Is it Groundhog Day? No. April Fool’s Day? No. Just a regular Friday before the 4th of July, but I feel we’re experiencing something profound around us. It’s become official that every single toy and game we screwed around with in the 80′s is getting a movie adaptation.Taking a cue from “Sport Illustrated,” today’s sign of the apocalypse: Viewmaster.

That’s right, that red plastic binocular-looking device with the orange handle that you’d look through and view a little circle of stills, like a revolving slideshow. That’s the Viewmaster. That’s being made into a movie somehow.

Brad Caleb Kane, a writer for “Fringe” confirmed via his twitter account (this is ours) that he is writing the script for DreamWorks, to be produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). He said it would be in a similar vein to Goonies and Young Sherlock Holmes. I’d imagine that means it’ll be something like a kid picks up a magical Viewmaster and every time he flicks the handle down it transports him into that image.

Okay, so that’s being made. I wonder how long it’ll take before the duel franchise of My Buddy and Kid Sister combine like The Avengers. Can’t wait.

Of course, this announcement reminds me of this video I saw the other day that’s very relevant to the topic at hand. Peep it.

Question for you: Can’t we just play with Teddy Ruxpin instead?

When Tranformers was released in 2007, it ended up being the highest grossing blockbuster of the year.  That’s not surprising, as it was based off a very popular toy line and an animated TV show.  Director Michael Bay, like J.J. Abrams of Star Trek, didn’t borrow too heavily from the show and come up with his own vision of Transformers.  He made it appealing to everyone so no one would have to watch the show to understand the movie.  The essence and concept of Transformers was there, but Bay turned it into something completely original.  The movie also turned Shia LaBeouf into a superstar and made Megan Fox a pin-up goddess for essentially every male.  Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen will be the follow-up to the hugely successful Transformers.

Autobot Olypmics - Floor Exercise

Most of the actors reprise their roles from the first Transformers (one notable exception being Jon Voight as Defense Secretary Keller) and the basis of the sequel follows the events of the first film.  Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), world savior from the evil Decepticons, is getting ready to attend college under the watchful eye of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the rest of the Autobots. Before leaving, he must say goodbye to his friend/car Bumblebee (Mark Ryan) since incoming freshman are not allowed to drive cars on campus. Naturally, Bumblebee takes it hard and cries windshield wiper fluid.  Another person he must say goodbye to is his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), whom can’t afford to go to college with Sam.  She instead takes up work at a motorcycle repair shop. Sam’s parents Ron (Kevin Dunn) and Judy (Julie White), who now know about Bumblebee and the Autobots, drop Sam off at college and plan for a vacation in France. At college, Sam discovers a small piece of the Allspark, which gives the Transformers life.  He soon begins to have visions of symbols and starts to draw them everywhere.  Optimus Prime approaches Sam about his visions and says there may be a new Decepticon threat to Earth.  Since Decepticon Starscream managed to escape in the first movie, he brings back more reinforcements to Earth to revive their leader, Megatron, and find Sam and his Allspark.  Sam seeks the aid of Reggie Simmons (John Turturro), a now off-duty CIA agent who worked on the secret government project that held Megatron captive in the first movie.  Simmons, who is working at his mom’s deli, tells Sam that the images he is seeing are identical to markings found in ancient ruins around the world.  Sam discovers these ancient symbols may reveal the true origins of the Transformers.  He must find the ancient symbols and avoid capture by the Decepticons, who want to extract information from him.

Michael Bay, who directed the first Transformers, will return for this one. Writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman have come back to write the script, along with Ehren Kruger (The Ring).  With the same director and writers returning it can be expected this film won’t stray too far from the original’s formula.

This scene guest-directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Since I enjoyed the first Transformers, I’m sure I’ll feel the same about this one.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen may be one of the most anticipated movies of the summer and this will undoubtedly score huge at the box office.  Let’s just hope it doesn’t suck like most sequels tend to do.

Transformers:  Revenge of the Fallen opens June 24^th.

Thank you J.J. Abrams for not only meeting my expectations with Star Trek, but also surpassing them.  You are now the saving grace behind the franchise and you gave it a much-needed dose of adrenaline.  Through all the years that I’ve liked Star Trek, I’ve never experienced a mass communities excitement over a new film set in that universe.  Usually people would mock it and often associate its fan base with being “nerds” or “dorks.”  Especially in the past seven years, Star Trek was at a low point.  The last film, Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) was the lowest grossing film of the franchise and its last remaining TV Show, “Star Trek: Enterprise” was canceled in 2005. There was little interest by the public and it appeared Star Trek would just be a celebrated franchise of the past.  Thanks to director Abrams, I can now (for the first time) talk about Star Trek with anyone and not feel embarrassed about it.

