As with most every week, this week sees the release of more new movies and TV shows on Blu-ray and DVD. Of the titles dropping this week we’re most interested in Edge of Darkness, Legion, Daybreakers, the first time Blu-ray release of Karate Kid I and II, the release of the Kurosawa collection and the debut of Mel Brook’s History of the World Part One on Blu-ray (pictured above with Mel Brooks and Harvey Korman).

Check them out.

Movies

Daybreakers ~ Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe (Blu-ray and DVD)

Edge of Darkness ~ Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston (Blu-ray and DVD)

Essential Art House: Kurosawa Collection (Hidden Fortress/Ikiru/Throne of Blood) (Blu-ray and DVD)

Father of the Bride 1 & 2 ~ Steve Martin (Blu-ray and DVD)

Hang Em High (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] ~ Clint Eastwood, Ed Begley, Bruce Dern, and Dennis Hopper (Blu-ray – 2010)

History of the World Part 1 ~ Mel Brooks, Dom Deluise, Harvey Korman (Blu-ray)

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Lots of names come to mind when thinking of the more popular film score composers of the past two decades. Names like Danny Elfman, John Williams, and Quincy Jones have dominated the craft for so long, it’s refreshing when a newcomer joins the ranks. In the last 5 years, Michael Giacchino has earned his slot in the Mount Everest of film composers.

Giacchino has shown his incredible range scoring projects such as LOST, Speed Racer, The Incredibles, Star Trek, and finally getting himself an Oscar for his work on Disney’s Up. It looks like the major studio isn’t letting go of Giacchino any time soon, as they have just hired him to compose the score for the upcoming space adventure John Carter of Mars.

It makes sense that Disney would go with this pick, given his work on their more recent Pixar films, especially with Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton directing the film. While that connection makes the most sense, it could also be attributed to the amazing score Giacchino composed for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, which could easily go down as one of the best sci-fi scores of recent history.

Even with this news, John Carter of Mars is most definitely not shaping up to be a small picture. With Disney backing the film, and a cast made up of Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Thomas Hayden Church, Samantha Morton and Lynn Collins, you can expect to see big things from the upcoming sci-fi epic.

The Vampire’s Assistant is based on the first three books in a series of twelve by Darren Shan. Like the Twilight series, The Vampire’s Assistant books are targeted towards young adults, and naturally this movie is as well. If you are not a tweener, or a fan of the book series, it is best to steer clear of this painfully bland adaptation.  The movie seems entirely too self-aware of its target audience, and consequently it takes the safe route at every turn throughout the film.  This results in a rather boring final product, despite some bright spots.

Darren  (Chris Massoglia) and his friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson) sneak out one night to attend a freak show in their area.  Ringmaster Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe) introduces a plethora of captivating creatures, including a snake boy (Patrick Fugit of Almost Famous), a woman capable of spontaneously regenerating lobbed off  limbs (30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski), a bearded lady/psychic (Salma Hayek), and a girl with freakishly large teeth (Kristen Schaal), amongst others.

The opening scene featuring the freak show was my favorite part of the movie.  It aptly portrays the shock, excitement and disgust that two young boys would feel the first time viewing such an event.  It also had some very cool makeup/CGI effects.  Having been a fan of the original Freaks (1932) I tend to delight in this subject matter, and I was not disappointed.

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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.

First, there was Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins and then Willem Dafoe. Now, there’s three more actors confirmed for Andrew (Wall-E) Stanton’s big screen version of John Carter of Mars. Along with the casting news, there’s also a few spoilers concerning Martian politics and things of that nature, so be aware.

Minority Report‘s Samantha Morton and The Wire‘s Dominic West have joined the cast of the Walt Disney version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic novel. Morton will play Dafoe’s daughter, Sola, while West’s character will be the Zodangan prince Sab Than, who feels that he should be the one to rule all of Mars. Rounding out the three new actors is Rome’s Polly Walker playing the role of Sarkoja, who is described as “a merciless, tyrannical Thark.” Is there any other kind?

The film, in case you’re not aware, centers on a Civil War veteran (Kitsch) who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars where he becomes embroiled with the planet’s warring people and kicks a lot of green butt. The movie is expected to start production early next year for a release in 2012.

Last time on on The Flickcast, your favorite trio discussed topics include Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern, Natalie Portman in Thor, AMC’s reboot of the classic The Prisoner TV series, the potential Smallville Superman movie and much much more!

This week, Chris and Matt go it alone and jump into full Comic-Con preview mode to discuss all the great things coming up at the Con like the Twilight Zone movie, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the Tron reboot, Willem Dafoe in John Carter of Mars, Torchwood: Children of Earth and how fun it is to say the word “Hufflepuff” while doing a British accent.

Chris and Matt also made some picks this week including Matt’s pick of Justice League: New Frontier and Chris’ pick of the novel A Princess of Mars, the first book in Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars series.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email. Thanks for listening.

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According to Variety, Willem Dafoe has joined the cast of Disney’s John Carter of Mars, which already includes Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins. In the film, which is being directed by Wall-E helmer Andrew Stanton, Dafoe will play Tars Tarkas, a fierce green Martian warrior, who’s unusual among his savage race for his ability to feel compassion and empathy.

In the film, which is based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels A Princess of Mars, Tars develops an alliance with John Carter after Carter, a Civil War veteran, is miraculously transported, via astral projection, to Mars. Once there, Carter meets Martian princess Dejah Thoris, wins her hand, rediscovers his own humanity after the ravages of war, teams up with Tars Tarkas and eventually becomes Warlord of Mars.

And did I mention that Tars Tarkas is also about eight or ten feet tall with four arms and green skin? At least he’s that way in the book. Fortunately, this isn’t the first time Dafoe has been green in a film, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble for him. The real question is how will he play someone with four arms who’s that tall? Of course, he’s a very good actor, so I’ll bet he can pull it off — with a little help from some movie magic.