The Flickcast

Check It Out: Steven Spielberg Tribute: A Supercut

Posted on January 20, 2012

More and more, YouTube is become less of a place to watch cats beat up other cats, and more of a place to watch premium content that you are lucky to get for free on demand. In the past few years, one of those premium content trends has been “supercuts” and “movie mashups” where talented editors take clips from films and put them all together in one splendid masterpiece (if we do say so ourselves).

With that, one talented YouTuber named Kees van Dijkjuizen, an 18 year old films student from the Netherlands, who has been doing two series. One of which is a year-in-review Cinema supercut, that he’s done every year since 2008, and the other is his [the films of] series in which he showcases some of the most critically acclaimed directors of our time, from Christopher Nolan, to Tim Burton, and Ridley Scott.

His latest cut is the finale of the latter series, and it’s is a dedication to Steven Spielberg. This was a big one for him, which he lays out in the description.

Film as we know it today was shaped by thousands of creative minds working together to create something special for the audience to experience. Among those is Steven Spielberg; considered by many to be the true master of modern day cinema, Spielberg’s 26 feature films have each taken us to magical worlds, introduced us to fantastic characters and on adventures we will never forget. [the films of] has honored many filmmakers, but none of them as significant to film history as the genius featured in this final episode.

Take a look at the supercut after the jump, and check out his YouTube channel here.

Film Review: ‘Haywire’

Posted on January 20, 2012

Before I can go forward with a review of director Steven Soderbergh’s latest film Haywire, I need to make a confession: I’m a big fan of almost all of his films. Sure, he’s managed to make one or two that don’t exactly work (The Girlfriend Experience comes to mind), but he’s never boring and always tries to push filmmaking and creativity in new and different directions.

Given this, I went into Haywire with somewhat raised expectations due to my fondness for his previous works. As the film unfolded I was struck by several things. First, lead actress and MMA superstar Gina Carano is not only beautiful, I would not want to ever make her angry. She’s that tough.

The film also moves quickly and at a running time of 93 minutes, almost seems a bit short. I think that’s a good thing because at the end, I wanted more.

I was also struck by how similar Haywire is to one of Soderbergh’s earlier films, The Limey (which is also my favorite of his films). I guess one reason could be that screenwriter Lem Dobbs wrote both films.

I’m not saying Haywire‘s similarity to The Limey is a bad thing, it was just interesting. More on that a bit later.

‘Expendables 2’ Is Aiming For A PG-13 Rating

Posted on January 19, 2012

The original Expendables film was a who’s who of classic 80s and 90s action super stars. It was a throwback film to a time when hardcore action films were made for a more hard core audience. The second film looks to follow in the original’s footsteps by amping up the nostalgic icons, but is the action going to take a step back?

Sylvester Stallone recently confirmed rumors over on Aint It Cool News that the film is aiming to earn a PG-13 rating:

Harry, the film is fantastic with Van Damme turning in an inspired performance… Our final battle is one for the ages. The PG13 rumor is true, but before your readers pass judgement, trust me when I say this film is LARGE in every way and delivers on every level. This movie touches on many emotions which we want to share with the broadest audience possible, BUT, fear not, this Barbeque of Grand scale Ass Bashing will not leave anyone hungry…Sly

The initial reaction people will have from this news is likely to be negative, but it is important to remember that the original film was eyeballing a PG-13 rating during it’s filming as well. Stallone has earned the trust of the movie going audience as a director and storyteller, and The Expendables 2 still has in impressive cast list. We will have to wait and see if the teen friendly rating negatively effects the final project.

Two New Preview Clips for Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Haywire’ Arrive

Posted on January 19, 2012

When it comes to action movies, the name Steven Soderbergh may not come to mind first. He’s not really known as an “action director” but after watching his latest film Haywire, that title may just end up being his.

If you’re not familiar with Haywire, here’s some info about it:

Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.

Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.

The film opens tomorrow but to get you ready, we’ve got two new clips from it to share with you today. Both of these clips are scenes from the film and help demonstrate just what we’re talking about where Soderberg’s new title is concerned.

Haywire features MMA superstar Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum. Check out both of the scenes after the jump.

