We at The Flickcast are pretty diligent about serving up all the news that comes out each week. However, try as we may to cover it all, some things occassionally slip by. Well, no longer.

Welcome to On The Radar! This weekly post will be your premiere destination for a comprehensive roundup of items that may be developing stories we’re watching, Twitter commentary, or other relevant news that wasn’t quite ready for prime time just yet.  In short, a grab bag of geek items which are sure to please.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

‘Zombieland’ devours video rentals

Zombieland dominated the video lists this week, “…on the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc chart, “Zombieland” went three for three, bowing at No. 1 and …racked up 31% of its total first-week sales from the Blu-ray Disc.” Way to go Zombieland, we can’t wait for the sequeal.

‘Avatar’ 3D boosts Cineplex ticket sales in Canada

3D showings of Avatar did wonders for Cineplex’s bottom line in Canada, “Despite running for only 13 days during its latest financial frame, “Avatar 3D” was Cineplex’s biggest boxoffice performer during the fourth quarter to Dec. 31, and has done around $74 million in Canadian ticket receipts to date.” No surprise really given the popularity of this film and the fact 3D showings are still being sold, out or causing line-ups.

Geek flicks drive Viacom profits

DVD and Blu-Ray disc sales from Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe stimulated Viacom’s fourth quarter earnings to the tune of $694 million.  Not bad considering the $173 million it made in the same quarter in 2008.  Also helping was the indie hit Paranormal Activity which increased operating expenses by 24%.

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Zombieland was one of the most entertaining films I saw in 2009 and I was eagerly awaiting its arrival on Blu-ray this week. Unlike the George Romero zombie films of the past, Zombieland is a unique blend of “The Odd Couple meets the zombie apocalypse.” Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin have great chemistry together as the last few remaining humans in a world gone zombie.

As a die-hard fan of apocalyptic films such as The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man and The Quiet Earth, Zombieland takes you into a world that has only recently fallen into chaos and shows how those would react when hordes of flesh eating ghoules are waiting for you around every corner.

As I scrolled through the special features on the Blu-Ray disc, I was excited to see that they had added several features that made the disc worth adding to my vast collection. The first feature is “Beyond the Graveyard” which allows the viewer to access picture in picture commentary throughout the feature to learn more about the scenes and special effects associated with them.

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February is in full swing and this week brings a host of new movies and some great classics hitting Blu-ray for the first time. This week’s releases include the first time on Blu-ray Casablanca, Unforgiven, Gangs of New York, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Godfather I and II.

There are also several Dr. Who TV movies, a couple seasons of TV’s Dynasty, Volume 3 of Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the Blu-ray release of Zombieland with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin (pictured above).

Check out this week’s new releases:

Movies

Adam ~ Hugh Dancy, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving (Blu-ray and DVD)

Amelia ~ Hillary Swank, Richard Gere (Blu-ray and DVD)

Casablanca ~ Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains (Blu-ray)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ~ Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire (Blu-ray)

Gangs of New York (Remastered) ~ Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, John C. Reilly (Blu-ray)

Planet Hulk ~ (Blu-ray and DVD)

Love Happens ~ Jennifer Aniston (Blu-ray and DVD)

Mystic River ~ Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon (Blu-ray)

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This week, we’ve been bringing you lots of goodies from the release of Zombieland on DVD and Blu-Ray. Since the DVD comes out today, we thought we’d put up two fun featurettes from the release, after giving you two deleted scenes yesterday.

In the first featurette, we go behind the scenes to see how they made their zombies look so realistic in the film. Actress Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) gets to sit in the make-up chair for hours before shooting in order to get her “zombification” just right. Also, we take a look at how some of the extras got to look so undead.

In the second featurette, stars Abigail Brezlin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Emma Stone (The Rocker) get to see one of the first zombies getting made up for the film. Abigail then decides to go on a mission to convince the filmmakers to let her be a zombie, just once.

Check out the features after the jump, and be sure to pick up Zombieland on DVD and Blu-Ray today.

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With Zombieland hitting DVD shelves across the country on tuesday, we thought it was only appropriate to share with you some of the cool features from the DVD and Blu-Ray release. We’ll be bringing you some cool bonus material from the release all week, but of course the most important material to any DVD: the deleted scenes.

