Right off the bat, I should point out that HBO’s Rome was the best TV series ever made. That’s right, ever made. I’m a huge fan of Roman history and mythology.

I was extremely impressed by the creators of HBO’s Rome because they took their accuracy seriously. So seriously in fact that even the craftsmen in the bazaar were actual Roman craftsmen. The money spent to create a truly accurate atmosphere just may have had a tiny bit to do with why it was canceled after 2 seasons.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand, however, doesn’t care nearly as much about history. What it does care about is blood and sand. The title does not disappoint. Within the first episode, I swear, a gladiator spewed gallons of blood on a very sandy plane of death.

A human body holds around 8-10 pints of blood, so it’s quite a feat for a gladiator to expunge even a few gallons. These men must have been built very tough and it seems very liquidity.

While the mono-syllable, shoddy dialogue is straight out of 300 or perhaps G.I. Joe, the view is stunningly breathtaking (for TV).  Spartacus is wholly gratuitous in a cheesecake, soft-core sort of way, but it’s worth noting that it is equally gratuitous. There are plenty of raunchy shows that panhandle to men in the audience with oh-so-classy shots of women come undone. These same shows forget that perhaps some women might be watching.

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The cable movie channel Starz isn’t best known for their original programming. They’ve had mild success with the episodic spinoff of the Oscar winning Crash, starring Dennis Hopper, but outside of that, things have been pretty quiet. That’s all expected to change tonight, as Spartacus: Blood and Sand premieres on the channel, bringing in fans of all creed to enjoy this epic tale of Roman gore. Luckily, that’s exactly what the show is.

Obviously, the main focus of the show is Spartacus (played by Andy Whitfield), while there are plenty of other fan favorites to help us along the way, such as Lucy Lawless, John Hannah of the Mummy movies, and Legend Of The Seeker’s Craig Parker. These familiar faces help us along the way, making it feel a bit more like a Raimi/Tapert production, which always helps.

Now onto the grit, which is certainly in affluence here. Of course, the show creators wanted this series to stand out above the rest, and with a name like Blood and Sand, they also wanted to deliver on the former. With that comes, in my opinion, way too much CG blood. The slow-motion fight sequences are one thing, but when you’re using buckets of computer animated blood to transition between scenes, a la a gory episode of Home Improvement, you may have gone too far.

Not many know this but Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is actually based on the story of Spatacus, among others. With that in mind, you may find yourself developing a bit of déjá vu. Luckily the overabundance of blood and nudity, and complete lack of Russell Crowe, will snap you back into the moment.

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Cult movie legend Bruce Campbell has been in and out of the limelight about a dozen times since his indie debut in Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic, Evil Dead. Since then, he’s been attached to most of Raimi’s other projects, from Spider-Man to Hercules and Xena. Back in 2007, Campbell decided to branch off a bit and spoof himself in the film My Name is Bruce.

The film was enough of a hit with fans that Bruce says they’re going back for a sequel.

In the film, Campbell plays an exaggerated version of himself, when a local town is tormented by an ancient demon, they figure to call the guy who’s fought them over and over again in movies. The movie carries some of Raimi’s horror/comedy formula, while pumping out some great moments. According to a recent e-mail to Ain’t It Cool News, Campbell is ready for a second go.

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As first reported via Deadline Hollywood, things are going in a completely different direction in the cinematic world of Spider-Man. According to the report, the fourth film featuring the web slinger won’t star Tobey Maguire or be directed by Sam Raimi. In fact, none of the creative team from the first three films will be returning and the next film will be an entire reboot of the franchise.

This news comes after recent reports of script and villain problems and delays in filming in order to reach a projected release date in 2012. In addition, Sony released a statement today and we’ve got that for you right here:

Culver City, CA (January 11, 2010) — Peter Parker is going back to high school when the next Spider-Man hits theaters in the summer of 2012. Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios announced today they are moving forward with a film based on a script by James Vanderbilt that focuses on a teenager grappling with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

The new chapter in the Spider-Man franchise produced by Columbia, Marvel Studios and Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin, will have a new cast and filmmaking team. Spider-Man 4 was to have been released in 2011, but had not yet gone into production.