I loved this movie. Loved it.  I’m perhaps saying this because I’m a huge fan, but anyone will enjoy this.  This Trek takes a different approach, by making the characters more human than before.  Abrams (not a “trekkie,” but actually a Star Wars fan) had the right idea by taking the characters of Kirk, Spock etc. and focusing on their younger lives, before they joined Starfleet.  We are already familiar with these characters and we get a chance to see them when they were young, reckless, inexperienced and only on the verge of greatness.  Of course, how can younger audiences be familiar with these characters when they weren’t exposed to the shows? Easy, Abrams plays it loyal to the original show, but starts from the beginning of everything so we become familiar with the characters at the start of their lives. We all start from the beginning.

When a Starship named the U.S.S Kelvin is investigating a strange black hole, it’s mysteriously attacked by a huge ship coming from the hole.  When the Kelvin asks the mystery ship about the unprovoked attack, they respond by asking the captain, Richard Robau (Faran Tahir), to come aboard.  Robau meets Nero (Eric Bana), a Romulan miner bent on revenge. Robau is unfamiliar with Nero’s questioning and is killed as the Romulan ship continues its attack on the U.S.S. Kelvin. The acting captain, George Kirk, takes control of the Kelvin and orders the evacuation of the ship, including his pregnant wife.  When his son is born during the evacuation, he names him James Tiberius Kirk.  Kirk Sr. collides with the Romulan ship on a suicide mission to give the rest of the crew time to get away.  It’s revealed that the Romulans were accidentally sucked into the black hole while their home world, Romulas, was destroyed by a supernova. The Romulans, who were from the 24^th century, realize they’re 154 years in the past and can’t get back. Before the time warp, Nero was seeking revenge on Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) after he failed to save Romulas.

"Westsiiide...I mean, live long and prosper."

Twenty years after the Kelvin attack, an older Kirk (Chris Pine) is convinced by Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) to join Starfleet. Spock (Zachary Quinto) also joins Starfleet because he doesn’t feel fully accepted by the Vulcan culture, since he’s half human. While at Starfleet, Kirk meets and befriends Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban) and Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana).  After beating the impossible Kobayashi Maru test (a Starship bridge simulation test), Kirk is accussed of cheating (which he did) by Spock (who programmed it) and must stand before the Academy to await his punishment.  This is one of the few times where Abrams actually references an older Star Trek movie, which talked about Kirk cheating the Kobayashi Maru in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. During the hearing, Starfleet receives a distress call from Vulcan (Spock’s home world) that they’re under attack from an unknown ship.  Kirk is suspended indefinitely and the rest of the cadets are rushed into action aboard the brand new U.S.S. Enterprise (which hasn’t even had a maiden voyage). Kirk, wanting to get into the action, becomes a fake patient of McCoy’s and he manages to sneak aboard the Enterprise.  While on board, Captain Pike discovers Kirk and promotes him to first officer, since he had a terrific tactical record at the Academy. Spock is also promoted to captain in case something ever happens to Pike.  Kirk recognizes the similarities between the attack of the Kelvin and Vulcan and warns the crew that the Romulans are behind it.  The Enterprise must travel to Vulcan to stop the attack during which Kirk and Spock are uneasy with each other.

Star Trek will certainly rank at No. 2 on my “From First to Worst” list of the Star Trek films.  It is also the first Star Trek movie to features the Romulans as the principal antagonists, despite them being the longest running de facto alien villains of the TV series.  I was really impressed with Eric Bana as Nero. You feel for him, but also hate him at the same time.  Chris Pine is a good Kirk and didn’t do any William Shatner impressions. I can’t say he’s better than Shatner, but we’ll see over time, as he develops the character in future reprisals.  He portrays Kirk on a new level and it’s good to see the character young again, not an overweight captain who wears a “Go Climb a Rock” t-shirt (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier).  Karl Urban is eye-popping as McCoy.  Not only did he quote famous lines like “God damn it Jim,” but he also has the same speech delivery and body mannerisms as the original McCoy, DeForest Kelly. Urban did mimic Kelly, yes, but did it so well that it works in his favor.  He was very funny and definitely one of the brightest parts of the movie.  The best performance, however, goes to Zachary Quinto as Spock.  He looks like a younger Leonard Nimoy reincarnated, but plays it better than Nimoy ever has. Quinto’s Spock is a lot darker and edgier, which easily makes him the most interesting character.  Nimoy returns as an older Spock (Spock Prime) and I got chills when I saw the legendary character return to the big screen.  Nimoy plays Spock as cool and intellectual as ever and I was glad Abrams made him a major character and didn’t reduce him to a stupid cameo. Simon Pegg as Scotty and Anton Yelchin as Chekov also provide the movie with some humor. I did, however, think Zoe Saldana’s portrayal of Uhura is weak, as it’s forced and actually made her come across as a bitch.

