Microsoft’s XBOX 360 console can do pretty much anything out of the box- except connect wirelessly to the internet. Unlike its Nintendo and Sony competitor consoles, the 360 requires a separate device, or an Ethernet connection, to get online.

Now, according to Kotaku, Microsoft will soon be releasing a new wireless adaptor for the device, which will cost $100. This adapter will feature Wireless-N technology, enabling gamers to, among other things, stream 1080p video. This will come in handy for the upcoming release of the Zune video store, and potential updates to the Netflix service already in place.

Fortunately, with the release of the new adapter, the old 802.11g wireless adapter will get a price drop to $79.99. While still far more affordable than before, the compeition has proven to Microsoft that this technology can be built in with little to no additional cost to the consumer.

Microsoft has not given a date for the 802.11n wireless adapter, the price drop on the 802.11g adapter, or the release of the Zune video store, but we’ll be keeping an eye out here at The Flickcast for those dates and any other video game news we come across.

The first trailer for the Platinum Dunes’ remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street popped online via MySpace last night just in time for Halloween. Well, a month or so before really but still, in time. While it’s not really a full trailer, it still manages to give you a lot of clues about Freddy’s origin and how it may be different — or similar — from what you’ve known in the past.

This teaser also offers us the first look at Freddy’s new make-up. Sadly, you don’t really get a very good look at Freddy in this teaser, but if you’re super curious you can always take a still from the teaser and manipulate it in your favorite image editing program for a better look. Or, you could just head over here and someone has already done the work for you.

The brand new A Nightmare on Elm Street hits theaters April 30, 2010. In the meantime, check out the teaser after the jump and remember, don’t fall asleep.

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One of the biggest television renewal upsets last spring was Fox choosing to bring back fledgling series Dollhouse while canceling Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  Both shows were struggling for ratings but Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles seemed more likely to be picked up as it was concluding its second season compared to Dollhouse only having aired twelve episodes (the thirteenth episode, “Epitaph One”, is currently only available in the DVD box set for season one and via iTunes). Obviously, loyal Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles fans were upset at this decision.

Those fans may have come to terms with the series never returning to television, but they haven’t given up hope for a direct-to-DVD movie. It seems unlikely but Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles producer James Middleton gave some indication that it could happen:

“The quick answer is, yes, there have been many discussions. I can’t go into more detail about the subject until I have something truly substantial to report. What the fans should know is that I hear them and I too would love to see T:SCC come back in some form.”

Sure, people may only be having “discussions” at this point but at least they’re talking. That’s a good first step for a show that desperately needs a conclusion. Without spoiling anything, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles pulled out all the stops for the season finale and left the series on a giant cliffhanger. Then it got canceled and we were all left wondering what would happen next. Some may find it easy to dismiss fan support as futile but there’s growing precedence for their voices being heard.

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Delicate subject matter generally requires an equally delicate approach, and The C Word is no different. Showtime’s pilot starring Laura Linney (John Adams) about a suburban wife and mother recently diagnosed with cancer will attempt to mix the seriousness of the disease with a lighter spin, and they’ve found their juggler in director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Condon will reunite with Linney for the first time since they worked together on Kinsey, where Linney received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2004. While the writer, director and Oscar-winner is no stranger to sensitive subjects, as his writing and direction on 1998′s Gods and Monsters would suggest, he’s also been involved in other genres throughout his career.

Condon has managed to tackle horror in 1995’s Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh and musicals in 2002’s Chicago, and was even part of the writing team for 2009’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Solomon Kane, based on Conan creator Robert E. Howard’s series of stories, begins the film slashing his way around the world destroying anything, and anyone, who gets in his way. He even kills his own men, especially when they show cowardice. This tirade of evil comes to a screeching halt once Kane encounters the Devil’s Reaper, whom the devil has sent to collect Kane’s soul.

Kane, barely escaping with his life, realizes his evil ways have led him to this point and decides that he must change if he is to survive. Once he realizes the error of his ways, he then embarks on a new life, relinquishing violence in an effort to achieve redemption.

Of course, if Kane had stuck to that decision, this would be a very short movie indeed. Fortunately, he doesn’t and inevitably must return to his violent ways. But this time around, instead of the greedy, evil mercenary he once was, Kane now has a noble purpose and an actual chance at the redemption he seeks.

