The Flickcast

Box Office: ‘The Rite’ Stakes a Claim

Posted on January 31, 2011

Despite some pretty scathing reviews, the exorcism film The Rite won the weekend box office with $15 M. Although the film won, that is a pretty disappointing total for a weekend box office winner. This is one of those films where there was a wide disconnect between critics and audiences. The people who were polled by Cinemascore after seeing the movie gave it a satisfactory “B” average rating. Compare that to the 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. Huge disparity.

No Strings Attached held pretty strong in its second weekend. The romantic comedy starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher came in at number two. The film only dropped a modest 30%, making about $13.6 M. It has been a bit of a surprise hit, mostly due to a tight $25 M budget. The two week total stands at $39 M.

The weekend’s other new release was The Mechanic, and it came in closely behind No Strings Attached with $11.5 M. It had a fairly average per/screen average of about $4,300. According to Sunday’s estimates, this puts The Mechanic in a tie with holdover The Green Hornet, which also made $11.5 M. After three weeks, Hornet has made over $78 M.

The big story this week is The King’s Speech, which upstaged The Social Network at the DGA awards and the SAG awards over the weekend. The film is getting a serious bounce from all the awards talk, but The Weinstein Company also increased the theater count for the film by over $40% this weekend. Smart.

LEGOLAND California Preps New ‘Star Wars’ Lego Exhibit

Posted on January 31, 2011

There’s nothing quite like the convergence of Star Wars and LEGOS to trigger goofy smiles on geeks everywhere. Well you may have felt a new disturbance in the force as LEGOLAND California announced a new Star Wars-themed exhibit will open at their Carlsbad, CA park on March 31st, 2011.

LEGOLAND workers in Carlsbad are furiously assembling huge models and scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies as well as one from the animated flick The Clone Wars. Over 1.5 million LEGO bricks are coming together to form over 2,000 complete models as well as interactive exhibits including the moisture farm on Tatooine where Luke Skywalker grew up, scenes from Endor and even ones from the frozen planet of Hoth.

Henry Cavill is ‘Superman’ in Zack Snyder’s Reboot

Posted on January 30, 2011

We’ve been speculating about this for a long time now and even more so once Zach Snyder was confirmed as the director for the reboot of the Superman big screen franchise. Of course I’m talking about the question of who would play the new “Man of Steel.”

Well, according to AICN, that question has been answered. The new Superman? Henry Cavill. Don’t worry if you can’t place the name immediately as Cavill is probably best known for playing the role of Charles Brandon in the Showtime series The Tudors but hasn’t exactly broken out as a star in his own right. Obviously, that’s about to change.

He’s also been seen in Hellraiser: Hellworld, Tristan + Isolde and Stardust, so he’s got some acting credits behind him. According to the report, everyone involved with the casting of the new Superman is thrilled with Cavill’s take on the character, so that’s a good thing.

The new film begins shooting in four months with a planned release in December of 2012. So, how do we feel about this development? Are you disappointed that Tom Welling, or your favorite choice, didn’t make the cut?

Anne Hathaway’s Wardrobe Malfunction, A Russian ‘MST3K’ & Muppet Ballons are all On The Radar

Posted on January 28, 2011

Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• What if some of our favorite Oscar nominees had spot-on posters? Well, they may actually make money then…

• James Franco is such a good co-host, he’s even prepared to take Anne Hathaway down in case of an Oscar wardrobe malfunction.

• Nerdy shirts are all the rage these days, but when Star Wars meets Back to the Future, a purchase needs to be made.

• Some things need no introduction…so here’s a bunch of Muppets made out of balloons.

• You know what the world needs? A Russian MST3K ripoff. This is definitely why we won the war…

• Harry Hanrahan has brought us some pretty amazing supercuts in the past, but now….It’s Showtime!

• Why is it the US gets films like No String Attached and Just Go With It when other countries get films like Robot? It’s just unfair.

• And for your list of the week, The 10 Most Obscure Archer Jokes Explained. Enjoy!

Film Review: ‘The Company Men’

Posted on January 28, 2011

Some people may find that The Company Men hits a little too close to home. The movie follows a handful of employees at a large shipping company at the height of the recent economic downturn. It takes an unflinching look at what happens to their jobs, their marriages, their friends, and their honor. An excellent cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Ben Affleck, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Chris Cooper make this film riveting and believable.

