The Flickcast – Page 662 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

HTC Disputing Apple’s Antenna Signal Strength Claims

Posted on July 19, 2010

During Apple’s recent iPhone 4 press conference, they made some pretty hefty claims about other smartphones having similar problems as the iPhone 4, including devices manufactured by HTC, Blackberry, and Nokia. Devices that they singled out, such as the HTC Droid Eris and HTC Nexus One, supposedly have their own history of reception problems.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who heard this and went “Huh?”, as I have had no reception issues with my recently purchased HTC Droid Incredible, because HTC has started fighting back with numbers of their own.

While only 0.55 percent of calls received by Applecare are about the iPhone 4’s reception issues, HTC’s numbers were at a measily 0.016 percent of calls about the HTC Droid Eris. Though the phone was recently discontinued, it has been out far longer with fewer complaints than Apple claims to have received.

Regardless, any issues that the iPhone 4 has cannot be compared to phones like the HTC Eris, as its antenna is located on the top of the phone while most new smartphones have them on the bottom.

Nokia and RIM have both commented on the situation on their own, but Nokia stressed that reception interference due to human hands was a problem across the smartphone market and wasn’t limited to just Apple and the iPhone 4. Regardless of what phones have this problem, it’s unfair for Apple to just say “It’s ok that our phone has a reception problem, because these phones do too”, without first looking at the numbers.

Box Office: ‘Inception’ Wins The Weekend

Posted on July 19, 2010

Cerebral movie lovers can rejoice.  Christopher Nolan’s Inception handily won at the box office over the weekend, raking in over $60 Million. The film made over $3 Million on midnight showings Thursday night, and netted $20 Million on Friday, a true testament of the loyalty of Nolan’s fans.  Marketing a cryptic plot is no easy task, so Warner Brothers has to be happy about the opening weekend.

On the other hand, it might be a long climb to recoup the $160 Million budget.  The film will have to rely on repeat business from fans to maintain box office legs.  Everyone I know who really liked the movie has said they want to see it again, but it remains to be seen whether people actually follow through with those intentions. At any rate, it is nice to see an original film have a good opening weekend.

Despicable Me came in at number two, dropping about 42% from its opening weekend, which was a little higher than I would have anticipated.  It still earned a healthy $32 Million, and has grossed $118 Million in ten days. Disney’s wide release The Sorcerer’s Apprentice earned a paltry $17 Million, far below most industry expectations. The film opened last Wednesday, so its cumulative stands at $24 Million.  The film had a budget of $150 Million, so unless it performs well overseas, it stands little chance of recouping its budget.

Twilight: Eclipse dropped off 57% from last weekend, which is a fairly significant drop.  It managed $13 Million, and has made almost $265 Million in three weeks. Toy Story 3 is still doing well after five weeks, earning $11 Million over the weekend.  Its cumulative now stands at $362 Million.

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Sci-Fi Short ‘The Raven’ Gets Picked Up By Universal

Posted on July 19, 2010

A few months ago, we brought you news of an innovative and visually stunning short that was making its way across the web titled The Raven from writer/director Ricardo de Montreuil. It seems that the film has turned enough heads, as both Universal and Mark Wahlberg have taken an interest in bringing the concept to the silver screen.

The short film, which follows Chris Black, a man who possesses a super power that can take down a current militant faction that has a stranglehold on a metropolitan city. Being only made for $5,000 on a RED camera, the visual effects are truly what make this one of the better web shorts in years.

According to our friends at Latino Review, Universal is currently interested in taking The Raven to a larger scale, with a bigger budget, and even Mark Wahlberg to produce and star. Genre favorite Justin Marks, who is also penning the script for Voltron and SuperMAX will be taking on the treatment of the film, with Montreuil still directing.

There was a bit of a bidding war between Universal and Warner Bros., but once Entourage co-creator Wahlberg got involved, Universal inevitably got the rights to the film. Be sure to check out the site for the film, and keep it here for more news as it develops on this deal.

Joss Stone Comes to ‘James Bond 007: Blood Stone’ and Updated ‘Goldeneye 007’ Trailer

Posted on July 19, 2010

While players think of 007 as a first person franchise when fondly remembering Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64, most forget the lack of success that subsequent releases on the PlayStation 2 garnered. Hoping to reinvent the wheel, Bizarre creations is releasing a new third-person action adventure featuring the British super spy.

Coming to the XBox 360, PC, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS, James Bond 007: Blood Stone will be an original Bond experience coming from screenwriter Bruce Feirstein (Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye).

In addition to Daniel Craig (Bond) and Judi Dench (M), Grammy and BRIT award winning artist Joss Stone will be featured in a leading role in the game. Stone, as seen in the screen shots below, will also be creating new original music for the game as well.

“James Bond 007: Blood Stone captures the cinematic intensity of a Bond film by immersing players in an intriguing conspiracy that will require them to think and act like James Bond,” said David Pokress, Head of Marketing for Licensed Properties, Activision Publishing.  “In addition, the game will feature a diverse array of multi-player modes and debut strategic objective-based gameplay that will allow Xbox 360, PS3 and PC players to battle as teams of spies and mercenaries through authentic Bond locales.”

Check out the trailer and screens of Craig and Stone in James Bond 007: Blood Stone.

