The Flickcast – Page 364 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

International Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival ShriekFest Announces 2011 Winners

Posted on October 4, 2011

When mainstream Hollywood is busy making billions of dollars on rereleases of animated classics upgraded for 3D or movies with Morgan Freeman and a dolphin, it’s true independent cinema that holds some of the best stories and visuals.

That’s why we are seeing more and more film festivals pop up over the past few years, giving accolades to the up and coming filmmakers and writers who will one day run the town and bring art back to the theaters.

Shriekfest is one in the Los Angeles area that has been doing so for years. Since 2001, the international film fest has been bringing awareness to the lesser-known horror and science fiction filmmakers with films and shorts that easily surpass some of the movies we spend $10 to see every weekend.

This year’s winners have some of the most talented folks we’ve seen in some time, with aliens and monsters galore. Check out the full list of this year’s winners after the jump, and get the head start on checking out these films over at Shriekfest.com before your friends tell you about them first.

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NBC Cancels ‘The Playboy Club’ After 3 Episodes

Posted on October 4, 2011

With a full year of mediocre shows hitting this fall, it was a race to the finish line to see which would be the first to make it to the chopping block. While our money was on Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing, it turns out NBC was the first to buckle with their controversial new show The Playboy Club.

After making tons of waves with the PTC, it turns out the ratings just weren’t enough to sustain the potential legal and PR issues, as NBC has given it the axe after three lackluster episodes. From EW:

NBC’s biggest primetime gamble just became the first cancelled show of the season: The Playboy Club has been pulled from the network’s schedule.

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Apple Unveils New iPhone 4S, Siri Assistant, iPod Nano, Gives iOS 5 Release Date, More

Posted on October 4, 2011

At an event held this morning at Apple’s Cupertino campus, newly minted Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled what many were expecting: a brand new iPhone. Dubbed the iPhone 4S, the device is cosmetically very similar to the current iPhone 4 but features a host of internal improvements which may appease fans eagerly awaiting an iPhone refresh.

In addition, Cook announced the release data for iOS 5, the software that powers Apple’s lineup of devices including the iPhone and iPad, as well as updated iPods with price cuts and an intelligent assistant, dubbed Siri, which enables user to verbally interact with their iOS devices.

Here’s the highlights of today’s event:

• Apple made the iPhone 4S official. It features the same Retina Display but features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor and a dual-core graphics chip.

• The iPhone 4S battery can provide 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing time on 3G and 9 on Wi-Fi, 10 hours of video playback or 40 hours of music playback.

• Apple has redesigned the iPhone 4S antenna to switch between two antenna to send and receive. Hopefully how you hold the device won’t matter now.

• The iPhone 4S features HSPA+ 14.4 support, though Apple isn’t branding it as “4G.” It’s also a world phone, so one device will support CDMA and GSM/WCDMA networks around the globe. That means it will work on AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the U.S.

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See Spidey in Action In the New ‘Edge of Time’ Launch and Combat Trailers

Posted on October 4, 2011

With today marking the release of Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Activision released a trailer focusing on the games combat system, as well as an official launch trailer.  The combat trailer highlights the agile, acrobatic-based fighting style of The Amazing Spider-Man, as well as the technological gizmos used by Spider-Man in 2099. Focusing on plot, the launch trailer delves a little deeper into the story of the highly anticipated Spider-Man game.

From the official press release:

“Spider-Man: Edge of Time challenges the player to take on the roles of both classic Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 to correct a timestream gone awry and prevent a catastrophic future brought on by the early and untimely death of Peter Parker.

The game features all-new “cause-and-effect” gameplay, where players will see how the immediate and sometimes unexpected effects of their actions as one Spider-Man changes the timeline of the other Spider-Man.”

Check out both trailers after the jump to see both Spideys in action, and keep an eye out for our review coming soon!

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Check Out a Trailer for Luc Besson’s ‘The Lady’

Posted on October 4, 2011

Most of the time when you think about director Luc Besson you think about action films. From La Femme Nikita to The Professional to The Fifth Element. Besson has been most closely associated with the action genre.

The same could be said for actress Michelle Yeoh. She’s kicked considerable butt in any films including Supercop and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. However, their the latest project for both Besson and Yeoh seems to be a bit of a departure.

