Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.
Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Gone with the Wind, Thirst, Rome: The Complete Series and the Blu-ray debut of David Fincher’s awesome Fight Club (shown above with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton). We are Jack’s excitement at this release finally coming out.
Check them out:
Movies
Bruno ~ Sacha Baron Cohen, Paula Abdul (DVD and Blu-ray)
Clerks ~ Brian O’Halloran, Kevin Smith (Blu-ray)
Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) ~ Robert Redford, Gene Hackman (DVD)
Fight Club ~ Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter (Blu-ray)
Galaxy Quest ~ Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman (Blu-ray)
Gone with the Wind (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) ~ Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh (Blu-ray)
If you watched Monday’s episode of Heroes, which was a pretty good one, you know that it featured Mohinder Suresh’s (Sendhil Ramamurthy) long-awaited return to the show. But the question still remains: What is Samuel’s plan for him and why is Hiro so annoying now? Well, that first one is a real question anyway. Hiro isn’t that annoying.
While you ponder those question, we’ve got a bunch of clips for you that will potentially help you discover some of the answers about Suresh, Smauel, Hiro and the mysterious past and origins of all your favorite characters. These clips feature Mohinder’s father, Chandra Suresh, at Coyote Sands research camp. He was doing research at the camp, you may remember, during last season’s episode “1961″ and what he is doing there may hold the key to mysteries only hinted at until now.
Watch the videos after the jump and see if you can decipher Chandra’s work and discoveries. Heroes is on Tuesday nights at 8/7C on NBC.
There was a lot of concern from fans about J.J. Abrams reboot (Yes, I realize he doesn’t want to call it that but if the shoe fits…) of Star Trek. Trekkies/Trekkers take this content very seriously making it a daunting task to appease those loyalist while making a film accessible to regular movie-goers. Fortunately, Abrams pulled it off and the new Star Trek universe was met with excitement and anticipation for future films.
Speaking to the L.A. Times, Abrams talked about what avenue the second film would take and how it would get back to the roots of the original series:
“The ambition for a sequel to ‘Star Trek’ is to make a movie that’s worthy of the audience and not just another movie, you know, just a second movie that feels tacked on. The first movie was so concerned with just setting up the characters — their meeting each and galvanizing that family — that in many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. it needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant.”
There’s a significant importance in that mention of allegory. The best stories are the ones viewers can relate to and is what made the the new Battlestar Galactica TV series so successful. In fact, you were so drawn into that world you nearly forget it took place in space. If Abrams can capture that same formula for subsequent Star Trek films it would be a huge win for him. If anyone can do it Abrams certainly can, especially considering his track record of character driven shows like Lost and Fringe. Now with Star Trek on the right path, the only thing I’d like to know now is what Slusho is an allegory for?
Among all the shows either starting fresh this Fall or coming back, Heroes still has a special place in our hearts. Sure, the show might have lost its way a bit during the last couple seasons, but compared to many other shows on TV, its still got some compelling characters, interesting storyline and is often just plain fun to watch.
Of course, we’ve been keeping tabs on the developments of this coming season and have even managed to bring you a few bits of info here and there to help build your excitement for the shows’ return. Now, we’re at it again and have a couple more videos to share with you today. As usual, these videos are designed to give you some crucial information and insight into the characters and situations that will be the focal points of this new season.
Plus, they’re also intended to show that the show’s producers and writers are taking a “back to basics” approach to the story arc for the season and will be returning to elements that made the show so great when it was first on. Fortunately, based on what I can see here, they’re definitely heading in the right direction. The other video is a more standard “behind the scenes” promo which is also pretty interesting, even to someone who used to actually work in the business.
Be sure to check out both videos after, you guessed it, the jump. Also, be sure to catch the brand new season of Heroes when it comes back to NBC on Mon., Sept. 21st 8/7c.
