AN EPIC NEW TRAILER HAS ARRIVED…  BUT I CAN’T ALLOW MYSELF TO PRESS PLAY

The marketing team behind Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel has done a remarkable job selling the film to audiences.  They sold me after the teaser trailer was released.  Actually, I was probably on board the moment they announced the keys to the franchise were handed to Christopher Nolan.

Little by little, they released epic posters, astonishing images and incredible trailers.  Indeed, Superman is in good hands and I can’t wait for his return to the big screen.

THE BEST SUPERMAN MOVIE EVER?

Time will tell if the latest and easily the most ambitious Superman movie will take it’s place alongside the best superhero movies of all time.  I’m willing to bet it will but something funny happened when they released the latest and presumably final trailer.

I couldn’t bring myself to watch it! I’ve analyzed nearly every Man of Steel trailer they’ve released thus far yet I couldn’t press play.

XTRA | Top 5 Moments: Man of Steel Trailer #2

XTRA | Top 5 Moments: Man of Steel Trailer #3

Honestly, I’m already excited enough for this movie and this new trailer is apparently action packed…

I DON’T NEED TO SEE ANYTHING MORE..  BRING ON THE MOVIE

A while back, I wrote about how major movie villains are revealed in the social media age.  How much information is too much?  Star Trek Into Darkness did a wonderful job disguising a major twist involving the villain.  It was nice to see some information held back.

In regards to Man of Steel, the first 3 trailers did a phenomenal job of showing off the film without giving too much away.  (Including the villainous General Zod) I think that’s why I’m avoiding the fourth trailer.  This is my chance to step back from the marketing and simply wait for the film to come out.  Still, it’s very difficult to avoid this new trailer especially when my favorite sites raved about it:

“We all thought there was no way a trailer could top the last one director Zack Snyder provided us for Man of Steel. At three minutes, even its length was epic. And the action it showed was pure, ass-kicking Superman.  The latest trailer (number four, if you count the teasers as one) is shorter than the previous one but, somehow jam-packed with even more spectacle.” (/FILM)

“While previous trailers focused on the coming-of-age tale of a Kryptonian stranded on Earth and the love between a son and his father, this new cut is chock full of dread, evidenced by Superman drowning in a mountain of skulls.” (Collider)

“Zod narrates this newest trailer, full of never before seen footage. One feeling I get from watching it is that Zod is a very real threat, which is great because Superman is going to kick his ass.” (Geek Tyrant)

“If anything, this trailer puts to rest any doubts that Man of Steel will be anything other than epic. Unlike some previous Superman movies, it looks as if the world’s greatest superhero will be taking on a threat that’s on a scale commensurate with his powers.” (Screen Rant)

I wake up ever morning, read movie news and watch the latest trailers.  Not pressing play is hard but we’re less than a month away from what looks like an unforgettable blockbuster event.  A Superman movie unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.  Man of Steel!

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Excited about this summer’s big blockbusters?  Check out 10 of the biggest movies coming out in 2014 here.

TOO MASSIVE FOR YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN!

I still can’t get over it…  This movie exists!?

A movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters created by one of the most imaginative directors of our time; Guillermo Del Toro.

XTRA | Top 5 Moments: Pacific Rim Trailer #1

A new trailer has arrived that’s full of action but also a few intriguing character moments I can’t wait to learn more about.  Could this be a giant robot movie with heart?  If you’ve seen Del Toro’s masterful Pan’s Labyrinth then you already know he brings equal amounts of emotion to go along with his monstrous creations.

The marketing campaign didn’t have to release a trailer this awesome.  They had me at Del Toro…   According to a recent article on /Film, Del Toro had this to say when asked about money shots in his trailers:

“If I showed you all the money shots [in Pacific Rim], you’d have a 70 minute orgasm.”

5. GIMME A HUG

I highly doubt this is in fact intended to be part of an ending where we make peace with the monsters.  These battles look relentless and I’m most definitely okay with that.

4. ELECTRIC MONSTERS, FLYING MONSTERS AND MORE

Kitchen.  Sink…  No other words are necessary.

3. FACE OFF: MAN VS MONSTER

No way in hell am I getting out of a giant robot to face a massive monster on my own…  But this guy does…  Courage? Stupidity? We’ll find out in July

2. GIANT ROBOTS IN SPACE?

These battles take place in the ocean, on the shore, in the snow, in cities AND in space!?

1. IN THE FACE!!!  WITH A BOAT!?

The robot smashes a BOAT into a monsters face.  How will this movie suck?  Give me one good reason why this won’t be FUN to watch on the big screen.  I can’t think of any.

Click here for more Movie Countdowns.

