EDITOR’S NOTE: Live, from New York… IT’S VIC’S MOVIE DEN!
Shawn: Most of our readers know that Vic De Leon is a regular contributor to The ‘Tastic but what most people don’t know is that he occasionally scoops even me… as he has done with these pics below. As blasphemous and shameful as it is for me to admit, I got scooped on Trek. So, yes, below is a straight-up jack of my colleague’s piece.
Before we get to that, though, I wanted to make a mention of a very touching story in regards to Star Trek: Into Darkness that has been making its rounds over the past couple of days. About six weeks ago, devoted Star Trek fan, Daniel Craft was diagnosed with terminal cancer and found out that he had only weeks to live. Wanting to make his last days as happy and comfortable as possible, his friend Doug posted a plea from his wife, Paige, on Reddit 11 days ago to just make it possible for Daniel see the first ten minutes of the film that was shown at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey because, for some reason, the theater they went to didn’t show it.
Well, the impassioned plea went viral and made its way to J.J. Abrams and he and Damon Lindelhof got in touch with them and had a producer personally hand-deliver them a DVD of a rough cut of the feature film that premieres in May. After, resting for a day to have the strength to watch the film, Paige made popcorn and she and Daniel watched the film and had a blast. After the film was over, Daniel went to bed and didn’t get up again. Friday morning, Paige took Daniel to the hospital for hospice care and with his wife and his brother at his side, he passed away at 10:15 p.m. You can read more about this wonderful story and the amazing, albeit, sadly short life of Daniel Craft in this piece from THR.
We at The ‘Tastic want to commend Mr. Abrams, Mr. Lindelhof and all of those involved who made this act of kindness and generosity possible. Now, without further adieu…
NERD ALERT!
Here are some new Hi Res Pics from the upcoming Paramount / J.J. Abrams motion picture – Star Trek – Into Darkness the direct sequel to the 2009 reboot also directed by Abrams.
In the following epic pictures we see more of Spock, Uhura, Scotty and Kirk along with a cool shot of Bruce Greenwood (Captain Chrsitopher Pike) and Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk) engaged in conversation. But the bad ass of the lot is hands down Benedict Cumberbatch as “John Harrison” He just looks totally hardcore.
The film will be released may 17th, 2013. Enjoy!
“After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.”
Click on the pics in the Gallery below for full size. Thanks for stopping in!
Sometimes all I can say is, “Wow” because I’m just speechless. This is definitely one of those times. Simon Pegg announced the other day that there would be a teaser trailer for the new J.J. Abrams film Star Trek: Into Darkeness, the sequel to 2009’s blockbuster hit Star Trek,on Thursday and true to his word, at 12:00 a.m., this one-minute-and-six-seconds of awesomeness was released.
Guess why I don’t think he’s Khan (Besides the fact that he’s British).
Now, for the record, as you may or may not know (scroll down and read my bio if there is some confusion), I am a huge Trek Fan but when I saw the first film, although I was impressed by the visuals and the more contemporary and inclusive approach to the franchise, I felt the story left a lot to be desired and I had that feeling going into it because I knew they were going to spend half of the film as an “origins story.” I only gave the film a 7.5/10. This sequel appears to be a lot different. Established characters and a strong plot led by Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) as the terrifyingly haunting (as of yet, unnamed) villain (and I don’t think it’s Khan only because of the description from Paramount and the pic to the right) make even this little snippet of a trailer look far more epic in scale and story than the first film.
Dr. Carol Marcus, perhaps?
Oh, and who is that unnamed pretty blonde played by Alice Eve? Could that possibly be Dr. Carol Marcus? And did we mention that his awesomeness, Peter Weller (Robocop) is also in this and not to mention Nathan Drake himself, Nolan North (Sony Playstation 3’s Uncharted video game series). Cool stuff, indeed.
Star Trek: Into Darkness opens May 17, 2013.
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew. – Paramount
EDITORIAL NOTE: OK, kids, this is how it works: With all of the new shows of the season, we shared our first impressions of every new show of the season based on the show description and the trailer released by the network in our network previews. With our fall reviews, however, we include both initial impressions and what we think after actually seeing said show. The main reason why we do this is to A.) show how mystical our powers of perception are and B.) to show that we aren’t total pricks and can admit IF we’re wrong.
