The Flickcast

Amazon Preparing Kindle Fire Software Update

Posted on December 13, 2011

When I first heard about the Amazon Kindle Fire, as a fan of Amazon and its earlier Kindle models, I was hopeful. In fact, I put down my $199.00 as soon as the company started taking orders.

Then, it arrived and with a mixture of excitement and anticipation, I opened the box and got my first real look at the Fire. Sadly, my excitement turned to disappointment as I put the Kindle Fire through its paces. Sure, it has some nice features and makes ordering content from Amazon extremely easy, but in many other ways it came up short.

In the end, even at $199.00, I decided it wasn’t for me and sent it back to Amazon for a refund. Apparently, I am not alone as reports have been coming it hat many others have been doing the same thing.

Fortunately for those still using the Fire, Amazon is set to address some of the concerns with an upcoming software update for the Fire. “In less than two weeks, we’re rolling out an over-the-air update to Kindle Fire,” Amazon spokesperson Drew Herdener told The New York Times in a recent interview.

According to Herdener, the update will improve multitouch performance on the device and will also enable a feature that allows users to edit their usage history on the tablet. That’s all well and good but it won’t address the physical problems I had with the device such as the lack of a volume control and the placement of the on/off switch which, it seems, is designed to be in exactly the wrong place no matter how you hold it.

As a fan of Amazon and their earlier Kindle devices, I’m going to keep an eye out for the next version of the Kindle Fire. Maybe 2.0 will be the magic number.

Trade Paperback Tuesday: ‘X-Statix Omnibus’

Posted on December 13, 2011

Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

X-Statix was a book ahead of its time, in fact, its probably book that can’t exist in any time, and that’s what makes it so good. First published in 2001 during the Grant Morrison New X-Men era, the story of this group began in X-Force #116. Marvel at this time was willing to take risks and chances.

Their movies were making money, and they wanted edgy comics that matched. Thus, X-Force was turned from a military group mutant team to a group of mutants that star on a reality show, and only save people if it will help their fame.

First Trailer for ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Arrives. With The Rock? And Bruce Willis?

Posted on December 13, 2011

We like to stay on our A-Game when it comes to new films hitting theaters and what to expect from studios on a regular basis. Then a trailer for a film like G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits the web and completely takes us by surprise.

The film picks up the hints from the first film, in which Zartan infiltrates the White House. Remember that? Neither do we. It seems that Paramount, however, does. Here’s the premise to the new film.

Little has been revealed about the plot other than that it will feature the G.I. Joe Team coming into a conflict with Zartan, Storm Shadow and Firefly. Zartan (who is last seen in disguise as the President of the United States) has now got the world leaders all under his thumb, warheads headed towards innocent populaces, and some new heavies on the payroll to keep G.I. Joe at bay.

This time around, we’re getting some new old characters to join the fight, such as Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, Ray Stevenson as Firefly, and Adrienne Palicki as Lady Jaye. Oh, did we mention that Bruce Willis shows up as John Colton? Yea, we’re as confused as you are.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump, and catch the film in theaters on June 29th.

Apple’s App Store Passes 100 Million Downloads

Posted on December 12, 2011

It didn’t do it as fast as the iTunes store did for IOS apps but still, this milestone is pretty impressive. What am I talking about? Well, according to Apple, its Mac App Store has has now served more than 100 million downloads to eager customers who appreciate not having to buy a boxed product.

”In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in a statement. “With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world.”

See, pretty impressive. With numbers like these you have to wonder what exactly Apple has made from this? Like the iOS store, you can bet the company gets a percentage and, if rumors are to be believed, a pretty decent one.

Not bad Apple, not bad. At least we don’t have to worry about you going out of business like we used to back in the 90s. Let’s keep it that way, okay?

Click through for the full press release from Apple about this milestone.

