Adventure games are great. Like, really great. Remember Myst? The Secret of Monkey Island? They just don’t make games like that anymore. Apparently, studios don’t think they’re in demand anymore. They’d rather produce Call of Duty 12.

Which is why Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, best known for amazing titles like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts, decided to do something about the lack of adventure games on the market lately: he started a Kickstarter project.

Kickstarter, for those of you who’ve never heard of it, is a really cool concept where fans can contribute their own cold hard cash to causes they want to see funded. In this case, Tim Schafer wanted $400,000 to create an adventure game, developed by himself and a small team over a six to eight month period.

The process of producing the game would be documented by Two Player Productions, known best for Season 1 of PATV, Penny Arcade’s inter-office television series. Minimum contributions to the project started at as little as $1, but fans who donate $15 to the project will receive a copy of the game via Steam for PC and Mac, exclusive access to the Beta on Steam, access to the video series, and access the private discussion community.

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Twitter is fast becoming a reliable and consistent news stream. A place where people can share comments, pictures or videos directly with fans. Case in point, Jerry Bruckheimer took to his twitter to release the first official image from the upcoming film The Lone Ranger.

The image reveals the updated look to the classic Lone Ranger and his faithful sidekick Tonto. Underneath the crazy make-up on Tonto is Johnny Depp, who seems to be on a mission to have a more elaborate face make-up every time he is on screen.

The very dapper looking Lone Ranger is played by Armie Hammer, who many still don’t realize is the single person who played both Winkelvoss twins in The Social Network. He actually strikes as a very good Lone Ranger, he has the look down pat, and his ability as an actor has been proven.

It will be interesting to see what tone The Lone Ranger is going for. The idea of a western franchise that has the same scope and demeanor of the Pirates films could be pretty great. Somewhere inbetween The Mask of Zorro and Wild Wild West there lies a pretty awesome western adventure, hopefully this film will be it.

You can check out the full new image after the jump.

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Last night was quite a show for the fans of commercials. We got some new favorites, a few call backs, and yea, even some full trailers of this year’s big movies. For the most part, the major films we got sneak peeks of are Act of Valor, John Carter, and Battleship. But the one that fanboys really got excited for is the extended trailer for The Avengers.

That’s right, more Hulk, more Hawkeye, the first look at the mysterious alien threat, and some pithy dialogue between Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. We got it all in this 60 second spot, and now you get it too.

For those who felt that the trailer was a bit Captain America-centric, we got the scoop in a recent interview with director Joss Whedon, where he explained that Chris Evan’s Cap will basically be the main protagonist in the film.

“So much of [The Avengers] story takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird-ass world,” Whedon says. “Everyone else has been living in it. He’s the guy that feels that sense of loss.”

Take a look at the extended trailer after the jump and catch The Avengers in theaters and in 3D IMAX on May 4th.

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We like to stay on our A-Game when it comes to new films hitting theaters and what to expect from studios on a regular basis. Then a trailer for a film like G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits the web and completely takes us by surprise.

The film picks up the hints from the first film, in which Zartan infiltrates the White House. Remember that? Neither do we. It seems that Paramount, however, does. Here’s the premise to the new film.

Little has been revealed about the plot other than that it will feature the G.I. Joe Team coming into a conflict with Zartan, Storm Shadow and Firefly. Zartan (who is last seen in disguise as the President of the United States) has now got the world leaders all under his thumb, warheads headed towards innocent populaces, and some new heavies on the payroll to keep G.I. Joe at bay.

This time around, we’re getting some new old characters to join the fight, such as Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock, Ray Stevenson as Firefly, and Adrienne Palicki as Lady Jaye. Oh, did we mention that Bruce Willis shows up as John Colton? Yea, we’re as confused as you are.

Take a look at the trailer after the jump, and catch the film in theaters on June 29th.

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As summer dies down with explosive fire power and spiritual journeys to other lands, I recall the glorious action fest that was The Expendables. In turns out Julia Roberts has nothing on protein packed men with a mission on their minds. My female counterparts have voiced their love of meaty men in droves and unexpectedly taken away business from Julia’s love fest. Nearly 40 percent of The Expendables‘ audience was women. X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘s audience raked them in as nearly 50 percent of the audience was female. It seems women have tired of the boys akin to Michael Cera and instead jones for something with a little more muscle. Stallone should have learned the key to Hugh Jackman’s success to driving women in throngs- taking off his shirt.

I hear Hugh gave up his lead in Avon Man to start his insane work-out to become the ferocious mutant once again. If you take months upon months to beef up like these 80‘s action legends did, you’d think they’d want to show it off. Plus, wasn’t it super hot in Louisiana and Brazil where The Expendables shot? It was like 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity. Stallone couldn’t have been the only one who was feeling the heat.  Take off those shirts and up your female movie-going audience to 51 percent.

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This week we’re pleased to have guest reviewer Jane Almirall join us at The Flickcast. Here’s her review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief — Editor

Until very recently, I hadn’t even heard of Percy Jackson.  I have not read any of the books and managed to not read or see anything about the movie until I saw the film trailer a few weeks ago. Now, having seen the film, an adaptation based on The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, I couldn’t help but notice similarities between Percy Jackson and another literary figure who has successfully segued onto the big screen.

I am speaking, of course, of Harry Potter.  Both young men resemble one another physically, grew up with absent (or dead) fathers and struggle to find acceptance within the context of the real world. Each discovers at a young age that they are powerful and special and are introduced to a magical world in which they are especially gifted and (for the most part) are made to feel welcome.  Both Harry and Percy are accompanied on their adventures by their two best friends – a boy and a girl.

That Percy Jackson & the Olympians:  The Lightning Thief is directed by Chris Columbus, who also helmed the first two – and my least favorite - Harry Potter films (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), is bound to invite comparisons between the two series – in which Percy Jackson will certainly fall short.

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Well, it certainly didn’t suck. That’s me, eating a little crow.  For months I have snickered about the colossal disaster I was sure Avatar was going to become. Admit it, you thought so too. How on earth could you not be pessimistic after seeing the early trailers?

Alien creatures a hue of blue so intense it would make papa smurf puke, and waxy humans that would beat any of Robert Zemeckis’s early efforts for “most soulless rendition of a human being” did not exactly instill confidence in me. Then came the daunting news that the movie weighed in at almost 3 hours. Add the driving time in and the Avatar screening took up almost half a day. I disliked the movie before I even slipped on the  exquisite 3-D nerd-spectacles that I so love.

A funny thing happened when the movie began. I was captivated. I rarely looked at my watch, and the three hours kept me glued to my seat. I became completely immersed in the alternate reality that James Cameron (Titanic) created, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Now, I am not jumping aboard the fanboy express like 90% of the critics I know. This  is not the end-all, be-all of epic movies.  I don’t think that it will “change the way we watch movies forever”, and I hope it doesn’t quite frankly.

As a stand alone experience, I absolutely recommend Avatar, but I won’t be going to the theater for repeated viewings. Avatar is innovative and visually spectacular, but its story and woeful dialogue keep it from being a truly great movie.  However, I will give James Cameron props for once again delivering a truly ground-breaking experience.

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