It’s a film called The Lady and in it Yeoh plays Burmese nonviolent pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. David Thewlis, recently of the Harry Potter franchise, co-stars as her husband, writer Michael Aris, who campaigned along with their children for her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Yep, doesn’t seem like a lot of action to be had with this one. But that’s okay, it could still be a good movie. In fact, we’ve got a trailer for the film to share with you so you’ll be able to see for yourself.

Take a look at the trailer after the break. The Lady hits theaters later this year.

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TV RECAP: ‘Parks and Recreation: Ron & Tammys’

Posted on October 3, 2011

Sorry for missing last week. My sister was getting married, and it put the kibosh on reviewing the Parks and Rec opener, which I wasn’t even aware had premiered until it came up during the reception, between one of my friends and cousin Jane, both of whom raved about it while I bit my tongue, cheek, lip, and anything with gnawing range for having missed it.

They also mentioned that next week’s episode would feature a drinking contest between Tammy I, Ron’s mom, and Leslie. Add to that the fact that the episode is titled “Ron & Tammys,” the Ron-and-Tammy episodes being among the series’ best, I was very excited for tonight.

But to back up a bit, we’re finally introduced to what we can only believe is the demon whose evil outdoes even Satan (Tammy II): Tammy I (Patricia Clarkson, looking sexy in an appropriately red dress). The cliffhanger that Season 3 ended on, where Leslie told Ron that Tammy I was waiting in his office (and scaring away Tammy II with a mere shot of I’s shoes) certainly lived up to the hype, and, just to reinforce it, there was a great scene last week when Tammy I put April in her place (and further magnified the threat by having her work for the IRS and auditing Ron).

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History Channel to Extend Season Two of ‘Top Gear USA’

Posted on October 3, 2011

It should come as no surprise to regular readers of this site but in addition to movies, TV, comics, tech, games and all things geek, we also love cars. So, when we can combine two of our loves, like TV and cars, we are, of course, even more ecstatic.

You can probably guess, then, how we feel about a little BBC TV show called Top Gear. That’s right, we love it. With that in mind, then, how do we feel about the US version of Top Gear which airs on the History Channel and is hosted by comedian and car buff Adam Ferrara, champion rally and drift racer Tanner Foust and racing analyst Rutledge Wood?

Well, um, it’s complicated.

We tried to like it. Really, we did. We want to like it. We want it to succede because the world needs more fun, entertaining shows about cool cars on TV. Sadly, it just isn’t very good.

Let’s face it, Clarkson, May and Hammond are a tough act to follow and the US version has a long way to go. Still, we won’t give up on it just yet.

Neither will History Channel, it seems. Top Gear USA’s ratings for the second season improved greatly over the first to an average of 1.9 million viewers per episode. As a result of that increase, the network plans to extend the season with eight new episodes and is already in production on them at a secret location outside of Los Angeles, CA.

Ok, it’s actually in Irvine, but don’t tell anyone.

The new episodes are set to premiere in 2012 but as yet we don’t have a firm date. We’ll let you know when we do.

Check Out the New ‘Lord of the Rings: War in the North’ Behind-the-Scenes Trailer

Posted on October 3, 2011

Fans of the Action/RPG genre are eagerly awaiting the release of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a new role-playing title from Snowblind Studios. WitN will feature an expansive three-player cooperative campaign allowing players to form their own fellowship, as well as a series of in-game challenges which will test players abilities to work together.

To emphasize the importance of co-op gameplay, the developers have released a behind-the-scenes / gameplay trailer focusing on “The Power of Three,” and highlighting the different abilities and tactical advantages offered by each character class.
From Premier PR:

“Each hero in this tale – Andriel the Elf, Eradan the Human, Farin the Dwarf – contributes a vital talent further uniting the Fellowship.  Hear from the creators themselves as they delve into the inner workings of the game’s heroes.  Utilising teamwork and communication, players can join together to fight the War in the North. ”

Watch the video below, and keep an eye out for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North when it releases for PS3, PC, and XBox 360 on November 1st, 2011  in the U.S., and the 25th in the UK.

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