with the raping of nuns while in a church but instead, he’s tasked with trying to track down a homicide witness — all while having what can only be described as some serious personal issues.

Adding to the exciting mix is the reunion between Cage and his Ghost Rider co-star Eva Mendes, which is sure to ignite the screen much as it did before. Can you tell I’m slightly skeptical if this is gonna work? We’ll know for sure when the film hits theaters, complete with Cage’s other co-stars val Kilmer and Fariuza Balk, on December 2nd.

Meantime, check out the trailer, courtesy of the fine folks at Collider, after the jump.

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