Star Trek – Enterprise Royale or Captain Kirk Begins

The reboot era is a bittersweet thing.

I think, after Nemesis, and the unfortunate decline of interest in Voyager and Enterprise, that a reboot was the best choice for the Star Trek franchise…but unlike the Batman or Bond films, Trek is composed of various casts of characters in different timelines and separate storylines within the same universe. So, if The Next Generation cast happened to trip up a little on the big screen, does that mean we should start to mess with the classic first six films? On the other hand, maybe it would be good to revive interest in Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy for the Shia LeBeouf generation. You know…on the faint hope that at least a few of us will go back to look at the time when movies “weren’t dumb.”

J.J. Abrams’ interpretation of Trek actually addresses the issue of reverence to established continuity very cleverly, in my opinion. Star Trek XI is most definitely the 23rd century as depicted in the 21st, the age of the multi-million franchise blockbuster, post-Spiderman, post-Lord of the Rings, post-The Dark Knight. Kirk, Bones, Sulu, Uhura and even Spock are all more relatable to people who know what it’s like to feel chaotic, unfocused, and unabashedly emotional. There is something lost in this more frantic depiction of the Enterprise…attempts at complexity in the villain’s nature and gradually paced scenes meant to ponder some of the higher questions brought about by space travel…those got cut, if shot at all. But the movie does care about characterizing and it neatly builds many, many character moments in a thrill ride of epic proportions.

Bottom line: Star Trek was FUN. I think only the most stubborn and obtuse of Trek fans will fault the entire movie when comparing it to earlier installments. And I think plenty of Trek fans will like it a lot. Riker, as evidenced by his codename, is a Trek nut. And while he pointed out some of the breaks with prior Trek-dom, he liked the movie a lot.

Mainstream audiences will constantly be entertained without considering their intelligence blatantly insulted. The cinematography was definitely Cloverfield levels of shaky, but adrenaline seekers would definitely be pleased with the pace of the action. For all that could have been developed, much was well-established, and this is definitely an exciting start to a new chapter in a legend.

That’s in sum…Full Review onwards. SPOILER WARNING.

Before the title appears on screen, we are thrown into real, high-stakes action. This is the first sign that those who are highly susceptible with motion sickness might want to do some breathing exercises before watching the frenetic panning, cutting, swaying and zooming of the in-space camera. We see the birth of Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) as altered by the time-traveling, tattooed Romulan Nero.

Sometime after the events of prime Trek continuity, Romulus is destroyed by a supernova, leaving only a few Romulan survivors. Nero and his ship’s crew are miners who have lost their families. Maddened by grief, they follow Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy a.k.a. “Spock Prime”) through a black hole he created to try to swallow the supernova and save Romulus. They end up in the past, attack Federation ships, blow up Planet Vulcan, and alter the futures of Kirk, young Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the Enterprise crew.

In other words, this is like the Enterprise we once knew, but not. So, even though you may know if and when Kirk dies in the Trek history, this film starts a new, tangent Trek history where…well, Riker would stop me from saying anything is game, but things aren’t necessarily bound by continuity anymore. In this way, Star Trek manages to acknowledge and respect the world Trekkies have been documenting for half a decade, revisit great characters with a lot of potential and still have some creative freedom. It’s like a comic book retcon…but it actually works!

No need for those B.S. anti-Monitors here.

Less impressively, Nero is an unfortunately underdeveloped villain, especially considering he’s played with someone who I consider talented, Eric Bana. We get the vengeance and grief schtick, he’s channeling Khan, great, classic…but unlike Wrath of Khan, we don’t really get good “Nero” moments. He’s usually stalking around on his ship, sticking things in prisoner’s brains,  barking orders to destroy this planet or that planet and jumping from platform to platform like a tree monkey. I think even Shinzon from Nemesis got more unique villain moments than Nero did. He’s ultimately dismissed kind of brutally by Kirk after predictably refusing help…I feel bad that I don’t feel bad for the guy.

Luckily, the other characters are more than epic enough to fill the void left by Nero.

At its heart, Star Trek is about strong personalities coming together for the first time. Of particular focus is an initial rivalry between Spock and Kirk, an element I think was hinted at in the original series, but not fully explored. These two men are destined to be at each other’s sides, complementing each other in thoughts and battle, but Star Trek makes you worry that one might end up killing the other.

