Archive for the ‘Star Trek’ Category

Oh 2012, how far away you seem.

Paramount has announced that we can expect a follow-up to JJ Abrams’ blockbuster reboot of Star Trek on June 29 of 2012. Of course, this early in the game no confirmed villain has been announced -  though, the entire cast is expected to return.

I for one am all about giving Abrams the time he needs but 2012 just seems so far away now. Good thing we will have plenty of movies like Marvel and DC offerings to keep us entertained (maybe) until then. So, it looks like at least for the next 2.5 years the debate will continue, who will make the best villain for the follow up? Kahn? Klingons? Borg? Maybe the Ferengi? (I’m kidding on that last one…)

Let us know in the comments who you would like to see! I know it’s very “Next Generationy”, but I personally think Abrams should leave well-enough-alone with Kahn (not that I don’t have faith in him) and go with the Borg. Just imagine what kind of badassness Abrams could do with them? I mean, I know that supposedly first contact with the Borg wasn’t made until TNG era, but he’s already messed with the timeline, so why not?!

Introducing The Flaming Gynoid for his first review!

HELLO all you FABULOUS Trekkers out there! I’m sure you have absolutely and positively seen the new, OUTRAGEOUS Star Trek movie, directed by none other than J.J Abrams himself, and starring the ever, oh so handsome Chris Pine, just released on DVD.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, and heavens above, I can’t imagine why? Unless of course you are one of those bull-headed creatures, who are stubborn about re-makes…well get over it, HONEY! It’s not a re-make. In fact, it’s the beginning of a beautiful relationship that hopefully will dish out a few more chapters in this revamped, re-imagined, and re-inventive story.  For you loyal fans, there is even a cameo by one of the greats, but I’m not going to be the Spoiler-Monster and tell.

The movie is full of action, emotional impact, humor, and sheer fun for moviegoers of all ages. The new Star Trek introduces us to James T. Kirk (Pine), a witty and aimless young man, who’s encouraged by Starfleet Captain Pike (Greenwood) to make a change in his life and enlist in the fleet. Of course, when he’s at the academy, Kirk runs amok, but also wins the heart of his soon to be ship mates. Spock, the ever so handsome Vulcan (Quinto), the dashing Dr. McCoy (Urban), the ever so lovely  Uhura (Saldana), the brave & bold Sulu (Cho), loveable Chekhov (Yelchin), and our classic, and memorable Scottie (Pegg).

Hardcore fans with a bone to pick may find faults, but how do you resist, when you can watch Kirk take on the Kobayashi Maru scenario or hear McCoy bark, “Damnit, man, I’m a doctor, not a physicist!” OH, sends chills up my spine.

As for the release of the DVD, there are three different options to choose from,  going to the local Target, or neighborhood FYE. Personally, I like to buy all my collection pieces from AMAZON.com. They seem to beat the price pants off those other guys. And my personal choice would have to be the three disc+ digital copy Blu-ray set. 19.99 On Amazon.

They also have a two disc digital copy edition, and lastly and ever so boring single disc edition. Whatever! I suppose if you are pinching pennies that would be the option, and you can get it for a measly 14.99 on Amazon, but honeys, if you are pinching, just go to the local red-box, and spend a dollar…because clearly you don’t need it in your collection if you dare buy the single disc edition.

I gave this movie, and the Blu-ray collection set, 7 out of 10 Beam me up Scottys! But don’t take my word for it; I guess you’ll have to see for yourself.

The Flaming Gynoid

This is a long column, so hold on to your hats.

I’m going to lead off with Star Trek. There isn’t much to say about this release. The three-disc+digital copy Blu-ray (linked in the title) is the same price right now as every other version and you can’t get much better bang for your buck on Blu-ray for less than $20. This film was great and you will enjoy it over and over and over again. Our new robot wrote a review for it here!

Star Trek is great and all, but the movie I’m actually the most excited for a Blu-ray release today is Gone with the Wind. I love every frame of this picture and I watch it a lot more often than I would like to admit. And seriously, if you get through this picture and the last 40 minutes don’t make you bawl, you must be some manner of emotionless robot. Like Dr. Cyborg. One of the things that has always struck me the hardest was the cinematography and the use of color, seeing it for the first time on a hi-definition format on an excellent TV is going to be quite an experience for me. And don’t let the fact that the film is 70 years old this year sour it for you, it’s AMAZING. Trust me.

Next on the list is one of my favorite films, Luc Besson’s The Professional. It still holds up as one of the finest action films ever made and one of the most intriguing love stories ever filmed. It also has one of the best trailers ever to grace cinemas. (Click here to watch the trailer.)

Fight Club is getting a Blu-ray release today. This is good news for those of us who love this movie. It was easily one of the better films of 1999 (after Phantom Menace and a few others, of course.)

Galaxy Quest is finally getting its Blu-ray release, after their big DVD release earlier in the year. That didn’t make any sense to me, but at the end of the day, I’m glad to finally have this fantastic film brought into a high-definition format.

Kevin Smith is getting three films on Blu-ray today in the form of the Kevin Smith Box Set (Clerks | Chasing Amy | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). I think Clerks and Chasing Amy are two of Smith’s absolute best, so it’s nice to have them on Blu-ray. Jay and Silent Bob will get viewed at least one more time on my part now, which is something that hasn’t happened since the theatres, but it’s boxed with the other two, so I’ll have it.