The film takes a unique approach by focusing on these men who, by most people’s standards, are fairly well off. By humanizing their plight(s) without vilifying the men, we are able to relate to their universal struggles. After all, it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, losing a marriage or one’s dignity is going to hurt no matter what. That’s what I loved so much about the film. You want to hate the characters, but through the course of the film, you come to realize these guys are just like you and I.

Ben Affleck plays Bobby, a hotshot sales director with the company. He’s got a giant house (mortgaged to the hilt), a hot wife, and a fancy car. He’s living the dream. When corporate downsizing begins, his head is one of the first on the chopping block. He’s shell shocked and embarrassed, but he is confident he’ll find another job in no time.

Get Your First Look at the Final Issue of ‘Fantastic Four’

Posted on January 28, 2011

Like many good things sometimes they have to come to an end. Even though we might not want them to it is often the case that a story and characters have run their course.

So it is with Marvel’s Fantastic Four who, after the recent tragic death of Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) are nearing the end of their comic book run. Of course, Marvel isn’t going to let them go out with a whimper. From the Marvel release:

Huge choices that dramatically impact the Marvel Universe are made this February in Fantastic Four #588, from the superstar creative team of Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta and Mark Brooks! Following up on the sold-out hit Fantastic Four #587, Marvel is pleased to present your first look at the FINAL issue of the long-standing series, guest starring all your favorite Marvel heroes!

But the story isn’t over yet because where one door closes, another opens. It’s now up to Reed, Sue, and Ben to make life-changing decisions of their own volition that set them on a course destined to change the Marvel Universe in Johnny’s honor!

“The reaction from fans and retailers to Fantastic Four #587 was overwhelming and we’re excited to show fans, who have been chomping at the bit, to see what’s next!” exclaims SVP of Sales, David Gabriel. “It may be the end of the series, but it’s the beginning of something much bigger.”

Look for this comic to hit store shelves on February 31st. In the meantime, check out some preview pages after the jump.

TV RECAP: ‘The Office: The Seminar’

Posted on January 28, 2011

The phrase “it was only a matter of time” seems a bit obsolete if I’m going to use it to describe the meeting between Michael Scott and the original Michael Scott, David Brent. The U.S. Office is in its seventh season, and by now the characters are molded enough that a guest appearance by Ricky Gervais is less a gimmick for a ratings boost than it is a nice little detour on the way toward Steve Carell’s sendoff.

And that’s pretty much what they do. Brent’s not integral to the plot; he just appears in the cold open, shares some banter with Michael, the two hug, and end scene. It’s basically your standard sitcom cameo, but it works a little better than most. For one, and like I said, it’s not a cheap attempt for ratings, and it’s also not punctuated by a score of hoots and hollers from the studio audience (the lack of which has served The Office endlessly well throughout its seven seasons). It’s quick, it’s fun, and that’s about it.

The A plot of the episode deals with Andy conducting a small-business seminar in an effort to boost sales. Essentially his plan is to get a bunch of gullible, budding entrepreneurs into the conference room, have some of the sales team come in and make a few platitudinal, motivational speeches (“Dream big!”), and then hit them with a sales pitch for some business-plan packages.

CW Pushes Back ‘Smallville’ and ‘Supernatural’ Returns

Posted on January 28, 2011

If you were one of the millions of fans anxiously awaiting the return of Smallville or Supernatural tonight, you’re just going to have to wait a bit longer. The network that carries those shows, The CW, has decided to push back both show’s premieres, which were to take place tonight, by another week.

Now, both shows will return next Friday at their regularly scheduled times. Why is this happening? Reportedly, it is to give the network’s winter debuts of The Vampire Diaries and Nikita extra time to build an audience and ratings by showing them again this week in the time slots usually reserved for Smallville and Supernatural.

While I can understand the decision from a business perspective, it is still a rather crappy thing to do to fans eagerly awaiting the return of Smallville and Supernatural. I know The CW wants to give its newer shows as much of a chance as possible, but they also need to keep in mind that shows like Smallville, and its fans, are one of the reason the network is still in business.

Oh well, I guess we can wait one more week, right?

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