The Flickcast – Page 818 of 1030 – Stuff Nerds Love

Weblink Wednesday: Modern Movies As Retro Video Game

Avatar Retro GameAs described on their site Penney Design, video games based on movie franchises can be seen going as far back as E.T. (which supposedly has a warehouse dedicated to housing all the unsold copies of the ill received game). While Hollywood and the video game industry have attempted to merge with video game to movie tie-ins like Street Fighter or Super Mario Bros., the real moneymakers come from frequently rushed movie games which attempt to stretch out plots of a two hour movie over a ten hour game, usually to dismal results.

Taking all this knowledge and cynicism to heart, Penney Design has crafted some custom video game box art if recently released properties like Avatar had been released in the Atari 2600 era. Take a look below at some of the stylized designs which, though simplistic, do a great job of capturing the essence of the properties they pay homage too.

Also, take the time to appreciate the subtle nuances to the works like the “Instructions missing” from the Cloverfield box or the fact that they think anyone would ever pay $4.00 for a The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift game on any generation console.

Continue Reading

NBC’s Late Night Fiasco Explained With Computer Animation

Picture 2We all know that this NBC Late Night war is getting out of hand. It’s good to see some are taking it seriously, while still adding a comedic twist to it, though. SNL’s Seth Meyers broke down the fiasco into marital terms that we could all understand, and now it’s time for Taiwan to take a crack at it, using the skills they’re best at: state-of-the-art computer animation.

Finally, the whole war has now been put into terms that us geeks can understand. Of course, we have no idea what’s actually being said in the video, but what we do know is that Jeff Zucker, Jay Leno, and Conan O’Brien turn into Captain America, Superman, and the Hulk about halfway through…and battle. What else could you ask for?

Is this just the Taiwanese News mocking our coverage of the Late Night War, or do they really think that the only way we solve our problems is by putting on superhero costumes and fighting? Check out the insane news report after the jump, and if anybody knows what is being said, please fill us in.

Continue Reading

First Trailer For ‘MacGruber’ Hits! And It’s A Red Band!

Picture 1Fans of Saturday Night Live and Will Forte rejoice! The very first trailer for the upcoming MacGruber, based on the Will Forte SNL skit, has finally hit the web, and it looks pretty damned funny.

Penned by Forte, along with other SNL writers Jorma Taccone (Hot Rod) and John Solomon, the script adapts the 30-second MacGuyver spoofs in which MacGruber must disarm a ticking bomb, which never happens due to the ensuing antics. The film was stretched and fluffed into a almost spy-like plot in which MacGruber must take down international terrorist Deiter von Cunth (Val Kilmer), all while sporting a blond mullet and looking cool.

This is the first SNL alum-starring, Lorne Michaels-produced film since 2008’s Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Pohler. Expect this film to do better than the aforementioned film, given the talent involved. MacGruber also stars Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Phillippe, and others.

Check out the very first trailer (Red Band, so NSFW due to language) after the jump, and expect to see MacGruber blowing stuff up on screen on April 23rd.

Continue Reading

Marc Webb To Direct Next ‘Spider-Man’

marc-webbComing directly from the “that didn’t take long” department comes word that Sony has already confirmed a new director for its next Spider-Man film and that person is (500) Days of Summer helmer Marc Webb. Representatives of Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios made a joint announcement today regarding the decision.

In a joint statement by Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Matt Tolmach, president of Columbia Pictures, the studio highlighted what went into the decision: “At its core, Spider-Man is a small, intimate human story about an everyday teenager that takes place in an epic super-human world. The key for us as we sought a new director was to identify filmmakers who could give sharp focus to Peter Parker’s life.”

“We wanted someone who could capture the awe of being in Peter’s shoes so the audience could experience his sense of discovery while giving real heart to the emotion, anxiety, and recklessness of that age and coupling all of that with the adrenaline of Spider-Man’s adventure,” continued the statement. “We believe Marc Webb is the perfect choice to bring us on that journey.”

