The Flickcast

‘Spartacus’ Star Jai Courtney to Play McLane’s Son in New ‘Die Hard’ Flick

Posted on February 23, 2012

After an arduous search for the actor who could play John McClane’s son in the newest installment of the Die Hard franchise, 20th Century Fox has finally settled on Jai Courtney.

Courtney is best known for playing Varro in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood And Sand. In the series, Courtney played a close friend and confidante of Spartacus until they were forced into a battle to the death. Courtney has had a bit of a big screen surge as he will next be seen starring opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount’s One Shot, the Christopher McQuarrie directed adaptation of the Lee Child bestseller. He is also attached to star opposite Aaron Eckhart in I, Frankenstein.

A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth installment of the Die Hard franchise, puts McClane on unfamiliar ground, taking the hard-ass New York City cop to the streets of Moscow. The flick introduces McClane’s estranged son Jack (Courtney). The McClane’s butt heads due to their similar personalities. Despite their differences, they must work together to keep each other alive and keep the world safe for democracy. This film positions Courtney to become a recurring character alongside Willis, and possibly take over for Willis as the lead as the sequels continue.

Tech Review: Sony’s PlayStation Vita

Posted on February 23, 2012

Sony released its newest console, the Playstation Vita, into the wild today. I got my hands on the console about a week ago, and after some quality time with the system I’m ready to deliver a verdict. Whether you’re thinking about picking up the device today or sometime down the road, read on to hear all about the Vita and what this tiny portable can deliver.

Design

Physically, the device doesn’t look very different from the PSP, but it is much improved. Rounded corners and edges make the Vita fit comfortably in your hands, and the smooth, flat touchscreen on the back is comfortable to rest your hands on. The Vita has the standard controls we’re used to from Sony: left and right triggers, D-pad, circle x triangle and square buttons, and volume buttons on the top of the device.

The big addition is the two, very nice left and right analog sticks that are a huge improvement over the PSP. Another welcome addition is the inclusion of a power button, instead of the power switch on the side of the PSP that I would constantly accidentally hit and turn off the device at pivotal moments in games. The Wi-Fi switch has been removed in favor of an option to turn wireless on or off in the menu.

Sony has done away with UMD discs, in favor of very small, proprietary game cartridges.So far, it seems that purchasing the games via the Playstation Store is the better option, considering there’s a 10% discount for buying digital and by downloading the games you don’t risk losing the incredibly tiny catridges you would get by purchasing a physical copy. Storage is yet again proprietary, and we can’t say we’re surprised about that.

New Trailer For ‘American Reunion’ Is Heavy On The Nostalgia

Posted on February 23, 2012

The American Pie franchise lives in two planes of existence. For some the movies represent a loud and raunchy franchise that has slipped from the main stream and lives in the proverbial cinematic dumpster. For the rest of you American Pie represents something much more, and those direct to DVD sequels don’t even register in your mind.

As far as the theatrical films are concerned, the franchise has been about growth and the slow onset of adulthood. We have been with Jim and his friends through some of his most important life milestones, and we as an audience have grown up with them.

So the impending release of American Reunion has a chance to really be something special for an entire generation of film fans, and thankfully this most recent trailer has amped the nostalgia levels all the way to eleven.

Of course reckless nostalgia can be a really bad thing, and that will be the one test the movie will have to pass to be any good. However, the high school reunion plot should provide an easy in for a fond looking back tone. So long as they do not over milk it, odds are we will be in for a pleasant treat this April.

Check out the new trailer after the jump.

Toy Fair 2012 Extra: Latest Marvel Line Revealed from Diamond Select

Posted on February 23, 2012

Any serious toy collector knows that it’s not Toys R Us that has the top quality new toys you need to display on your shelf. It’s the low production run collectibles that are sold at the comic book retailers that come from Diamond Select that you need to watch out for and snatch up the section they hit the rack. This past week at Toy Fair, Diamond revealed their upcoming slate of Marvel licensed products. This year’s line focuses on the Avengers movie, the Amazing Spider-Man film and a new lineup of Minimates.

Both the Avengers movie versions of the Hulk and Hawkeye are getting their first Marvel Direct treatment since the Hulk model will be updated from previous films and Hawkeye never his from his brief cameo in Thor.

In addition, the Amazing Spider-Man will be getting figures and busts made in the likeness of bother Spider-Man and the Lizard. These are the first images allowing people a true full unshadowed view of the Lizard who was disguised by shadow and fleeting high speed motion in the recent trailer.