Also, where possible you’re going to see not only my review but either RedEye Rogue or Victor De Leon’s review, as well, so you can make up your own mind and not just go on the opinion of one idiot… we’ll give you two idiots to choose from… maybe more.
Our entire way of life depends on electricity. So what would happen if it just stopped working? Well, one day, like a switch turned off, the world is suddenly thrust back into the dark ages. Planes fall from the sky, hospitals shut down, and communication is impossible. And without any modern technology, who can tell us why? Now, 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down lanterns and candles are lit. Life is slower and sweeter. Or is it? On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman’s life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously – and unbeknownst to her – had something to do with the blackout. This brutal encounter sets her and two unlikely companions off on a daring coming-of-age journey to find answers about the past in the hopes of reclaiming the future. From director Jon Favreau (“Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2”) and the fertile imaginations of J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Person of Interest”) and Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”), comes a surprising “what if” action-adventure series, where an unlikely hero will lead the world out of the dark. Literally. The series stars Billy Burke (“The Twilight Saga”), Tracy Spiridakos (“Being Human”), Anna Lise Phillips (“Terra Nova”), Zak Orth (“Romeo + Juliet“), Graham Rogers (“Memphis Beat”), J.D. Pardo (“A Cinderella Story”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”), David Lyons (“The Cape”), Maria Howell (“The Blind Side”), Tim Guinee (“Iron Man”) and Andrea Roth (“Rescue Me”). Kripke, Abrams, Favreau and Bryan Burk (“Lost,” “Star Trek”) serve as executive producers. “Revolution” is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Bad Robot Productions, Kripke Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television. The pilot was directed by Favreau. – NBC
Score: 90 out of 100
Initial Impressions (May 20, 2012): Fact: we like everything with J.J. Abrams’ name attached to it so we’re ridiculously biased about this, however… c’mon, now! This looks awesome… despite the fact the fact that it looks a whole lot like Terra Nova. Let’s be honest: this is post-apocalyptic/new-earth stuff going on here, so, even though the basic concept is novel, the overall premise is pretty recycled… but that’s OK. As we’ve noted, all Science Fiction today is recycled, it’s how it’s packaged that counts. This is feature film quality all the way around with Abrams, John Favreau and Bryan Burk attached to it and it is great to see Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring) getting a regular gig, again. We can only imagine how much this costs to produce and props to NBC for picking it up.
Shawn: Well, this wasn’t particularly hard to call, but it should be noted that Revolution has far exceeded the expectations noted in the preview. It’s really one of the best pilots that NBC has had in years. In comparison, for example, it’s far better than The Event‘s was (which by the way, back in the early days of The ‘Tastic we gave more credit to it then it deserved based on the pilot) and believe it or not, it’s pretty straight-forward and linear so it won’t be particularly confusing and difficult to keep up with as you would imagine a series like this would be.
The characters in this show, although many of them takingtheir cues from Lost, are compelling and well-written and all swimming in various shades of gray. It says a lot that right off the bat, 10 minutes into the pilot episode, a dilemma is immediately presented for the audience where they are forced to actually take sides against a hero and in favor of the villain. That’s hardcore and it’s engaging and few shows would take a risk like that during the meet and greet. Revolution is very reminiscent of AMC’s The Walking Dead in that it’s just as much of an examination of the human condition as it is a mystery/adventure and story of survival.
Despite the fact that it’s always hanging over our heads and is an integral part of the show, Revolution is very careful not to dwell on what caused the blackout, only going so far as to provide a brief glimpse at the initial event and having the characters refer to it in a manner as to remind the audience exactly how devastating it would be if we suddenly were thrust into the 1800’s. Early on, Aaron mentions that he used to work for a company called “Google” and had $80 million in the bank and would trade it all for a roll of Charmin. It’s quick little pot-shots like that and a few limited flashbacks to fill in some blanks surrounding the plot and the characters that serve to effectively tell the story without being intrusive.
