The Flickcast

Gary Ross’ ‘The Hunger Games’ Swaps Composers

Posted on December 6, 2011

The Hunger Games is shaping up to be one of next year’s most interesting films. Based on it’s source material and fan base it would have been easy for the filmmakers to pump out a cheap looking Twilight cash in, but a funny thing happened along the way. The movie actually looks visually intriguing and competently constructed.

One of the more exciting aspects about the behind the scenes of this movie was the inclusion of Danny Elfman as it’s composer. Elfman is always capable of crafting a memorable theme and in recent years he has shown the ability to stretch his musical muscles. Alas, the new Tim Burton movie, Dark Shadows, and Men in Black III are keeping Elfman too busy next year and he has to bow out as the composer. Enter James Newton Howard.

Newton Howard is one of the most consistent film composers working today, he is capable of making a phenominal score for any movie, no matter it’s quality. Heck, the man’s score for Lady in the Water is one of the best things no one has heard in the last decade. He is much like Jerry Goldsmith in that regard.

The movie might have lost one high profile composer, but it gained another master. One who is more likely to give us something great, no matter the final quality of the film itself.

Newsflash! The Muppets Hate Old Rich People

Posted on December 6, 2011

That’s right. You heard it here last. It seems that the newest film featuring our favorite Henson classics The Muppets is yet another “plan for the left to bad mouth affluent businessmen” as the film’s main antagonist is an evil oil baron.

According to a report (yes, they felt the need to do an entire segment on this) from Fox Business, Jason Segal’s Muppet film is guilty of negatively portraying a simple business owner in the form of Chris Cooper’s “Tex Richman”, an evil baron who’s set on destroying the Muppet studios to drill for oil.

The fact that Fox, or anyone for that matter, would think that it’s news that The Muppets, a creation of Jim Henson, is just now taking aim at the aptly labeled 1%, is just preposterous.

Note that the news report barely mentions the existence of Statler and Woldof, who were doing the “old, rich, white antagonist” act before this reporter was able to walk. Take a look at the downfall of modern journalism in true form after the jump, and catch The Muppets in theaters now, or the oil barons of the world win.

Check it Out: The Official ‘BioShock’ Fan Film Gets a Teaser

Posted on December 6, 2011

Now that video games have surpassed films in terms of original storytelling, there are tons of properties that are ripe for adaptation. A bunch of those are already coming to fruition, but one that fans have decided not to wait forever for is the first person shooter Bioshock.

There has been talks about Gore Verbinski taking on the film, but in the meantime, Internet filmmaker Jared Pelletier has decided to take things into his own hands with his very own live action Bioshock film set for the spring of 2013. To get fans ready for the film’s release (and expected production diary leading up to it), he has posted the first teaser for the film online.

Full of classic swingy goodness, and maybe a few shots of action, the teaser is more than enough to hold fans over for a bit of time.

Take a look at it after the jump, and subscribe to the official Bioshock fan film channel on YouTube. Here’s to hoping we can beat Hollywood to the finish line!

Blu-ray Review: ‘Submarine’

Posted on December 5, 2011

It’s been said that if you screw up once, it’s a mistake, but if you do it three times it’s a style.

Don’t get me wrong, Submarine is a good film with a strong voice, but that’s not to say it’s not without pros and cons. With a unique tone, interesting characters, and distinctive editing, director Richard Ayoade obviously had a strong vision for this film from the beginning. The only problem was with the main character, Oliver Tate, who was written as such an offbeat character that there were times at which he was hard to relate to.

Submarine is a film full of feature film newcomers. Ayoade makes his narrative feature debut as writer/director, a departure from his career as a TV actor and director. Both of the young actors, as well, come fresh to the big screen. Craig Roberts, playing Oliver Tate, takes on his first feature lead in this film (he has since starred in Jane Eyre), and Yasmin Paige, coming only from small parts in obscure films, gives a surprisingly beautiful performance as his love interest, Jordana Bevan.

At Long Last the First ‘Cabin In the Woods’ Trailer Arrives

Posted on December 5, 2011

Remember that movie The Cabin in the Woods we first told you about over two years ago? What ever happend to that one?

