The Flickcast

Sam Jackson Loses The Eyepatch In The First Trailer for ‘Arena’

Posted on August 2, 2011

While we’ve gotten plenty of him as Nick Fury this year in Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, Sam Jackson’s still got to have a gig or two that happen before 10 minutes of final credits. That’s where the upcoming film Arena comes in.

Not to be confused with the fantastic sci-fi flick from 1989 starring Paul Satterfield (look it up) this film leans closer to films like Death Race and Gamer. Actually, a bit more than closer. Here’s the premise.

Arena centers on a young man (Lutz) who is kidnapped and forced into the savage world of a modern gladiator arena, where men fight to the death for entertainment of the online masses. Jackson orchestrates the games, overseeing them from his computer lair with the help of twin ladies who see to his every desire.

Nothing really new here story-wise, but at least we’ll get to see Sam Jackson throw a few bad guy quips out there and ladies will get Kellan Lutz without a shirt. Check out the brand new trailer after the jump and catch Arena in theaters soon.

War Movie Mondays: ‘A Walk in the Sun’

Posted on August 1, 2011

This week’s pick is Lewis Milestone’s classic A Walk in the Sun (1945) that tells the story of a hardened platoon that hits the beaches of Salerno, Italy in World War II. The film stars Dana Andrews (Sgt. Bill Tyne), Richard Conte (Pvt. Rivera), John Ireland (PFC. Windy Craven), George Tyne (Pvt. Jake Friedman), Lloyd Bridges (SSgt. Ward) and Richard Benedict (Pvt. Tranella).

A Walk in the Sun was one of the first post war films that showed the audience the myriad complexities of combat and its effects on the morale of soldiers that had already been fighting under the harsh conditions of North Africa, and the Sicilian campaign. Issues like “combat fatigue” or what was called “shell shock” in the first war were not widely known, or were not considered a major issue like it is today with returning veterans.

The focal point of the film is on the fifty-three men of Lee Platoon of the Texas Division, which is made up of men from all walks of American life. Sgt Tyne (Andrews) is a native of Rhode Island, privates Friedman and Rivera (Tyne and Conte) are New York natives who can only talk about getting home to the Big Apple, and Sgt. Ward (Bridges) is a Midwest farmer who wants nothing more than to return home and resume his previous occupation before the war.

TV RECAP: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Smiley Face’

Posted on August 1, 2011

I know there’s a lot of ladies reading this, so I’m going to start out with a question: Significant other aside, would you date/make out with Larry?

He doesn’t strike me as the world’s most gorgeous man (that would be guest star and People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” at least for 1986, Harry Hamlin), but he takes care of himself, might make you laugh, and, of course, he could dip his bald head in oil and rub it all over you body.

It doesn’t have anything to do with episode (well, Larry does date a curvaceous restaurant hostess), it’s just that after this one, Cheryl, Lucy Lawless, Gina Gershon’s character from season 4, and last week’s Palestinian women (and, to an extent, her sister), I’m curious if Mr. David is really God’s gift to women.

“The Smiley Face,” has a lot going for it with guest star Hamlin, the return of Larry’s assistant Antoinette (one of my favorite characters), and even some Lewis, but it’s one of those that seems more focused on the plotting than the humor.

Exclusive: ‘Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded’ Developer Interview and Trailer

Posted on August 1, 2011

Last year when Activision and Eurocom announced a relaunch of the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye as a Wii exclusive, classic shooter fans who had moved on from the Nintendo consoles to the more powerful and better controlling XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 were up in arms. They were the people who cut their teeth on first person shooters for the first time on the N64. It wasn’t their fault Nintendo had moved on to gimmicky controls and sacrificed graphics in favor of “family gaming”.

This year, their prayers will be answered with an all new, built from the ground up version dubbed Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded coming to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. What fans will get is a retelling of the classic Bond story with new graphics and new mechanics that control and look more like a Call of Duty title rather than the waggle and aiming layout of the Wii (although it will be PlayStation Move compatible).

During the Activision press event, we had the opportunity to see the walkthrough of one of the game’s early levels which not only looked gorgeous but had engaging gameplay and very entertaining stealth takedowns. We also got to hear about the various new MI 6 modes that have everything from Stealth to Defense missions resembling Horde mode from Gears of War.

Take a look below at our developer interview, the game’s announcement trailer and the first image gallery for Goldeneye: 007 Reloaded for the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. Stick to the Flickcast for more on this already much hyped and anticipated title as more develops.

