
Which 'Star Trek' episodes could be movies, and which shouldn't?
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Wed 2:55 PM

If you're the slightest bit leery of spoilers about "Star Trek Into Darkness," the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel to his hit 2009 reboot of the venerable sci-fi franchise, then perhaps you should keep away from this article. We're not going to give away much (that's for another time), but we might say something now that makes you a bit uneasy if you want to go in completely fresh.
Related: Who's who in 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
They also chose the one "Star Trek" story that is best known outside the original show's fan base, when surely they could have poached something less well-known and perhaps even more open to reinterpretation, with the new "Trek" taking place in an alternate timeline and all. So in the spirit of being helpful, we've selected five "Trek" episodes that we could see turned into movies -- and five that we wouldn't touch with a dead tribble.
You could make movies out of:
1. "Mirror, Mirror": I guess we're actually in a "mirror universe" already with the new "Star Trek," except that everyone here acts kind of dumb and reckless instead of evil. So imagine seeing Zachary Quinto's Spock fight the evil, bearded Spock. Or how about Zachary Quinto's Spock fighting the Zachary Quinto killer from "American Horror Story: Asylum"? It's still an evil Spock, kind of. And Chris Pine's Kirk could fight the evil Chris Pine who tried to sabotage his own career by appearing in "This Means War."
2. "The Doomsday Machine": You could make a real conspiracy theory story out of this one. Instead of the Doomsday Machine floating into our galaxy and smashing up planets, let's imagine that a bad Starfleet admiral (played by, I don't know, Peter Weller) finds one, discovers its control panel and uses it himself to smash up planets so that he can provoke a war with the Klingons or some other alien race that provides instant fan service.
3. "Arena": The alien race in this episode, the Gorn, is one of our favorite species from the old show. But those lizard masks were so stiff and immobile! Surely some CG would make the Gorn a lot more expressive, and the zipper on the back of the costume could be made invisible too. Put the Gorn in the arena with Kirk and Spock and watch the reality-show-competition sparks fly. With Donald Trump starring as the alien race overseeing it all, the Metrons.
4. "Errand of Mercy": "Star Trek Into Darkness" hints that a war with the Klingons is coming, so why not go for it and remake this episode, in which Kirk and Spock are the entire Federation response to a Klingon occupation of the neutral planet Organia. Original series fans remember what happens when you annoy the Organians. One thing missing from the new "Trek" movies are other species that can put us all in our place. The Organians can fill that order nicely.
5. "The Tholian Web": The original series' third season had very few high points, but this is one of them, just because it's so weird. Giant webs in space! Weird crystalline aliens! Rips in the universe! And Kirk missing for half the episode. How would Chris Pine feel about that? This is the kind of trippy sci-fi we'd like to see more of in the big-screen "Trek" franchise.
Don't even think of making a movie out of:
1. "The Way to Eden": Space hippies invade the Enterprise and incapacitate the crew with some of the worst songs ever heard on network TV. Yeah, we could see this playing out on the big screen ... not in a million years. Not even if you made the space hippies into the Occupy Alpha Quadrant movement or something like that.
2. "The Omega Glory": More heavy-handed political metaphor here, with the Yangs (Yankees) and Kohms (Communists) playing out a mini-Cold War with sticks, stones and the occasional phaser supplied by a deranged Starfleet captain. This episode was so clumsy and poorly conceived that we can't even think of a good joke about somehow updating this to include the Tea Party. And Gene Roddenberry, of all people, wrote this one?
3. "Spock's Brain": Classic bad "Trek" here. The line "Brain, brain, what is brain?" could be applied to the actual script for this segment, since intelligence seemed to be in low supply when this one was written. We're sure Chris Pine's Capt. Kirk wouldn't mind combing through a planet of scantily clad women in search of the title object, but we think Zachary Quinto might protest being pushed around by Dr. McCoy like a wind-up toy for most of the running time.
4. "Bread and Circuses": Yes, this episode was a little ahead of its time in portraying gladiatorial combat as a TV blood sport, but really, any segment that took place on a planet with a parallel Earth culture -- "A Piece of the Action" (Chicago gangster planet), "Patterns of Force" (Nazi Germany planet), "The Paradise Syndrome" (Native American planet) -- is asking for trouble. Put Pine and Quinto in togas or SS uniforms and prepare for a long summer of empty theaters.
5. "The Mark of Gideon": This is the one where Kirk wanders around a seemingly empty Enterprise and eventually comes across -- what else? -- a beautiful young woman. We never understood this episode and still to this day don't even know what the hell it's all about. All right, we did finally figure it out, but the whole thing seems unnecessarily complicated ... sort of like a new "Star Trek" movie that is just coming out this week.
"Star Trek Into Darkness" is out in theaters now.
Plus, a new Instagram account and a chance for fans to design their own Chapter 1
By Myriam Gabriel-Pollock Tue 7:28 PM
Lionsgate has debuted the first official poster for "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" on the new official Instagram for the film.The new poster features the tagline, "The sun persists on rising, so I make myself stand," straight from Suzanne Collins' pages.
Bing: More about 'Catching Fire' | More about Jennifer Lawrence
Compare this poster to the first official poster for "The Hunger Games"—there is quite a shift in atmosphere and attitude. The "Catching Fire" poster feels beautifully serene and yet, Katniss is quite alone. The clouds that appear as wings make her seem like an angel perched on a rock...or a mockingjay set to take off and change the world. The "Hunger Games" poster shows Katniss in her Games gear, surrounded by the Capitol audience; whereas the "Catching Fire" one features her in a natural landscape, far from humanity.
Thoughts on the poster? Share them in the Comments.In the meantime, Lionsgate is encouraging fans to design and illustrate the first chapter of "Catching Fire" for their chance to see their work featured on The Hunger Games' Facebook page. Drawings, photos, GIFs and video can be used in a multimedia piece inspired by the words of the book. Check it out here.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is out in theaters Friday, November 22.
Check out MSN Movies on Facebook or Twitter.
For more "Hunger Games" news, like the The Hunger Games on Facebook.
Speed, strength and the power of flight make Kal-El who he is
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Tue 4:43 PM