Pine excels as Kirk, emphasizing the rule-breaking and the womanizing. He borders on excessively in-your-face, but exudes enough confidence and ability that he’s forgiven for the fact that he apparently never got the memo that brazen insubordination rarely ends that well. He’s also almost unbearably smug as he exhibits lateral thinking at Starfleet Academy. In a stroke of genius on the writers’ part, Wrath of Khan fans will recognize Kirk’s approach to the dreaded Kobayashi Maru simulation.

I haven’t watched Heroes in a while, but Quinto appears more talented in the role of Spock than that of Sylar. He only manages to pinpoint the stiff logic of our favorite Vulcan in certain points throughout the movie, but he still is quite formidable when showing emotion, particularly in a scene where he’s kicking Kirk’s ass.

Crap, Jim, he's going to cut open your head!

Karl Urban makes a great Bones McCoy, channeling some of his great lines and intonations. His friendship with Kirk is believable and leads to one of the best sequences as he attempts to offset every “treatment” he gives to Jim. John Cho has a good combat scene as Sulu and Anton Yelchin creates a very endearing and prodigal Pavel Chekov. Appearing later in the movie, Simon Pegg steals every scene he has as Scotty and milks every comedic moment with energy. And finally for the dudes, Leonard Nimoy creates a welcome bridge from old to new, dropping many references to classic Trek.

BABEWATCH. Uhura! Daaaaaaamn. If you weren’t looking over at the communications corner in The Original Series, you might start now. Zoe Saldaña brings brains, body, and…..blistering compassion to the Enterprise’s communications officer. Notable scene: Kirk is (and thus we are) lucky enough to be hiding right when she comes in to her dorm room to change.

Sudden...and...irresistible urge to....pretend to speak Klingon...

All these characters get thrown together in somewhat unlikely happenstances of fate (or destiny) and the cast clicks. It’s an energy that may surpass that of the 60’s cast. And they need that energy too, because the plot begins to move at such speed that a few kinks in the narrative start to form.

The chain of  command at Starfleet is also laughably loose. Kirk is able to stowaway with ease and then, as a reward for his recklessness, gets promoted to first officer of the Enterprise, setting up his eventual coup. The movie seems to be underestimating its ability to introduce a plausible scenario. But at the same time, the movie doesn’t stray into pretention [not a word, but you get it]. There aren’t heavy-handed explanations for why things are happening, which, like it or not, is accurate for our generation. Things just happen.

It’s like Star Trek grabs you by the shoulders, slams you against the chair, growls menancingly, and tells you to sit back and enjoy it. And you do.

Though it injects some methamphetamines into the Star Trek formula, this prequel/reboot/sequel still provides an interesting look at leadership, courage and fate. Given that the movie had a lot to introduce, I look forward to seeing how Bad Robot handles the sequel in which, hopefully, they’ll have a little breathing room. But I think most people will walk away knowing that the franchise is in capable hands.

Even if the uniforms are kind of stupid-looking.

But what else is new?

9 out of 10 Tricorders.

Star Trek – Enterprise Royale or Captain Kirk Begins

The reboot era is a bittersweet thing.

I think, after Nemesis, and the unfortunate decline of interest in Voyager and Enterprise, that a reboot was the best choice for the Star Trek franchise…but unlike the Batman or Bond films, Trek is composed of various casts of characters in different timelines and separate storylines within the same universe. So, if The Next Generation cast happened to trip up a little on the big screen, does that mean we should start to mess with the classic first six films? On the other hand, maybe it would be good to revive interest in Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy for the Shia LeBeouf generation. You know…on the faint hope that at least a few of us will go back to look at the time when movies “weren’t dumb.”

J.J. Abrams’ interpretation of Trek actually addresses the issue of reverence to established continuity very cleverly, in my opinion. Star Trek XI is most definitely the 23rd century as depicted in the 21st, the age of the multi-million franchise blockbuster, post-Spiderman, post-Lord of the Rings, post-The Dark Knight. Kirk, Bones, Sulu, Uhura and even Spock are all more relatable to people who know what it’s like to feel chaotic, unfocused, and unabashedly emotional. There is something lost in this more frantic depiction of the Enterprise…attempts at complexity in the villain’s nature and gradually paced scenes meant to ponder some of the higher questions brought about by space travel…those got cut, if shot at all. But the movie does care about characterizing and it neatly builds many, many character moments in a thrill ride of epic proportions.

