The Flickcast

Love Classic D&D? This Is For You

Posted on January 26, 2013

Once again, our fearless leader has posted something cool at his own website instead of here at The Flickcast. We’re still not a hundred percent sure why he does it, but that’s not really what’s important.

What is important is the fact that the fine and generous folks at Wizards of the Coast, in conjunction with DriveThruRPG, have launched a website known as Dungeons & Dragons Classics.

What is D&D Classics, you ask? Well, it’s an “online PDF store that features classic content from every issue of D&D, including fan-favorite supplement materials and iconic adventures.” Awesome, right?

This is a great service for those of you, like one or two writers around here we won’t mention, who have “misplaced” your D&D books or who want to get into the game for the first time.

No, they’re not free. But that’s okay, great things seldom are. However, the prices are reasonable, especially if you really want the classic D&D books (and more) in a more manageable format. This might get expensive.

Check This Out: A ‘Community’ Mash-Up, A ‘Grimm’ Web Series and More!

Posted on January 25, 2013

Obviously, we’re very curious to see new epiosdes of Community now that Dan Harmon is off the show from the beginning of the season and Chevy Chase left part way through. Putting it bluntly, we’re not optimistic about the show’s chances.

We felt that way, that is, until we saw this new mash-up featuring the cast. Seeing it almost gives us hope for the new season. Almost. You should judge for yourself.

And as if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also got a treat for Grimm fans: part one of a Grimmm web series. That’s right, check it out after the break and enjoy while you wait for the show to return on March 8th.

Oh, in case you didn’t know, Community returns on February 7th. Check out all the vids, well, you know the drill.

TV Recap: ‘Arrow’ Episode 111 – ‘Trust But Verify’

Posted on January 25, 2013

There have been a series of armored truck robberies, and Oliver is seeing a pattern. He thinks there is a military connection, and one of the names on his list has a military background – Ted Gaynor. Gaynor also happens to have been Diggle’s commanding officer in the military. Diggle can’t believe that the head of a security company would be on the list. Diggle asks Oliver to let him investigate before he does anything.

Malcolm calls Tommy and wants to take him and Laurel out for dinner. Tommy is skeptical, but Laurel talks him into it. She thinks that maybe he wants to reconcile. After a nice dinner, Malcolm’s true intentions are finally made known. He wants Tommy to sign off on demolishing the free clinic his dead mother founded. Tommy storms off, and Malcolm shows even more coldness towards Laurel.

Oliver goes to Black Hawk Squad protection to confront Gaynor, but Diggle thwarts him. In the melee, Oliver steals a flash drive. He brings it to Felicity to have her decode it. She finds a map of armored car routes as well as pictures of grenade launchers. This proves that someone at Black Hawk is involved, even if it isn’t Gaynor.

Movie Review: ‘Parker’

Posted on January 25, 2013

Parker starts out strong, spends the next hour doing nothing, then it ends with a good-enough set piece. That’s pretty much the review right there, and it’s going to be a struggle to think of anything more to say.

There’s a lot of things I can expect a Jason Statham action movie to be, but boring is not one of them. When he showed up to the Ohio State Fair dressed as a priest, my hopes soared — Statham unconvincingly costumed: That is funny — and he’s robbing Ohio, the most vile and butt-smelling state! When he scolded one of his teammates for peeping into the fair’s Nudie Tent (these exist? Cool!), I was all but ready to love the movie. When he drove Jennifer Lopez around Palm Beach looking at houses for what seems like eons, I wanted to go home.

Parker’s been portrayed on screen before, in 1967’s Point Blank, where his character’s name was Walker, and he was portrayed by Lee Marvin, and again in 1999’s Payback, where he was Porter and played by Mel Gibson. I gather that the running theme of Donald Westlake’s novels upon which the films are based is that W/Pa/ork/ter is a thief who’s always double-crossed by his gang. You’d think after 50 or so years he’d learn to choose better friends.

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Interview: Manu Bennett On ‘Spartacus: War of the Damned’, Andy Whitfield and More

Posted on January 25, 2013

The final season of Spartacus: War of the Damned begins January 25^th on Starz. That’s tonight! We left off last season with Spartacus and his merry band of rebels facing the full might of the Roman legion, which are not against pulling shenanigans.

I was more than happy to sit down with Manu Bennett, who plays the undefeated Gaul and Spartacus BFF, Crixus. Manu was passionate, assured, and especially candid as he spoke about his former co-star Andy Whitfield and what awaits Crixus in the new season. Generous to a fault, he also shared some spoils of war. (Note: This interview contains spoilers.)

The Flickcast: “Be Here Now” is emblazoned on your shirt. Can you talk about why the phrase “Be Here Now” is important to you?

Manu Bennett: “Be Here Now” was a tattoo Andy [Whitfield] had on his forearm when he was going through his cancer treatment. There’s a documentary that’s going to be coming out soon.

Rather than not being in the know about what happened to Andy, this documentary is for people who are really interested in the show and really fell in love with Andy and I know there’s so many people out there who did. I’m sure Andy would have liked everyone to go and watch this documentary to see what cancer can destroy in this life.

TV Recap: ‘American Horror Story: Asylum’ Episode 213 – ‘Madness Ends’

Posted on January 25, 2013

The bulk of this season finale is told in the context of a current day interview being conducted with Lana Winters by a reporter with the Kennedy Center Honors. Through this interview, we find out what has become of the rest of the key players from Briarcliff.

The little bit we do not get from Lana is a brief recap of what was not told to us in the beginning of the season. Johnny is walking through the remnants of Briarcliff while listening to Lana’s audio book about the fall of Briarcliff. This is when the honeymooning couple enters that we saw in the first couple of episodes. It was in fact Johnny that cut the husband’s arm off.

During the interview it is revealed that in addition to writing 6 best sellers, Lana really made her mark in television. She snuck into Briarcliff with a camera crew and made a documentary showing the appalling conditions that it fell into after the state took it over. Lana tells an even better story of how she found Sister Jude and rescued. Lana admits that never happened, but would have been the ending she wanted. Jude was gone by the time she arrived.

Unlocking Your Smartphone Will Be Illegal Starting Tomorrow

Posted on January 25, 2013

Are you a smartphone or tablet user? If so, have you unlocked your device or are you planning on it? If you’ve hesitated up to this point, you not wait any longer.

Why? Well, it seems the Librarian of Congress has determined that certain actions involving mobile phones are illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Basically, this means it will be illegal to jailbreak tablets and illegal to unlock phones without permission from your wireless provider. Good times.

This goes into effect on Januray 26th so if you still need to get this done, and you care about violating the law, you might want to hurry. Of course, you could always buy an iPhone from Verizon which is already unlocked, or a Nexus 4 (if you can find one), which is also unlocked, to avoid this problem.

Otherwise, you’re on your own. Good luck.

J.J. Abrams + ‘Star Wars’ = Cool

Posted on January 24, 2013

That’s right folks, as you probably heard already, J.J. Abrams is supposedly set to direct the first movie in the new Star Wars trilogy for Disney. Word came down this afternoon about the deal, which according to sources, is “a lock.”

We got our scoop from a few sources too and so far, the deal looks to be genuine. Although, no “official” conformation has been forthcoming from Abrams himself. We expect that shortly.

In the meantime, now that a writer and director seem to be attached, the next step is, of course, the casting speculation. Sadly, we don’t really know much about the story or the characters, so that might make it more difficult.

Don’t think that will stop people from giving it a try anyway. So, how do we feel about Mr. Abrams taking on the new Star Wars movie? Sound off!

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