The effects are good (provided by Industrial Light and Magic), but the true visuals were the actors.  They made us fall in love with the characters all over again and even improved on some of them, mainly Kirk and Spock. Abrams focuses on the most important element of Star Trek, the characters, and it paid off.  Yes, it’s an action-oriented Star Trek and it has mind-blowing special effects, but it’s the characters that ultimately draw us in.  Once again, thank you J.J. Abrams for making a once proud franchise, proud again.

I’m so excited for Star Trek. I’m a self-admitted fan and have attended “Star Trek” conventions in the past. I’m only a causal “Trekkie,” however. I’m not someone who dresses like a Star Fleet officer or gets married in Klingon make-up. I’m sure the others from The Film Nest ranks will not show the same love for Star Trek as I do, but hopefully they will boldly go where no non-Star Trek fan has gone before by seeing this movie. I was a huge fan of the Star Trek “Original Series” (William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, etc.) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, etc.).

"I'm so hard, I leave my coldsores untreated."

Gene Roddenbarry originally created “Star Trek” as a sci-fi TV show in 1966. It only lasted three seasons and it was then cancelled. The show, thanks to reruns, gained a huge cult following and it ended up spawning an animated series, four additional TV series and ten movies. Star Trek will be the eleventh feature of the series and it will be one of the rare times I will favor a “reboot.” I’m glad J.J Abrams decided go back to what originally made “Star Trek” famous, with Captain James Tiberius Kirk, Spock. McCoy, Scotty, etc. I hope (I’m sure Abrams and the studio are thinking the same thing) it will reintroduce Star Trek to a whole new audience.

Star Trek will follow the early lives of James Kirk (Chris Pine, Smokin Aces) and Spock (Zachary Quinto, “Heroes”) before they joined Starfleet Academy. When a rebel Romulan (pretty much looks like a Vulcan, pointy ears) named Nero (Eric Bana, Munich) comes from the future to destroy the United Federation of Planets, the young crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to intercept him. Following Nero from the future is an older incarnation of Spock (Leonard Nimoy, to bring the reboot credibility) to help assist the inexperienced team. Star Trek will feature how Kirk assumes command of the Enterprise as captain. The movie also explains Kirk’s father’s (Chris Hemsworth) role in Starfleet, something the Star Trek series hasn’t really touched upon.

It's freaks like this that probably turned people off to the "Star Trek" universe in the first place.

Star Trek is directed and produced by J.J Abrams, who also directed Mission: Impossible III and produced Cloverfield. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who both collaborated on such movies as Transformers and Mission: Impossible III, wrote the screenplay. I feel relieved these two have given this movie justice by bringing back the old costumes and staying faithful to the “Star Trek” story.  The rest of the cast comprises of Scotty (Simon Pegg, Shaun of the Dead), Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban, Lord of the Rings), Uhura, (Zoe Saldana, Vantage Point), Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin, Alpha Dog) and Hikaru Sulu (John Cho, Harold and Kumar).

I’m stoked about this movie after seeing the excellent trailer. I’m sure thousands of Trekkies will flock to see this, but I think that someone not familiar with Star Trek whatsoever will enjoy it as well.  This could possibly be the best Star Trek movie to date.\

Star Trek opens May 8^th.

Another day’s worth of film news for you from around the globe.  Let us know what intrigues you the most and enjoy.

[Cinema Blend] reveals that Leonardo DiCaprio is going to be a fighting killer in Button Man which is adapted from a comic strip.  A refreshingchange of pace for Leo it sounds like.

[Screenhead] dishes on Tobey Maguire pushing it to The Limit (not like the Scarface song), as a race car driver in a movie will both star in and produce.

Rob Zombie gives [MTV] the details of his Tyrannosaurus Rex, an “incredibly violent 70′s action movie. Not a horror film.” Think Raging Bull, I suppose.

The Scarlett Letter retelling has Emma Stone leading the cast in what is currently titled Easy A.  Not to be confused with Eazy-E, the late deceased rapper. [Collider]

Now, we might not be able to call the Karate Kid remake, a remake after all, since it the Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith starrer has a new title, The Kung Fu Kid.  Those crazy Hollywood producers have me fooled now. [Screenrant]

We missed last week’s [Entertainment Today and Beyond] blog dish on Tony Scott’s new Unstoppable movie.  It’s an action movie on a train and with action being Scott’s specialty, expect a big name to star.

Jonathan Levine, The Wackness director has a new project in The Sitter, an update of sorts on the “classic” 1987 pic Adventures in Babysitting. [The Moving Picture]

“An All New World Awaits” for James Cameron’s Avatar and [Filmonic] has some coverage on film coming to IMAX later this year.

Paul Bettany will star in Priest, based on a Korean comic-book which melds the horror and Western genres. [Superhero Hype]

Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, co-writers of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, have a lot to say to [Sci-Fi Wire] about the robots in the movie and Leonard Nimoy voicing one of them.