Bottom line: Star Trek was FUN. I think only the most stubborn and obtuse of Trek fans will fault the entire movie when comparing it to earlier installments. And I think plenty of Trek fans will like it a lot. Riker, as evidenced by his codename, is a Trek nut. And while he pointed out some of the breaks with prior Trek-dom, he liked the movie a lot.

Mainstream audiences will constantly be entertained without considering their intelligence blatantly insulted. The cinematography was definitely Cloverfield levels of shaky, but adrenaline seekers would definitely be pleased with the pace of the action. For all that could have been developed, much was well-established, and this is definitely an exciting start to a new chapter in a legend.

That’s in sum…Full Review onwards. SPOILER WARNING.

Before the title appears on screen, we are thrown into real, high-stakes action. This is the first sign that those who are highly susceptible with motion sickness might want to do some breathing exercises before watching the frenetic panning, cutting, swaying and zooming of the in-space camera. We see the birth of Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) as altered by the time-traveling, tattooed Romulan Nero.

Sometime after the events of prime Trek continuity, Romulus is destroyed by a supernova, leaving only a few Romulan survivors. Nero and his ship’s crew are miners who have lost their families. Maddened by grief, they follow Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy a.k.a. “Spock Prime”) through a black hole he created to try to swallow the supernova and save Romulus. They end up in the past, attack Federation ships, blow up Planet Vulcan, and alter the futures of Kirk, young Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the Enterprise crew.

In other words, this is like the Enterprise we once knew, but not. So, even though you may know if and when Kirk dies in the Trek history, this film starts a new, tangent Trek history where…well, Riker would stop me from saying anything is game, but things aren’t necessarily bound by continuity anymore. In this way, Star Trek manages to acknowledge and respect the world Trekkies have been documenting for half a decade, revisit great characters with a lot of potential and still have some creative freedom. It’s like a comic book retcon…but it actually works!

No need for those B.S. anti-Monitors here.

Less impressively, Nero is an unfortunately underdeveloped villain, especially considering he’s played with someone who I consider talented, Eric Bana. We get the vengeance and grief schtick, he’s channeling Khan, great, classic…but unlike Wrath of Khan, we don’t really get good “Nero” moments. He’s usually stalking around on his ship, sticking things in prisoner’s brains,  barking orders to destroy this planet or that planet and jumping from platform to platform like a tree monkey. I think even Shinzon from Nemesis got more unique villain moments than Nero did. He’s ultimately dismissed kind of brutally by Kirk after predictably refusing help…I feel bad that I don’t feel bad for the guy.

Luckily, the other characters are more than epic enough to fill the void left by Nero.

At its heart, Star Trek is about strong personalities coming together for the first time. Of particular focus is an initial rivalry between Spock and Kirk, an element I think was hinted at in the original series, but not fully explored. These two men are destined to be at each other’s sides, complementing each other in thoughts and battle, but Star Trek makes you worry that one might end up killing the other.

Pine excels as Kirk, emphasizing the rule-breaking and the womanizing. He borders on excessively in-your-face, but exudes enough confidence and ability that he’s forgiven for the fact that he apparently never got the memo that brazen insubordination rarely ends that well. He’s also almost unbearably smug as he exhibits lateral thinking at Starfleet Academy. In a stroke of genius on the writers’ part, Wrath of Khan fans will recognize Kirk’s approach to the dreaded Kobayashi Maru simulation.

I haven’t watched Heroes in a while, but Quinto appears more talented in the role of Spock than that of Sylar. He only manages to pinpoint the stiff logic of our favorite Vulcan in certain points throughout the movie, but he still is quite formidable when showing emotion, particularly in a scene where he’s kicking Kirk’s ass.

Crap, Jim, he's going to cut open your head!

Karl Urban makes a great Bones McCoy, channeling some of his great lines and intonations. His friendship with Kirk is believable and leads to one of the best sequences as he attempts to offset every “treatment” he gives to Jim. John Cho has a good combat scene as Sulu and Anton Yelchin creates a very endearing and prodigal Pavel Chekov. Appearing later in the movie, Simon Pegg steals every scene he has as Scotty and milks every comedic moment with energy. And finally for the dudes, Leonard Nimoy creates a welcome bridge from old to new, dropping many references to classic Trek.