The new TV season is almost upon us with a bunch of new and returning shows vying for our attention. One show we’re always going to give a chance to, even if its sorta seems to have lost its way a bit, is Heroes. Previously, we’ve brought you a bunch of promos and other information highlighting the upcoming season and today we’ve got another promo for you thanks to the folks at NBC.
This one, called “Back At Their Best,” shows that our favorite characters are going to get back to basics and back to, well, their best. From what I’ve seen of these promos so far it seems the show’s producers and NBC are determined to get it back on track and hopefully return the show to the level it started out at. Because I’m a fan of the show, I really hope they can pull it off. And no, that pic of Hayden Panettiere holding a shotgun isn’t from this particular promo, I just like it. So there.
The 2-Hour Season Premiere of Heroes comes to NBC on Mon., Sept. 21st 8/7c. Meanwhile, check out this latest promo after the jump.
Zachary Quinto went from obscurity, to rising star, then all the way to blockbuster actor in a matter of months. In that time, we got to see him as a good guy, a bad guy, a bad guy pretending to be a good guy, and a Vulcan. Not once have we seen Quinto stretch his comedic muscles. . . until now.
Funny or Die has developed a great niché by taking some of our favorite actors and putting them in some pretty outstanding skits. You may remember the Ballad of G.I. Joe a few weeks back. Well now, the site has left room for Zachary Quinto’s debut as a crazed criminal who takes a liking to one of his hostages.
Check out the very NSFW video after the jump, and enjoy Quinto’s Spockian ways when Star Trek hits DVD stores November 17th.
Zoe Saldana, who played Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, announced at Comic-Con that she believes the script for the sequel is already halfway done. Although screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and director Abrams, have been evasive about details of the sequel, SciFiWire reports that Saldana is providing fans with a much needed progress report.
“I do know that they are germinating a script,” Saldana said during a group interview to promote Avatar. “That’s what they told us a month and a half ago, which actually means—in that kind of talk it means that they’re probably halfway done with a script. They just can’t present it to anybody. But they’re very excited, and there is a lot of pressure, because now it’s like, ‘Oh, do you do The Wrath of Khan or do you do this or whatever?’”
When Star Trek reset the canon with a time-travel story device, the opportunity to revisit classic Trek missions from a fresh perspective. However, Saldana encouraged the filmmakers to avoid succumbing to any outside influence.
“I honestly told Robert, Alex and J.J. to just do what they did first, which is just to trust themselves,” Saldana continued. “By not listening to anyone, not putting any pressures on themselves, they were able to create something very beautiful and free that we still grew attached to. If that formula worked for Star Trek, then it can certainly work for this next one.”
Saldana is also confident that the romance that was beginning to develop between Uhura and Spock (Zachary Quinto) in the first movie will continue in the sequel. “I am excited to see what they’re going to do with their relationship in relation to what happened to Vulcan and what kind of responsibilities Spock is going to have in this next journey,” she said. “Not only in his personal side but in terms of he’s a race in extinction now.”
Saldana believes work will begin on Star Trek 2 next year.
Previously on The Flickcast, we had reviews from both Matt Raub and Chris Ullrich on J.J. Abrams new Star Trek film. In case you missed those reviews, both Matt and Chris loved the film and thought it was a lot of fun. Now, in the interest of fair and balanced, we’ve got another review for you that paints a slightly different picture.
This time around, The Flickcastcontributor and long-time Trek fan Tom Mahoney gives us his take on the new film. If you haven’t seen the film yet, know that this review contains SPOILERS so read at your own risk. Check it out.
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As a point of reference to what I am about to write, you should know that I am a 61-year old geek who grew up a huge fan of Star Trek. I was fortunate enough to watch the series on television from the very beginning, get to know the personalities of the crew, and week-by-week go through the sense of eager anticipation until it was time for the next episode to air. I have continued to follow the franchise through Star Trek: The Next Generation (loved it) and Deep Space Nine (not so much) to the disappointing dreck of Enterprise. It was with this personal history that I went to see the new Star Trek, hoping that my spark would be rekindled and my devotion rewarded. Alas, the film did not make it so.