Three new "Man of Steel" featurettes focus on three of the most iconic aspects of Superman: his speed, his enormous strength and his ability to fly.
One thing that Superman fans want to see in the new "Man of Steel" is their hero being, well, Superman: using his incredible powers to battle forces that threaten the world he has sworn to protect.
Judging from the trailers we've seen so far, we'll be seeing plenty of that in the Zack Snyder-directed movie. This three short pieces -- while gifting us with more footage from the film -- focus on three of Kal-El's most famous powers and how they're utilized.
"Man of Steel" stars Henry Cavill as Superman, along with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane as Martha Kent and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White.
(via Superhero Hype)
Translate 41 different tongues into alien lingo
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Tue 4:32 PM

Starting today (Tuesday, May 14), you can translate the 41 languages supported by Bing -- Microsoft's Internet search engine -- into Klingon, the tongue spoken by the alien bad guys of the same name in "Star Trek."
The introduction of Klingon into Bing's translation service comes just as the latest film in the franchise, "Star Trek Into Darkness," is set to beam into theaters nationwide.
You can now take text from any of the 41 languages supported by the Bing translation service and change it into Klingon, just as things written in Klingon itself cam now be translated into more than three dozen Earth-based tongues (Full disclosure: Parallel Universe is also a product of Microsoft).
Microsoft engineer Eric Andeen happens to actually speak Klingon -- one of a small group of humans who do so -- and helped develop the translator for Bing. The original language was created by linguist Marc Okrand, who ran with it after hearing a few made-up Klingon words in the 1979 movie "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
Those words were spoken by late actor James Doohan, best known for playing the Enterprise's Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott, but who would also supply voices and lines for aliens from time to time. Okrand published "The Klingon Dictionary" in 1985, while other sites and organizations dedicated to Klingon language and culture have sprung up since them.
Bing director of communications Craig Beilinson said, "We have people who understand the deep science of linguistics and we also have people who are passionate about the Star Trek' franchise. This was a labor of love from a lot of different avenues."
The Klingons do appear in the new movie, and even have a few lines, so you might want to take the opportunity to brush up now and impress your friends by not having to read the subtitles!
"Star Trek Into Darkness" is out on Imax Wednesday, May 15 and in theaters everywhere Thursday, May 16.
Plus more on season finales for 'Doctor Who,' 'Supernatural' and others
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Tue 12:39 PM

