It’s in theaters now, and all the secrets are out in the open. Star Trek Into Darkness, the second Trek film from J.J. Abrams, has been locked (mostly) in the producer/director’s “mystery box” for over a year. For hardcore fans, at least, the secrecy around the precise nature of the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch has been a big part of the marketing allure, but the energy Abrams and his cast brought to their first outing on the Enterprise has been enough to make a huge audience curious about their encore.
And in the end, the irony is that, while there was a type of secret to preserve with respect to the character, in the end he plays a weird role in the plot. (There’s a certain kinship to Iron Man 3 in that respect.)
Abrams has said that he wanted to make Star Trek for people who aren’t Star Trek fans, and in that respect he might have succeeded. Into Darkness has a few well-executed setpieces, and loads of the same winning cast presence that made the first Abrams Trek a success. But does it work? Does the film’s wide divergence from many well-established Trek characteristics fly, and does it even really matter who Cumberbatch is playing? Weigh in below, where full spoilers are in force. Read More »
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Posted on Saturday, May 18th, 2013 by Angie Han
Director Adam McKay promised “a murderers’ row of day players” for Anchorman: The Legend Continues, and based on the casting so far it definitely looks like he’s gonna deliver. But the faces we’re really excited to see are those of the core Channel 4 news team, and the new trailer offers a peek at just that.
There’s no new footage to be found here, but there are enough laughs to whet your appetite for comedy. Against a flashy backdrop just like the one from the last trailer, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner), and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) step up to say hello. And stay classy. And, uh, happy Easter. Check it out after the jump.
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After much anticipation, Star Trek Into Darkness is finally out this weekend. Peter and Germain have weighed in with their mostly-positive takes, and you guys have also chimed in with your thoughts. I personally enjoyed watching the movie from beginning to end, and got a kick out of seeing these characters come to life once more, as played by the immensely talented cast. It’s a non-stop thrill-ride, a riveting experience that may leave you scratching your head at certain points, but never leaves you bored.
About those head-scratchers: yeah, this movie definitely made pretty bizarre decisions, several of which continued to nag at me days after I’d seen it, even though my overall memories of the film were ones of fondness. So, in the grand tradition, you’ll find some of my issues after the jump. As always, feel free to respond with your own and/or correct me in the comments.
MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS FOLLOW.
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Briefly: There’s been a killer addition to the Summer of 2015. Assassin’s Creed, based on the popular Ubisoft video game series, will hit theaters on May 22, 2015. 20th Century Fox is now on board the project which, at this point, only has Michael Fassbender attached to play Desmond Miles, the descendant of a long line of assassins who can relive the memories of his ancestors.
At this point, no other film is schedule on that date but, if Star Wars Episode VII comes out on its traditional Summer weekend, it’ll be going up against this film.
Michael Lesslie is writing the screenplay. No director is attached but with a release date two years away from next weekend, you can expect that to change soon. [Coming Soon]
Sequels are a tricky thing. In the best cases, they transcend the original work by adding emotional depth and context, elevating the entire story arc. In the worst cases, they’re a carbon copy of the original with perhaps a bigger “wow” factor. Star Trek Into Darkness, like many sequels, falls into the middle ground. It expands and broadens the scope of the original while duplicating most of the elements that were already in place from the 2009 film.
To follow his first Trek revival, director J.J. Abrams has made a much more visually impressive and exciting action film, and one worthy of the Star Trek franchise. It simply lacks the inspiration that made his first film so special.
After the jump, read the rest of this review and see a video blog with some differing opinions. Read More »
Like many directors, Michael Mann mulls over many projects before settling on the one that will be his “next” film at any given time. In this case his next picture is a currently untitled “cyber-crime” thriller, which leaves quite a few other possible films in the lurch.
One of those other potential efforts was Gold, a film that follows a 1993 mining scandal, featuring a prospector who found “one of the largest gold mines in the world in the Indonesian jungle.” It has been likened to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but in what respects beyond the simple prospector angle, we don’t know for certain.
Mann may have moved on, but Gold still lives. Spike Lee is now attached to direct the film, based on the script by Patrick Massett and John Zinman. Read More »
In one week, Vin Diesel’s fast cars and Bradley Cooper’s frequent carnage are going head to head at the box office. The Hangover Part III and Fast and Furious 6 each open over Memorial Day weekend, in what’s poised to be the biggest showdown of the summer. They’re both films with built-in fanbases aimed at the same demographic. The potential battle is so intense (as far as box-office goes) that The Hangover pushed its opening up a day.
We’ll have to wait until next weekend to see who comes out on top but, before that, we have a battle of behind the scenes B-roll. Footage from both the Justin Lin action extravaganza and Todd Phillips comedy has come online. Does it shine a light on who’ll be victorious? Read More »
Briefly: We haven’t even seen Red 2, but Summit is confident enough in the film that writers Jon and Erich Hoeber have been signed to write a third. The brothers wrote the first two films, so they’re as familiar as it is possible to be with the material. Not a bad outcome for the original film based on the comic by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner that focused on aging black ops characters being drawn back into action.
Red 2, directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest), opens on July 19, at which point we’ll see if augmenting the original cast (Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker) with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones worked out. Based on the fact that test screenings have led to Summit hiring writers for a third, perhaps it’s all coming together a bit better than the first film did.
There’s no cast in place for a third Red film at this point, but if things turn out well for the second film when it hits this summer, production on the third could kick off as early as January 2014. [THR]
