The Flickcast

The Pull List Comic Reviews: ‘Jonah Hex’, ‘Fall Of The Hulks’, ‘JSA All-Stars’ and More!

Posted on December 3, 2009

Welcome to another edition of The Pull List Comic Reviews! This week Jonah Hex takes top billing, a couple more Blackest Night mini-series debuts and a slew of over-sized annuals and one-shots invade your pull list. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

jonah-hex-50-cover Jonah Hex #50
DC Comics – $3.99 US
Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Score: 9.5

The landmark 50th issue of Jonah Hex hits the stands, featuring a done-in-one tale of the scarred bounty hunter’s latest task: to locate and dispose of 50 various bad guys. The cost of victory, however, may prove to be too much to bear…

Jonah Hex is no stranger to violence. We’ve been exposed to his brand of “justice” for decades now, so it’s very easy to forget that, under all of that hatred, this killing machine does have a heart. Thankfully, writing team Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti weave a story that is sure to please the loyal Hex fans with plenty of merciless vengeance, while injecting a tragedy that goes to great lengths to humanize the central character.

Darwyn Cooke handles the art chores on this commemorative issue, further cementing how incredible a read this was. Gorgeous pencils accompany the artist’s usual cinematic flair, with numerous examples of how to kill a man mixed in with a few touching moments, and a final page that speaks volumes without the aid of dialogue. With the holidays around the corner, I’d gladly accept this final page in all of its original glory as a nifty Christmas gift.

Comcast Buys NBCU for $13.75 Billion

Posted on December 3, 2009

nbc-comcast Comcast and General Electric announced early today they have made an agreement to combine GE’s NBC Universal with Comcast’s entertainment assets. The new company will be 51% owned, and managed, by Comcast. GE will have 49%. Jeff Zucker, president of NBC U, will become CEO of the new company.

According to the trade, the agreement “creates a new powerhouse with enormous reach in sports and entertainment programming.” It also will allow “GE to contribute NBC U’s businesses valued at $30 billion, including broadcast and cable television, filmed entertainment and theme parks.”

As part of the agreement, Comcast will contribute $6.5 Billion in cash, along with its own cable networks including E!, Versus and the Golf Channel, its 10 regional sports networks, and certain digital media properties collectively valued at $7.25 Billion.

The cable networks, including NBC’s USA, Bravo, Syfy, CNBC and MSNBC, will account for 80% of the new, combined company’s cash flow — which is a good thing. Comcast will create a new division called Comcast Entertainment Group to control its interest in the new venture. Okay, that’s all well and good, but how does the Sheinhardt Wig Company figure in all of this?

First Clips of Alexis Denisof and Summer Glau On ‘Dollhouse’

Posted on December 3, 2009

Though there is no word whether or not FOX will air the rest of Dollhouse’s second season, we do still have some things coming up to be excited for. This Friday marks the show’s return after being off the air for nearly two months, and it’s coming back with a bang. Two episodes will air this Friday on the network: “The Public Eye” and “The Left Hand.”

According to IMDb, in the first of the two-parter, Echo is sent to Washington, DC to stop Senator Daniel Perrin (guest Alexis Denisof) before he can expose the Dollhouse’s secrets. Adelle and Topher also travel to the Washington DC Dollhouse where they meet its genius programmer, Bennett Halverson (special guest Summer Glau), a woman with a mysterious past connection to Echo.

Following that episode, in “The Left Hand” Echo and Bennett have a shocking confrontation as Adelle goes head-to-head with the ruthless head of the Washington, D.C. Dollhouse. Meanwhile, Topher sees double when he involves Victor in his espionage plans, and Senator Perrin finds a surprising witness to testify against the Rossum Corporation.

This marks the first time that Denisof has worked with Joss Whedon since Angel went off the air in 2004, and the first time Glau has worked with him since 2005’s Serenity. Check out two exclusive clips from “The Left Hand” after the jump. This is the first we’ll see of both Glau and Denisof, so some spoilers ahead.

‘Zombieland 2’ To Go 3D

Posted on December 3, 2009

Woody Harrelson Zombieland I firmly believe Zombieland was one of the best films of 2009. It simply came out of nowhere, defied expectations, and even went so far as to inspire some of us. Given the films success it’s no surprise that a sequel would be on the horizon. Now, Variety is able to confirm that a sequel is in development and chances are it will be in 3D:

“Everyone had fun watching (the first) ‘Zombieland’; making it a more visceral experience can only make it better,” said the film’s producer Gavin Polone. “I don’t think you want to see ‘Ordinary People’ in 3-D. But ‘Zombieland’ is clearly one movie that will benefit from (the technique).”

