Hopefully starting a trend for 2015 of uninterrupted weekly episodes we have, in fact, a brand new episode of The Flickcast for your listening pleasure. Not that we’re counting, but so far that’s two in a row for the new year. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Turning to more important matters, on this week’s show Chris and Joe cover many new and recurring topics, as is usually the case. Some of these include the recent Oscar nominations and “controversy”, the rumored new X-Files TV series, the latest Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer, the “mess” that is the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, more on the new Twin Peaks TV series, 24 potentially without Jack Bauer, Zachary Levi starring in the Heroes reboot and a whole lot more. Yep, more.

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the new Amazon pilot Mad Dogs, created by Shawn Ryan of The Shield and The Unit, and Joe’s pick of the new Syfy TV series 12 Monkeys, based on the film by Terry Gilliam.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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After a move to a new day and time and some personal problems last week, the boys are finally back with a brand new episode this week! That’s right, it’s another new episode of The Flickcast on its new day: Wednesday!

And yes, as we said before, it’s still the same great show, just on a new day. So, let’s get to it.

This week Chris and Joe take on some new topics including the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer, the Marvel universe, the (potential) death of Nick Fury, a Black Widow movie, the return of Heroes and 24, what makes a movie star, some Oscar predictions and a whole lot more.

That’s right, the ever-present more. And, 11% more sincerity this week. Yes, we’re trying.

This week’s picks include some awesome stuff. You’ll just have to listen to find out as we’re too lazy to put them here. Besides, it would ruin the surprise.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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Time is , as usual, short so we’ll make this quick. Here’s another new episode of The Flickcast.

In this the third episode of 2014, Chris and Joe are back in business and on a roll. As always, they’ve spared no expense and pulled no punches discussing the topics of this week’s show.

Some of these topics include the Oscar nominations, casting news from the movies Ant Man and Dr. Strange and more in the continuing discussion of the evolution of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Of course, there’s whole lot of that more you’ve come to expect from a quality program like this, but we can’t give it all away, now can we? You’ll just have to listen.

This week’s picks include Chris’ pick of the TV show Helix and Joe’s pick of the comic Miracle Man from Marvel.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.

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Even though we don’t really care all that much who or what wins an Academy Award, the rest of Hollywood does. It’s also likley many of you care as well.

So, in that spirit, here’s a list of the nominations that were announced this morning. There’s a lot of them and, to put it bluntly, not that many surprises. The movies and performances that seem “Oscar-worthy” were nominated. It was kinda a no-brainier year.

Of course, there’s also a few regulars who made the cut, like Meryl Streep, you would expect to see on the list. One notable exception is Tom Hanks, who seemed to be a shoe-in for a nomination for his role as Captain Phillips. He got nothing.

I guess every Oscar nominations list needs at least one surprise, just to try and keep it interesting and prove the Oscar voters don’t just vote for whomever or whatever wins a Golden Globe. Of course, Hanks didn’t win the Golden Globe either, but I’m sure it was just a pleasure to be nominated.

Anyway, here’s the nominations list (stolen from the folks at Deadline):

Yes, the Oscars were last night and without putting too fine a point on it, Chris and Matt did reasonably well in predicting the outcome. The only real surprise of the night was Argo‘s win for Best Picture.

Sadly, this was probably a result of director Ben Affleck’s snub for a Best Director nomination. Still, it is nice to win Best Picture. Although, if you ask Argo producer Grant Heslov, who just couldn’t let it go, it wasn’t enough and we really need to know Ben Affleck was the Director of Argo.

No shit. Thanks for pointing that out. Look we get it, you’re angry your buddy didn’t get nominated. Sure, that hurts, but you need to let it go now. Ben is going to be just fine. . . and so are you.

We’re also glad Tarantino got a win for writing Django Unchained and it was nice to see Christoph Waltz take one for that movie as well. He did a great job in it. And lets not forget host Seth McaFarland. Great job Seth. You killed it.

Anyway, for a complete list of winners, click on through. Before that, however, take a look at the trailer for Jimmy Kimmel’s latest opus Movie: The Movie Part 2. It’s pretty funny.

Yes, that’s right. After a bit of time apart to “find themselves” and/or work on solo projects, Chris and Matt are back together again for an all-new season of The Flickcast.

And to kick things off, the boys talk all-things Oscar and make some predictions about who and what will take home the gold guy during Sunday’s festivities. Plus, they take a bit of a detour through the upcoming Star Wars movies and the various casting rumors as well as the most recent installment of the Die Hard franchise.

Hopefully you won’t be too disappointed but Chris and Matt don’t make any picks this time around, mostly because they don’t know if that bit is going to continue. So that means you don’t have to link to anything this week.

However, if you do want the picks bit to continue, let us know via the comments. And, if you have any other comments or suggestions about the show, feel free to let us know that too.

Look for brand new episodes of The Flickcast right here each and every week!

