The Flickcast

Marvel Comics On Sale This Week

Posted on May 18, 2011

That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics are coming out from our friends at Marvel today and, as always, we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading.

Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Alpha Flight #0.1, Astonishing X-Men #38, Deadpool Max #8, Uncanny X-Force #10 and X-23 #10.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday (that’s today!), so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

ALPHA FLIGHT #0.1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #661
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #661 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT
ASTONISHING X-MEN #38
AVENGERS #13 (FI)
AVENGERS #13 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT (FI)
AVENGERS ACADEMY #14
CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIRST VENGEANCE #2
DEADPOOL MAX #8
FEAR ITSELF #1 2ND PRINTING WRAPAROUND VARIANT
GENERATION HOPE #7
GENERATION HOPE #7 THOR HOLLYWOOD VARIANT
HAWKEYE: BLINDSPOT #4
HERC #3 (FI)
HERC #3 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT (FI)

‘Torchwood: Miracle Day’ Locks In Great Guest Stars

Posted on May 18, 2011

It’s no secret we are really looking forward to the new Torchwood: Miracle Day series debuting on Starz in July. Obviously, this is a pretty big deal for fans of the show as it will be a chance to see some of their favorite characters return as well as new ones teaming up with them for big time adventures in the States where the fate of the world is at stake.

The series already has mainstays John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Kai Owen as well as newcomers Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman and Alexa Havins. Now, via a release from Starz, we know the series will get some great guest stars as well.

Check out the full scoop on all the action and who’s going to be on the show from the official press release from Starz:

Today, the network announced that in addition to Torchwood alumni, John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Kai Owen and new headliners, Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman and Alexa Havins, that the 10-episode, hour-long series will also feature an impressive list of guest stars: Wayne Knight (“Seinfeld,” Jurassic Park), C. Thomas Howell (“Southland,” The Outsiders), Ernie Hudson (“OZ,” Ghostbusters), Nana Visitor (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), John DeLancie (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Mare Winningham (Mildred Pierce, George Wallace) and Frances Fisher (Titanic, The Lincoln Lawyer).

Additional actors starring in the cult sensation include: Arlene Tur (“Crash,” Eat Pray Love) and Lauren Ambrose (“Six Feet Under,” The Other Woman) who join the cast in an extended guest role. The show’s original creator, writer/producer Russell T Davies, serves as executive producer along with BBC Worldwide Productions’ SVP Julie Gardner, with Davies also serving as show-runner for “Torchwood: Miracle Day.”

Game Review: ‘Thor: God of Thunder’ for XBox 360

Posted on May 18, 2011

While Thor has hammered the competition in theaters, it looks as though this will not be the case for the console release of the tie-in game Thor: God of Thunder. Archaic visuals alongside punishing and repetitive gameplay place Thor: God of Thunder amongst the list of failed movie to game tie ins, though the story doesn’t directly coincide with that of the Thor motion picture.

Gameplay:

Thor: God of Thunder attempts to model itself around other successful action games such as God of War or Dante’s Inferno. Players make their way through specific pathways in levels where they hack and smash through redundant hordes of faceless drones.

Thor uses standard melee attacks alongside his powers of wind, thunder and lightning and hammer throws to defeat these enemies. The downside to these god powers is they aren’t exactly very powerful and Thor’s Odinforce (think of it like Mana or Action Points) quickly depletes, leaving him with only a few sparks to shoot off over the course of combat. The rest of the time, players can simply button mash the standard attack button until grapple options become available.

As mentioned previously, Thor combats larger enemies by actually climbing up them and attacking specific spots on their body to inflict more damage. This, much like the rest of combat, becomes quickly repetitive in finding a way to dodge enemies until they are stunning to where Thor must repeatedly beat their armor off of them to uncover their weak spot. Though different enemies have different spots that must be destroyed, the principal doesn’t change.

Things Get Dark & Crazy in the Next ‘Mortal Kombat: Legacy’ Episode

Posted on May 18, 2011

Video game fans are probably one of the hardest groups to please. Last year, when the Mortal Kombat Rebirth trailer came out, fans where out of their skin and wanting more from director/creator Kevin Tancharoen and his crazy adaptation of the classic gaming universe.

Now that Warner Bros and Machinima have brought that world to the internet in a weekly webseries titled Mortal Kombat: Legacy, that initial group of fans has been split. One side loves everything Tancharoen is doing with the universe, in rebooting each of the characters and their origins. The other, however, is more than outraged at how Tancharoen is “bastardizing their childhoods” with his changes.

In the latest episode, we get a preface explaining the world. Let’s see if this makes a difference to the haters. Here’s the synopsis.

The following episode represents director Kevin Tancharoen’s “different take on the Mortal Kombat universe,” combining the perfect amount of gritty realism mixed with a hint of mysticism… When Lord Raiden, God of Thunder and protector of Earth, finds himself in an earthly mental institution in the year 2011, his ‘delusions’ are treated with some rather primitive forms of therapy (involving an ECT machine and an ice pick).