Now, I’ve never been sold on the whole 3D thing. Personally, I think it’s a gimmick and haven’t gone out of my way to see any recent 3D films. Simply put, I have yet to find a compelling reason to see a film in 3D over its standard counterpart.

That being said, Zombieland may just be the film I actively seek out a 3D theater to see it in. It was so brilliantly campy that it begs to bring that pseudo third dimension to the adventures of Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg). It’s perfect, and so would a title of Z3D. Okay, that may work better for a third film, but it’s still cool.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations & Gotham Awards Winners Announced

Posted on December 3, 2009

The Hurt Locker movie poster Now in its 25th year, The Independent Spirit Awards honor excellence in independent film. Films must cost less than $20 Million to be eligible for nominations. Nominees were announced on Tuesday. The Last Station (5), Precious (5), and The Messenger (4) received the most nominations.

Of note: Anvil! The Story of Anvil and Food, Inc. are both up for best documentary. 500 Days of Summer got nods for Best Movie, Best Screenplay and Best Male Lead (Joseph Gordon-Levitt.) Precious received nominations for Best Female Lead (Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Female (Mo’nique), Best Movie, and Best Director. Adventureland was nominated in the Best Screenplay category.

Ethan and Joel Coen’s A Serious Man will receive The Robert Altman Award for directing, casting and ensemble acting. Paramount’s Paranormal Activity received a nomination for Best First Feature.

The awards ceremony will take place in Santa Monica on March 5th, 2010. A complete list of nominees and other notable news may be found on the official Independent Spirit Awards website.

Meanwhile, The Gotham Awards, which is a New York based award ceremony, gave out their awards yesterday. Notably absent was Precious, which didn’t even garner a nomination.

Director Kathryn Bigelow took home Best Movie for The Hurt Locker, which also won Best Ensemble Cast. Food, Inc. won Best Documentary. Kathryn Bigelow and Natalie Portman also received special tributes. A complete list of the winners can be found on the IFP website.

First Trailer For ‘District B13: Ultimatum’

Posted on December 3, 2009

While the idea of the “buddy cop” film has lost it’s luster here in the States since Riggs and Murtaugh hung up their guns, the sub-genre has taken on a whole new life over in France. Back in 2004, writer Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Taken, The Transporter Trilogy) brought the worlds of buddy cop films, action, and parkour together. The film was a hit across the globe, and the team is now reuniting to do it again.

The trailer for District B13: Ultimatum gives us a glimpse of the awesomeness that we can look forward to, including leaps from skyscrapers, driving through the second floor of a building, and outrunning a car on foot. Of course, we don’t recommend watching this film in it’s dubbed form over it’s original French dialogue, but you may not have a choice when the movie gets an American theatrical release.

Check out the first new trailer for the film after the jump, with no dialogue, cocky narration, and yes: lots of jumping and explosions. Expect to see District B13: Ultimatum in your local multiplex on February 5, 2010.

Classic Sonic Games Coming to Nintendo DS

Posted on December 3, 2009

classic-sonic

I probably spend as much time playing brand spankin’ new video games as I do replaying my old favorites, not just because of nostalgia but just because they’re awesome games. Which is why it’s exciting to hear that Sega will be releasing a Sonic Classic Collection for the Nintendo DS next year, according to Kotaku.

Many Sonic classics have already been released for systems like the PS2 and Xbox, but what’s exciting about this collection is that since it’s on the DS, you’ll be able to take them anywhere. The collection will include classics Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.

The game will also have a nifty “save anywhere” feature, which is a relief for those of us who used to just leave on their Sega Genesis for hours on end while we had family dinner and did homework. The Sonic Classic Collection will ship in March 2010.

Exclusive: Donald Faison and Dave Franco Talk Season 9 of ‘Scrubs’

Posted on December 2, 2009

Last night marked the first two episodes of the 9th season of Scrubs. The medical sitcom’s long life has helped it through a change in networks, and most recently a change in stories. This season, the series is taking a different direction by focusing on the lives of a new class of “scrubs”, while the original cast stays on as teachers at the medical school.

We got the chance to talk with stars Donald Faison (Turk) and Dave Franco (Cole) about this season. The two actors discussed the differences in this season to all others, how that has affected working on the show, and where Dave fits into all this.

The two also got a chance to discuss the new season 8 DVD, which is available now. Donald talks about some of the great features of the DVD, including collected webisodes, bloopers, and deleted scenes.

Check out our interview with the two after the jump, and be sure to catch Scrubs on ABC every Tuesday at 9PM/8PM Central.

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