BABEWATCH. Uhura! Daaaaaaamn. If you weren’t looking over at the communications corner in The Original Series, you might start now. Zoe Saldaña brings brains, body, and…..blistering compassion to the Enterprise’s communications officer. Notable scene: Kirk is (and thus we are) lucky enough to be hiding right when she comes in to her dorm room to change.

Sudden...and...irresistible urge to....pretend to speak Klingon...

All these characters get thrown together in somewhat unlikely happenstances of fate (or destiny) and the cast clicks. It’s an energy that may surpass that of the 60’s cast. And they need that energy too, because the plot begins to move at such speed that a few kinks in the narrative start to form.

The chain of  command at Starfleet is also laughably loose. Kirk is able to stowaway with ease and then, as a reward for his recklessness, gets promoted to first officer of the Enterprise, setting up his eventual coup. The movie seems to be underestimating its ability to introduce a plausible scenario. But at the same time, the movie doesn’t stray into pretention [not a word, but you get it]. There aren’t heavy-handed explanations for why things are happening, which, like it or not, is accurate for our generation. Things just happen.

It’s like Star Trek grabs you by the shoulders, slams you against the chair, growls menancingly, and tells you to sit back and enjoy it. And you do.

Though it injects some methamphetamines into the Star Trek formula, this prequel/reboot/sequel still provides an interesting look at leadership, courage and fate. Given that the movie had a lot to introduce, I look forward to seeing how Bad Robot handles the sequel in which, hopefully, they’ll have a little breathing room. But I think most people will walk away knowing that the franchise is in capable hands.

Even if the uniforms are kind of stupid-looking.

But what else is new?

9 out of 10 Tricorders.

Google Watch, Pakistan Watch, Kirk-Watch

All I have left is a judicial process take-home test, but it’s a doozy and my brain is dying.

So keeping it brief.

Google-Apple Monopoly Watch. Google CEO Eric Schmidt says it’s no big deal.

In a media session held Thursday before Google’s shareholders meeting in Mountain View, Schmidt said he hasn’t considered stepping down from Apple’s board because he doesn’t view the maker of the iPhone, iPod and computers as a “primary competitor.” He echoed that sentiment when a shareholder later asked him to step down from Apple’s board to avoid further government scrutiny.

…Walker told reporters that Google is “comfortable” that it doesn’t generate enough revenue in the same markets as Apple for Schmidt’s and Levinson’s dual roles on the companies’ boards to violate antitrust law.

Color me cynical. But I think antitrust laws are antitrust laws. They’re both tech. They’re both producing phones. It’s the principle of the thing. It sets a bad precedent. I think both these companies are good for the future of tech…they should set a good example.

Switching gears to Pakistan watch. Warring in the Swat Valley is producing thousands of refugees and people who are stuck in the middle of the violence.

A half a million people have either already left the Swat Valley and nearby districts or want to leave but can’t because of the fighting, Pakistani officials and the U.N. say, bringing the number of people likely to be displaced due to anti-militant offensives across Pakistan‘s volatile northwest region to 1 million.

..

Tens of thousands of people remain trapped in Mingora. Some have said the Taliban are not allowing them to leave, perhaps because they want to use them as “human shields” and make the army unwilling to use force.

“We want to leave the city, but we cannot go out because of the fighting,” said one resident, Hidayat Ullah. “We will be killed, our children will be killed, our women will be killed and these Taliban will escape.”

“Kill terrorists, but don’t harm us,” he pleaded.

Reading that gives me a pit in my stomach…I don’t feel good about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan at all. Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the U.S. have some sort of involvement in this fighting. I mean, it’s the Big Bad Taliban and part of Obama’s plan to “refocus” on Afghanistan. But if we’re getting civilians tangled up in this, what do you think that will do to the perceptions abroad that we’re supposedly trying to fix with this new administration?

Where do you think terrorists come from, anyway?

