Apparently, the Christian Slater TV curse is starting to affect shows he’s not even on. Although, I guess we can’t really blame him for these latest Fox cancellations.

After all, the writing was pretty much on the wall for Human Target already, what with the eleventh-hour renewal last year. That’s right folks, late yesterday Fox announced the cancellation of Human Target, Breaking In and The Chicago Code.

Even though Human Target had been given a second season, the show had continually struggled in the ratings and I was actually surprised it came back for season two at all. It’s sad, though, as the show was really finding just the right blend of action, drama and humor with a cast that was clicking very well.

Same with Chicago Code. It was an interesting show that really seemed to be finding its way.

Oh well. I though the same thing about Firefly, Dollhouse and a lot of other shows and look where that got me.

As for Slater’s show, even though it started strong with a good lead in from American Idol, it was just a matter of time. Apparently, audiences don’t want to see Slater on TV. Perhaps he should go back to making movies?

With Human Target gone, Smallville ending this week and Chuck currently on the bubble for next year, there’s only a few genre shows left on network TV. What to watch?

At least we still have Fringe — for now.

One of the nice things about running your own website is that you can highlight movies, comics, games, TV shows or other entertainments that otherwise might not get a lot of attention or even, in some cases, slip under the radar completely. One such show is Fox’s Human Target which, in spite of its great cast led by Mark Valley and featuring Jackie Earle Haley, has not exactly been a ratings winner for the network.

Fortunately, the show has been given a second season and hopefully it will find new fans and become a big hit. It’s a great show with a good mix of action, drama and humor and an engaging cast which makes for an entertaining hour of TV each week. To help get potential fans excited for the new season and for established fans who want to relive their favorite moments, the show is coming to Blu-ray and DVD.

To help kick things off right we’ve got a scene from the show to share with you which helps illustrate the action, characters and humor I referenced earlier. This scene, part of the special features on the Blu-ray and DVD release, gives you a great idea of what the show is about.

Other highlights of the release include all twelve episodes, featurettes, commentary with cast and producers as well as a gag reel. So, with tall that in mind, check out the promo for the release after the jump.

Human Target The Complete First hits store shelves on September 21.

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To be honest, I haven’t really watched much of Tim Roth’s show Lie to Me. However, I’m really excited for the news that Fox has apparently renewed the show Human Target. According to EW’s Michael Ausiello (who is usually right about this stuff) the network has decided that the freshmen drama needs another 13 episodes to really find an audience.

Although, as Ausiello points out, there’s no “official” word from Fox, his sources confirm that the network is about to pick up Lie to Me for a 13-episode third season. But more importantly, at least for me and probably for you too, Fox has also opted to bring back struggling freshman drama Human Target for a 13-episode second season as well.

In addition, the network will reportedly bring in former Chuck co-executive producer Matthew Miller to be the new co-showrunner alongside Jonathan Steinberg.That’s an interesting decision as I felt the show was pretty good the way it was. Usually when networks do things like this they don’t like the way the show is going creatively or they need someone who can keep costs in line (or both).

More than likely Fox is going to do with Human Target what NBC did with Chuck, cut the budget but allow it to have another season. So, in that respect, it makes perfect sense to bring in someone like Miller who has experience with a show where the budget is greatly reduced but still manages to make the show look good.

Whatever the reasons, I’m just glad Human Target is getting another chance. It’s a good show that deserves it.

When Platinum Dunes announced plans to remake the original Nightmare on Elm Street, I had mixed feelings. I was a fan of the original series, and watched all seven movies. I even watched that dreadful Friday night program Freddy’s Nightmares. I guess you could say I have a soft spot for the film series.

However, when Jackie Earle Haley was announced as the new Freddy Krueger, he was fresh off an electrifying performance as Rorschach in Watchmen, and I was officially on board with the remake. I couldn’t think of anyone better to step into the role previously played by Robert Englund.

So while watching the remake, I was surprised at how odd it was to see someone else play the role. I didn’t dislike Jackie Earle Haley’s performance (though I do wish he hadn’t sounded exactly like Rorshach), but I guess I didn’t realize that Robert Englund had become synonymous with Freddy Krueger in my mind.

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This week on The Flickcast, Chris and Matt discuss new and recurring topics. Some of these include The Avengers, The Losers, Avatar, Cabin in the Woods, How to Train Your Dragon, cool technology, upcoming releases of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Iron Man 2 and the nature of journalism.

They also make some great picks this week including Matt’s pick of the awesome keyboard dock for the iPad and Chris’ pick of the Blu-ray release of Avatar.

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 and MySpace or via email.

One of the major issues many fans of the original Nightmare on Elm Street films have about the upcoming reboot is the look and style of the film’s villain, Freddy Krueger. The main appeal to the original 6 films (and full season of the Freddy’s Nightmares TV series) was that Robert Englund brought a witty cynicism to the character, making him the antagonist, but still entertaining.

