So many actors, so little interest.

Stand Up Guys follows a day in the life of aging mobsters Val (Al Pacino) and Doc (Christopher Walken), specifically the day after Val’s released from a 28-year stint in prison. Val’s eager to catch up on all the vices he’s been deprived of for the past nigh-30 years while Doc has until 10:00 am the next day to kill him. Add to that the inclusion of their old driver Richard (Alan Arkin), and you pretty much have the movie right there.

The idea is that much of the humor comes from the fact that they’re older guys living it up like the old days (which they note roughly several thousand times), but their conversations and adventures are so one-note and cliched that the old days must have been exceedingly dull. For example, the first 20 minutes has Val and Doc hitting up a bar. Val hits on a group of college girls and one of them throws a drink in his face. Fair enough reaction.

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”

Probably the best thing you can say about The Change-Up is that it’s not as bad as it looks. Actually, no, the best thing you can say is that there’s a lot of surprising and sweet nudity.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The plot is largely what’s laid out in the trailer: Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds are two friends, one’s married, one’s a swinging bachelor, respectively. One night they get drunk and take a quick squirt in an enchanted fountain while simultaneously declaring their mutual desire to be the other.

Morning comes, and they get their wish. Hi-jinx ensue as Reynolds struggles with the pressures of fatherhood and the big, lawyer-ish-looking account that’s looming, and Bateman rediscovers the downsides of bachelor life. A plot recap is unnecessary because it’s just something on which a string of gags involving baby excretions, pregnant women, masturbation, baby nudity, dancing vegetables, and silly walks to make you grow at least six pairs of hands.

Director David Dobkin (The Wedding Crashers) tries to get a laugh from nearly everything and, for the audience I saw it with, it worked. To the extent that their reaction to film became more interesting than the film itself. At first I was fascinated by the comic beats they ate up and the extent to which they were involved.

Just in time for Joe Johnston to bring us yet another classic WWII era superhero in Captain America, The First Avenger, another film of his is hitting a milestone. Last week marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Disney’s The Rocketeer.

Hard to believe it’s been that long since Billy Campbell donned the brass helmet and flew around the Disney back lot with Alan Arkin by his side, but here we are.

Because the film was such a classic, as was Dave Stevens’ original comic book, diehard fan and animator John Banana put together a little homage animated short in which The Rocketeer shows some of his stuff.

The animation style is superb and the short managed to capture the original magic and wonder that the film brought us back in 1991. All without the use of Jennifer Connelly, Timothy Dalton, or Terry “Locke” O’Quinn.

Check it out after the jump, and let’s hope this revitalizes interest in the project enough for Disney to give us an animated reboot!

Muppets are becoming more of the “hip” thing, as big stars keep finding themselves cast in the newest film. Ricky Gervais and Emily Blunt are the latest high-profile celebrities to join the growing list of cameos in Disney’s newest Muppets movie. The specifics behind their cameos have yet to be announced.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the duo are joining a packed lineup that includes Alan Arkin, Jack Black, Billy Crystal, Zach Galifianakis and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who have appearances in a story that reunites the Muppets in order to save their movie studio from a developer. I smell musical numbers!

The new Muppets flick, directed by James Bobin, is currently being filmed in various locations around Los Angeles. Jason Segel, who co-wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller, is the human lead (no surprise here after his vampire number in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) while Amy Adams, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones round out the cast of human leads.

Stay tuned to The Flickcast for the latest developments on the new Muppets movie.

It should not come as a surprise that two of our favorite actors here at The Flickcast are Robert Downey, Jr. and Zack Galifianakis. Both have demonstrated a flair and talent for comedy and drama and both are terrific at what they do.

So imagine how excited we are when both of these great talents are combined in one movie. That potentially awesome movie? Due Date.

In the Todd Phillips directed film, the two stars help tell a story of fatherhood as an expectant dad (Downey, Jr.) and his unlikely travel companion (Galifianakis) race cross-country in hopes of making it home for the birth of his first child. In this new trailer we’re treated to more of the back-and-forth between these two characters and get a bit more info on the film’s story. In short, it looks damn funny. Plus, Alan Arkin is also in the film so how can it not be good?

In addition to Downey, Jr. and Galifianakis, the film also features Juliette Lewis, Michele Monaghan, Jamie Foxx and Alan Arkin. It hits theaters on November 5th. In the meantime, check out the brand new trailer after the jump.

I don’t think I’m alone here when I say I love Zack Galifianakis. He’s amazingly funny and also has a certain vulnerability you can respect and that also makes him so believable in any role he plays. He pretty much stole the show in The Hangover and is knocking them dead on HBO’s Bored to Death. Now, he’s in a new movie called Due Date and we’ve got a trailer for that film to share with you today.

We started talking about this movie last year when news of it first surfaced. In the Todd Phillips directed film, Galifianakis plays opposite another superb actor we all love, Robert Downey, Jr., in the story of fatherhood as an expectant dad and his unlikely travel companion (Galifianakis) race cross-country in hopes of making it home for the birth of his first child. I know what you’re thinking. Based on The Hangover Galifianakis + baby = Comedy Gold. Let’s hope history repeats itself.

In addition to Downey, Jr. and Galifianakis, the film also features Juliette Lewis, Michele Monaghan, Jamie Foxx and Alan Arkin. It hits theaters on November 5th. In the meantime, check out the trailer after the jump.

Catch-22 (1970) is one of those films which falls into several genres. It’s a war film, it’s dramatic, and is considered by many to be a “black comedy.” Mike Nichols directed this screen adaption, which was written by long time collaborator Buck Henry and on the Joseph Heller novel about a group of U.S. Army pilots stationed on a tiny island west of Italy during the tail end of World War II.

Legendary comedic actor Alan Arkin stars as Captain John Yossarian, a veteran bombardier with the fictional 256th Bomber Squadron who are forced to fly countless missions by their commander, Colonel Cathcart (Martin Balsam). Yossarian has flown over twice the required missions allowed by bomber crews before they are eligible to rotate back home for non active duty.

Yossarian feels that the more times he climbs into the nose of his bomber, the more chances he has at dying. Trying to fake insanity in order to be grounded, invokes the policy known in the army as “Catch-22” meaning that if a pilot tries to get out of flying missions, he isn’t really crazy and therefore can’t be grounded under the basis of instability.

Yossarian confides in Dr. “Doc” Daneeka (Jack Gilford) to try and have him committed for the duration of the war, yet Doc doesn’t want to rock the boat and feel the pressures of not only Col. Cathcart, but his even tougher adjutant, Lt. colonel Korn (Buck Henry).

We haven’t covered the new comedy City Island much here at The Flickcast so far, but with a potentially great cast like this and direction by Raymond De Felitta (Cafe Society, Two Family House), we’re going to start. To kick thing soff we’ve got the brand new first poster for the film. On it, you meet the cast, which includes Andy Garcia and Juilanna Margulies, and get a bit of insight into the secrets these characters may have.

The film, which was also written by De Felitta, centers on the Rizzos who are, according to the studio: “a family that might get along a lot better if only they could tell each other the truth.” Of course, hilarity ensues when a person shows up and Vinnie (Garcia) character has to finally tell the truth and explain to his wife (Margulies) who this new person actually is: his illegitimate son. Sounds like a lot of families I know.

Check out a larger version of the poster after the jump. City Island, which in addition to Garcia and Margulies features Alan Arkin and Emily Mortimer, hits theaters later this year.