There’s plenty of well-choreographed action in Revolution and they have done a fantastic job creating a believable post-apocalyptic universe through the use of gorgeous set and scenic design, natural landscapes and very well-done CGI. The performances range from serviceable to outstanding and unlike its predecessors, this is one epic SciFi serial that may actually stand a chance of survival with audiences. Are there some corny, cringe-worthy moments? Sure, it’s on network TV… what do you want? Overall, though, it’s an outstanding package.
Redeye Rogue: Revolution has indeed far exceeded expectations with the pilot episode – the buttery first episode, of which runs 43 minutes but feel like 43 seconds, covers all you need to know about this upcoming NBC series being brought to us by J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau. The brilliant gem stands out among the class of sitcoms and police procedurals. While not as good as The Walking Dead, there is some real potential here. Simply put, RedEye Rogue would love to get this series alone behind the middle school. Loved the Jedi lunchbox… interesting that it wasn’t Star Wars, but Return of the Jedi. Was this foreshadowing something?
Chance of Renewal: 60%
We were very concerned about Revolution based on the trailers and the show description because network audiences have not traditionally embraced SciFi serials. That being said, post-apocalyptic themed shows that focus more on the characters and story development and use the SciFi theme as more of a backdrop than a device to beat the audience over the head with have been finding a loyal following over the past few years (see: Falling Skies and The Walking Dead as examples of success and Terra Nova as an example of the failure, focusing far too much on SciFi with traditional audiences). Although we are cautiously optimistic, this show is so incredibly well-done and compelling that even we think it can overcome its handicap of being a SciFi show on network television. So now, we’re calling it at better than 50%.
Watch the pilot of Revolution, right now, ahead if the September 17th premiere, here.
Deadline is reporting that the opening day of the sequel to the 2009 J.J. Abrams mega-hit Star Trek has been announced as May 17, 2013 and the film will be in 3D. The second Trek film helmed by Abrams will include the entire cast of the first film that successfully rebooted what was considered a dead franchise. Sony had moved Roland Emmerich’s Singularity from that coveted early summer opening weekend to November 1, 2013, thus opening the door for Paramount to slide their Star Trek sequel in there with minimal competition.
Over the summer, we wrote extensively regarding the delays involving the production of the film, specifically how busy the writers and Abrams have been with other projects. We are certainly glad that the ball has gotten rolling, finally.
Deadline is reporting that the highly anticipated sequel to 2009’s mega-hit film Star Trek is still at the 70 page outline stage with no completed script and Deadline thinks that may have to be pushed back from its original June 2012 release date to Christmas 2012 instead.
We are not at all surprised by this development (if true). Seriously, Have you seen the amount of projects Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci, Burk and Lindelof have been associated with over the last two years while still trying to get Trek 12 going?
So, these guys have had a lot on their plate, to say the least and Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams (and everywhere Abrams goes, Burk goes as well) are pretty much three of the hottest tickets in Hollywood right now so expect that they’ll have even more on the plate. Orci admits to Trekmovie.com that they have a 70 page outline and that they are waiting for Abrams to commit to and have time to sign off on the outline so they can proceed with turning it into a script which they claim will take no time at all once they get the go ahead.
This coincides with Abrams’ recent comments at the premiere of Super 8, indicate that he is eager to get working on the project. From Cinema Blend:
Paramount has set June 29, 2012 as the sequel’s release date but when asked if he thought they’d be able to make that date Abrams wouldn’t commit. Instead he says, “I care much more that it be good than it be ready. I’m, obviously doing everything I can to make sure that schedules don’t get screwed up. But I don’t think anyone wants a movie on time that’s not worth your time.” He actually seems enthusiastic about getting back to work on the Enterprise, “We want to make sure it’s done right. The guys I’ve been working with are obviously brilliant so I’m really excited to get back into it. So this is something I’ve been working on pretty closely, so in part they’re like, fine we’ll meet you to discuss.”
So that’s where we’re at right now. In the meantime enjoy this incredibly hilarious, yet spot-on review of Star Trek (2009) by Red Letter Media.
Shawn: Most of our readers know that Vic De Leon is a regular contributor to The ‘Tastic but what most people don’t know is that he occasionally scoops even me… as he has done with these pics below. As blasphemous and shameful as it is for me to admit, I got scooped on Trek. So, yes, below is a straight-up jack of my colleague’s piece.
The SuperGeeks Super Blog 