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In the never ending quest for the perfect release schedule for big movies, studios often shift dates around in an effort to one-up the competition or, in some cases, counter-program so their movie is the only one of its genre coming out on a particular weekend. Other times, studios make changes that seem deliberately to undermine other movies. Case in point is today’s switch of Marvel Studios’ Thor movie from the original date of May 20, 2011 to May 6, 2011.

You may wonder why this is significant? Well, this is the same weekend that Spider-Man 4 is supposedly going to be released by Sony. Although, with the troubles the film is supposedly going through, it may end up getting the date pushed. Still, its a pretty interesting move on Paramount’s part.

Although this move does appear, at least on the surface, as an act of internal rivalry, the report states that Paramount simply did not want to wait on an “official” release date change for Spider-Man 4 in case other studios tried to get there first. This way, a Marvel movie still has a slot on the opening weekend of Summer. Makes sense I guess.

There were reports before the holidays that there were issues on the production of the new Spider-Man film. But at the time, those rumors were shrugged off as the production just breaking for the holidays. But now comes news via Deadline Hollywood that director Sam Raimi is having some issues with the script and trouble getting financiers at Sony to back his choice for the movie’s villain.

The big news is that with all big franchise films lately, release dates are announced far before production even begins, so there’s a setup of expectation from the viewing public, and the pressure on the filmmakers to meet that deadline. Spider-Man 4 – or Spider-M4n as it is rumored to be titled – was scheduled for release on May 11, 2011. That date is starting to look like an impossibility.

Previous versions of the script have been written by Jamie Vanderbilt (Zodiac), David Lindsay-Abaire (Inkheart), and Gary Ross (writer and director of Seabiscuit), and is now in the hands of Spider-Man 2 & 3 writer Alvin Sargeant. Hopefully, he’ll have better luck, Raimi will be happy, the studio will be happy and the film will move forward again.

Until then, stay tuned to The Flickcast for more on this developing story.

2009 was a great year for films in general, particularly if you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre. The year also saw the return of a beloved franchise to the big screen as well as the latest film by one of our best modern directors. And even with the current condition of the country and the economy, audiences still managed to fill theaters and the movies enjoyed record breaking successes that hopefully will continue on into the new year.

Even with all the great movies in 2009, there were also some not so great ones. Sadly, there will always be some real bombs, but that’s to be expected. Fortunately, there were also quite a few standouts that helped keep us entertained, enthralled and excited about going to the movies in 2009.

As usual with lists of this type, I need to disclaim and say this is my list of what I felt were the best films of 2009. Nobody can see everything and opinions vary. Your list may be different.

Differing opinions and the freedom to express them are one of the things that make this country great. There’s always something new and different to see and do and we all get to choose what’s best for us. What movies we watch and enjoy is no exception.

That said, here then is my list, in no particular order, of the films I feel were the best of 2009.

Inglourious Basterds — 2009 saw the return of director Quentin Tarantino and the release of this amazing film. Some might consider it overlong or self-indulgent, but it showcases Tarantino’s filmmmaking skills at their finest and serves as an example of one filmmaker’s singular vision and immense storytelling craft.

This film provides the audience with something they never got from real life: closure. To finally see the Nazis, and in particular Hitler, get the ending they deserve is a testament to the power of this film and to its creator.

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Sometimes Hollywood’s Cinderella stories come from behind the camera instead of what we actually see up on the big screen. Take a look at Tarantino’s rise from working at a video store to directing such classics as Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs. Now, a virtual unknown named Fede Alvarez looks to make a similar impact because of a video he put on YouTube.

