The Flickcast

War Movie Mondays Again: Zulu Dawn

Posted on August 23, 2021

Zulu Dawn

It’s time for another edition of War Movie Mondays Again. This week’s movie is 1979’s Zulu Dawn.

Zulu Dawn is a prequel to the 1964 film Zulu and tells the story of a proud British army unit which suffered the worst defeat by a native army during the Victorian era. It features quite a cast including Burt Lancaster (Colonel Anthony Durnford), Peter O’ Toole (Lord Frederick Chelmsford), Simon Ward (Lt. William Vereker), Bob Hoskins (Sgt-Major Willams) and Denholm Elliot (Lt. Col. Henry Pulliene).

The film is a well researched account of the battle of Isandlwana. This was in Zulu land, which bordered the British colony of Natal in South Africa. In January, 1879. Sir Henry Bartle Frere (Mills) is the High Commissioner for her majesty Queen Victoria. Along with Lord Chelmsford (O’ Toole) he starts a war against Cetshwayo (Simon Sabela), the King of the Zulu people, who rules in ways the British view as a threat to their colony and hegemony in the region.

After a British ultimatum to disband his army, Cetshwayo refuses to capitulate to the British and the war begins. Lord Chelmsford leads his army which consists of two battalions of the 24th regiment of foot, to cross the Buffalo River which divides the border of the Zulu territory. Believing that their technological superiority will aid them in victory, the British send 1350 troops against a Zulu army of 25,000.

Western Wednesdays Again: The Quick and the Dead

Posted on August 18, 2021

the quick and the dead

It’s time for another edition of Western Wednesdays Again. This time we’re talking about Director Sam Raimi’s 1995 epic The Quick and the Dead, which stars Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman and a young Leonardo DiCaprio. If you’re hearing the ominous sound of clinking spurs, hissing rattlesnakes, and squeaking saloon doors, well, you’re probably crazy. But it also means it’s Western Wednesday and you’re just really excited!

But first, I have to take you back into a sepia-tinted time of 1995. I was 13, and I hated Westerns.

I was all about sci-fi and fantasy, and no history was interesting to me unless it was medieval and European. Westerns were a dusty, dull genre where everyone just drank whiskey, had silly shoot-outs, went on cattle drives, and visited brothels.

My family rented The Quick and the Dead, and my world was rocked. This Western starred a woman — a mysterious woman with no name. She rarely spoke, and when she did it was always snarly. She smoked a cigar. It was the most original character I had ever seen.

If more Westerns were like this, I thought, I would like them all.

Well, I wasn’t always very film literate. Clint Eastwood was just a cranky old man who had made too many Dirty Harry movies, and had frightened me by taking his shirt off that same year in The Bridges of Madison County. And I hated Westerns, remember?

Episode 448: The Good Leads

Posted on August 17, 2021

the good leads

It’s time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. The podcast about stuff nerds love. This week we’ve got Episode 448: The Good Leads.

On this episode Chris and Joe, as they usually do, get right into it with discussions about new and recurring topics. Some of these include more on the upcoming Y: The Last Man series on Hulu, how credits work in movies and TV, David Mamet and their favorite movies of his like House of Games and Glengarry Glen Ross, the new Marvel/Disney+ series What If? and a whole lot more.

In addition to the above, you can also expect the usual “more” and couple tangents. Not as bad a last week, so that’s something. This episode is shorter too. Not that size matters. Right?

If you like the show, please consider rating or reviewing it on Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app of choice. Every rating or review helps. And if you’re really feeling it, consider supporting the show on Patreon. That would be cool.

Thanks for listening!

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, Instagram or, yes, even Facebook. Or shoot us an email. We don’t mind.

Opening and end music by Kevin MacLeod under Creative Commons License
Image: Marvel / Disney

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Episode 447: The Flickcast Squad

Posted on August 10, 2021

the flickcast squad

It’s time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. The podcast about stuff nerds love. This week we’ve got Episode 447: The Flickcast Squad.