First ‘Men In Black 3’ Teaser Hits The Web

Posted on December 12, 2011

The Men In Black franchise is much like the Transformers franchise. The first films were sci-fi, popcorn cinema classics that struck a perfect blend of action, heart and humor, then the sequels came out and were cinematic abominations. While the giant robot movies kept chugging forward, the Men in Black series seemed like it couldn’t survive the blight that was Men In Black 2.

Thankfully, the franchise received a pardon and the third Men In Black film is fast approaching. The first teaser for next summer’s blockbuster-to-be has just hit the web and it actually looks pretty great. In case you are unaware of what the next Men in Black film is about here is a synopsis:

In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

Check out the teaser after the jump.

VGA Trailer Roundup: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’, ‘Last of Us’, & More

Posted on December 12, 2011

Saturday night, Spike TV held its annual Video Game Awards show which, as promised, gave the first looks at some huge trailers for 2012’s gaming landscape.

Naughty Dog gets to step away from their blockbuster Uncharted series to work on a new IP titled The Last of Us. This new title takes a different approach from the recent string of zombie / infected scenarios where it looks like it can be a game of stealth and horror mixed together. It isn’t a world like Dead Rising or Left 4 Dead where the creatures flood the street and makes the possibility of combining the stealth and horror genres pretty intriguing.

This has the possibility of becoming a fantastic PlayStation exclusive franchise. The trailer for The Last of Us is definitely one of the great surprises from the VGAs this year.

Monday Picks: ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’

Posted on December 12, 2011

Seasons greetings! This week’s pick is a comedy holiday classic from the successful National Lampoon’s Vacation series. Chevy Chase stars as Clark W. Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

This third installment of the series follows the Griswolds and Clark’s quest for the best family Christmas. The film’s opening sequence follows the family into the wilderness in the ultimate quest for the perfect Christmas tree. As Clark and the fam enter a clearing a beam of light falls on the perfect tree.

Like the two previous films, Clark’s expectations exceed the rest of the family’s and he is completely oblivious to everything. As they gather around the tree, Rusty asks if Clark brought a saw. Clark’s toothy smile turns to an immediate frown as he realizes his first mistake. In the last scene the tree is strapped to the roof of the car, completely torn from the ground, roots and all. Ridiculous yet brilliant.

As the in-laws and assorted family members arrive at Clark’s home for Christmas, things begin to go horribly awry, especially when cousin Eddie (Quaid) and his family arrive unexpectedly. Greatest line ever when Eddie asks Clark if he’s surprised to see him “Eddie if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”

Film Review: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo 3D’

Posted on December 12, 2011

I tend to think of Scorsese as a master of genre films—he’s done gangster films (Goodfellas, Casino), comedy (After Hours, The King of Comedy), police drama (The Departed), psychological thriller (Shutter Island), boxing (Raging Bull), biopic (Kundun, The Aviator, No Direction Home), concert (Shine a Light), historical (Gangs of New York), literary classic (The Age of Innocence), even a remake Cape Fear) and a sequel (The Color of Money)—but he tends to bring such a distinct touch to the films, they don’t quite feel like genre films.

So when I heard he was taking a stab at a kiddie flick, Hugo immediately shot to my most anticipated Scorsese film to date (outside, of course, of the fictional film he was making with Larry David as the money-hurling mob boss in Curb Your Enthusiasm)—added to that who wouldn’t be interested in Scorsese’s take on 3D?

And Hugo doesn’t disappoint. It’s not the most compelling story, but for all its two-hour-seven-minute running time, I wasn’t bored once. There’s a lot more going on, and I’ll get to that in a moment, but first the rundown.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) is an urchin who haunts a Paris railway station in the early 1930s, repairing its clocks and stealing various cogs and sprockets to rebuild the homunculus he and his father (Jude Law) were working on right up to his death. While Hugo tends to remain out of the sight and mind of the station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), he’s less successful evading the eye of the toymaker he robs (Ben Kingsley). Caught trying to thieve a wind-up mouse, he’s forced to give up his father’s notebook, which includes all the instructions on repairing the mechanical man and provokes a strange reaction from the toymaker.

Older Posts

Newer Posts