The Flickcast – Page 294 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

Film Review: 2012 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

Posted on February 24, 2012

I heard the Animated Shorts were better than the Live-Action Shorts, so why not check them out? I love animation, but, unfortunately, the selections were seldom my cup of whatever. The bulk (and by that I mean “all but two”) were computer-generated, which is something I don’t flat-out dislike but get really tired of. Animation presents so many possibilities, and yet most of these squander the opportunities. Why even bother if you just want to make it look like real life?

Likewise, many of the jokes come from a slight exaggeration of real-world physics. For example, in Nullarbor (not nominated, but on the program), one character’s car is destroyed. We see him sitting in the chassis. Pause. The motor comes crashing down. Full stop when it hits the ground. Next!

Similarly, many of the shorts are just ugly (but we’ll get to Mr. Morris Lessmore in a moment). Ugly can be great, but I don’t think it’s intentional, from the plodding dreariness of Dimanche to the utter banality of Mr. Morris. Only one short seems to make fun of that, and it’s not even nominated. But yap, yap, yap. Let’s move on.

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Get Your First Look at Marvel’s ‘John Carter: The Gods of Mars’ #1

Posted on February 24, 2012

You may be wondering why Marvel is releasing a comic book mini-series based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars series of novels. Well, it’s not that hard to figure out.

Disney has a big movie coming out soon based on the novels and Disney also owns Marvel. So, they want to build awareness and publicize the movie as much as possible.

See, it all makes sense now. However, to Marvel’s credit, this isn’t just a simple comic tie-in with the movie. It’s actually an original story.

Here’s the scoop:

From the creative team of Sam Humphries & Ramon Perez, the heroic John Carter makes his return to Barsoom not to save it from Martian beasts . . . but Martian GODS! This new series, in collaboration with the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate, is an all-new graphic fiction adaptation of the legendary John Carter novels AND considered part of the official canon set by Burroughs.

As our hero finds himself in the land of the dead, all hope looks lost. But nothing will stop John Carter from saving Mars from the terror of those looking to destroy it.

Check out the preview pages after the break. Look for John Carter: The Gods of Mars #1 (of 5) to hit store shelves on March 21.

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David Morrissey Will Be The Governor On ‘The Walking Dead’

Posted on February 24, 2012

I can’t think of another character, except perhaps the enigmatic Michonne, that has fans speculating more as to who would play them in the The Walking Dead TV series than The Governor. He singlehandedly encapsulates all that’s evil about the new world Rick and his companions find themselves in after the dead begin to rise.

And now, we know what actor will be taking on that coveted role. He is British thespian David Morrissey and he will join the show as a new series regular for season 3.

In case you’re not familiar with the character, he’s the leader of Woodbury, a small settlement of survivors, who becomes the chief antagonist for Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his group. Of course, that doesn’t really do him justice.

Let’s just say he’s a bad man. A very, very, bad man. Now that we know Morrissey will play him, what do we think of this casting choice? At first glance, I’m not convinced. However, I’m willing to give the actor a chance to prove himself worthy.

What say you Walking Dead fans?

Fan Made Trailer for ‘John Carter’ Much Better Than ‘Official’ Versions

Posted on February 24, 2012

I’m not sure what it is about movie marketing these days. For some reason, studios seems determined to hide elements of a film when putting together trailers and other marketing materials.

It’s almost as if they’re afraid to reveal anything for fear of alienating some segment (or all) of a film’s potential audience. In truth, that’s probably pretty close to the reality.

Such is the case with Disney’s upcoming film John Carter. It’s painfully obvious from the trailers released so far that Disney marketing has no idea how to sell this film. In fact, I’d wager the first trailers have done little to entice potential viewers into the theaters.

Personally, I’ve found them to be dull, uninspired and tending to focus on elements making this film pretty much look like every other Disney film released in the last ten years. Fortunetely, for those of us who are fans of the books and want this movie to succeede, others have stepped up to help.

Enter YouTube user John Carter Files. They’ve taken it upon themselves to make a trailer for the film and after watching it I’m sure you will agree it’s so much better than any of the “official” ones Disney should give these guys a job immedietly and leave them alone to do their work.

Check it out after the break. Look for John Carter to hit theaters on March 9.

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Latest Trailer For Pixar’s ‘Brave’ Is More Like An Extended Clip

Posted on February 24, 2012

The titan of quality that is Pixar might have stubbed it’s toe last year with the release of the sub-par Cars 2, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are still riding a nearly two decade long winning streak. Creatively, their mandate of doing what isn’t expected has paid off in droves.