I have no problem with Pakistan taking control of its country. But you don’t make things more stable by killing your innocents. Being humane reaps a lot more benefits than merely a clear conscience.
—

Today’s controversy: Star Trek, which I am seeing tonight in Christiansburg. Since it’s not a real controversy, here’s a video from Not a real news network:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Movies in 2009 worth the inflating charge of admission

As if to shut me up, at about 10 or 10:30 this morning, it started snowing huge flakes in Fairfax, VA. I’d like to think this is a sign of hope for white winters in the swampland of DC, rather than a tiny tease for the purposes of climatic mockery.

Here’s a video I took, because, to me, snow in Northern Virginia is more monumental than Obama at George Mason University today.

—–

U.N. aid has stopped in Gaza because Israeli attacks resulted in death of their staff. I’m torn on this, because I understand the U.N.’s desire to keep its people safe, but I also find it kind of cowardly that they will let many civilians die immediately after suffering a loss. The militants won’t care if aid stops.

Yesterday, attacks from Lebanon opened up a northern front on Israel, provoking apocalypse watchers everywhere into a frenzy.

Over 708 dead. Over 3100 wounded.

—–
In other news, scientists are learning how to make small objects levitate, thus threatening the livelihood of street performers everywhere.

"Those scientists aren't going to be very happy when they find the Cheezits in their lab coats."

So I’ve been seeing a lot of “Top Movies to look forward to (or not) in 2009” lists, so I decided to take a look at some releases.

I’m going to divide these into two categories: Midnight Showing and Waiting for Netflix.

Which of these movies is going to result in multiple overpriced theater outings for you? Which movies did I miss? Click on each image for more info/trailers.

Midnight Showing – Watchmen – March 6

Okay, I admit, like the geek poser that I am, I have not yet read the graphic novel, though I have the best intentions to. This was a movie to which I was initially lukewarm, considering how it was lauded by its trailer as coming from the “lauded director of 300,” a movie I find insufferably overrated. But there’s so much riding on this franchise, that it seems like the filmmakers here have paid a lot of attention to detail, since they probably wouldn’t want to die at the hands of raging fanboys. Unfortunately, come time to see the movie, it’s very possible that some of the money I spend will go to Fox, who have so far successfully sued Warner Bros. for releasing a property which they “owned.”

Still, the fun here will be in going with a crowd that’s really excited to see the “greatest graphic novel of all time” get put on the big screen. I’m not coming in to it with Dark Knight level of expectations, since it IS Zack Snyder directing, but I expect it to be a lot of fun.

Waiting for Netflix – X-Men Origins: Wolverine – May 1

To my recollection, I actually liked The Last Stand. For an X-Men movie, it was suitably entertaining and stepped up the level of epic. The critical community panned it because praising superhero movies wasn’t cool yet and the geek community panned it because Colossus is supposed to be Russian or some other detail like that. The X-Men movies were never Fantastic Four levels of bad. They were adequate.

But my one major complaint with the whole thing was that they were all about Wolverine. Everytime. Without fail. I mean, look at what they did to Cyclops in Last Stand just to give Hugh Jackman more screentime. Executives decided that audiences just wanted to see more Wolverine…and so they come out with this movie.

Listen, I KNOW this story. You guys outlined it in X2. It’s nothing new. It’s nothing groundbreaking. And I’m tired of Hugh Jackman being tied up by these movies. He could do other stuff.

To be fair, the quality in the trailer looks above average. They’re even including Gambit and Deadpool. But I say to the X-Men franchise: you had your chance to use Gambit in a proper X-Men story. Couple this with the in-production Origins: Magneto and I’m going to start getting sick of X-Men. I say bow out for a few years and come back with new actors and less focus on the Canuck.

Midnight Showing – Terminator: Salvation – May 22

For some reason, I own T3…I acknowledge it is the worst of the three Terminator movies. But I liked the way it finally set the scene for the war alluded to in the first two movies. I mean…this is what people have wanted to see since James Cameron sent Arnold Schwarzenegger to kill Linda Hamilton in 1984. If this was merely T4 with the same or similar actors and a continued delay of Judgment Day, then I would give this movie a pass.

…And then they put Christian Bale in the movie. And it looks awesome.

Not even Charlie’s Angels director McG could ruin this.

Waiting for Netflix – Friday the 13th – February 13

After Jason X (Jason goes to space), I think the well of original ideas for Jason Vorhees was declared officially dry.