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Will Arnett: ‘Arrested Development’ Movie Still Happening

Posted on July 19, 2010

Here at The Flickcast, we probably haven’t mourned the loss of any show more than Arrested Development, the quirky comedy that stole our hearts (but not the ratings) and was canceled after three short seasons. Adding further to this deep emotional blow is the fact that the film adaptation of the series has been so on-again off-again that most fans of the show have been pretty much convinced that it’s just not happening.

However, according to Arrested Development cast member Will Arnett and show created Mitch Hurwitz, the film is still definitely on. In a recent interview with GQ, Arnett and Hurwitz confirmed that the movie was still a go, and that the script was still being worked on.

“We’re changing some of the Bush references to Obama because we started it awhile ago,” said Hurwitz. “And the Bluths may not be vacationing in the Gulf of Mexico anymore. We also might have to recast the part of Uncle Mel, the former action movie star. But other than that we have a clear path.”

Arnett and Hurwitz are collaborating on another television show called “Running Wild”, but once that’s up and running,  Arrested Development will be their top priority.

“Believe it or not,” Hurwitz says, “I do not enjoy teasing our wonderful and devoted audience, which is one reason it appears that I’ve been so cagey about this. It’s just that I don’t want to promise what I can’t deliver.”

It’s great to finally get some details on this movie after so long, as well as a confirmation that it’s still happening. Good things come to those who wait, and in this case, an Arrested Development movie would be a great thing indeed.

The Flickcast’s ‘On the Radar’

Posted on July 17, 2010

Welcome to this week’s 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 this week. Let is know if we missed something interesting. Otherwise, on to the links!

• Are you a Star Wars nerd? Do we need to ask? Here’s 19 Things You Didn’t Know about Star Wars.

• Here’s the opening to Transformers 3. Yeah, not impressed either.

• The Betty White conquest of Hollywood continues. Next stop: Community.

• Thinking about a DROID X? Here’s some first impressions on the device.

• See, Peter Jackson was just like you and made movies when he was a kid. Of course, his were way better.

• In case you missed it, the Harvey Award nominees were announced.

• Like hot chicks in leather with guns? Obviously, director Zack Snyder does.

• Here’s some photos from the vampire movie Priest. It doesn’t look all that great but at least there’s no Rpat.

• Like Star Wars? How about Princess Leia? How about hot models pretending to be Princess Leia in a modernized “Slave Leia” outfit? Yep.

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Indie Review: ‘Cyrus’

Posted on July 16, 2010

Cyrus is the kind of independent movie that makes me love independent movies, so it might seem paradoxical that I don’t want to write this review. I just want to tell you to go directly to your nearest theater and see it, without knowing anything about it beforehand. But I do have to write something, so as much as possible, I will eschew plot summary, and only endeavor to persuade you to go see it, right away.

Cyrus is made by the Brothers Duplass (Mark and Jay), who have climbed into Hollywood by way of the Mumblecore trapdoor. The Duplasses made their name with their first two features, Puffy Chair and Baghead, but they’ve matured with incredible speed, and Cyrus is a big step up.

A love triangle such as you’ve never seen before, Cyrus is the story of John, a shambling mess of a man (John C. Reilly) who describes himself as “like Shrek,” Molly, the lovely woman who accepts him as he is (Marissa Tomei), and Cyrus, the twenty-one-year-old son (Jonah Hill) who still lives with her.

Those are capsule character descriptions, and as such, they are wholly inaccurate. For this movie is all about character, and the ways character can manifest and change, all in an instant. You would think this movie was a thriller, the way it places you on alert. The tone is so wobbly (which is not to say inconsistent, or uncontrolled) that from moment to moment, scene to scene, I literally had no idea what was going to happen next. It made me realize how formulaic almost all scripts are. They follow the three-act or five-act rules and the audience obediently holds on for the predictable ride.

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‘Dead Rising 2-Zombrex Edition’ and ‘Zombrex Dead Rising Sun’ Launching This Fall

Posted on July 16, 2010

Everybody loves a good zombie video game. Slicing and dicing your way through a few hundred zombies is a great way to spend an afternoon while also training for the impending zombie apocalypse. That’s why, in a double dose of zombie invasion, Capcom has announced some really cool upcoming stuff for fans of Dead Rising.

This September we’ll see the release of Dead Rising 2, but only North America will you be able to pick up Dead Rising 2-Zombrex Edition. It’ll be able on launch day, and will come in a Steelbook case, in case any zombies get their hands on it. It’ll be packed with exclusive features, which vary between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

These exclusives will include an art book and a “Making of” featurette. It’ll also come with Zombrex, an anti-zombie medication (which, to us in the non-zombified world, looks a whole lot like a pen) a safety information card, sales brochure, and 25-page prescription pad. The special edition of Dead Rising 2 will retail for $79.99, a small price to pay for anti-zombification medication, am I right?

If Dead Rising 2 doesn’t satisfy your need for zombies, perhaps Zombrex Dead Rising Sun will. Recently, Capcom announced this full-length feature film based on the Dead Rising universe. The film will be released in 8 episodes, and some episodes will include interviews with director Inafune-san about the process of making Zombrex Dead Rising. If you’re a member of Xbox Live, you’ll be able to download Zombrex Dead Rising for free before anyone else, a week before each episode goes live on DeadRisingSun.com

Dead Rising 2-Zombrex Edition will be released for Xbox 360 and PS3 on September 28th.  Zombrex Dead Rising will keep zombie fanatics occupied in the meantime, as it is released on Xbox Live starting August 4th and DeadRisingSun.com on August 11th.

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