The premiere season of The CW's "Arrow" comes to a close on Wednesday night (May 15), capping off what has been one of the most successful superhero launches on TV since "Smallville" first soared onto screens back in 2001.
For the uninitiated, "Arrow" is based on the DC Comic character Green Arrow, a billionaire playboy named Oliver Queen who, after being stranded on an island for five years, returns home to Starling City to fight crime as a masked vigilante with his chosen weapon of a bow and arrows.
When the show was first getting ready to launch, the advertising materials seemed to play up the hunkiness of star Stephen Amell -- often showing him shirtless and without a mask -- while downplaying the show's comic book origins, both of which irritated fans who thought their comic book favorite would be turned into another CW teen-angst fest.
And while "Arrow" does have its share of angst, it's of a more decidedly adult and, dare we say, dark nature, indicating that the show's creators and producers (Greg Berlanti, DC writer Marc Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg) have taken a hint from vastly popular comics interpretations like Christopher Nolan's Batman movies.
While "Arrow" is no "Dark Knight" -- and Oliver Queen is no Bruce Wayne, a problem that has plagued the character almost since he was introduced in 1941 -- the show has set a darker, more realistic tone while simultaneously introducing a slew of villains either loosely or directly based on bad guys from the DC rogues gallery. Enemies like Deadshot, Huntress, Count Vertigo, Firefly, Deathstroke, Brutale and the Royal Flush Gang have all shown up in some variation on their comic book personas, linking the show to the books with integrity and style.
Of course, if you've been watching all along, you know that Oliver has gotten closer to the details of the malevolent plot that involved the killing of his father (with Oliver himself as collateral damage on their sabotaged boat) and that the main operator behind it is the Dark Archer, aka Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman of "Torchwood"). With Merlyn now also knowing that Oliver is secretly Arrow, the stage has been set for the confrontation between the two that the entire first season has been building to -- and the title of the season finale, "Sacrifice," is all too ominous.
Whatever happens on Wednesday night, congratulations are due to the cast and crew of "Arrow" for bringing another DC character successfully to life on the small screen. It's strange how DC has fared well on TV (the Lynda Carter "Wonder Woman," "Smallville," various animated shows) and yet, with the exception of Batman and Superman, has been unable to get most of its characters into movie theaters.
The Season 1 finale of "Arrow" airs Wednesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.