Though Spider-Man purists may be able to get past the redesign of the Spider-Man costume, it is going to be a challenge for some to get over the look of the Lizard who somewhat resembles the look of the Goombas from the early 90s Super Mario Bros feature film. The duo will also be getting a Minimate treatment as well.

The Minimate line will also be giving other characters the treatment for the first time with new Minimates such as the new Ultimate Spider-Man and Dazzler. Take a look at the full gallery below and make sure to let us know what you think about all the upcoming Marvel characters from Diamond Select.

Vivid Announces Former Pro Wrestler Chyna to Star in ‘She Hulk XXX’

Posted on February 23, 2012

For most young boys growing up in the 90s, there were two very prominent things in the pop culture world. One of them was the overabundance of sexualized female superheroes in comics thanks to some beautiful art by the likes of Rob Liefeld, Jimmy Palmiotti, and others. The other thing was more and more big-breasted women popping up in the WWF, which gave the young boys losing interest in the dragging story lines something more interesting to focus on.

Little did we know that only a few decades later, we’d be seeing the two pubescent fantasies combine into one massive phenomenon, as Vivid has announced Joanie “Chyna” Laurer has been cast as the lead in Axel Braun’s upcoming superhero porn parody, She-Hulk XXX. Here’s the blurb from the press release.

Chyna plays She-Hulk aka Jennifer Walters, cousin of Bruce Banner, best known to most of the world at The Hulk. When her emotional state is sufficiently high, she is the strongest woman in the world. She has been a member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for hire, the Defenders, Fantastic Force and S.H.I.E.L.D. She-Hulk is also a highly skilled lawyer who has served as legal counsel to several of the superheroes when needed.

J.J. Abrams And Paramount to Extend Deal Through 2015

Posted on February 23, 2012

According to a joint press release, Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions have agreed to an extension of their exclusive, first-look agreement through December 2015. The deal looks to be incredibly lucrative for both sides.

“J.J. is a unique talent and a captivating storyteller,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. “J.J., Bryan Burk and the whole Bad Robot team are an integral part of Paramount and we’re proud to continue our collaboration. Their pictures have extraordinary resonance around the world and we’re so pleased Paramount will be their home for years to come.”

Bad Robot Productions’ original first look deal with Paramount began in 2006. Since then we have had releases of a variety of successful films and franchise continuations. Considering that grosses on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol are now $670M globally, while those for the Star Trek reboot hit $385M worldwide, it is no surprise that Paramount is excited about the continuation of this deal. Under the previous Paramount deal, Abrams also had made Cloverfield and Super 8, both of which did well at the global box office.

War Movie Mondays (Wednesday Edition): ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’

Posted on February 22, 2012

This week’s War Movie Monday pick is Universal Picture’s first ever Academy Award winning film for Best Picture and for Best Director (Lewis Milestone), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). The film stars Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Ben Alexander, and Slim Summerville.

All Quiet on the Western Front has been hailed as the greatest anti-war film of all time. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel of the same name, the film follows a group of young men who witness the horrors of World War I after being convinced by their schoolmaster that duty to one’s country and to shed blood in defense of the fatherland is a noble deed.

The small group of young men quickly gets their first dose of military life after they endure basic training at the hands of their drill instructor Himmelstoss (Wray) who is the World War I equivalent of what R. Lee Ermey was for Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. After just only a few short weeks of basic training, the young men are sent off to the front and are plunged head first into combat.

‘Community’ Returns to NBC In March

Posted on February 22, 2012

Human Beings everywhere rejoiced yesterday, as NBC released its spring schedule for its Thursday night programming, which included the triumphant return of the little show that could, Community.

Looks like we may get our six seasons and a movie after all. Hearlded by many as the funniest show on television right now, Community is on its third season and stars the likes of Joel McHale, Donald Glover, and Chevy Chase.

While its premise may be simple- the show revolves around a group of friends making their way through community college- the show has had episodes about parallel universes, paintball wars, zombie attacks, and D&D games.

After airing its Christmas episode in early December, Community was put on an indefinite hiatus. While the cast and crew actively assured fans via Twitter that filming was continuing, no one could really be sure whether remaining episodes would ever air. News of casting continued to flow in this week, and now with NBC’s announcement fans are most definitely relieved to have Community return to their televisions.

While Parks and Rec goes on a bit of a break until April 19th, Community takes that time slot and 30 Rock is bumped up to 9:30 PM. When Up All Night wraps up in April, Parks and Rec returns.

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