The Flickcast – Page 467 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

Marvel Mocks Volkswagon’s ‘Little Darth Vader’ Commercial with ‘Little Thor’

While we may have brought you a very spoilerific Thor video on Friday, we can assure you that this one won’t ruin anything for you. Back during the Super Bowl, Volkswagon had one of the better commercials of the night with their Little Darth Vader spot.

Now Marvel is taking a page from their book with their very own Little Thor commercial. It almost seems like it could be a normal commercial, with the exception that not many kids would want to dress up like The God of Thunder on a whim (at least not yet).

The end of the commercial also has a bit of a WTF ending that may not have gone over so well if this were a real car commercial. Fortunately, its just a spoof — and a pretty funny one at that.

The real Thor is set to hit May 3rd and stars Chris Hemsworth as the title character. Alongside Hemsworth, the film stars Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Rene Russo, and Tom Hiddleston.

Until then, enjoy the commercial after the jump.

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Box Office: Holiday Weekend Goes to the Birds with ‘Rio’

Many thought this Easter weekend was going to be a slam dunk for Tyler Perry and his third film to be based on the popular “Madea” character.  However, it was a blue macaw and his feathered friends who fended off the competition. Rio came in at the number one spot for the second weekend in a row.  The film made $26.8M, bringing its two week total to $81M.

Madea was a close second, with Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family making $25.8.  That is a very solid opening weekend total, but it is only the fourth largest debut from Tyler Perry, and it is lower than the two previous Madea movies.

The audience skewed heavily toward African American women over the age of 25, which is very typical for one of Perry’s films.  The film got a coveted “A” grade from audience members polled by CinemaScore. It should also be noted that Madea’s Big Happy Family had the highest per/screen average of the weekend ($11,254).

After critic reviews started coming in as less than stellar, there was some fear that Water for Elephants would under-perform, but it came in about where expected. The romance starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon made about $17.5M and got an “A-” grade from viewers.

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TV RECAP ‘Parks & Recreation: Soulmates’

Members of my generation probably remember Rescue Rangers, the cartoon that (if you lived in mid-Michigan in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s) eased the de-gression each weekday from the awesomeness of Ducktales to the mediocrity of Tailspin. Rangers wasn’t up to the same level of quality of Ducktales, but it did have one thing that kept our pudgy little eyes watching: Gadget.

Smart, sexy, and sporting a dynamite purple jumpsuit that no girl ever dared try pull off, Gadget was ashamedly appealing, and Disney gets a lot of credit for screwing up our concepts of attractiveness and sexuality. My college roommate’s predilection for redheads stems from seeing The Little Mermaid at a birthday party when he was seven (that same friend also took my “Who’s Your Ideal Cartoon Woman” quiz and, oddly enough, ended up with Gadget, which he reasoned was actually an ideal choice).

So what does this have to do with Parks & Rec? Outside of mindless filler and the hope of scoring more hits from the nostalgic crowd, I think I’ve nailed down what makes Leslie Knope so fetching: She’s the human equivalent of Gadget. “Mousey” would certainly be a good adjective to describe her—she’s petite and generally shy, regarding the opposite sex; she’s blonde; and she’s scatterbrained yet curiously competent at what she does (and in both cases it’s implied that their work is a substitute for social interaction).

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SPOILER! Watch the Post-Credit Easter Egg from ‘Thor’

UPDATE: Due to a request from Paramount, we have taken down the video. Sorry folks but they don’t want you to see it.

We may be a few weeks away from the God of Thunder’s release  with Thor here in the US, but folks overseas are basking in the glory of Marvel’s newest film as we speak. One diehard fan in particular even got some footage of the illustrious post-credit sequence that Marvel loves to slap onto the end of their films.

We give HEAVY WARNING here: if you don’t want to see what happens in this sequence, then we suggest not clicking through, as it gives clues that lead us up to Marvel’s upcoming films Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.

Those who are a fan of Marvel lore know that this isn’t much of a spoiler, per se, as it is some of the greatest story elements told in comics shown in live action.

So, without further adieu, click through the jump to see the special “Easter Egg” from after the credits in Marvel Studios’ Thor. We loved it, but let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Gameplay Videos: Nikolai Comes to ‘Anarchy Reigns’

A character with the first name of Nikolai who has a weapon with Tesla in its name. No not the most creative character concept ever but still effective none the less. In this latest trailer for Anarchy Reigns, SEGA gives a peak at Nikolai, a cyborg fighter with a back mounted reactor allowing him to channel electrical currents through his fists. The result is an angry Russian who is ready to let the sparks fly.