What makes Brave such an interesting next step for Pixar is the fact that it is the first film with a female lead who is for all intents and purposes a princess. That’s right, this is a classic Disney princess fairy tale, but done the Pixar way. Fans of Disney and Pixar have reason to be very excited at that prospect.

Disney has just released a third trailer for the film, but instead of just hyper cutting more footage to beautiful music, they opted for an extended scene that does a brilliant job of summing up the general conflict of the movie. You can tell immediately that this film has that Pixar charm we all know and love.

Check out the new trailer after the jump.

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Film Review: ‘Wanderlust’

Posted on February 24, 2012

I’m not sure if the world needed a movie to put those damn hippies in their place, or needed to introduce us to the culture of nude wine-making, or why the name is Wanderlust when the characters stay in one place, but no matter.

Paul Rudd plays George, a 30/40-something someone (this is where I’d mention his job, but it’s never made clear), and his wife Linda (Jennifer Aniston), another 30/40 with a sordid and varied resume; her latest occupation is hocking a documentary she made about penguins with testicular cancer to HBO. They usefully inform her that it could use more sex, violence, and vampires.

George and Linda have recently purchased an expensive and tiny apartment in Manhattan, only for George to lose his job and Linda to, predictably, get tossed out of HBO for her lousy doc. So, unemployed and destitute in New York, they high-tail it to Georgia to stay with George’s brother Rick (Ken Marino). On the way, they stop overnight at Elysium Fields, an ostensible bed and breakfast, but really a hippie commune run by well-aged toker Carvin (Alan Alda), and featuring nudist wine-maker Wayne (Joe Lo Truglio), spacey moonchild Kathy (Kerri Kenney-Silver), eye candy Eva (Malin Akerman) and all-around douche Seth (Justin Theroux).

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First Trailer for Morgan Spurlock’s Nerd Doc ‘Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope’ Hits The Web

Posted on February 24, 2012

For those lucky millions who have made it to San Diego in July for Comic-Con International, you know how truly epic it is for fans. That’s why infamous niche documentary director Morgan Spurlock felt it was time to put the limelight on the droves of Klingons, Autobots, caped crusaders, and Anime teens that attend the show each year. Enter Comic-Con Episode IV, A Fan’s Hope.

The film is clearly stamping all over the nerd genre, even with the name, by playing to what we nerds really love: geeky celebs. You’ll see cameos from resident geeks like Eli Roth, Kevin Smith, Seth Rogan, and tons others pledge their love for the 4 day nerd fest like no other. Also, the story follows the lives of a few legitimate geeks who pledge their lives to all things nerdy. Here’s the synopsis:

Have you ever imagined a place where Vulcans and vampires get along? Where wizards and wookies can be themselves? Welcome to Comic-Con San Diego. What started as a fringe comic book convention for 500 fans has grown into the pop culture event of the year that influences every form of entertainment, now attended by over 140,000 strong. COMIC-CON EPISODE IV: A FAN’S HOPE- a film by Morgan Spurlock explores this amazing cultural phenomenon by following the lives of five attendees as they descend upon the ultimate geek mecca at San Diego Comic-Con 2010.

Take a look at a list of dates the film will be doing across the country, and the first trailer, after the jump.

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Game Review: ‘Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’ for XBox 360

Posted on February 24, 2012

Not long ago, the gaming world was given the epic fantasy adventure of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The game featured over 250 hours of gameplay for those looking to explore every dungeon and complete every quest. It was a task that many, though knowing they could never fulfill to its entirety, flocked to.

Just a few months later, gamers were told about a new fantasy adventure, different both in visual tone and gameplay mechanics that would rival that scope. In a recent interview when asked about the length of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, developers stated that the fastest speed run of the game by one of the QA testers who had already competed the game previously and knew locations of every major event in the game at just over 200 hours.

Originally started out as an MMO from former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, Reckoning split off in to its own single player action RPG adventure. With executive game designer Ken Rolston (Elder Scrolls III: Marrowind, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), artwork from Todd McFarlane (Spawn), an epic 10,000 year world history from R.A. Salvatore (Forgotten Realms) and music from composer (Goldeneye, Viva Pinata), Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning had the most impressive pedigree for a new IP in recent memory and quite possibly the most hype to live up to.

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