It had a lot going for it, coming from Cloverfield writer and director Drew Goddard and co-written by the man himself Joss Whedon. It also stars Chris Hemsworth, who went on to be in Marvel’s Thor and the upcoming The Avengers.

Sadly, the movie fell victim to MGM’s money troubles and ended up being put on the shelf until the company emerged from its money troubles or found another company to distribute the film. Fortunately, both of those things seems to have happened and now it’s set to be released on April 13.

To get people ready for the occasion the first trailer for the film has been released. We have it for you right here, of course.

In addition to Hemsworth, the film features Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford and Brian White.

Take a look at the trailer after the break.

Monday Picks: ‘Night of the Comet’

Posted on December 5, 2011

In celebration of the holiday season, this week’s pick is the 1984 cult classic Night of the Comet written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. Night of the Comet is a terrific throwback to 1950’s horror and sci-fi with a unique 80s spin to it. The film stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Mary Woronov, and Geoffrey Lewis.

With Christmas right around the corner, the world prepares for the arrival of a comet that predicts a stellar light show that will be seen all around the world. As billions gather to await the arrival of the comet, a group of scientists have secured themselves in a secret research facility in the California desert fearing that the last time a comet like this arrived on Earth, spelled extinction for the dinosaurs.

Stewart stars as Regina Belmont, a movie theater usher who awakens the morning after the comet passes over a deserted LA. Things seem amiss when Reggie gets locked out of the theater and discovers that her boyfriend, who went to pick up some rare film cans belonging to the theater, has not yet arrived back.

Reggie sees Larry’s (Michael Bowen) motorcycle still parked in the alley and she is attacked by a zombie in overalls. Regina fights him off and takes off on the motorcycle.

The Bitcast – Episode 7: Friend Request Accepted

Posted on December 5, 2011

JC and WallE are back with the 7th epic edition of the Bitcast. In the News of the Week, the two discuss the announcement of the PlayStation 3 Smash Brothers inspired brawler Title Fight and the characters that may be coming to it. They also talk about a recent study that links violent video games to slower brain activity. Finally, they look at how Angry Birds developer Rovio passed on a $2.25 billion dollar offer from social media games developer Zynga who incidentally lost almost a million players in their game Mafia Wars 2 in just one month.

In the second edition of The Long Grind featuring The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, JC discusses the story (spoiler free) and the open world adventuring aspects of the game.

In this week’s Topic of the Week, social media in gaming such as Facebook integration and community sites like Raptr are brought up. Finally, in Now Playing, JC gives some more insight into his longer than expected play sessions on Saints Row: The Third and WallE discusses his review of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

Make sure to subscribe to The Flickcast iTunes feed to get each weekly episode of the Bitcast downloaded right to your iOS device.

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Original ‘Robocop’ Peter Weller Joins J.J. Abrams Next ‘Star Trek’

Posted on December 5, 2011

In what could be called a bit of sci-fi synergy, original Robocop actor Peter Weller is reportedly joining the cast of J.J. Abrams upcoming sequel to Star Trek. While no other details are available at the moment as to what type or size of role Weller will be taking on in the film, you can be assured it will probably not be that of a robot or cyborg.

Of course, now that Weller is being cast in the film, speculation as to his role can begin in earnest, even without any “official” word. That’s just part of the fun. In addition to him most likely not being any sort of robot, bad or otherwise, It’s likely Weller will not play Kahn Noonian Singh — even if that role also doesn’t go to Benicio del Toro.

Weller will more likely take on a smaller yet pivotal role as a Starfleet officer or recognizable alien species who helps (or hinders) Kirk and company’s fight to destroy the greater evil threatening them and Earth. We have nothing to base that on of course, just spitballing here and trying to fill some column inches. That’s just how we roll. Who do you think Weller should play?

Paramount will release the Star Trek sequel May 17, 2013. Weller joins recently announced new cast members Alice Eve and del Toro and the returning Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, John Cho and Simon Pegg.

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