In absentia of our diligent box office reporter Shannon Hood I’m stepping in to bring you up to speed this week. The top three spots were taken by two remakes and one sequel, the former making me feel like I’d gone through a time warp back to the ’80′s.  It was exciting and a little disconcerting all at the same time.

Taking the top spot was the remake of the 1984 classic The Karate Kid.  For the purists out there you can rest easy knowing the producers did not use the same characters from the original.  While the premise is basically the same Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) have been replaced by Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). Personally, I thought Jaden Smith was too young to portray the character properly but the audience seemed to disagree with me.

The Karate Kidwent onto make $56 million in its opening weekend.  Given that the budget was $40 million this is certainly decent returns and I have no doubt will lead to a sequel, if not a trilogy.  Way to go Jaden!  Your superstar dad, Will Smith, must be very proud.

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This week On the Radar some details emerge on the next Jack Ryan adventure, a possible front runner to fill Peter Parker’s shoes, and bad news for The Green Hornet.

Marvel continues end credit Easter Eggs in Iron Man 2

In keeping with tradition of recent Marvel flicks this Summer’s Iron Man 2 will allegedly have extra footage post-credits.  While it’s hard to confirm just what exactly will be included this time around, speculation surrounds possible appearances by Thor and/or Captain America.  This of course leads into those two films hitting screens next Summer.  So, make sure to hang around after the film.

Michael Bay set to destroy your TV

I suppose it was only  a matter of time before Michael Bay decided to get into the television production game.  While the reality TV project probably won’t have as many explosions as the Transformers films, it definitely sounds like a premise only Bay could conceive:

“For my first television project I wanted to do something that had never been done before, and I believe that ‘One Way Out’ accomplishes that,” Bay said. “Combining unique twists, death-defying challenges, and stunning visuals, we are reinventing the genre, showing just how far people will go when they are stripped of their bare necessities and forced to do whatever it takes to survive.”

That description sounds vaguely familiar.  Maybe this series is just re-edited behind-the-scenes material from his movie shoots.  If that’s the case, I’m totally on board with this show, too bad no network has picked up the project yet.  Come on guys, this is Michael Bay, master of explosions, what could possibly go wrong.  Boom!

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The buzz has only been getting louder since the first trailer for Joe Carnahan’s The A-Team hit a few weeks ago. The first glimpses of the TV-to-film remake split fans, as some were excited, and some annoyed. Thankfully, most of us around The Flickcast offices are excited, and even more so when six new stills from the film got released.

The film looks to have all the excitement we remember from the original series, and then some. Carnahan is known for his explosive and “in your face” directing style, which is exactly what this property would need in order to do it justice.

Check out these all new images from the film after the jump, starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, “Rampage” Jackson, and Jessica Biel. The A-Team is set for a June 11th release date.

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As they say out in the world, get it while its hot. This brand new trailer for Joe Carahan’s upcoming reboot of The A-Team can’t last long so be sure to check it out after the jump. In case you’re not familiar, the film features Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and “Rampage” Jackson as a team of mercenaries convicted of a crime they didn’t commit who now fight for the little guy (or girl) while hiding out in the Los Angeles underground.

We really love this cast, although Rampage Jackson seems to not have much of a sense of humor — much like his character should probably be. The trailer also features a voiceover narration nearly identical to the TV show’s (which is pretty cool), and the action is what you’d expect until the end when it kinda goes too far when a parachuting tank shoots down an airplane. Hey, that could happen, right? But all is pretty much saved, at least for me, with the tag line “There is no plan B.” Nice.

Anyway, check it out and judge for yourself. But hurry.

Update: As we said, the video went fast and is now gone. Look for the “official” one to be released shortly.

Update 2: And now the trailer is “officially” out and if you click through you can see it.

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Out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, District 9 is a new sci-fi masterpiece from writer/director Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings). The film is a documentary-style account about a race of aliens marooned on earth who have been quarantined in a shantytown, known by humans as District 9, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The film has an “apartheid” metaphor in that the aliens (referred derogatorily by humans as “Prawns” because they look like crustaceans) represent an oppressed minority, all while the humans see the aliens as a nuisance and want to be rid of them once and for all. The film mainly focuses on two main characters; a human who was the head of a relocation program for the aliens, and an alien trying to find a way to return home to his planet.

Special features for the disc include a series of interesting deleted scenes that never made it into the final cut.  Director commentary from Neill Blomkamp shows how the concept of District 9 was turned into a reality. In the special feature “Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus”, we see behind the scenes footage of how the F/X team slowly turned actor Sharlto Copley from a human into a “Prawn.” Two other features include a concept design with production planners into creating the world of District 9 and the dazzling special effects that were generated for the film.

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The A-Team cast continues to grow with the addition of Patrick Wilson who will play a CIA operative in the new film. Wilson joins the star lineup of Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley and Jessica Biel.  If you don’t recognize Wilson’s name you’ll probably remember him best for his role as Night Owl II in Watchmen.

Wilson delivered a great performance as the second Night Owl. Not only did he convey a sense of mundane self-deprecation but in complete contrast brought some serious action scenes to the film as well. All that and he still found the time for a pretty good love scene with Silk Spectre II (Malin Ackerman). That range of acting should help Wilson craft a worth ally, or adversary, for The A-Team.

The A-Team rides into theaters June 11, 2010.

Typically film remakes come with a lot of changes. As new creators step into production roles they have their own vision for the content and make full use of their creative license. This being the case, it’s a refreshing change to see something stay the same. Case in point, the van in the upcoming The A-Team movie.

Photos of the van were taken on set in British Columbia, Canada and it looks great. That is to say, the “new” van is nearly identical to the old van. Even down to the red racing stripe. This gives me hope that director Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces) is preserving at least some of the essence of the original series, while bringing a more mature tone to the once campy show.

I’m taking this a good thing considering some other directors (I could cite names but will refrain) would have certainly changed the iconic van. Fortunately, Carnahan didn’t, which means we’re spared from seeing a pimped out black Hummer with gatling guns and rocket launchers on it. Now that I mention it, that sounds kind of cool but it just isn’t The A-Team. Getting ready to see the van in action next June when The A-Team comes to theaters.