On this episode Chris and Joe, as they usually do, get right into it with discussions about new and recurring topics. Some of these include the new trailer for Y: The Last Man and the upcoming FX on Hulu series, Dredd with Karl Urban and Lena Headey, the career of Brian K. Vaughan, “difficult” comic book adaptations, F9, Jason Momoa, what makes a “movie star”, the awesomeness of The Wire and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.

In addition to the above, you can also expect the usual “more” and several tangents. This episode features 24.6% more tangents than last week, but it’s still shorter. Not that size is important. Besides, who knows why madmen do what they do?

Thanks for listening!

Opening and end music by Kevin MacLeod under Creative Commons License
Image: Warner Bros.

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Episode 446: Crossing the Streams

Posted on August 3, 2021

It’s time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. The pop culture podcast about stuff nerds love. This week we’ve got Episode 446: Crossing the Streams.

On this episode Chris and Joe, as they usually do, get right into it with further discussion about Dune and the recent trailer, Chris’ love for the Gom Jabbar podcast from Lore Party, the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer, the David Ayer letter, Scarlett Johansson suing Disney and quite a few other things.

In addition to the above, you can also expect the usual “more” and several tangents. Good or bad, this episode features 17.4% more tangents than usual, so we had to cut it down a bit. Still, it’s one big mother of an episode. Not that size is important.

Thanks for listening!

Opening and end music by Kevin MacLeod under Creative Commons License
Image: Marvel/Disney

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445: The Golden Path

Posted on July 27, 2021

It’s time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. The pop culture podcast about stuff nerds love. This week we’ve got Episode 445: The Golden Path.

On this episode Chris and Joe jump into a discussion about one big recurring topic and a couple smaller ones. The big one this week is the latest trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune and then they also get into movie marketing, trailer cutting and Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie.

In addition to the above, you can also expect the usual “more” and several tangents. Actually, this episode only features 6.2% more tangents than usual, so at least the number is trending down. That’s not bad. We’re still trying. Change doesn’t happen overnight.

Thanks for listening!

Opening and end music by Kevin MacLeod under Creative Commons License
Image: Warner Bros.

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Western Wednesdays Again: Stagecoach

Posted on July 21, 2021

stagecoach

It’s time for another edition of Western Wednesdays Again. This time we’re talking about John Ford’s 1939 classic Stagecoach.

I thought this week’s selection ought to be about the necessity of speed and keeping to a schedule. As I have managed to go through my 20-odd years without having seen John Ford’s Stagecoach, what better pick could there be?

But even if you haven’t seen Stagecoach, you know it. At its center is a classic Western image — the howling Indians shooting at a racing stagecoach, exchanging shots with frantic passengers — and its plotline has been used a thousand times over.

A motley group of people are thrown together, and eventually become fast friends because their lives could end at any moment. Through the lens of the eternally optimistic Ford it becomes a miniature version of the American promise, a magical West where even an outlaw and a prostitute can find redemption and a better life.

444: The Flickcast For All Time. Always.

Posted on July 20, 2021

It’s time for a brand new episode of The Flickcast. The pop culture podcast about stuff nerds love. This week we’ve got Episode 444: The Flickcast For All Time. Always.

On this episode Chris and Joe jump into discussions about some new and recurring topics, as they do every week. Some of these include the early Japanese anime Space Battleship Yamato (aka Star Blazers), the latest Steven Soderbergh film No Sudden Move, the director’s other films such as Outta Sight and The Limey, upcoming Marvel series such as What If? and the season finale of the Marvel/Disney+ series Loki.

In addition to the above, you can also expect the usual “more” and several tangents. Although, this episode only features 15.87% more tangents than usual, so at least the number is trending down. That’s not bad. We’re still trying.Change doesn’t happen overnight.

If you like the show, though, please consider rating or reviewing it on Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app of choice. Every rating or review helps. And if you’re really feeling it, consider supporting the show on Patreon. That would be cool.

Thanks for listening!

Opening and end music by Kevin MacLeod under Creative Commons License
Image: Marvel / Disney