The Flickcast

Tablet Will Kill Us All in the First Trailer for ‘Resident Evil: Retribution’

Posted on January 23, 2012

If there is one franchise that has managed to live up to its very low standard, film after film, it would have to be Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil. Since the first one back in 2002, this franchise has managed to keep up with the technology, while hardly losing any of the excitement that fans are piling in to see with every new release.

With that comes Retribution, the fifth film in the franchise. This time, we’ve got a full group of folks joining from across the decade-spanning films. Joining lead Milla Jovovich this time around is Michelle Rodriguez (returning from the first film), Oded Fehr (Apocalypse & Extinction), and Sienna Guillory (Apocalypse & Afterlife).

A pretty stellar cast, given the heavy mythos of this world. And speaking of heavy, here’s the synopsis (as if you needed one):

The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex.

Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump, in which takes a fun jab at the world of tablets we’ve come to live in. Catch Resident Evil: Retribution in theaters and in 3D on September 14th.

Box Office Report: ‘Underworld: Awakening’ Holds Off ‘Red Tails’ And Takes The Weekend

Posted on January 23, 2012

The fourth installment of the Underworld franchise tried to bring the series back to it’s bread and butter, Kate Beckinsale in skin-tight leather. That was seemingly all you need as the film bounced back from the disappointing third installment and stands tall with a similar start to that of the first two movies.

The estimated twenty-five and a half million dollar haul puts Awakening on pace to top the over all totals of the first and third movies, whether or not it can catch the series peak, set by Evolution, will depend on it’s hold next weekend. The per theater average and total screen numbers are comparable to the second film which performed the best up to this point in the series.

Coming in at an impressive nineteen million is Red Tails, the Lucasfilm tale of the famed Tuskegee Airman. The movie surpassed many expectations and out paced other fighter pilot films by a solid margin. Much like Underworld: Awakening, the critical reception of Red Tails has not been kind, so it will need strong word of mouth to maintain momentum into next weekend.

Debut Trailer for ‘Resident Evil 6’ from Capcom

Posted on January 20, 2012

After the critical and commercial success of Resident Evil 5, it is no surprise that a sixth proper Resident Evil title is coming out. Selling over 5 million copies and garnering a Metacritic score in the mid 80s, it is only common sense that Capcom would continue the story of their top tier franchise. After several viral teasers, no pun intended, on NoHopeLeft.com, Capcom finally revealed to the world Resident Evil 6.

This Resident Evil will feature series headliners Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield along a new unknown male character, this one who seemingly has an unknown immunity to the T-virus. This new character appears as a mercenary for hire and is seen in the trailer below constantly being given injections, whether these are used to revive him or help him fight a T-virus infection are still unknown. This new character also has a female sidekick much like Sheva from Resident Evil 5.

Take a peek below at the new trailer and the first image reveal for the game. Stick to The Flickcast for more on Resident Evil 6 coming out for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 20th, 2012.

Film Score Friday: ‘Film Music 2011’ by Various Artists

Posted on January 20, 2012

Silva Screen Music is a class outfit, they release really good music and great collections from some of the top composers and movies of today. In the past we looked at their collections of music from Hans Zimmer and James Horner, as well as a well put together a great best of album from the Transformers trilogy. Today we take a peak at their big end of the year release, ‘Film Music 2011’.

This collection, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic and London Music Works, is a highlight reel from the most high profile film scores of the year. The music chosen for this set isn’t necessarily the very best music of the year, but it is certainly a snap shot of what 2011 was for film and film music. We are in award season, so we will have plenty of lists and collections of the “best” music, but in this album you will find tracks that rank among many fan’s “favorites” of the year.

Interestingly enough, many of the movies represented on this album are scores I have previously reviewed, but only twice are one of my favorite tracks actually on this album. At first this caused me to roll my eyes and dread the listening experience. Not because I disliked the tracks, but because I felt they were passing over the better tracks for more obvious and less interesting choices.

Film Review: ‘The Artist’

Posted on January 20, 2012

I didn’t know what to expect. From the endless trailer play The Artist received at the Landmark on Clark, I have to admit I didn’t have much hope. It looked too “artsy,” too cute, too self-important. That’s at least how it seemed. And then the reviews started coming in, and pretty much everyone was talking about it on all the movie podcasts. Still, I was holding out. Everyone could have been deceived by the gimmick of a contemporary silent, black and white film, right?