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It would seem like Oscar prediction articles should appear on a website like this one, especially if the predictor in question happens to be in charge around here. But for some reason, our Editor-in-Chief Chris Ullrich has decided to plant his predictions flag over at his personal website instead.

However, even if if we don’t understand his motives, we’re sure he has some. Well, pretty sure anyway. Some of his predictions are easy to understand and others are more of the “wish fulfillment” variety. But even if we don’t completely agree with his predictions, or his reasons for making them, the insignt offered into the whole awards “thing” is still quite interesting.

At this point this post probably seems a bit on the self-serving side, and in truth, it kinda is. However, that doesn’t mean the article doesn’t have actual merit. It does.

Check out some of his predictions, and the reasons behind them, after the break. For the rest, check out the full article.

As we’re a site covering the movies, it would probably be a disservice not to put up something about the Oscar (aka Academy Award) nominations which were announced this morning by Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone. So yes, the nominations are here and as always there’s a few surprises, a few “snubs” and the rest is rather predictable.

Here’s the nominations for your reading pleasure. Look for the actual ceremony, featuring host Seth MacFarlane, to air on Sunday, February 24th on ABC.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”
Denzel Washington in “Flight”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Alan Arkin in “Argo”
Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”

While the first half hour or so will keep you wondering where all the accolades came from, once the movie gets rolling (and when it does, you’ll know), it’s worth it.

The separation refers to Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami), an Iranian couple living in Tehran with their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) and Nader’s senile father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi). Simin wishes for Termeh to leave Iran and seek a better life elsewhere. Nader does not want to leave his father. At least those are the reasons they give, but it’s implied that both are merely using the family as an excuse for their own desires to stay or go. Their refusal to compromise leads to divorce proceedings, with Simin going to live with her parents and Nader left to care for his father by himself.

Unable to hold down a job and tend his father alone, Nader hires a young woman Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to help, though she doesn’t do a very good job. Her deeply held religious beliefs conflict with her duties, such as washing the father; she leaves for hours at a time to do personal errands; and she’s finally relieved from duty when Nader suspects her of stealing. And then something happens.

The much-deserving winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Picture (in a precedent-making move, it was also nominated for Best Screenplay, the first time a foreign film has won a nomination outside the foreign category), A Separation is as far as can be from those facile Hollywood flicks in which not a single character behaves from any recognizable impulse or motivation. Although set in an Iranian culture that is in many ways truly foreign (for one thing, the judiciary system, in which much of this story is set, operates completely differently from anything I have seen; this is no Law & Order), the complex intent and heart of each character is absolutely clear, if at times mysterious.

The story is set around a marital rift—the Separation of the title—but it is in many ways the larger tale of an Iran separated by religion, class and privilege. An upper-middle class couple seek to separate because Simin (the beautiful Leila Hatami), the wife, wishes to leave Iran for better opportunities for their teenaged daughter Termeh (played with moving intelligence by Sarina Farhadi, writer/director Asghar Farhadi’s daughter). Her husband Nader (Peyman Moaadi) insists on staying in Tehran to care for his aged father, who suffers multiple health problems, including dementia.

Both characters and their motivations are fully sympathetic and diametrically opposed. Stuck at this impasse, Simin goes to live at her parents’ apartment. The family is split, and Termeh chooses to stay with her father and grandfather.

With the Academy Awards still fresh in our minds, we can think of all the great films 20111 brought us. It is easy to forget that year also had tons of stinkers and flops, but the Razzie Awards are here to remind us.

The Razzie Award nominees have been announced, and their aren’t too many surprises. Adam Sandler has a record 11 nominations, and that’s not including nominations that are tied to his Happy Madison productions. Three films by the production company, Buck Larsen: Born to be a Star, Just Go With It, and Jack & Jill, all have multiple nominations each.

The Razzies, or Golden Raspberry awards, were created in 1980 as an antidote to the Oscars. They are usually held on the eve of the Academy Awards, but this year are moving to 1 April. Traditionally, stars do not turn up to collect their awards, but good sports over the years have included Paul Verhoeven in 1996 (worst director and worst picture for Showgirls), Halle Berry for 2005’s Catwoman and Sandra Bullock for 2010’s All About Steve.

Check out the nominations after the jump, and be sure to keep an eye out for these “winners” when they are announced on April 1.

Rumors are swirling that have the Academy a bit concerned. The rumor is that on Sunday, Sacha Baron Cohen will come to the Oscars and walk the red carpet. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but he will most likely come dressed as the title character from his upcoming Paramount comedy The Dictator.

Baron Cohen’s people have proposed the publicity stunt to the Academy members, but it seems everyone involved with the Oscars event is adamantly against it.  It makes sense that the Academy would be against it, as it could be perceived that it makes a mockery of Hollywood’s most prestigious event. It is rumored that Baron Cohen may sneak his character in either way.

The plan would be to come dressed as the dictator and then change into a tux and attend the Oscars. Even though he isn’t not scheduled to present an award, he would be welcome as part of the Paramount contingent. The studio has a Best Picture nominee in the Martin Scorsese-directed Hugo.