Marvel Gets Ready for Their Own Reboot with ‘Marvel: Season One’

Posted on August 1, 2011

Bob Dylan said it best when he sang about changing times, and now that songs is more prophetic than ever in the comic book industry. Hard to believe Marvel was once going out of business and having a fire sale, as their films are some of the biggest blockbusters of the summer season, and they’ve got more properties on TV and other media than ever before. Between facts like that and the fact that DC is panicking and rebooting their entire universe back to the basics, they feel like it may be time to join in the fun.

That’s where Marvel: Season One comes in. Rather than what DC is doing and mess with the ongoing continuity of their books, Season One is taking their most popular characters and giving old fans and new a chance to relive some of their early adventures with a separate series.

“With Marvel Season One we’ve assembled a group of great creators who’re delivering exciting, iconic, in-continuity stories of our most popular heroes,” said Tom Brevoort, Marvel SVP/Executive Editor. “If you’re a new fan, you can start your journey into comics with Season One and if you’re a seasoned fan you’ll find some thrilling new insight into your favorite characters.”

The complete first wave of Season One graphic novels includes:

• Fantastic Four: Season One by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Stephen King’s The Stand, Television’s Glee) and David Marquez (Secret Warriors), on-sale in February 2012

• X-Men: Season One by Dennis Hopeless (Legion Of Monsters, Lovestruck) and Jamie McKelvie (Generation Hope, Phonogram), on-sale in March 2012

• Daredevil: Season One by Antony Johnston (Daredevil) and Wellinton Alves (Nova), on-sale in April 2012

• Spider-Man: Season One by Cullen Bunn (Fear Itself: The Deep, Sixth Gun) and Neil Edwards (Fantastic Four), on-sale in May 2012

Not only will this be a way to introduce fans of the films to the original medium in which they started, but it’ll be great fodder for classic comic fans to see how modern artists re-imagine some of the great stories Lee and Kirby thought up decades ago. Expect to see these books hit shelves starting next year and check out the early covers from the first wave after the jump.

SDCC11 Exclusive: Interview with ‘Tucker & Dale vs Evil’ Director Eli Craig

Posted on August 1, 2011

Tucker & Dale vs Evil is a comedy horror film about two hillbillies on their dream vacation to a cabin in the woods who get mistaken for kidnappers when they try to help out a girl that fell into the lake. Completed in 2010, this film has had a tough time finding a distributor after it premiered at Sundance.

I sat down with the director, Eli Craig, to talk about his experience with this film. The conversation started off light, with him telling me about the new trailer that was premiering that weekend at their panel in Hall H.

The Flickast: So are you having a good weekend? Have you gotten to experience Comic Con at all?

EC: I haven’t. I’ve just been doing these interviews. But I do want to go check it out. My 5 year-old son is in there somewhere running around with a chainsaw and a hillbilly costume.

Box Office: ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Ties With ‘Smurfs’ For #1 Spot

Posted on August 1, 2011

Last weekend, the world was taken by surprise as Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger blew past the final Harry Potter film and made it to the #1 spot in its very first weekend. Since then, the film has grossed over $115 million here in the US and upwards of $170 million worldwide. Not bad for the best superhero film of the year (according to Rotten Tomatoes).

This weekend, Cap may have gotten knocked off the top spot and only made roughly $24 million, but the more interesting part is the battle between Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens and Sony’s The Smurfs. Both films opened with an estimated $36.2 million in the domestic, and while Smurfs may be the winner overseas, with a total of $40 million worldwide, that’s simply because it’s the only film to have a foreign opening.

Not a very strong opening for either film (unless you consider Smurfs to be a small film), but the true champion will be determined tomorrow afternoon when the official numbers arrive for the domestic box office.

Check Out Three New Previews for Sunday’s ‘True Blood’

Posted on July 29, 2011

Let’s face it, HBO’s vampire show True Blood keeps getting more interesting and fun each week. After a bit of an off start, this new season seems to have found its stride delivering all the drama, sex, action and pathos a TV series could ask for.

As we do most Fridays, we’ve got new clips that give you a preview of this Sunday’s all-new episode. These clips, which are called “Andy Lends Holly a Hand,” Lafayette and Jesus Visit His Grandfather,” and Tara Receives a Visitor” give us some nice insight into Sunday’s episode.

Not only that, we’ve got another bonus video for you: a preview of things to come for the rest of the season. No need to thank us, we like doing it.

Click through for the videos. True Blood airs Sunday at 9/8C on HBO.