Of course, my preconceptions were wrong (I still think the trailer mis-markets the film): The Artist is a wonderfully fun and entertaining film, and that makes up for whatever high pretensions it may have. The story is basically the same as Singin’ in the Rain: A successful silent film star struggles to adapt to sound while the woman he loves becomes a huge star.

The year is 1929, the place is Hollywoodland, and the falling star is George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a mix of Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd, and William Powell (and Valentino, too, I guess) with the ruggedly charismatic face of Sean Connery and the natural cheeriness of Gene Kelly. And that description is not lifted from Roger Ebert’s review—I’d be surprised to see a review that didn’t mention it.

Anyway, on his way out the door from his latest premiere, Valentin bumps into one of his fans, the slightly ditzy flapper Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). He shrugs it off and poses for a quick photo with her.

DC Entertainment Reveals Their Brand New Logo

Posted on January 20, 2012

Now that DC fans have settled into their cozy new logo that the company slapped them with back in 2005, they’re ready to do it one more time! That’s right, DC Entertainment (formerly DC Comics) has finally revealed their new logo that has allegedly been in the works for the last year.

Said to show off more of the different identities of their most popular brands, rather than just be a static logo like some “other” comic publishers. Here’s a DC exec with the worst possible explanation of the new logo. From Co.Create:

“We didn’t want a static logo, but a living identity that could capture the power of our characters and storytelling,” says Amit Desai, senior vice president of franchise management. “What is special about DC content is the notion of a dual identity. When you think about our DC Comics superheroes, there’s a secret identity. When you think about Vertigo, it’s this notion of good vs. evil in many of the stories. And so, in addition to flexibility, the new logo communicates this idea of dual identity: There’s more than meets the eye. You have to take a closer look to understand the richness of our characters and stories.”

Interview: ‘Spartacus: Vengeance’ Creator Steven S. DeKnight On Replacing Andy Whitfield, Sex & Violence, & Working With Joss Whedon

Posted on January 20, 2012

Next week sees the return of Spartacus, the Starz original series chronicling the life of the titular slave who rebelled against his Roman oppressors. The show’s official second season, called Spartacus: Vengeance, has been long in coming, and brings with it many questions in the wake of the tragic death of the first seasons’ star, Andy Whitfield.

The Flickcast recently partook in a discussion with series creator/exec. producer Steven S. DeKnight where, among other things, he talked about the transition from his original star to new Spartacus Liam McIntyre (check out our interview with the actor here), where the show is going from here and working with Joss Whedon.

On Liam capturing the essence of Andy Whitfield’s Spartacus –

…that’s really what drew us to Liam is that we didn’t want to try to duplicate (Andy). I mean, that will never happen. He was such a singular, amazing talent. But we wanted to find somebody that had the same base qualities of compassion. And I told all the actors when they auditioned that even though Spartacus may fly into a rage now and then, he never comes from a place of anger, it’s always from a place of a wounded heart. And we really felt like Liam captured that essence.

On no character being safe on the show –

…on this show characters literally get the ax. I think really ultimately for me it’s always – it comes from the story is how is the story best served by a character death. I don’t ever want somebody to just die. It needs to have ramifications either emotionally or towards the plot. So that’s always the number one driving force of – on who do I kill.

Film Review: ‘Red Tails’

Posted on January 20, 2012

I think George Lucas deserves some credit where it’s due, and say what you will about the prequels, the opening to Revenge of the Sith, with the dogfight over the planet was pretty awe-inspiring. So when the trailer for Red Tails came out, I was excited to see a Lucasfilm production that focused mainly on one of the strengths he still had.

And I’m pleased to say that he’s still got it. The dogfights in Red Tails look good, give a good sense of whose plane is whose (with the exception of the opening battle), further the plot, and build on each other. You can see the Lucas touch of following one plane during its flight then latching on to another.

In one sequence, a group (squadron?) take down a train, with one pilot taking it head on. Another shows how the under-equipped planes of the heroes are able to fight with lightning-fast German jets.

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