Let’s hope so.

New on DVD This Week

Whiteout

2010 is in full swing and some really great movies are hitting store shelves this week for the first time and for the first time on Blu-ray. This week’s releases include Gamer, Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Che, Damages, the complete run of ABC’s canceled too soon Defying Gravity and the Blu-ray release of Whiteout with Kate Beckinsale (pictured above).

Check out this week’s releases:

Movies

According to Greta ~ Hilary Duff, Ellen Burstyn (DVD)

Boogie Nights ~ Mark Wahlberg, Heather Graham, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore (Blu-ray)

Bourne Supremacy (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) ~ Matt Damon, Brian Cox, Karl Urban (Blu-ray)

Bourne Ultimatum (Single-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) ~ Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Scott Glenn (Blu-ray)

Che (Criterion Collection) ~ Benicio del Toro (Blu-ray)

Gamer ~ Gerard Butler, Amber Valetta, Michael C. Hall, Kyra Sedgwick (DVD and Blu-ray)

Continue Reading

Two New Clips From ‘Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil’

tucker_and_dale_vs_evil2010 might be the year for unexpected comedy successes, between Hot Tub Time Machine and now Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil. The latter is looking better as it mashes the genre of slasher and comedy like never before. Don’t believe me? Here’s the official synopsis:

In the vein of Shaun of the Dead, Tucker & Dale is a wild, wonky tale of two hillbilly buddies trying to survive their vacation in the woods when they are mistaken for killers by a gang of college kids. Our heroes valiantly save one of the college girls from drowning but are accused of wrongdoing. The chase ensues, not treating the students too well, leaving us with a gory but hilarious tale of two hillbillies and their hearts of gold.

Two hillbillies that aren’t the killers, but just on the wrong end of a series of mishaps? Sounds too good, no? Well it gets better when you hear that the titular roles of Tucker and Dale will be played by fan favorites Alan Tudyk (Serenity) and Tyler Labine (Reaper). 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden also stars as one of the accident-prone college kids.

The film officially debut’s at Sundance, and is expected to have a distributor and release date shortly thereafter. Check out two brand new clips from the film after the jump.

Continue Reading

Summit Entertainment Bringing ‘Push’ To TV

push_poster2_lgSuperheroes had quite a year in 2009. From Watchmen finally getting it’s film adaptation, to lesser known superhero flicks getting made, the world of Superhero films certainly grew. With that came a spec script from David Bourla about a select group of people with mental abilities in the film Push, starring Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning.

The film did marginally well in theaters, and Summit Entertainment is now planning to expand on the property by bringing it to your TV’s. The studio is teaming up with another indie company in E1 Entertainment to bring a global series into homes. They even have David Hayter, who adapted Watchmen and X-Men for film, writing the pilot script.

They currently don’t have a deal with any particular network, as they are currently meeting with many. No word on if any of the film’s cast, such as Evans or Fanning, will return in the weekly series. From The Hollywood Reporter:

Continue Reading

Bruce Campbell Says ‘My Name is Bruce’ Sequel Is Happening

nameisbruceCult movie legend Bruce Campbell has been in and out of the limelight about a dozen times since his indie debut in Sam Raimi’s 1981 classic, Evil Dead. Since then, he’s been attached to most of Raimi’s other projects, from Spider-Man to Hercules and Xena. Back in 2007, Campbell decided to branch off a bit and spoof himself in the film My Name is Bruce.

The film was enough of a hit with fans that Bruce says they’re going back for a sequel.

In the film, Campbell plays an exaggerated version of himself, when a local town is tormented by an ancient demon, they figure to call the guy who’s fought them over and over again in movies. The movie carries some of Raimi’s horror/comedy formula, while pumping out some great moments. According to a recent e-mail to Ain’t It Cool News, Campbell is ready for a second go.

Continue Reading