But then Rob Zombie came along and proved that you don’t need to have a modicum of original thought when rebooting classic slasher films. So I assume some executive pulled out his stack of Generic MTV-generation Slasher Film Scripts, changed about 8 pages and created this Friday the 13th reboot, which, judging by the trailers, is the same “Sexually Promiscuous and Ridiculously Good-Looking Teens Get Killed and Scream ‘Help Me!'” movie they’ve been selling to us for years.

You know, I might just order the original.

Midnight Showing – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – June 26

Unfortunately, the official site has squat on the new movie right now.

Laugh if you will, but the first Transformers was fun. It’s going to have a silly plot and bad dialogue, but it’s going to have more fighting robots. Plus they’ll have to explain how Sam Witwicky crushed his hand. Maybe an angry Barricade slammed into him while he was trying to look cool by hanging his hand out of Bumblebee’s window.

Plus I will never say no to Big Screen Megan Fox.

Waiting for Netflix – G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra – August 7

Continuing in the tradition of cashing in on 80’s toy nostalgia, G.I. Joe is coming to theaters this summer. Unfortunately for that franchise, Porkchop Sandwiches GTFO has completely ruined my ability to take it seriously.

The good news: Lost’s Adewale Akinnuoy-Agbaje is in it.

The bad news: Brendan Fraser is in it.

Pass.

Midnight Showing – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – July 17

First, I am very pissed at Warner Bros. for moving the movie that was supposed to be released last fall to this summer in attempt to pull in Dark Knight levels of profits.

However, the movies have been getting progressively better, so I was looking forward to this one. And then I saw the trailer…

And now I’m REALLY pissed that they moved it. This installment looks epic. They’ve reintroduced Quidditch, kept Luna Lovegood, aren’t shying away from the Ginny-Harry thing, have some seriously stylized flashbacks and it even look like they’ve done something that resembles original screenplay material and acting from Daniel Radcliffe.

…They’d better not pull this crap with Deathly Hallows.

Waiting for Netflix – Sherlock Holmes – November 20

I like Robert Downey Jr. I like Jude Law. I like Rachel McAdams. So the cast is solid. Except they’ve got the roles all wrong. Why is Kirk Lazarus playing Sherlock? Wouldn’t you go with THE BRITISH GUY to play one of the most iconic Brits of all time? Couple that with the fact that McAdams is playing Irene Adler, a character who is probably going to be merely used as romantic cash-in fodder and you’ve dashed my hopes for a cool adaptation. I understand people like Lock, Stock, and Snatch — but is Guy Ritche really the tone you want for the new generation’s Holmes? I just feel like it’s going to devolve into some cheesy action piece…which could be fun. I like Van Helsing and that did to Victorian-era horror what this movie is threatening to do to Arthur Conan Doyle’s work. But it’s not worth $11. And Holmes deserves a bit more.

Midnight Showing – Star Trek – May 8

Honestly, all they had to say was J.J. Abrams.

Even so, this reboot looks significantly epic. I wasn’t all that hot on revisiting Captain Kirk’s generation, but now, I’m actually kind of excited to have Kirks, Spocks, and Chekov’s for the 21st century. Plus, it’s got Simon Pegg, Harold from Harold and Kumar and Sylar from Heroes...

Okay, maybe Heroes isn’t the best indicator of quality. But then again, I liked Cloverfield. What do I know about quality?

This was another movie that got pushed from late 2008 to the summer, but it’s more summer in feel than Potter and I dished out my decades-old franchise money to Quantum of Solace…three times.

Be on the lookout for these movies too:

The Last Airbender (2010). Okay, to be honest, I know next to nothing about this other than it's supposed to be awesome. I might try to watch the series, becasue I'll need some incentive to see an M. Night Shyalaman movie. Also, James Cameron's Avatar (no relation) is finally coming out in December...but no one knows what that's about either.

Neil Gaiman's Coraline with Nightmare Before Christmas director - February 6

Where the Wild Things Are - October 16

Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Disney stupidly dropped this franchise right before what could arguably be the best book. The good news is Walden Media is going to keep trying to make it. The bad news: they might try to make it with Fox.

Thor (2010). Kenneth Branagh is attached to direct. When Shakespearean-trained thespians agree to direct comic book movies, you know they've made it big. This is another piece in the multiple-year set up for Avengers (2011).