My Favorite "Trek" Films

With the release of the new "Star Trek" film on DVD (which I very much enjoyed in theatres this year), I wanted to take a trip down memory lane and give a shout out to some other movies in the "Trek" franchise that I found great escapist fare.
It should come as no surprise that "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" is my all time favorite of the "old school" "Trek" movies. Great storyline with Ricardo Montalban reprising his role from the TV series episode titled "Space Seed." This is a fine example of a cool concept blended with a fantastic score, and an excellent story that sets it up for what I thought was a disappointing sequel. Still, it's one of the best, and Kirk certainly has a worthy adversary in Khan.
See a clip from "Khan" and read more after the jump.

Live Long...and Watch Many DVDs

The best movie of the Summer, "Star Trek" is storming to stores nationwide today. This isn't your father's "Star Trek." The new movie introduces us to a younger crew of cadets as they embark on the first adventures in The Enterprise. Director J.J. Abrams continues to develop Grade-A projects. The script, special effects, and actors come together for the perfect popcorn adventure!

The film is being released on Blu-ray and DVD just in time for Thanksgiving next week. There are sure to be plenty of Trekkies that will pick this up for themselves and maybe even pick up an extra copy to stuff someone's stocking this holiday season. You can get the one disc that will just give you the basic film or the two disc comes with loads of special features including a blooper reel.

I've never been a big "Star Trek" fan, but this movie is what filmmaking is all about. It will take you on a non-stop adventure through the "final frontier." So, with temperatures cooling down and activites being limited outdoors...pick up The Starfleet Crew and give them a try. I promise you will not be disappointed!

To J.J. Abrams' films and the future "Star Trek" films --- "Live Long and Prosper."

Summer Smash Up

Today is the official start of the Fall movie season. I'm really excited about checking out "Extract." In honor of the new movies kicking off the season today, I thought I would put a ribbon on the Summer. Roll out the red carpet...

Top 5 Movies of The Summer

1) "Star Trek" - A lot of anticipation and nervous geeks were scared to see what J.J. Abrams would do with their beloved franchise. He did not disappoint. It's hard to ask for anything more out of a Summer movie than what the "Enterprise" delivers.

2) "The Hangover" - One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long, long time. A nice original spin on the comedy genre. It's great to see how a simple cast (4 friends) and setting (Las Vegas) can come together to create a laugh it up roller coaster.

3) "(500) Days of Summer" - Zoey and Joseph combine for two of the best performances in recent memory. The film takes the relationship and puts a 21st Century spin on it. "You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates will be making a few bucks on iTunes thanks to the soundtrack.

4) "Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" - No doubt that my favorite sequence of the Summer is the forest battle scene in this film. There's just something about seeing a childhood hero (Optimus Prime) come alive on an IMAX screen that gives me chills every time. The film has flaws -- there's no such thing as a perfect movie, but delivers enough of my hero to satisfy my hunger.

5) "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince" - It may be the best movie in the "Potter" franchise ("Prince" & "Azkaban" are tied...flip a coin and whatever it lands on is the winner for that day). Very satisfying to see one of the better books come to life while you're watching these actors grow.

Summer Disappointments

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" - The film is just one fight scene after another. Show me some character development and creative dialogue. The cast was fine..just show me Sabertooth, Deadpool, and Logan building up their characters toward something instead of throwing them into a blender.

"Terminator Salvation" - Show me the war that Sarah Connor talks about! Sam Worthingon is great as Marcus, but show me the friggin' war!

Pet Peeve Of The Summer

There are plenty of items I could add to this long list, but I only have one...

LEAVE MICHAEL BAY ALONE!

I'm the biggest "Transformers" fan and I know that the sequel was a letdown, but there's no need to keep the bashing party going. Maybe Bay set the bar too high? I'm finding that many people were so upset with Bay that they seem to lash out against his filmmaking in every movie review out there. Just last week I was reading an article on "Halloween II" and someone turns it around and throws in how "Fallen" sucked. We all get that many of you are upset with the film...you have made your point and now it's time to move on. I have problems with the film too -- the twins, the length, and the dream -- ,but I respect and appreciate Bay's vision as an action director and explosion master. The film did surpass the original in box office receipts, so whether you hated it or not Bay made his due.

Looking back, these are just a few of the things that I took from Summer '09 -- box office style. I hope everyone was able to at least catch one Summer movie. We didn't have a billion dollar movie this Summer, but we had some pretty memorable charaters and cameo appearances.

Beaming Back

"Star Trek" is coming back to IMAX theatres starting today! Paramount is putting J.J. Abrams' Summer smash back into many box offices nationwide. The movie only enjoyed a two week run in many theatres, due to "Night At The Museum: Battle For The Smithsonian" taking over in late May. You can catch my favorite movie of the Summer starting today at 85 IMAX theatres in the U.S. and Canada. The film will stay in IMAX until "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" replaces it on September 18th. TrekMovie.com has a complete list of the 85 theatres. So, if you haven't seen it yet or want to catch it in IMAX for the first (or second, third, fourth) time...head to one the theatres and enjoy!

DVDs To Look For

The only good thing about the Summer movie season coming to an end is that some of the hits will be on DVD sooner rather than later. Before we get all depressed about the upcoming fall slate of films (there are sure to be a few hits here and there), let's check out some DVD and Blu-ray release dates...

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" - September 15th - The first movie of the Summer, but turned out to be a letdown for many mutant fans like myself.

"Star Trek" - November 17th - The BEST movie of the Summer PERIOD.

"Angels & Demons" - November 24th - I mean, Tom Hanks did get $50 million for something...right?

"Terminator Salvation" - November 23rd - Director McG says the DVD and Blu-ray will feature an additonal 30 minutes of footage. The movie has its flaws, but Sam Worthington delivers one of the breakout performances of the year.

"The Hangover" - December 1st - The funniest movie of the year. The biggest surprise of the Summer is also helping Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis land some major dough.

"Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" - October 20th - Four words...OPTIMUS PRIME FOREST BATTLE.

"Up" - November 10th - You can't go wrong with Pixar.

These are just a few of the Summer movies and their upcoming release dates. Some of the hits are still playing at the box office, so certain dates haven't been set.

Make sure to tune in to this week's podcast where Jody and I will break down the Summer Movie season that was and have our picks for best and worst of the season.