The Flickcast

Box Office Report: ‘The Lorax’ Saves A Ton Of Green From Parent’s Wallets

Posted on March 5, 2012

The Lorax is the big winner of the box office this weekend, bringing in a massive 70.7 million. This is a monumental number and further proof that the concept of prime seasons being the only way a film can make bank is dead.

We are now in the thick of the ‘Spring Movie Season’ which for the last few years has yielded some of the most successful and surprising films of the years. The staggering numbers for The Lorax also represent a bit of a coming out for Universal’s animation house Illumination Entertainment, which previously won a lot of people over with the very fun Despicable Me.

The impressive haul also marks a new high water mark for Dr. Seuss adaptions, topping the previous high of 55.1 million raked in by How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The film is likely to have a decent run as well with few marquee kids films on the immediate horizon, and mixed reviews that do tend to skew a bit towards positive.

Rest In Peace ‘Star Wars’ Conceptual Artist Ralph McQuarrie

Posted on March 4, 2012

The name Ralph McQuarrie is one that should be a household name. He was the very first person to be hired by George Lucas to bring his idea Star Wars to the big screen. His conceptual paintings for all three original Star Wars films helped shaped the imaginations of an entire generation and every one since.

Saturday, March 3rd 2012 we lost that amazing mind at the age of 82. McQuarrie’s biggest impact on the world will be his work on the Star Wars films, but we would be remiss of we didn’t acknowledge some of his other conceptual works, including Back to the Future and the failed reboot of the original Star Trek, Phase II.

His early designs for the original Star Wars have grown a cult life of their own, with action figures, art prints and even Halloween costumes devoted to his earliest concepts. This is rarefied air in the world of conceptual art, as the very nature of the job is that your work will be twisted and changed for the final product.

Movie Review: ‘A Separation’ – Nat’s Take

Posted on March 3, 2012

While the first half hour or so will keep you wondering where all the accolades came from, once the movie gets rolling (and when it does, you’ll know), it’s worth it.

The separation refers to Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami), an Iranian couple living in Tehran with their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and Nader’s senile father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi). Simin wishes for Termeh to leave Iran and seek a better life elsewhere. Nader does not want to leave his father. At least those are the reasons they give, but it’s implied that both are merely using the family as an excuse for their own desires to stay or go. Their refusal to compromise leads to divorce proceedings, with Simin going to live with her parents and Nader left to care for his father by himself.

Unable to hold down a job and tend his father alone, Nader hires a young woman Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to help, though she doesn’t do a very good job. Her deeply held religious beliefs conflict with her duties, such as washing the father; she leaves for hours at a time to do personal errands; and she’s finally relieved from duty when Nader suspects her of stealing. And then something happens.

Film Score Friday: ‘Doctor Who: Series Six’ By Murray Gold

Posted on March 2, 2012

For several years now the modern iteration of Doctor Who has been a high water mark for genre television. Upping the ante with incredible writing, good budget effects and a group of actors that would put most prime time line-ups to shame.

Among this mountain of quality is also the superb musical scores Murray Gold has written for the series since it returned in 2005. The Doctor has always had one of the best themes in the history of television, but what Gold has been able to do is add so much life to the show by crafting complex themes and ideas that span across entire eras of the show.

The last two seasons have been the era of Moffat and Smith, who together have reformed the show into a stylistically very different beast than the Russel Davies run. Massive credit to Mr. Gold who has adapted to this new stylistic direction to write some of the best music of the show’s long and storied history.

So we come to the sixth series, the most recent and thus far most ambitious soundtrack yet. Series Six is a season dominated by answering very large and very important questions that have been presented over the course of the last few years. The season was also split down the middle which gives it a really great pace and flow.

Movie Review: ‘Project X’

Posted on March 2, 2012

Roger Ebert once wrote of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita that when he first saw it as a young man, he wanted to be Mastroianni in the film, living it up at parties, drinking exotic booze, and traipsing with potent women. Years later, he felt pity for the empty, carefree life of the character Rubini – that’s the right mindset for something like Project X.

It’s certainly not as great a film, but I imagine the idiot kids going in will identify with the three characters Thomas, Costa, and J.B., even envy them, in a similar manner, while fogeys such as myself will see them for the mongoloid no-good-niks that they are.

The movie doesn’t take a position, or even focus on the kids that much. They’re simply the vessels that wade through escalating nonsense. The party itself is the real protagonist, and director Nima Nourizadeh just wants to see how far it can go, to the point where if they didn’t stuff that midget into the oven, it’d be a tragic loss.

Another New ‘ParaNorman’ Trailer Finally Sheds Light On The Story

Posted on March 2, 2012

There are three very high profile groups that are making stop-motion animated films these days. 2012 is a marquee year for the art form as all three are releasing high profile films.

Odds on favorite to be the best of the bunch is ParaNorman by the people who brought us the tremendous Coraline a few years ago. We have seen a couple teasers so far for this movie, but now we have a brand new full trailer to really sink our teeth into.

In case you are unaware of what ParaNorman is about, here is the synopsis:

In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.

This one is very high on our radar, and looks to be one of the best animated films of the year.

The movie is set to be released this august and you can check out the full trailer after the jump.

Video Friday: ‘The Daly Show’ Featuring Tim and Sam Daly and Guests Nathan Fillion and Michael Rosenbaum

Posted on March 2, 2012

This video really needs no setup. However, in the interest of helping to spread the word about filmmaker Ben Shelton and his work with actor Tim Daly and his son Sam, here’s a bit of it anyway.

This video is the seventh episode of the occasional series The Daly Show, which features Daly and his son living their lives and having misadventures around Los Angeles. It should not be confused with The Daily Show with John Stewart, although both are funny but one has Time Daly and the other has John . . . well, you get the idea.

In this particular episode, we’re treated to guest appearances by Nathan Fillion and Michael Rosenbabum who, in their own way, try to help the somewhat “troubled” Tim Daly work out some issues. Let’s just say their methods leave a bit to be desired.

Take a look at this video after the break.

Samsung Galaxy S III Full Specs Revealed

Posted on March 2, 2012

Even though we love Apple’s iPhone here at The Flickcast, that doesn’t mean we don’t occasionally look at offerings from the Windows and Android world. In fact, if there was a phone other than the iPhone we would use, it would probably be the Galaxy S from Samsung.

Mostly due to the tight integration with Google and the Android OS, the Galaxy S is a smartphone we can see taking the place of, or being side by side with, our beloved iPhones. But up until now, we’ve resisted the temptation.

However, thanks to the diligent folks at BGR, we now know that the Galaxy S III is coming soon and we also know that the specs on this new device are going to be even harder to resist. Here’s the specs:

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