With the film making over 3 times their production budget, and the film’s writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, getting picked up for such films as Deadpool and GI Joe 2, you can believe that the DVD will be as hot as the theatrical release. After the jump, we’ve got two brand new deleted scenes from the movie, including another rule to surviving the zombie apocalypse that never made the final cut, and an extended scene from the grocery store.

Be sure to check out the deleted scenes, and check back here this week for more of our coverage of the Zombieland DVD and Blu-Ray release.

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Much like vampires, zombies are having quite the resurgence these days. Not that they ever really went anywhere, but it seems after the success of Zombieland (and video games like Left 4 Dead) everyone in Hollywood wants a piece of the zombie pie (which, while popular, probably wouldn’t taste very good).

Recently, AMC announced they were adapting Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead for the network with Frank Darabont in charge and now, not to be left out, MTV is apparently turning George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead into a TV series.  Yes, one more non-music program on a channel named Music Television.  Don’t worry, it’s doubtful they’ll make the zombies dance.  At least in that MTV will preserve the greatness that is Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

So far MTV has not made any details about the project available:

“They haven’t given away much in terms of details surrounding the show, how it will link to the original film or even when it might hit the air. They have noted the show will feature a mix of the classic, slow moving zombies and the latest fad of turning the undead into Olympic sprinters. It’s good to see so much diversity on television.”

A television series based on zombies may seem unconventional, but one only has to look to shows like HBO’s True Blood to understand the supernatural appeal. Moreover, I can’t help but wonder if some, if not all, of MTV’s motivation is driven by Zombieland itself.  While made into a movie, Zombieland was originally pitched to CBS as a television series.  Coincidence? Perhaps not.

No matter how the project started, is anyone really going to complain about more zombies to watch?  I didn’t think so.

Only a day after being announced as writers for the upcoming Deadpool movie, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese have gotten yet another gig as the writers for the sequel to another summer movie franchise: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Taking over from the guys who had written the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and giving it to the team that brought us Zombieland, is I think a step in the right direction.

All of the main cast from the first film are contracted to return for sequels, with director Steven Sommers being the possible hold out. But, with the promise of this new writing team, hopefully the next GI Joe film can add more story to go with the anticipated amount of destruction.

The Rise of Cobra, now available on DVD, cost a reported $170 million and has so far brought in just over $300 million worldwide. But with a Rotten Tomatoes score of about 36%, it’s really got no place to go but up.

While it was only a rumor back in December, it looks like Fox has finally tapped writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wenick, who are most notably the writers of 2009’s hit Zombieland, to pen the upcoming Deadpool film — which is spun off from last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

While Ryan Reynolds is already committed to play Green Lantern for DC and Warner Bros, he is allegedly still signed on to return as the Merc With the Mouth. According to Variety, this contract may mean that the film is on the way, just no word on when:

There is no timetable on the Marvel property, though Reynolds has a window after wrapping the “Green Lantern” this summer. Reynolds has been bulking up to play the DC Comics’ hero “Green Lantern,” which starts lensing next month. This means he would already be in superhero shape if the script for “Deadpool” is ready by summer.

Reese and Wernick will stay true to the mythology of “Deadpool” given that Reynolds is a huge fan and protector of the property.

This is all good news coming from the Fox camp, since fans were a bit worried when Reynolds was signed as both a DC and Marvel film hero. Reese and Wenick are no strangers to the comic-to-film world, as they also penned a draft of Venom for Sony and Marvel last year.

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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With Ryan Reynolds becoming a hot commodity in the world of Comic Book films, between getting signed as Green Lantern and Deadpool, it looks like things are still heating up for a Deadpool film over at Fox. CHUD recently got word that Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are allegedly penning a script for Deadpool.

“While nothing is official just yet, it looks like Fox could be hiring Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the writers of Zombieland, to script the adventures of the Merc With A Mouth. I did my due diligence and asked around but couldn’t get a solid confirmation, so regard this one as a strong rumor… But if it’s more than a rumor – and my source tells me there could be a trade break announcing this within days – it’s actually a very good sign for Deadpool.”

Most of the film and comic fan community was torn on the thought of a Deadpool film after seeing what the studio did with the character in May’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Reynolds himself stated that the film will be “just like the comics”, including the mask, schizophrenia, and demolition of the fourth wall.

Up next for the Zombieland scribes is actually a sequel to the highly successful undead comedy. Word is that Zombieland 2 will start production next year, and will be shot in 3D.