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THE HYPE IS BUILDING…

Every summer, as the big movies approach, I always feel like the following summer won’t stack up. In 2012, we got the ultimate superhero team up as Marvel unleashed The Avengers. Christopher Nolan completed his legendary Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises. Spider-Man returned to the big screen with a completely new look. How would 2013 top that?

How about Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim & The Wolverine?

COUNTDOWN | Top 10 Summer Movies 2013

Now that Marvel’s Cinematic Universe has kicked off with Iron Man 3, I think it’s time to look ahead and see what’s coming. Here are 10 big 2014 summer movies to look forward to:

10. ALL YOU NEED IS KILL

Tom Cruise returns to science fiction after saving the world in 2012′s Oblivion.  All You Need Is Kill is based on a novel of the same name by Hiroshi Sakurazaka with illustrations by Yoshitoshi ABe.  Here is a brief plot description from Amazon.com:

“There’s one thing worse than dying. It’s coming back to do it again and again… When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the Bitch of War. Is the Bitch the key to Keiji’s escape, or to his final death?”

Sounds wonderfully strange.

REVIEW | Oblivion, Prometheus, Moon & Independence Day

9. GODZILLA

I loved Gareth Edwards ‘Monster’.  Now he gets to make the mother of all monster movies (with respect to Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim.)  Godzilla is THE monster.  Hopefully they can erase the memory of Roland Emmerich’s 1998 adaptation starring…  Mathew Broderick.

REVIEW | A Monster amount of character

8. DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Speaking of erasing bad memories… Rise of the Planet of the Apes was one of my favorite surprises of 2011.  It was a brilliant reboot that made me forget all about Tim Burton’s attempt.  This was Ceasar’s story and I loved his story.  Andy Serkis gave us one of the best motion capture performances of all time.  I can’t wait to see what the apes have planned for us in 2014.

REVIEW | Rise of the Planet of the Apes

7. FAST & FURIOUS 7

Rumor has it, Jason Statham will join the cast for the seventh installment as a villain.  This time, Saw alum James Wan takes over for director Justin Lin.  This series has seen unprecedented longevity and now boasts a cast that may rival The Expendables by Fast 9.  Will see if a new director can keep things fresh for Dom and his team.

XTRA | Fast Five is Rock Solid

6. TRANSFORMERS 4

I loved the first Transformers but I really hated the sequel Revenge of the Fallen.  The third installment was a return to form but now all bets are off.  Michael Bay is currently redesigning Autobots and Decepticons.  He’s bringing in an entirely new cast including Pain & Gain‘s Mark Walberg.

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5. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDER

Marvel’s Cinematic Universe will certainly get a big boost when Captain America returns to the big screen.  I say that because the film will feature many prominent members of S.H.E.I.L.D.  The organization was one of the main ways Marvel connected their films from Phase One.  S.H.I.E.L.D was absent from Iron Man 3 and more than likely won’t be a major part of Thor: The Dark World either.  This may be the film that updates us on the universe as a whole as well as Captain America’s adjustment to the modern world.

Note: This isn’t technically a summer movie with an April release date but lets face it…  It is.

COUNTDOWN | Top 10 Moments: Marvel’s The Avengers

4. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

I enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man.  The reboot managed to retell Peter Parker’s origin story without feeling like a shot for shot remake.  Andrew Garfield IS Spider-Man now.  His next challenge?  How about Jamie Foxx as Electro and Paul Giamatti as Rhino?  Not too mention the first appearances of Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn and his famous father Norman.

This has all the makings of a fantastic summer movie.

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3. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

When Brett Ratner created X-Men: The Last Stand…  He literally destroyed the series.  Major characters were killed off and the whole thing felt like a rushed mess.  When you do that, it’s pretty difficult to create a sequel.  What did they do?  They brought in Matthew Vaughn to create a prequel.  The result was X-Men: First Class.  A fantastic movie that reminded us that the X-Men franchise has a lot left to give.

I don’t think anyone saw Bryan Singer returning for the follow up.  Regardless, the man who brought the X-Men to life before Ratner killed them all is back!  Now we get to see mutants from the past and present in one giant movie.  It may not be as big as The Avengers but this movie will definitely flex it’s Superhero muscle.

2. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

I still can’t believe this movie is happening.  I grew up with Ninja Turtles.  I had the action figures, the bed sheets, the Halloween costumes…  You name it.  I absolutely love the movies as well. (The first two at least.)  The thought of seeing the Turtles in a new live action movie with TODAY’S technology is thrilling to say the least.  The child in me is smiling.  I’ll be there on opening day.

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1. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Who are The Guardians of the Galaxy?  I struggled putting this above Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but it’s the unknown that intrigues me.  What does Marvel have up it’s sleeve?  No doubt this film will set the stage for The Avengers 2 and the villain Thanos.  Big superhero movies are normally reserved for well known franchises.  This is definitely a risk but I’m on board.  I love the idea of a Marvel movie set in space with characters I know nothing about.