The show will also introduce a new race of monsters known as the Whispermen as what happens threatens to destroy the Doctor's "past, present and future lives" with the asking of a question that should not be answered (the response is what the episode's title refers to). The show will also see the return of River Song (Alex Kingston) and Dr. Simeon (Richard E. Grant), and we'll also reportedly learn the secret of why the new companion, Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) is an "Impossible Girl" who should not exist.
Of course, the rumors are flying wildly that this finale will lay the groundwork for the big 50th anniversary special, scheduled to air on BBC One in the U.K. on Nov. 23 (no exact airdate for BBC America has been announced). It's already been confirmed that the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and his beloved companion Rose (Billie Piper) will appear in the show, with veteran British actor John Hurt set to play a major role as well ... but who or what is he playing?
There is a bizarre but fascinating rumor about Hurt's role in the 50th anniversary show over at Giant Freakin' Robot, but it's a huge spoiler, and if it's true, it has dramatic and controversial implications for the entire "Doctor Who" series. All we'll say is this (and stop reading here if you want no further hints): In this weekend's season finale, it may not be the name of the Doctor that is revealed ... but his number.
The Season 7 finale of "Doctor Who" airs Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BBC America.
"Supernatural" (Wednesday, May 15, at 9 p.m. ET on The CW): Oddly, the eighth-season closer of the little show that keeps chugging along has the same title as the "Arrow" finale: "Sacrifice." And with the Winchester brothers (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) trying to seal off hell, while others are taking on heaven itself, you know that title will end up meaning something.
"The Vampire Diaries" ends Season 4 on Thursday (May 16 at 8 p.m. on The CW) as the town of Mystic Falls is overrun with ghosts just in time for "Graduation" and the search for a cure to vampirism comes to a head.
"Beauty and the Beast" (May 16 at 9 p.m. on The CW) will close out its first season with "Never Turn Back," as Cat (Kristin Kreuk) discovers shocking secrets about her family's past, Vincent (Jay Ryan) faces his possible death and Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) takes steps.
"Bates Motel" (Monday, May 20, at 10 p.m. on A&E): The wildly successful "Psycho" prequel/reboot is riding strong ratings and positive reviews all the way to the finish of its 10-episode debut season, with a second one already on order.
"Grimm" (Tuesday, May 21, at 10 p.m. on NBC): The modern fairy-tale thriller brings its second season to a close with "Goodnight, Sweet Grimm," as Nick (David Giuntoli) investigates a series of mysterious assault and learns that Eric Renard (James Frain), brother of Capt. Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) has arrived in town.
More season finales to come in June!
Wachowskis' beautiful, baffling epic comes to Blu-ray
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Tue 12:33 PM

One of the most entertaining things about "Cloud Atlas," the film adaptation of David Mitchell's sprawling novel directed by Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, is the end credits where you get to see every character that each of the major actors in the film played. They all portray a minimum of five or six each -- some of them lead roles, others little more than background parts -- but there's undoubtedly a few where you sit there and say, "I didn't realize he/she was in that story too!"
Still, "Cloud Atlas" has to be commended for its sheer ambition (Mitchell's 2004 novel was considered one of those "unfilmable" books), its scope and its audacity in asking the audience to keep up with the way the film hopscotches from story to story -- an effect that can make even the viewer feel unstuck in time like Billy Pilgrim in Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five."
The movie also brought the Wachowskis -- whose last effort was the candy-colored fantasy "Speed Racer" in 2008 -- squarely back into a realm where they excel at world-building. While Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") handled the three stories set in the 20th century, the Wachowskis took on the 19th-century tale as well as the New Seoul and post-apocalyptic tales set in the far future and clearly felt at home there in a way they haven't since the original "The Matrix" back in 1999. We'd almost like to see a whole movie set in Neo Seoul, and we're glad that Lana and Andy are getting even more cosmic with their next film, "Jupiter Ascending."
If "Cloud Atlas" -- a gorgeous-looking film that also benefits greatly from its debut on Blu-ray -- is in the end emotionally unengaging, it at least provides an intricate maze of puzzles and clues that viewers can get swept up in intermittently. The bonus features on the Blu-ray -- including bonus features on the way the directors divided up their responsibilities, the way the stories link together, the science fictional aspects and more -- are diverting if unremarkable, a description that even its most scathing critics couldn't make stick to this impressive movie itself.
10 things you didn't know about "Cloud Atlas":
1. "Cloud Atlas" was shot at studios in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany, with location work done in Dusseldorf, on the Spanish island of Majorca and in the Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow -- the latter of which doubled for San Francisco.
2. While the all-star cast includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and Hugo Weaving, actors who were asked but did not join the movie included Natalie Portman, Ian McKellen and James McAvoy.
3. The Wachowskis and Tykwer almost had to abandon the project several times when financing failed to come through or was pulled at the last minute.
4. The film was financed and made without major studio backing, and its final $102 million budget made it one of the most expensive independent films ever.
5. The Wachowskis were first introduced to the book by Natalie Portman, who was reading it while starring in "V for Vendetta" (which the siblings wrote and produced).
6. Think following six stories is demanding? David Mitchell originally envisioned nine tales for his book, including a present-day one about a Korean rapper.
7. With Tykwer and the Wachowskis working separately on their segments, the three directors appeared together on the set only one day, and only because Tykwer's shoot was canceled that day.
8. The book tells half of each story first in order, then comes back around to the second half of each, while the movie jumps from story to story usually within the space of a scene.
9. All the major actors wanted to be in all six stories, and while some couldn't make it, Tom Hanks played one role for a total of 90 minutes just to get into one particular tale.
10. Yes, "Cloud Atlas" spans space as well as time -- but you have to see the movie to find out how.

