Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Rated PG-13

I was never the Star Trek fan in my family.  No, that distinction goes to my Mom.  The TV show, the original 6 movies, marathon after marathon on any random cable channel, she was all about it.  And despite her best efforts, I just couldn’t get into it.  But let it be known I have seen a good portion of the TV show along with all of the movies.  Then in 2009, J. J. Abrams comes along with his reboot of a franchise that at that point, had become more of a mocked gesture than a sincere one.  And despite my initial reluctance, I went and saw the J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek…and enjoyed the hell out of it.  Sure it was more action driven, many would say Star Wars-esque, but you can’t deny that Abrams put some much needed life into the series.  Dare I saw he made it a little more accessible.

Which leads us to now and Star Trek Into Darkness, Abrams' follow up and presumably swan song from the series (at least as director).  Into Darkness isn’t dark, in fact the first one might have been a little darker.  Into Darkness also doesn’t skimp on the action, in fact it relies heavily on action sequences.  This may send more than a few Star Trek purists into fits of rage who already had beef with the 2009 Star Trek.  The action stuff is both good and bad, which I’ll get into later, but Into Darkness is a solid piece of entertainment.  And while the movie doesn’t improve upon its predecessor, it also doesn’t let it down either. 

Before, we may have wondered how Pacific Rim was able to get the budget it did.  It isn't based on a previous franchise.  It's directed by Guillermo del Toro, who can't carry films by himself.  Its biggest star is Idris Elba, who doesn't have very much star power.  In this day and age, what studio greenlights that?  Thanks to the newest trailer that was released today, I now understand.  And I'm pretty sure that after viewing it, you will too.

Iron Man 3 has been in first place for two weeks thus far but can J.J. Abrams pull a fast one and place first this weekend at the box-office?  Star Trek is a lucrative franchise with television shows, movies, merchandising, a language, and more that predates Star Wars but it’s not as profitable as the other Star franchise.  The firs tStar Trek reboot back in 2009 managed to bring in $79 million but can Abrams repeat business?

It’s rare that so soon after swooning over a P.T. Anderson movie that I get to start the process all over again.   But someone out there is looking out and Anderson, who usually lets a few years go by between each film, is scheduled to start shooting his new movie, Inherent Vice this spring.  Joaquin Phoenix was cast in the title role a while ago; then Benicio Del Toro & Owen Wilson joined him.  And now Reese Witherspoon wants in on the fun.  Let the Craig Dietz fanboy enthusiasm begin in 5,4,3,2,1...]]>http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/rss-comments-entry-33720295.xmlhttp://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2013/5/16/pt-andersons-inherent-vice-is-starting-to-get-awesome.htmlMovie NewsDavid HoffmanWed, 15 May 2013 23:45:25 +0000http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GetTheBigPicture/~3/R9h7WHqb1dE/apes-rise-in-new-after-earth-clip.html217610:2233382:33719869

After Will Smith's hiatus from his yearly blockbusters, the question has always been whether or not he would be able to hit the ground running again.  You could say the same thing, to a much greater extent, about writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.  Though, Seven Pounds was nowhere near as abominable as The Last Airbender was.  This film represents a potential mainstream redemption for both of them, and so far it's looking pretty good for both of them.  We have a new clip from the film which makes it look interesting.

Tom Cruise recently signed a deal confirming Mission Impossible 5 after the success of the previous installment Ghost Protocol. After the third movie in the action series, there were rumors circulating regarding the handing over of these series to Jeremy Renner indefinitely.

Just by luck, the franchise fell into Tom Cruise’s lap again and the reported $685 million that Ghost Protocol made worldwide at the Box Office gave rise to the probability that Cruise would be reeled in for the next movie as well.

We got a bite-sized glimpse of the new series a couple of days ago when the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. teaser was released, but I doubt that it was enough for the real Marvel enthusiasts out there.  A new trailer has been released, and in some ways it gives us more questions than answers.  We still aren't sure who the mysterious hooded super-villain is, whether he be Luke Cage or some original character.  Check out the trailer and make up your own decision:

With The Hunger Games we got a female protagonist that succeeded in every way that Twilight's Bella failed.  Katniss Everdeen is strong, complex, realistic, and admirable in a three-dimensional way.  Coming that with a stunning actress like Jennifer Lawrence, and it's not surprise that The Hunger Games succeeded the way it did.  The sequel, Catching Fire, is being released later this year, and we have another poster to remind you just who is at the center of it all.

Some of you reading this article may have actually been to a Medieval Times Restaurant.   Most of you (including myself) have only seen and heard about it in movies like The Cable Guy and Garden State.  All of us may collectively scratch our heads at this next bit of information.  Two production companies have decided to join forces in bringing the world a Medieval Times movie. A stupid idea says what?  Yes it’s all apparently true.  This makes the news of a Gremlins remake sound absolutely delightful right about now.