The innocent daughter of a Priest (Pete Postlethwaite) who had befriended Kane is taken prisoner and to save her, Kane will do whatever he needs to do — even if that means killing a few people along the way. Plus, an all-consuming evil is threatening to take over England and Kane has decided that man of peace or not, he can’t let that happen.

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Last night in Austin during Fantastic Fest (which runs from September 24th to October 1st), guests were treated to a party at the newly-minted High Ball bar. One of the main reasons for the party was to introduce some of the Japanese filmmakers responsible for fest entries like Hard Revenge, Milly, Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl and “Secret Screening” Robogeisha to festival attendees.

During the evening, Fest co-founder Tim League kicked things off with, what else, Karaoke. Next, the Japanese contingent served as judges for a “Samurai Call” contest where contestants, fortified with delicious Sake, would use their best voice and call for a Samurai. Finally, and this is the really interesting part and something that makes Fantastic Fest the great time it is, there was a Japanese pole dancing demo provided by one of the Japanese actresses in attendance. And yes, she even brought her own pole all the way from Japan. And no, its not that kind of pole dancing, so get your mind out of the gutter.

Fortunately for those of you who couldn’t be in Austin last night to witness this unique demonstration of skill and beauty, I happened to have my video camera with me and captured the entire thing for your viewing pleasure. So, click through to watch this incredible demonstration and get a little taste of what Fantastic Fest is all about.

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Long before vampires glittered (Twilight) or were battling werewolves (Underworld) they were hanging out in backwater towns and convincing teenagers they were eating maggots instead of noodles (Don’t worry, it was kind of like the vampire version of a Jedi mind trick). For those who don’t get the reference, I’m speaking of vampire cult film The Lost Boys.

It’s been more then twenty years since The Lost Boys came out and to give you an idea of how different vampires were back then, here’s the tag line from the original film: “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire”. Yes, being a vampire was “fun”, especially when the only real threat was a couple of comic book geeks who claimed to be vampire hunters.

It took 21 years for The Lost Boys: The Tribe, a sequel to this classic film to come out, but only a year later for the third installment to start production. Dario Piana is set to direct The Lost Boys: The Thirst which will be shot in South Africa. Based on a script written by Evan Charnov, the new film will focus on at least one of those geeky vampire hunters, Edgar Frog played by Corey Feldman:

“When veteran vampire hunter Edgar Frog finds himself destitute and almost friendless, he thinks his live has hit bottom – but wealthy vampire-romance novelist Gwen Liebling offers him a small fortune to go on the vampire hunt of a lifetime and rescue her son Peter from the Alpha Vampire D.J.Dusk. With the help of his friends Zoe, Lars and Blake, Edgar heads into a bloody battle to exterminate evil.”

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Since the official announcement came out that Marvel Studios was going to make The Avengers movie, I’ve maintained this would be the biggest comic book film ever. Coordinating the efforts to bring so many Marvel characters together, specifically Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, is something that just hasn’t been done before. It’s a massive endeavor and while we know who the heroes will be, the film’s antagonist still remains a mystery.

Speaking with MTV, Hulk star (and The Hulk himself) Edward Norton gave his thoughts on the matter,  “In the comics, there was always a tension between the rest of the superhero community and he was always this problem… They treated him as this problem.”. Further, “Norton said he could definitely see the Hulk character becoming something that the rest of Marvel’s superheroes joined forces to battle.”

I agree making the Hulk a “problem” in the upcoming film is necessary as he was the anti-hero of the group; causing as many problems as his alter ego Bruce Banner solved. Perhaps more importantly he was technically a founding member of the team so his inclusion cannot be overlooked. That said, is the Hulk enough to be The Avenger’s sole antagonist? In my opinion, no.

While we have only seen Iron Man and the Hulk on the big screen so far it’s already apparent these heroes are powerful. Very powerful. Once you add Captain American and Thor to the roster you’re going to end up with an incredibly strong team who needs a villain that can equally that might. Also, with Thor dealing with actual Gods like Loki as enemies in his upcoming film, The Avengers will need something major to oppose them. Hulk just isn’t it.

At this point, even I’m still guessing as to who, or what that enemy could be. Have an ideas? Let us know in the comments.

Spider-Man 3 was not the greatest installment of the franchise. It seemed for every great moment there was an equally bad one. Take Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace) for example. Sandman was a compelling character you could get behind. Venom was a gimmick, tacked onto the last third of the film. That isn’t to say Grace was not brilliant as Eddie Brock, he was, but Venom just felt forced into an already busy plot.