Reboot of franchise turning into full do-over
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Mon 5:15 PM

There's been talk for a while now of reviving the "Gremlins" franchise via a sequel, but sadly -- in our opinion -- that appears to have devolved into plans for a remake.
According to Bloody Disgusting, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg are producing the project for Warner Bros. The initial idea was a sequel to the original 1984 movie (and its under-appreciated, totally bonkers 1990 follow-up, "Gremlins 2: The New Batch"), but now in typical fashion any idea of creativity has been thrown out the window in favor of a rehash.
There's no word yet on a director (we suppose original "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2" director Joe Dante won't be invited to the dance), or whether Grahame-Smith will write the picture too. We kind of hope he doesn't.
Why? Well, while we have not read his books "Pride and Prejudice with Zombies" and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," we do know that Grahame-Smith wrote the screenplay for the pretty lousy 2012 movie version of the latter. He also wrote the horrific script for last year's unwatchable "Dark Shadows" remake from Tim Burton. In Hollywood logic, that should automatically qualify him to write a remake of one of the 1980s' most beloved horror comedies, right? (He's also written a yet-to-be-filmed "Beetlejuice" redux and has done some work on the new "Fantastic Four" script.)
Make no mistake, "Gremlins" is beloved, partially because the creatures, brought to life by puppetry and animatronics, had such a handmade charm to them while also being thoroughly creepy. We have no doubt that all that will be replaced by CGI in the new film.
In case you don't recall, the story centered on a teenager (Zach Galligan) whose father brings home a cuddly but mysterious pet called a Mogwai. There are three rules one must follow when it comes to taking care of the little critter, and when those rules are disobeyed, all hell breaks loose.
Will the new version keep the fairly nasty tone of the original? Who knows? Just thinking about this makes us tired.
What about you? Do you think remaking "Gremlins" is a good idea? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
Follow Don Kaye on Twitter @donkaye.
Paul Giamatti is one very angry villain
By DonKaye_ParallelUniverse Mon 2:44 PM

A fistful of new set pictures have surfaced from the set of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2,"giving us our first look at the villainous Rhino as played by Paul Giamatti.
The whole thing got started with this photo of Russian criminal Aleksei Sytsevich (Giamatti), tweeted by director Marc Webb himself:

Then these surfaced, showing Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield) rescuing a man and a little girl from a falling bus, possibly after it was rammed by a truck driven by the Rhino -- who looks mighty furious and dangerous in some additional shots (via Collider):



And finally, here's Spidey (and that is apparently Garfield doing his own stunts) getting all up in Sytsevich's grill -- literally (via io9):


Now the big question is, are we seeing a new, more "realistic" version of the Rhino, or will he eventually end up in some iteration of his famous suit from the comics?

We will venture to say that Giamatti already looks perfect as the "human" Sytsevich -- but if he somehow goes full Rhino (through generic experimentation, maybe?), this "Amazing Spider-Man" could already be way better than the first.
What do you think of Paul Giamatti as the Rhino? Tell us on our MSN Movies Facebook page and on Twitter.
Follow Don Kaye on Twitter @donkaye.
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