XTRA | I’m glad I don’t know anything about Guardians of the Galaxy

COUNTDOWN | Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two: 10 Things I’m looking forward to.

XTRA | Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Round Up

Which Summer movie are you excited for?

WARNING!  HUGE SPOILERS DISCUSSED IN THIS REVIEW
STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS!

I recently had a debate with my friend John about J.J Abrams’ Star Trek and how it compares to the original series.  The basic setup was simple:  I never saw the original series and therefore, my first exposure to the characters (other than pop culture references) came when the reboot was released in 2009.  John grew up watching The Original Series and was extremely disappointed when they rebooted the universe he adored.

What followed was a 3 part series where we went back and forth discussing the pros and ‘I have the’ cons of Star Trek.

ROUND ONE: One Trek…  One No Trek

ROUND TWO: One Trek…  One No Trek

ROUND THREE: One Trek…  One No Trek

Obviously, I was beyond excited to see Star Trek Into Darkness.  I couldn’t wait to see J.J would take these characters next.  John has repeatedly sworn not to see the sequel until someone loans it to him or it appears On Demand free of charge.

I bought my ticket a week in advance and caught a matinee on opening day.  So how was Star Trek Into Darkness?

I liked Star Trek Into Darkness a lot but I found myself thinking about our friendly debate often as the story progressed.

FINAL SPOILER WARNING… 

A few months back, in an effort to better understand TOS, I took it upon myself to finally sit through The Wrath of Kahn.  A movie many would agree is the best Star Trek movie of all time.  I can’t make that claim as I haven’t seen them all but I did enjoy it.  When it was revealed that Benedict Cumberbatch was actually Kahn, I couldn’t help but think about our friendly debate.

John didn’t like the idea of rebooting Captain Kirk and his crew.  He can watch his Star Trek whenever he wants on DVD.  As soon as it was revealed that Kahn was indeed a part of this rebooted universe I smiled and thought:

“John is absolutely going to hate this movie.”

I won’t know for sure until he sees it but even I had to admit it would be strange.  To love a group of characters only to have them reinterpreted would be frustrating to some.  Personally, I’m thankful that I watched Wrath of Kahn first because it was my first chance to truly compare the two universes.  I’m obviously not as attached to the original series so I actually appreciated what J.J Abrams did with Star Trek Into Darkness.

Separating the two Kahns was difficult at first.  I kept picturing Ricardo Montalban but Benedict Cumberbatch has created a truly memorable villain here.  He’s ruthless yet sympathetic to a certain degree.  A man driven to do whatever it takes to save his family.  He’s a relentless foe with a booming voice and a worthy adversary for the crew of the Enterprise.

Speaking of which, the rest of the crew evolves accordingly in this film.  Obviously, we are once again thrust into the captain’s seat with Kirk still learning humility as a commanding officer.  By his side, the ever logical Spock who still questions virtually every decision Kirk makes.

It’s a relationship that mirrors the original series but Star Trek Into Darkness also takes liberties that may or may not upset the hardcore fans.  For the most part, I don’t know the difference but I do know I liked it.

I read a little online after I saw the film and many people were upset with the very idea of a new Kahn.  Weren’t people hoping Kahn would be the villain?  It’s strange because I found myself wondering why they didn’t change Kahn more…

There are so many nods to The Wrath of Kahn here including major plot points.  In our debate, I defended J.J Abrams’ rebooted universe because it threw out the rule book.  They used time travel to create a reality where both universes would co-exist.  As evidenced by old Spock’s return to warn new Spock about Kahn.

Why go to such great lengths to create a new Star Trek universe where anything could happen yet still go back to a tale we’ve already seen.  Star Trek Into Darkness is basically bizarro Wrath of Kahn.  There are obviously BIG differences but this movie functions more as a homage.

Still, I liked that they brought back Kahn.  I really liked that they included an impending conflict with the Klingons…  I liked Star Trek Into Darkness.

It was great to see these characters on the big screen again.  Even though I had an idea where the story was going once Kahn revealed himself, there were still plenty of surprises in store.  Not too mention some pretty amazing action sequences.

All in all, this summer is off to a great start with Iron Man 3 leading off and Superman on deck.

As for our debate?  I still believe they have done enough to please new fans like me while respecting fans of the original series.  No matter what you do, you can’t please everyone.  There will always be people who dislike movies like this.  It doesn’t matter what Star Trek universe you call home.  Some movies aren’t for everyone.

This movie was for me.  Perhaps my friend John will see it someday and enjoy seeing a new vision of Kahn on the big screen.  (He probably won’t.)

