Due to “circumstances” we’re a bit late with a new episode of The Flickcast again this week. But don’t worry, it’s here now. You can relax . . . and enjoy.

On this week’s episode, Chris and Joe’s anger barely registers. But still, they manage to summon a bit of it. People seem to like it when they rant. So there’s that.

Topics this week include even more on Mad Max: Fury Road, the aborted Tron 3, the reboot of Point Break, Ash vs. Evil Dead, the career of The Rock, Big Trouble In Little China and a whole lot more.

Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the History Channel mini-series Texas Rising and Joe’s pick of the BBC show Space Odyssey. No, the other one.

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.

Subscribe: Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS

Is this a parody or a ripoff? Warm Bodies is so up front with its copies — copies– of Twilight that, judging from the trailer alone, by the time it hit theatres, I was sure it had to be a straight-up uppercut to tweener romance. I’m not so sure now.

But I am certain that the leads, Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, were chosen for their resemblances to Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (respectively, I think), both in looks and in their mutual tendency to overact. The story, however, is lifted from Romeo and Juliet and Zombies — and at least anyone who has yet to take freshman literature should be able to make the connection between Juliet and Julie (Palmer) and R (Hoult) and Romeo. That gets a pass though, since Shakespeare probably stole the story from somewhere else.

Anywho, Julie and R live in your standard zombie apocalypse. A big wall separates the humans from the Corpses (as they’re so called). And there’s a special subset of Corpses called “Bonies” (feel free to giggle like a high-school freshman who has yet to read Romeo and Juliet yet) — these are the folks who’ve decomposed to the point of full-on skeletalization. Somehow they’re still able to move and sniff, but there’s more than a few suspensions of disbelief.

Zombies are hot right now–strike that, warm. Zombies are warm right now.

At least, that’s what Summit Entertainment believes, as they’re adapting the very recent book by Isaac Marion titled Warm Bodies, a romantic zombie thriller. The studio is so keen on the idea, that they’re about half way done with the lead casting. From THR:

Teresa Palmer, who received a lot of notice for her breakout work in I Am Number Four, is in talks to star opposite Nicholas Hoult in Summit’s zombie love story Warm Bodies.

Jonathan Levine is directing the project, which, in a tone described as Twilight meets Shaun of the Dead, follows an existentially tormented zombie named R that begins an unlikely friendship with the human girlfriend (Palmer) of one of his victims. The blossoming relationship starts a chain reaction that will transform him, his fellow zombies and maybe the whole lifeless world.

Summit seems to know their romanticized monsters, as they’ve gotten the whole Twilight world locked down inside of two films. What’s next? Werewolves in heat? Only time will tell.

If Ferris Bueller’s Day Off got really drunk and fell into bed with Less Than Zero, their fetal-alcohol-syndrome-afflicted offspring might be Take Me Home Tonight, a movie that aims to be to the 80s what Dazed and Confused was to the 70s. And after all, it’s high time: Michael Douglas has already revisited Wall Street.

Take Me Home Tonight takes place in LA and Beverly Hills and hits all the era’s tags—RayBans, pastel popped-collar polos, pushed-up jacket sleeves, Preppie bow ties vs. New Wave skinny ties, frizzbomb perms for girls and spiked mullets or Gordon Gecko mousse-backs for guys, video stores, red sports cars, cocaine, wild house parties, evil bankers, and, of course, a sinister and sexually perverted fat German businessman in shoulder-padded black leather. Wouldn’t be an 80s movie without one of those.

The story, one of those “guy grows up in the course of one wild and crazy night” deals, hits all the plot buttons too. Our too-straight hero manages to finally bust loose and somehow to fulfill both his parents’ expectations and the anarchic instincts of the loser sociopathic guy who’s inexplicably his best friend. It goes without saying that he gets the girl too.

There are fibs and other deceptions, grand theft auto, cocaine abuse, dance-offs, police encounters, light sadomasochism, youthful irresponsibility and more. It’s all pretty silly and not to be taken seriously. There are absolutely no consequences for stealing the expensive sports car, bankers are prima facie arrogant and evil, and the moment of  moral triumph comes when Tori decides to quit her banking job, because, of course, she hates it. Believe me, I’m no fan of the banking industry (see last paragraphs), but most of these ideas are simply juvenile.

The best way I can describe I Am Number 4 is a sort of contemporary update of Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) for the Twilight set. If that sounds appealing, you’ll like the movie. If it doesn’t, skip it.  I have fond memories of Escape to Witch Mountain, so I didn’t mind the shameful ripoff of the the storyline as much as some.

Based on the popular book by Pittacus Lore (actually a pen name for James Fry), the film tells the story of Number Four, one of nine extraterrestrials who live on earth and are being pursued by the Mogadorians, who destroyed their planet. Number Four and his guardian Henri are constantly on the run, barely staying one step ahead of their would-be assassins. The first three have already been killed, and  Number Four is the next one up.

Number Four has been creatively named John Smith by his guardian/protector Henri played by Timothy Olyphant. This moniker is used so that John may blend in and be inconspicuous when he attends high school. Never mind the fact that nowadays anyone actually named John Smith is immediately regarded with suspicion because it is such a cliche.