This is also the first trailer for Anarchy Reigns that gives a look at what may be the game’s “fatality” system, for lack of a formal title yet. While it has been shown that the game will use the environment to kill off competitors, this is the first time a trailer has shown anyone get finished off, as seen by two of Nikolai’s moves below.

So what do fatalities mean for Anarchy Reigns? Depending on how they are implemented, fatalities could become epic tide turners in matches if they can be pulled off at any time and not just when someone’s health bar has been depleted. Especially in multiplayer modes, this could completely shift the course of match-ups. On the other side, it is possible that these fatal moves could quickly become repetitive and lose their luster after seeing them in every match a player competes in.

Again, much of this is just speculation but take a peek after the jump at Nikolai’s screen shot gallery as well as his debut trailer. Stick to the Flickcast for more on Anarchy Reigns, coming soon to the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 from SEGA and Platinum Games.

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Film Review: ‘Water For Elephants’

The greatest show on earth?  Nah, but I found Water for Elephants to be an immensely enjoyable period film filled with decadent set pieces, gorgeous costumes, and a fascinating look at Depression-era Americana. The romance might be a tad tepid, but there is plenty to keep you entertained in this film adaptation of the popular novel by Sara Gruen.

If you haven’t read the book (I haven’t) don’t let the clunky title be a turnoff. Water for Elephants takes place in 1931, and tells the tale of Jacob Jakowski (Robert Pattinson), who has just completed his final year of Veterinary Science at the prestigious Cornell University. On the day of his final exams, Jacob learns that both of his parents died in a tragic car crash, and that they had mortgaged their house and belongings to pay his tuition.

He takes off with the shoes on his feet, the shirt on his back, and little else. Due to divine intervention or blind good luck, Jacob jumps onto a train that just happens to be housing an entire traveling circus.

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Developers Tell You Why Alex Mercer is the Villain in ‘Protoype 2′

That has been the question on the minds of many once they heard Alex would no longer be the star of Prototype 2. Activision and Radical Entertainment sent over a developer interview discussing this change, which can be seen after the jump, and the logic fits.

In Prototype, players spent so much time building up Alex’s power and in doing so reveal the mystery in to how he (SPOILERS) was actually the one who unleashed the virus upon Manhattan and the world. As a result, Alex is now a super powered entity with absolute power corrupting him absolutely.

On the opposite side of Alex, players have James Heller, a man who has lost his family to the virus that Alex unleashed. While his motives remain to be seen, Alex directly infects Heller with his virus which gives him powers much like Alex’s instead of killing him as it did so many others over the course of Prototype.

Also shown in the trailer below is Pre-Alpha gameplay footage. Usually games won’t show footage this early on but what can be seen is impressive. There will obviously be lots of polish put over the game before its 2012 release but things look to be on a strong course with new attacks and powers for Heller to use in his battle against Alex.

Take a peek after the jump at the story of Alex and Heller in Prototype 2 and stick to the Flickcast for more news on it as it becomes available.

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Jeremy Renner Takes On ‘The Bourne Legacy’

It’s nice to see actors go from virtual unknown to multiple Oscar nominee to star of a mega-budget action franchise in just a few years — especially when they’re not in their teens anymore. Fortunately, this time around with actor Jeremy Renner, who’s done just that, we actually like him and don’t feel like he’s being shoved down our throats like certain other people (Sam Worthington, we’re looking at you).

Renner’s latest gig is the lead role in the Tony Gilroy-directed The Bourne Legacy. Renner, who as we mentioned above, has been nominated for Oscars the past two years for his work in The Hurt Locker and The Town, is expected to close his deal quickly to play a new character in the spinoff film that begins production in September.

This new character will reportedly be an operative from a covert government program even more dangerous than Treadstone, the program that created Jason Bourne. Other actors reportedly in contention for this coveted role were Joel Edgerton, Dominic Cooper, Garrett Hedlund, Luke Evans, Taylor Kitsch and Anthony Mackie. Of those, Renner seems like the best choice — especially given his strong performances in his last couple of films.

The Bourne Legacy begins filming this Fall for an August, 2012 release.