Nonetheless, Blue, his beautiful, fragile yet insane fellow inmate, is Raiden’s only hope of escaping the mental hospital and making his way to the Mortal Kombat tournament to defend Earthrealm from Shao Khan.

Things definitely get dark in this episode. Check it out after the jump.

Motorola DROID X2 Will Launch On May 26th From Verizon Wireless

Posted on May 18, 2011

As expected, Motorola on Wednesday announced that the sequel to the popular DROID X smartphone will launch later this month. The Motorola DROID X2 will be available for pre-order on May 19th and will launch on May 26th.

The device will cost $199.99 with a new two-year contract. It features some pretty nice specs including a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, dual-core 1GHz processor, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), an 8-megapixel camera with support for HD video capture, an HDMI-out port, a case that is nearly identical to the original Motorola DROID X, and “double the does,” according to Verizon Wireless.

Sounds like a nice device. As an iPhone user I’m always interested in what the Android folks will come up with next. These phones just keep getting better and better and the Android platform keeps maturing.

Hopefully Apple will realize its got some competition and step up with some amazing new features for iPhone 5. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

In the meantime, for the rest of the scoop on this new device, check out the full press release from version after the break.

CBS Announces Fall Schedule for 2011 – 2012

Posted on May 18, 2011

The primetime TV landscape for Fall is almost complete. With NBC, ABC and Fox already releasing their schedules for Fall, CBS now joins in and has announced their primetime schedule for 2011 and 2012 as well.

Some of the changes made by the network for Fall include moving CSI from Thursday to Wednesday nights and launching new drama Person of Interest in its place. In addition, The Good Wife will move to Sundays and Rules of Engagement to Saturdays.

New series from the network include three new dramas and two new comedies. They are as follows: Person of Interest, a crime thriller from executive producer J.J. Abrams starring Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson and Taraji P. Henson; Unforgettable, starring Dylan Walsh and Poppy Montgomery as a former detective with a rare condition that enables her to remember virtually every detail from every day of her life.

In addition, CBS will debut A Gifted Man about a preeminent surgeon whose life changes forever when his deceased ex-wife returns, starring Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Ehle; 2 Broke Girls, a comedy about two strikingly different young waitresses who form an unlikely friendship, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs; and an odd-couple comedy, How to Be A Gentleman, starring David Hornsby and Kevin Dillon, about a refined magazine columnist and his very unrefined personal trainer.

These new series will be joined by 19 returning shows including NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, 60 Minutes, Hawaii Five-O, Mike & Molly, Survivor and The Amazing Race.

Heres the new Fall schedule:

First Trailer for the Epic ‘Adventures of Tintin’ Hits the Web

Posted on May 18, 2011

Just when you thought Spielberg was going to pack it all up and stick to producing, he announced that he was going to direct a new epic film (with the potential of sequels). Could he be working on big budget superhero flick? A giant alien sci-fi adaptation? Nope, we’re talking about the adventures of the French boy-detective in The Adventures of Tintin.

The crew is pretty star-studded, as well as the cast, with such names as Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, Joe Cornish, Simon Pegg, Peter Jackson, Daniel Craig, and Spielberg himself joining in. Here’s the synopsis for those who aren’t caught up on their classic French comics.

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures Present a 3D Motion Capture Film “The Adventures of Tintin” directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish. Starring Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot,” “Defiance”) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (“Quantum of Solace,” “Defiance”) as the nefarious Red Rackham.

Though there are plenty of big names and TONS of money behind this flick, the concept of motion-captured animation still leaves a bad taste in our mouths after such gems as A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see if this falls in the same “dead behind the eyes” category of animation.

Check out the trailer after the jump and catch The Adventures of Tintin in theaters on December 23rd.

TV REVIEW: ‘Doctor Who: The Doctor’s Wife’

Posted on May 17, 2011

“Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?”

-Idris

Doctor Who is a quintessential piece of British culture, and it has been for nearly a half century. A more recent contributor to that lexicon is Neil Gaiman, the mastermind behind Sandman, Stardust and Coraline. Well last year the ‘Grand Moff’ worked his magic again and secured Gaiman to write a season six episode of Doctor Who. Uniting two of the giants in British fantasy into one perfect, condensed episode of TV. Or is it?

Of course it is, I won’t even try to fool you. ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ is one of, if not the, best episode of Moffat and Smith’s run up to this point The tone is fabulous, the writing is perfect, the acting is spectacular and the monster is every bit as threatening as he should be considering the stakes. As far as stand alone stories go, I predict this will be at or near the top of many Whovian’s top lists for years to come.

So we have reached the spoiler warning portion of my review, I cannot implore you enough to see the episode first. You do yourself a disservice by not heeding that warning! More after the jump.

Older Posts

Newer Posts