No, it’s not a video of Afro Ninja or the Star Wars kid. Instead, Fede produced a four minute short film of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital being destroyed by a robotic invasion. The amazing part of this short is that it only cost him about $300. Fede told the BBC, “I uploaded ‘Ataque de Panico!’ on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of emails from Hollywood studios.” After a bidding war, Fede settled on signing with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures for a reported $30,000,000 deal.

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On the night of the big high school prom, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn’t get dates to the dance. Filled with a plethora of high school stereotypes, the group takes on a town for of brain hungry zombies and vow to save what’s left of the town from the adjacent power plant that seems to be the cause of the recent resurrections.

Those in the mood for a great zombie flick should pick this one up. Other critics have been quoted saying this film “makes Carrie look like Pretty in Pink,” though if you were to truly classify it, it’s much more like Shaun of the Dead meets Breakfast Club. Any fan of film who has seen dozens upon dozens of zombie movies knows the feeling of “how much ass they would kick if zombies were real.” Well, this movie does it for you, bringing out the Sci-Fi nerd in all of us as a group of high school freaks and geeks take on a town full of zombies.

The group is filled with just about everybody you would need in a zombie uprising: the Jackass-style bad boy, the heroic yet sassy wise-ass, the ditsy cheerleader, the know-it-all class president, the stoner rock band, the militant gym teacher, and of course the pack of nerds. Each member has their fifteen minutes as a hero, and then dies off or becomes second banana to the main love story between the wise-ass and the class president. That’s right: the zombie comedy has a romantic twist, and you’ll enjoy it.

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Spider-Man 3 was far from great but I will say Thomas Haden Church gave a pretty good performance as reluctant villain Sandman. Like Alfred Molina (Dr. Octopus) before him and Willem Dafoe (Green Goblin) prior to that. Church brought a tragic element to the role. Yes, they all ended up portraying villains but you kind of felt sorry for them. I’ll even go so far as to say as much as Venom sucked in the last film, Topher Grace had an ounce of that innate misery in his portrayal of Eddie Brock.

Well, perhaps we’ll see that again in Spider-Man 4 as Dylan Baker will be reprising his role as Dr. Connor. While we have yet to see his true villain side manifest as The Lizard in the films maybe it will finally happen. Collider reports:

“Baker joked with “Trick-r-Treat” writer/director Dougherty about his role in the film, with Dougherty saying that Baker’s character was “just appearing in the background” and that the possibility of the Lizard would just be “a cocktease for another year”. Baker apparently joined in the joking, but it’s unclear whether he was actually confirming a small role for Connors or if he was giving a wink and a nod.”

Come on Sam Raimi, give the fans what they want: The Lizard!  You’ve teased us for three films now, it’s time you gave Baker some green scaly skin and sharp fangs to do battle with Spider-Man. Perhaps more importantly, Baker fits the bill for that tragic quality I talked about above.

Speaking of actors that are due a real role in Spider-Man 4, Raimi confirmed that Bruce Campbell will also return for the film, “I promised him we would write something because I really love putting him in the pictures,” he told the network, adding, “I promised him a good meaty role.”

So, just what kind of “meaty role” do you give a guy who has played a different character in every film?  If Internet rumors hold any water Campbell could dawn the mask of Mysterio.  It would be a perfect role for Campbell when you consider the origins of the character (from Wikipedia):

“Debuting in Amazing Spider-Man #13, Mysterio is Quentin Beck, a special effects wizard and stunt man working for a major Hollywood studio with dreams of making a name for himself in the film industry. However, he came to see his career in special effects as a dead-end job, but realized that his expertise in illusions could make him an effective supervillain.”

Gee, a guy trying to make a name for himself in the film industry? Sure, Campbell is already a name in the industry, but this sounds like the perfect downtrodden character Campbell could really get into.  Here’s hoping this is one Internet rumor that will pan out.

Spider-Man 4 is set for a May 2011 release date.