The Flickcast – Page 800 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

Western Wednesdays: ‘The Professionals’

Posted on February 10, 2010

When I grow up, I want to be Claudia Cardinale.

There are plenty of beautiful women in movies, but few goddesses. Cardinale is a goddess. Even when she’s sunburned and running around in a rag, as she is in The Professionals, she has more charisma, beauty, and sex appeal than most actresses working today. I hesitate to call her “sexy” because that word seems so Maxim Magazine these days — but Cardinale is sexy in such a powerful and womanly way that it’s not threatening, but inspiring.

She also had great hair. What demon do I have to bargain with to end up with a perfect bouffant every day? Hers looks good even in the desert. It’s unfair.

Watching old movies can be a bittersweet experience. They don’t make them like Cardinale anymore, and you’d be hard pressed to find a Lee Marvin or a Burt Lancaster on the big screen these days. I cherish retro crushes on both (especially Lancaster — what a grin he had!) and The Professionals is so chock full of old time machismo that turning it off may actually cause you to experience symptoms of withdrawal.

Which is, oddly, what The Professionals is kind of about.   It’s the kind of movie I love in any genre — the adventure story that’s sandwiched in between the heroes’ misspent youth and their retirement.   These are men with pasts.  They’ve had near misses, they’ve experienced terrible tragedies, and they’ve woken up in their union suits with nothing but a pounding headache to remind them of the night before.   They’re men who die with their boots on out of a sense of nobility and because they have nothing else to do.

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The Flickcast – Episode 43: Reboot This

Posted on February 10, 2010

This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt are joined by resident gaming expert John Carle for another round of discussions and debate. This week’s topics include the rather lame Superbowl ads, Smallville: Absolute Justice, Avatar being dethroned by Dear John, Betty White hosting Saturday Night Live, Microsoft stopping XBox Live for original XBox, reboots of Daredevil and The Thing and upcoming games such as Mass Effect 2 and the future of console gaming.

The boys also made some great picks this week including John’s pick of the animated X-Men series, Matt’s pick of Double Team with Jean Claude Van Damme and Mickey Rourke and Chris’ pick of John Carpenter’s 1982 horror/sci-fi classic The Thing.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

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SXSW Releases Panels and Short Films Info

Posted on February 10, 2010

Diversity seems to be the key this year at the SXSW festival, which takes place in Austin, TX from March 12-20, as they’ve now announced the full lineup of Panels and short films that will be at this years event. As with the feature films schedule, this list of panels and shorts should provide an almost endless supply of diverse and interesting programming for attendees.

Following sre some highlights of panels we think are worth checking out. For a full list and descriptions, head over to the SXSW official site. Also, be sure to check back here at The Flickast as we’ll be at SXSW this year to bring you all the details on these great events and much more.

A Conversation with Michel Gondry
The stratospheric rise of Academy Award-winning visionary Michel Gondry is one of the great success stories of modern film. Working with fellow travelers like Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman and Bjork, Gondry has made his mark on the film landscape with iconic work like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. Come and enjoy what promises to be a fascinating discussion as Gondry discusses his latest, highly personal and emotionally raw documentary A Thorn in the Heart with TCM’s Elvis Mitchell.

Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill Their Guts
How does modern horror take gore beyond the purely grisly to the level of grand guignol art and imagination? How does bone-cracking violence and flesh-rending horror contribute to the hallowed pantheon of art and cinema? Join five of the most striking genre filmmakers in modern movies as they lock horns over the all-important issues of blood, guts and gratuitous gore. Featuring Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Matt Reeves (Let Me In) Eli Roth (Hostel), Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds), Ti West (House of the Devil), moderated by Scott Weinberg (Cinematical)

Filmmakers in TV: A Case Study
Carving a niche in the world of film is tough enough, and achieving the same feat on the small screen is no easier. Successfully mastering both is in yet another league, but somehow the creators of HBO’s Eastbound & Down are pulling it off with style. Find out how Danny McBride (Your Highness), and filmmakers David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and Jody Hill (Observe and Report) made it look easy in this illuminating, entertaining glimpse at the art of combining technical skill, sharp comedy writing and moving from the packed auditorium to the living room couch.

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Kathy Bates Stops By In 3 New Clips From This Week’s ‘The Office’

Posted on February 10, 2010

This season of The Office has shown some interesting changes for our favorite cubical-living gang. Dunder-Mifflin has gone bankrupt, which has left the Scranton branch the last of the paper company. And now, they’ve been picked up by the company Sabre, which is run by guest star Kathy Bates.