The film’s opening was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed being pulled in to the literal birth of James Tiberius Kirk, even though I had to wonder why, in the 23rd century, his father and mother were surprised at his gender when he was born, much less that they were unprepared with any baby names for the occasion. Fortunately, though, amidst all of the death and destruction aboard the starship “Kelvin” (imagine that name being pronounced by Jerry Lewis) they had sufficient medical staff to overlook the dying and injured to have four of them tend to one pregnant crewmember’s wife.
I did however, eventually discover the “Legend” of James T. Kirk. In his early years, young Jim steals a car and nearly dies when the car careens over a cliff and into a gorge. Kirk, however, is saved when he is able to cling to the cliff’s ledge.
You may be one of the millions of people who went to see J.J. Abrams new Star Trek this past weekend. If so, you probably had one of several reactions. You loved it as Matt and I did, thought is was just average as other people did or, if you’re a die-hard Trekkie, hated it for what its done to your beloved franchise and characters. If you happen to be in that last category, this video from the weekend’s Saturday Night Live is just for you.
In the video, available over at NBC’s Website, actors Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto (along with another actor you may recogzine) stop in at the Weekend Update desk to address Star Trek fans and try to relive some of their stress about the new film. It’s pretty funny. Enjoy.
Normally, the biggest hits of the summer arrive closer to late June or even July, when all the kids are out of school and nerdy fandads and fanmoms can take the family to the theater as many times as possible. Last year, that rule was trumped by a little film called Iron Man, which surpassed most movie and comic fans’ wildest dreams when it came to the gold and red hero.
This year, so far, that award easily goes to J.J. Abrams for his ability to take a once dead franchise and completely revitalize it for both a brand new audience, while not alienating the legions of pointy-eared fanboys. Star Trek is easily this year’s Iron Man in more than just being a pleasant surprise, but also tone. There is conflict in the film. But overall, there is a positive tone that runs through the entire film that made us believe that this crew could overcome any conflict or foe, no matter how much of a no-win scenario it may seem to be.
The thing that makes this film so unique and impressive is how it reboots the franchise while adhering to the continuity of the original Star Trek series and films. The best part? This is explained in two scenes but done in such a “Trek” way that it doesn’t lose the audience and we’re ready to move on to the next exciting scene. The writing team of Orci and Kurtzman, who wrote both Transformers films, were able to utilize things like alternate universes in a franchise where things like that are under intense scrutiny by fans and still pull it off.
If you watched Monday’s episode of Heroes, which was a pretty good one, you know that it featured Mohinder Suresh’s (Sendhil Ramamurthy) long-awaited return to the show. But the question still remains: What is Samuel’s plan for him and why is Hiro so annoying now? Well, that first one is a real question anyway. Hiro isn’t that annoying.
There was a lot of concern from fans about J.J. Abrams reboot (Yes, I realize he doesn’t want to call it that but if the shoe fits…) of Star Trek. Trekkies/Trekkers take this content very seriously making it a daunting task to appease those loyalist while making a film accessible to regular movie-goers. Fortunately, Abrams pulled it off and the new Star Trek universe was met with excitement and anticipation for future films.
Among all the shows either starting fresh this Fall or coming back, 
The new TV season is almost upon us with a bunch of new and returning shows vying for our attention. One show we’re always going to give a chance to, even if its sorta seems to have lost its way a bit, is 
Zoe Saldana, who played Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, announced at Comic-Con that she believes the script for the sequel is already halfway done. Although screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and director Abrams, have been evasive about details of the sequel, 
Previously on The Flickcast, we had reviews from both 
Normally, the biggest hits of the summer arrive closer to late June or even July, when all the kids are out of school and nerdy fandads and fanmoms can take the family to the theater as many times as possible. Last year, that rule was trumped by a little film called Iron Man, which surpassed most movie and comic fans’ wildest dreams when it came to the gold and red hero.
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