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Catch .44’ – The Poor Man’s ‘Usual Suspects’

Posted on January 19, 2012

Catch .44 is the embodiment of style over substance.

The film looks great. Writer/director Aaron Harvey clearly has a good eye. If the budget is as low as he implies in the audio commentary, Harvey needs to marry his production designer and his cinematographer. A lot of the visual effects are a little clunky (think the fight sequences in Deadliest Warrior), but good for the budget (which bodes well for the future of indie film).

The acting is also very strong, which is not unexpected given a cast that includes veterans Bruce Willis, Brad Dourif, and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Most of the fun that can be squeezed from watching Catch .44 is seeing the actors play.

But the twisty crime thriller genre is all about story, and there just isn’t one here. Unlike The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs, to which the marketing compares the film, Catch.44 doesn’t have any surprises, any secrets, or any tension. It’s mostly just people saying they are going to shoot each other and then, in fact, shooting each other.

The characters are poorly drawn and, with the possible exception of Whitaker’s confused psycho, unmemorable. Most have no arcs to speak of. The script doesn’t even keep you entertained with clever banter or intimidating tough-guy talk, another staple of the genre. The dialogue in Catch .44 is clumsy and lacking originality.

Apple Unveils iTunes U, Announces iBooks 2, iBooks Author and Updates iTunes

Posted on January 19, 2012

Big day for Apple and the education market today as our favorite fruit-flavored tech company revealed at an event in New York City that it will, as we discussed last week, be getting into the textbook publishing business in a big way. Apple’s VP of marketing Phil Schiller announced several new components of the initiative including iTunes U as a separate iOS app, which gives users of Apple’s new iBooks 2 iOS app access to textbooks from several top publishers to be read on the iPad.

The new textbooks are modern and interactive instead of plain old paper. They support multitouch gestures and also feature dictionary look-up integration and annotation. Students can even highlight text, take notes and create virtual note cards to reference later while studying. Wish this was around when I was in school.

At launch, high school-level textbooks are available in the iBookstore and priced at $14.99 or less. Expect more textbooks to come along in the near future. The first group of publishers with textbooks available for the iPad include Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Franklin Roosevelt Kicks Nazi Werewolf Ass in the ‘FDR: American Badass!’ Trailer

Posted on January 19, 2012

Sure, we may get Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires later this year, but before that even happens, you’ll be getting another American icon kicking some supernatural ass and leaving historical fact at the door.

That’s right, the film FDR: American Badass! is a real film starring the likes of Bruce McGill (Animal House), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) , Lin Shaye (Austin Powers Films), and Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Here’s a brief synopsis if you don’t believe us.

In this throwback to the original 1966 Batman movie, FDR rides a “wheelchair of death” to stop the world from werewolves who carry the polio virus, including werewolf versions of Hitler, Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito.

Imagine FDR taking on Nazi werewolves, riding a gun-wielding wheelchair, and saying things like “F*ck Polio!”. That’s exactly what you’re going to get from the “straight to Netflix” writing/directing duo of Ross Patterson and Garret Brawith in this flick.

Take a look at the awe inspiring trailer after the jump, and keep your eyes on all forms of distribution for when this movie hits later this year.

‘Prototype 2’ Gets Digital Comic Series from Dark Horse

Posted on January 18, 2012

It’s no surprise that one of the more anticipated games of 2012 for The Flickcast is Prototype 2. Since getting a peek at San Diego Comic-Con and getting hands on at NYCC, we are counting down to Prototype 2’s April 24th release date. Also looking forward to the release are the folks at Dark Horse Comics. Starting February 15th, Dark Horse will be launching an all digital three part web series focusing on filling in the events of what transpired between the first game and Prototype 2.

The first entry, “The Anchor,” illustrated by Paco Díaz, continues the story of Alex Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, while the second story, “The Survivors,” illustrated by Chris Staggs, follows a small group of residents of New York trying to escape the city after it has been transformed into NYZ with the outbreak of the Blacklight virus. The third and final story, illustrated by Victor Drujiniu, is “The Labyrinth” and provides fans a deeper look into the backstory of PROTOTYPE 2’s new protagonist, Sgt. James Heller.

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