This week, Bates makes an in-person appearance to check out the branch, and things get a bit difficult from there. From NBC:

The office is eager to welcome Sabre CEO Jo Bennett (guest star Kathy Bates) to Scranton, and are dazzled by her Southern ways. Butwhen Jo finds out there are two branch managers, she says either Michael (Golden Globe winner Steve Carell) or Jim (John Krasinski) must go back to being a salesman. Meanwhile, Andy’s (Ed Helms) Valentine’s Day plan backfires.

Check out 3 exclusive new clips from tomorrow night’s episode, “Manager And Salesman”, after the jump. Be sure to catch the full episode of The Office on NBC this Thursday.

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First Trailer For Tom Clancy’s ‘Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’

Posted on February 10, 2010

“The soldier of the future is an F-16 on legs.” Slated for fall of this year, gamers will get to take a look at just what the militaristic fantasy genius Tom Clancy sees in the next generation of soldier. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier continues to press the limits of what we come to think of as war.

While the trailer below leaves a lot to the imagination and acts as only a teaser of what is to come, the eerie pretense of the soldiers is enough to bring our attention right to this game. After the success of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, affectionately referred to as GRAW, and its sequel, we know the reputation that Clancy games must live up to.

To further wet our appetites, it looks like there will be a multiplayer beta coming too this summer for anyone purchasing Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction. Until then, take a peek at this great teaser trailer for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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Tom Cruise Returning For ‘Mission Impossible 4’

Posted on February 10, 2010

While he may look to be beating a dead horse with the upcoming spy comedy Day & Knight, Tom Cruise has announced that he’s returning to the Mission Impossible franchise for a fourth film. From Variety:

Cruise and J.J. Abrams — who co-wrote the “Mission: Impossible III” screenplay — will produce from a screenplay by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, a writing duo hired last summer to pen the script from an idea hatched by Cruise and Abrams. Appelbaum and Nemec spent four seasons with Abrams as co-exec producers of “Alias.”

Paramount made the announcement yesterday, along with news that the film’s planed release date will be next Memorial Day. This will put the film out on the same weekend as the planned Hangover sequel, and on the second weekend of the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean film.

The previous Mission Impossible films pulled in just over $1.3 billion, but Cruise’s cost was far too high for Paramount to continue any further films at the time. It seems, with this news, that the studio has decided Cruise is well worth the money spent.

With the film set to hit theaters in just 15 months, you can expect to see casting and script details to leak online by the droves in the coming weeks. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with any information as it comes our way.

New on Blu-ray and DVD This Week

Posted on February 9, 2010

As it often does, this week brings a host of new movies and some great classics hitting Blu-ray for the first time. This week’s releases include the first time on Blu-ray The Time Traveller’s Wife, Couple’s Retreat, The Phantom, Bronson, Drop Zone and The Running Man.

There is also the first season of Stargate: Universe,  a couple seasons of JAG, season three of The Guild and the Blu-ray release of The Coen Bros.’  A Serious Man with Michael Stuhlbarg (pictured above).

Check out this week’s new releases:

Movies

A Serious Man ~ Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind (Blu-ray and DVD)

Bronson (Widescreen Edition) ~ Tom Hardy (Blu-ray and DVD)

Couples Retreat ~ Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau (Blu-ray and DVD)

Dangerous Man ~ Jerry Wasserman, Steven Seagal (DVD)

Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic ~ Mark Hamill, Victoria Tennant, Vanessa Branch (Blu-ray and DVD)

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First Look At ‘UFC Undisputed 2010’ Screenshots

Posted on February 9, 2010

Since it exploded onto the fighting game scene last year, UFC Undisputed became one of the surprise hits of last year. THQ, knowing they had struck gold, has been diligently working on a sequel slated for May 25th release this year for both the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PSP version of the game is also expected for later this year.

According to THQ: UFC Undisputed 2010 will deliver the most advanced and superior virtual MMA action based on the world’s most prominent and respected organization in mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship,” said Brian Coleman, Vice President of Global Brand Management, THQ. “Through enriched gameplay and extensive new options, players will understand and appreciate what it takes to be a real UFC fighter.

In addition to the screen shots below, cover athlete Brock Lesner has been announced to grace the box art for the game. Coming from a amateur wrestling and professional wrestling background where he also graced the cover of WWE SmackDown: Bring the Pain, Lesner quickly rose through the UFC ranks and currently resides as the company’s heavyweight champion. UFC President Dana White said, “Brock Lesnar’s intensity and relentless commitment to the sport of mixed martial arts, as well as to the UFC, make him a perfect candidate to be the cover athlete for UFC Undisputed 2010.”

Take a peek below at the first screens of this high octane upcoming title and stick with us for more news as it develops.

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