Worse yet was having not one, not two, but three nods to The Lizard throughout the franchise by Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker) but that villain never emerged. What a waste. Whether you love or hate Venom, writer Paul Wernick confirmed that Sony is working on a Venom spin-off:

“We’ve written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they’re pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward.”.  Of course, this begs the question how will this relate to the upcoming Spider-Man 4.  Wernick provided a very vague response, “Basically, the studio and Marvel and the Arads are taking our drafts and going beyond and figuring out what’s the next step.”

There is a silver lining to this.  Paul Wernick, along with co-writer Rhett Reese, wrote the highly anticipated Zombieland film.  While I’ve only seen the previews the movie looks brilliant. If they can bring that same sense of humour mixed with prevailing dread to Venom, I for one think the film may just work. No other details at this point but you’ll find them here as they develop.

When I first heard about writer/director Oren Peli’s first person video camera horror film Paranormal Activity, I have to admit I was skeptical. Seeing some of the advertising and hearing the buzz from various sources, this film seemed to be yet another cheap video production still hoping to cash in on the “magic” generated by The Blair Witch Project. Fortunately, after seeing the film at a sold-out midnight screening during Austin’s Fantastic Fest, I can thankfully say my first impressions of the film were completely wrong . . . mostly.

The premise of the film is simplicity itself. A young couple have lived together for a few years and gradually there have been strange and unexplained sounds and the woman (Katie Featherston) it is revealed has been experiencing this type of “activity” since she was a young girl. Her boyfriend, the annoyingly overconfident Micah (Micah Sloat), is determined to get to the bottom of these phenomenons and so begins his quest to videotape the couple’s activities 24 hours a day in order to catch the ghosts in action and ultimately, to take care of the situation and get them to stop.

One of the film’s biggest strengths is that it follows the Hitchcock tradition of not showing everything. Instead, during several scenes, the camera stays in one place as the couple goes off to investigates a noise or other disturbance and the audience is left only able to hear what’s happening, their imagination filling in the blanks. This conceit serves the film far more effectively than an outlandish display of gore or other visual effects would have. This technique is used very effectively in Paranormal Activity, much more than it has been lately in films like Cloverfield or Quarantine.

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Seabiscuit just got some steeper competition. ‘Secretariat,’ currently in pre-production for a 2010 release from Walt Disney Pictures, has added three more actors to a cast that already boasts Diane Lane (Nights In Rodanthe). The Hollywood Reporter states that Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck), John Malkovich (Burn After Reading) and Scott Glenn (W.) have signed on to the film centering on the owner of the famous thoroughbred racehorse that captured the United States Triple Crown in 1973.

Malkovich will play the horse’s trainer Lucien Laurin. Glenn plays Ogden Phipps, the thoroughbred owner/breeder who famously lost the hall of fame racehorse in a coin toss while Walsh plays husband to Lane’s Penny Tweedy – also known as “the first lady of racing” – Secretariat’s owner.

While selling a film about horse racing might seem like a stretch, the aforementioned Seabiscuit managed to earn $120 million plus at the box office. By throwing in a more recognizable subject and a few of Hollywood’s more notable actors, this project should undoubtedly find its legs, thoroughbred-like or not. Still no word on who will play the title character, though.

General Zod is one of those characters that has an interesting back story in the Superman franchise. The character was originally created in 1961 by Roger Bernstein and George Papp, but didn’t become remotely as popular as when portrayed by Terence Stamp in Superman I & II. Since then, each reincarnation of the character has only been a monument to that role. Until now, that is.

Callum Blue has been added to this season’s cast of Smallville as the general who was sentenced to the Phantom Zone after attempting to rebel against his Kryptonian government. He was released at the end of the last season, and looks to be building his own army already in tonight’s premiere.

Blue comes from the popular Showtime series Dead Like Me, so he’s no stranger to the world of fantasy. The irony of the in-place Smallville cast is that Terence Stamp is already a regular as the voice of Jor-El, Clark’s father. Somehow, there is bound to be a moment when the new and old Zod cross paths, so keep an eye out.

Check out a clip from tonight’s premiere after the jump, and if you’re a Battlestar Galactica fan, see if you notice something familiar about it. All that seems to be missing are octagonal dogtags and the line “So Say We All!” Don’t forget to catch Smallville as it kicks off season 9 tonight on The CW at 8PM/7PM Central.

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