It’s a brand new episode of The Flickcast. We’re still doing this . . . and we couldn’t be happier about it. We hope you are too. 

On this episode Chris and Joe take a minute to talk about the show’s newly-launched Patreon. Speaking of that, here’s the link if you want to support the show: The Flickcast on Patreon. Thanks!

They also get into other topics including Bill and Ted Face the Music, the upcoming new TV version of Stephen King’s The Stand, New Mutants, the upcoming Obi-Wan series, The Mandalorian, other Star Wars project ideas, Star Trek: Discovery, other Star Trek shows and, of course, the usual more. 

Picks are back this week too. Yes! On this episode Chris picks the amazing, live D&D stream/series Critical Role and Joe takes the easy way and picks Bill and Ted Face the Music. 

WARNING: This episode contains discussions about COVID-19, mental health and quarantine. We understand not everyone is in a place to talk about or hear discussions surrounding these issues. Please do what’s best for you. Stay safe everyone.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, Instagram or, yes, even Facebook. Or shoot us an email.

Also, here’s that Patreon Link again, just in case you missed it the first thousand times. Thanks!

We’re back baby!

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The Avengers has come and gone, and now we get to see Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) dealing with the trauma he apparently experienced in New York. He has insomnia, and it strains both his work on the latest Iron Man suit as well as his relationship with Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). His bodyguard Happy (Jon Favreau) is now head of security for Stark Industries. And, all around the world, there’s broadcasts from a strange terrorist figure named “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley).

The movie opens with Stark recounting a New Year’s Eve party way back in 1999. He’s at a conference in Bern, trying to bed a buxom botantist, Maya (Rebecca Hall) before the year’s turnover. He’s interrupted by pimply geek Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who’s trying to start a think tank and wants Stark’s help. Stark blows him off, and if the use of Guy Pearce didn’t already suggest it, Stark states outright that it was the beginning of trouble.

Thirteen years later, Aldrich shows up at Stark Industries, again seeking support, though he does seem more interested in rubbing everyone’s nose in his success. He has created a new whatsit kind of technology called “Extremis” that allows the brain to regenerate tissue…and, somehow, make the patients melt things with their hands. (Dr. Curt Conners from the latest Spiderman films is going to be smacking his head with his tail when the inevitable crossover comes.)

It’s not just because he did a pretty great job with the Stark Trak reboot, we just like J.J. Abrams’ work. In fact, we’re interested when he pretty much does anything.

Add that to our love of anything post-apocalyptic and that brings us to the upcoming show Revolution. Sure, it does have a couple things against it, not the least of which is the fact that Bella’s dad from Twilight in one of the leads (although he does a pretty good job) or that the show seems like a bit of a rip off of The Hunger Games (it mostly isn’t).

Still, we’ve watched a couple episodes already and it’s actually pretty good. You might like it too. Plus, it’s got Giancarlo Esposito in it and was directed by that guy who did Iron Man (you know him as Jon Favreau), so that goes a long way for us.

We’ve got previews for the show, which premieres tonight on NBC. Take a look at them after the break. Let us know what you think of the show.

Lots of info coming out of Comic-Con in San Diego this week. Of course, we’re pretty interested in anything where comics and movies converge so when Marvel makes some announcements, we’re gonna let you know.

As we predicted yesterday, Marvel’s Kevin Feige confirmed August 1, 2014 as the release date for the next super-hero ensemble: Guardians Of The Galaxy. But wait, there’s more.

Edgar Wright said he and Joe Cornish have written Ant-Man and Wright shot a test that he showed to the crowd. Apparently, people loved it and Wright’s description of the tiny hero who “kicks ass one inch at a time.”

But there’s even more. Captain America: The Winter Solder, the confirmed title of the sequel, is set for an April 4, 2014 release. Alan Taylor is set to direct Thor: The Dark World and it will arrive on November 8, 2013.

Also, as we told you before, Shane Black is still hard at work on Iron Man 3 and working towards its release date of May 3, 2013. They also showed footage from the movie which included Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin and Guy Pearce as an as yet unknown bad guy.

How’s that for a whirlwind of announcements? Anyone else need a minute?

Last weekend, the world was taken by surprise as Marvel’s Captain America: The First Avenger blew past the final Harry Potter film and made it to the #1 spot in its very first weekend. Since then, the film has grossed over $115 million here in the US and upwards of $170 million worldwide. Not bad for the best superhero film of the year (according to Rotten Tomatoes).

This weekend, Cap may have gotten knocked off the top spot and only made roughly $24 million, but the more interesting part is the battle between Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens and Sony’s The Smurfs. Both films opened with an estimated $36.2 million in the domestic, and while Smurfs may be the winner overseas, with a total of $40 million worldwide, that’s simply because it’s the only film to have a foreign opening.

Not a very strong opening for either film (unless you consider Smurfs to be a small film), but the true champion will be determined tomorrow afternoon when the official numbers arrive for the domestic box office.