Much like the Friday the 13th franchise, towards the later films, fans were going to watch Jason, and really didn’t care about the teens that were getting slaughtered. Now, with Jackie Earle Haley donning the glove and sweater, many fans have been worried whether he would continue the “hilariously evil” style that Englund and Craven brought to the character. He was like Groucho Marx with a burnt face and claw.

In a new clip from the film, we finally get some chatter from Freddy, which is exactly what we’ve been looking for. It’s slightly darker than the originals, which is the same case for the Friday the 13th reboot, but it’s still a nice nod to fans of the original.

Check out the clip after the jump, and be sure to stay awake for A Nightmare On Elm Street when it hits theaters this Friday.

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Warner Bros. has released the second trailer over at MySpace for the upcoming horror remake A Nightmare on Elm Street, which stars Jackie Earle Haley as the iconic Freddie Krueger. And folks, it’s a pretty damn good one.

Not only does this trailer give us a bit more insight into the look and feel of the film, it also provides more than enough horror and terror for three trailer. In short, it makes me even more interested in seeing this movie when it comes out.

The remake, directed by Samuel Bayer, in addition to Haley features Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy, and Thomas Dekker as a group of suburban teens being haunted and killed in their sleep. See, this is why I try never to sleep.

Check out the full trailer after the break. A Nightmare on Elm Street opens April 30, 2010.

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Are you excited for the remake of the horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street? If so, this post is for you. Today, a new poster for the remake was relased into the wild at MySpace and features a better look at Jackie Earle Haley in the iconic role of your worst nightmare Freddy Krueger.

As you probably know, the original film was directed by horror legend Wes Craven and released in 1984. It spawned several sequels and imitators and propelled the character of Freddy Kruger into infamy. The remake, which is directed by Samuel Bayer and hits theaters on April 30, features Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy, and Thomas Dekker as a group of suburban teens being haunted and killed in their sleep.

Even though I’m not always a big fan of remakes, this one looks pretty darn cool. More and more Haley seems like an inspired choice to take over as Freddy Kruger. If he brings to the role the killer intensity he showed as Rorchasch in Watchmen, he might just be able to pull it off. The more I see of the new film, the more I hope he can.

Click through for a look at the full poster. Seeing this, what do you guys think of Haley as Freddy Kruger and are you excited for the remake?

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Martin Scorsese’s latest potboiler bears the unmistakable markings of a classic film noir. Cigarette smoke  hangs heavy in the air  and tendrils about the characters, almost taking on a life of its own. Dream sequences become engulfed in flames and smoke. The camera lingers on one character taking a drag off of a cigarette and inhaling the smoke directly into his nostrils.

The smoke  is so pervasive that I kept thinking there has to be a reason for it, beyond atmosphere.  My conclusion is that the smoke is an allegorical symbol for “smoke and mirrors”, quite apropo because on Shutter Island, nothing is as it appears.

Leonardo DiCaprio (with a thick Boston accent) plays Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshal who has been summoned to the mysterious Shutter Island, a foreboding chunk of land surrounded by rocky precipices. This makes the island ideal for housing dangerous and severely disturbed psychiatric patients. The movie takes place in 1954, when psychiatric patients were routinely given lobotomies, and other “treatments” were inflicted that are considered unethical and inhumane today.

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This week on The Flickcast, Matt and Chris fly solo again as they take on Conan’s last episode and the classy way he handles it as well as the casting of a different Conan in a reboot of Conan the Barbarian. In addition they also talk about the upcoming Powers TV series, The Goon going digital and the amazing success of Avatar. They also discuss some other topics including the new Fox show Human Target, Jackie Earle Haley’s career, Spactacus: Blood and Sand, the nature of modern movies and the greatness of Die Hard.

Chris and Matt also made more picks this week. Matt went with Swimming with Sharks, and Chris picked the cult classic Coogan’s Bluff starring Clint Easwood as a cowboy in the big city who teaches those city slickers a thing or two about justice.

As usual, if you have any comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitterand at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

While news about the upcoming Green Lantern movie is still pretty sketchy, details are starting to trickle in. The latest is pretty exciting. Ain’t It Cool News is reporting that Jackie Earle Haley may be playing villain Sinestro.

Haley is probably best known at this point for playing Rorschach in Watchmen which came out last April.  However, as notorious as Rorschach seemed he’ll be getting upstaged soon enough.  When next we see Haley he’ll be wearing the hat, sweater and razor glove made infamous by Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot.   Unfortunately, as deadly as Krueger was as a nightmare serial killer can he really compare to a villain feared throughout the galaxy?  Hopefully we’ll get to find out.

In conjunction with this comes a hint that Superman may also appear in the Green Lantern film. While no details have emerged regarding this, it makes sense that DC would emulate Marvel‘s efforts to integrate their various comic book films.  Further, given the legalities DC has been facing regarding the Superman property this may help prove they are making efforts to reinvigorated the character after lackluster reviews of Superman Returns.

In other Green Lantern news, Warner Bros. has been forced to pull production from Australia:

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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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