Overall, I thought Star Trek Into Darkness was a fantastic sequel that doesn’t quite live up to ‘the original’.  Multiply that by about a million and that’s probably how John felt about the 2009 reboot.

I get it now.

Click here for more reviews.

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COUNTDOWN | The Best of J.J Abrams

THE DEBATE CONCLUDES

ONE TREK…  ONE NO TREK INTRO

ONE TREK…  ONE NO TREK ROUND ONE

ONE TREK…  ONE NO TREK ROUND TWO

ONE TREK…  ONE NO TREK ROUND THREE

The Setup:

JAY: A fan of J.J Abrams’ Star Trek Universe with little knowledge of the original series.

JOHN: Not a fan of J.J Abrams’ Star Trek Universe but a huge fan of the original series.

ROUND THREE

(JAY) The sequel is not far away and you say it’ll get your money but as a sci fi fan and not a Star Trek fan. It makes me wonder what it would take for Star Trek Into Darkness to convince you that it is a tale worthy of it’s name.

I think it’s going to be spectacular because of the approach they’ve taken with the villain. After years of ‘Kahn’ speculation, it appears as though Benedict Cumberbatch is playing an original character. I’m hoping he is an original character. I’m sure you are as well. Why recycle legends like Kahn?  Let’s see something new.

Having said that, I think ‘John Harrison’ will have a lot in common with Kahn. He’s a powerful being who appears to have serious business with the federation and Earth. It’s almost a given that things will get personal with Kirk but I think it will be a classic battle of strategic minds.  They’ve even cast Alice Eve as Dr. Carol Marcus…

Much has been written about John Harrison’s back story. (note: need to find link for this) He’s fighting for a very real and very relatable cause. We’ll have to wait to find out what that cause is but I couldn’t be more encouraged.

Beyond the villain, I’m also excited to spend time with the crew of the Enterprise without the need to establish them. A part of me believes you didn’t respond to the first because they spent a lot of time setting up relationships you already knew inside and out. For me it was new but I can see how it can be frustrating for a long time fan. Especially when you factor in the time travel element they used to ‘reset’ the universe.

Now, the Enterprise has it’s captain and the adventure can begin right away. I hope they deliver more space battles. More strategy. More science fiction concepts. Essentially… More Star Trek. (And more lens flares.)

If Star Trek Into Darkness features more of the crew doing what they do best and a formidable foe, would that be enough?

What did you think of the trailers?  Encouraged?  Discouraged?

COUNTDOWN | Top 5 Moments: Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer #1

COUNTDOWN | Top 5 Moments: Star Trek Into Darkness Final Trailer

Personally, I think the sequel will surpass the original. They worked so hard to create a new universe of sorts where they have the freedom to do whatever they want with the franchise. They’ve got a blank check. I think it’s fascinating to consider the options they had available to them.

Opening credits. Star Trek.

However, I have to admit I’m not fully versed in what that entails. I know it’s going to be more Star Trek as I know it but will they be able to include enough to please fans of old?  As we reach the end of this debate I’m more convinced that I really don’t know the subtleties that makes Star Trek work.  But I know I’m a fan of this new crew.

Maybe I’m looking forward to the same movie you are. I’m just a lot more excited to see it because I love the new versions of the characters.

As this is technically the final round, I propose we revisit this debate after we both see the sequel. A fourth round.  We can find out if they succeeded in winning you back.

(JOHN) With the new movie closely approaching, I’m rather impressed how the identity of the villain is still a mystery. If they do decide to go the original route, I’d definitely find that a welcome decision, as recreating a previous villain will naturally force me to draw comparisons and stay loyal to the original. That’s just how I roll.

Having still not seen the original series minus The Wrath of Khan, I still find it hard how one can make comparisons to the new characters if they didn’t even really get to know the original ones. In essence, there isn’t really much there to base a comparison due to lack of reference. How do you know you “love” these new characters better than the original ones if you haven’t really seen them?

Pretty much any recreation of anything that already appeared in The Original Series is going to discourage me. You touched on more space battles, and I will admit that is the ONE thing I am curious about and interested in seeing. It may just be the ship, an inanimate object, but the Enterprise is definitely part of the “cast” of the series and is a character in itself. Even though they made some of their own modifications to the design of the ship, that is the one thing in the new films that I can mildly accept the aesthetic changes to as it still closely resembles the original, more than anything else they have tried to re-create. That quick shot of the Enterprise diving into what looks like water sparked my attention. The ship is something that is timeless, and whether you’re seeing it in The Motion Picture from 1979, or in the upcoming Darkness, it still holds true for me. I can imagine MY crew on the newer ship, and deal with it.

As I stated before, I’ll probably go see the movie when it comes out. But I’ll be there to basically check out the effects and watch someone else mess with “my” universe.