It is also interesting to note that Farscape: The Complete Series is coming out today. I’m told it’s been a pain in the butt to get, but it’s here now. I might be tempted to check the whole thing out…

Brüno is also coming out today. You can read my brother’s review of it here.

Like I said, this was a big day… See you all next week.

Using an iPhone, some programming, and some sort of sensor chip I know nothing about, NASA scientists have created what could argueably be considered the first “real Tricorder” from Star Trek lore – for lack of a better description.

The device Li developed is about the size of a postage stamp and is designed to be plugged in to an iPhone [and use an application] to collect, process and transmit sensor data. The new device is able to detect and identify low concentrations of airborne ammonia, chlorine gas and methane. The device senses chemicals in the air using a “sample jet” and a multiple-channel silicon-based sensing chip, which consists of 16 nanosensors, and sends detection data to another phone or a computer via telephone communication network or Wi-Fi.

While some robots out there find this to be “Meh.” news, I think it’s pretty cool. Not necessarily because a hand-held device can do this, but because it’s pretty fascinating how real life mimics -or in some cases, surpasses- what is supposed to be “the future” in shows like Star Trek.

Now, I will be REALLY impressed when they come up with a replicator application for my iPhone that will make me a damn sandwich anytime I want one.

You can check out the full article over at NASA.gov!

This one is pretty bad. From TrekToday.com we get The Klingon Keyboard. Yup, thats right a Keyboard with keys in Klingon.  The cost is over $70 and honestly who is going to buy and actually use this? The company has promised a Vulcan version if this is succesful, which basically means there will never be a Vulcan version. I understand loving Star Trek, good stuff, but seriously? Loving it so much you learn a made up language and then loving that so much you want to pay way too much for a keyboard to write in that language to your pals? I know the idea of a person who owns this keyboard having friends is a big stretch but the internet makes crazy things possible.

I know. It’s not super-exciting breaking news or anything, but Paramount has updated the coverart to the highly anticipated DVD and Blu-ray release of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. Above, you’ll find the new artwork for the single-disc DVD edition as well as the two-disc special edition -which will be used for both DVD and Blu-ray. Star Trek will be hitting DVD and Blu-ray on November 17 and you can pre-order your copy over at Amazon.com!

If you care to see the comparison to the old artwork, you can jump on over to Examiner.com.

About a week ago, Paramount announced the release details of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek DVD/Blu-ray. Well, now they have released the artwork that is going to go along with it, pictured above.

Also, the luke-warm to negatively geek-reviewed X-Men outting of X-Men Origins: Wolverine will be seeing DVD/Blu-ray release on September 15. You can check out all the specs on all three editions of the film over at Arse-bot’s Examiner site.

My excitement circuits were so overloaded with this news I couldn’t write it up fast enough. So pardon my lack of commentary on how much I love Star Trek and how sahweet these special features sound as I just give you the information straight up!

Special features are going to include:

• Commentary by director J.J. Abrams, writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk
• Deleted scenes: “Spock’s Birth”, “Klingons Take Over Narada”, “Young Kirk, Johnny, and Uncle Frank”, “Amanda and Sarek Argue After Spock Fights”, “Prison Interrogation and Breakout”, “Sarek Gets Amanda”, “Dorm Room and Kobayashi Maru (original version)”, “Kirk Apologizes to the Green Girl”, “Sarek Sees Spock” -All with optional commentary.
• Four featurettes: “To Boldly Go”, “Casting”, “Aliens”, “Score”
• Gag Reel
• Digital Copy

The Blu-ray release will include all of those special features, plus a few more:

• Featurettes on the Starships, Gene Roddenberry’s Vision, and The Sounds of Star Trek
• Starfleet Vessel Simulator

Official box art for the releases have yet to be revealed, but I assure you I will post it when it becomes available.

For all you Trekkers and Trekkies out there, if you’re anything like me November is a long ways off to wait for the release of this, but it’s nice to know what’s coming. Star Trek is not yet available for pre-order at Amazon.com, but you can sign up to be notified when it does.

In order to fully capitalize on the popularity of the release of the Star Trek film, Paramount has released a bevy of DVD’s and Blu-ray’s related to what is one of their most valuable and lucrative franchises.

For fairweather fans of the shows, the film has no doubt rekindled at least a passing interest and what better way to entice people back than a pair of DVD’s coming it an under ten bucks for 8 of the best episodes of Star Trek ever produced?

The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series contains four great episodes of the show, starting with one of my favorites, “City on the Edge of Forever”.

All four episodes on this collection are also the remastered versions of the show, so if you’ve been waiting to take a gander at it, there’s no better or cheaper time to do it. (It also contains the first appearance of the Romulans in what I think is one of the best photographed episodes of the franchise, “Balance of Terror” and everyone’s favorite “The Trouble With Tribbles”. The last episode sees Spock returning to Vulcan for Ponn Farr in “Amok Time”.)

This is the prefect priming gift for someone who thought they didn’t like Star Trek, but liked the movie. This DVD will make them realize that the show was (and is) pretty damned cool.

The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation starts with the two part “The Best of Both Worlds” which sees Captain Picard assimilated into a Borg. I never really liked the Borg, but this should provide a lot of entertainment for new fans and is a good primer for people just getting into The Next Generation.

The other two episodes rounding out the disc are “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “The Measure of a Man”. Watching these made me remember both how much I loved The Next Generation and how dry it was. These are solid, yet dry, television dramas.

Overall, for the price, these are the perfect gifts to get someone who loved the new summer spectacle and need to get into the series.

I can guarantee these will operate as a gateway drug.