John Bowman

Despite being a certified geek, with an over abundance of Star Trek trivia rattling around my head, I had no interest in seeing the new film. I love science fiction (and always had a soft spot for Star Trek), but the franchise had lost its way and I had no interest in having dinner with an ex-girlfriend just for old times sake.

So it was out of pure boredom, and a significant amount of indifference, that I checked out the iPhone version of Star Trek Countdown; the official comic book prequel to the movie.

Having lost interest in the franchise I had paid no attention to the movie hype. Sure, I knew new actors would be playing the original characters in a prequel to the television series. I also knew that Leonard Nimoy had been signed on to play Spock. Considering how badly the franchise had been previously handled, I made the assumption that it was going to be some cheesy flashback. So I was intrigued to learn the major villain is a Romulan miner from the future.

Countdown is apparently set years after the last “Next Generation” movie. Spock is still living on Romulus, Data is the captain of the Enterprise, Picard is the Federation ambassador to Vulcan, Geordi is retired and Worf is a general in the Klingon Empire.

Once again the universe is in danger and once again it’s up to Spock and the crew of the Enterprise to save the day. During the crisis Nero looses everything that means anything to him. He becomes obsessed with revenge, blaming Spock for his circumstances (yes, think Kahn and Kirk). His mining ship is refitted with Borg technology and he sets out after Spock. Needless to say he doesn’t succeed, but instead gets sucked into a singularity along with Spock. Apparently this will throw Nero and his ship back in time to take up his revenge with a young Spock and Kirk.

Now obviously the movie is trying to restart the franchise, but with the time traveling Nero they have the option of not just a recon but a complete reset. After all with time travel comes the possibility of alternate timelines. On one hand they can start all over without being tied to pre-established Star Trek “history.” On the other hand it could be perceived by the fans as making the original series and all subsequent spin-offs null and void. Considering Star Trek has always been a continuity nightmare I’m not sure fans will care, or even notice, if it’s a full restart.

Personally I think it’s a bold move and good one for the future of the franchise. Which leaves me thinking I will try one more time to rekindle my relationship with Star Trek; just for old times sake.

With the Green Lantern live action movie so far away (it has a current release date of December 10, 2010), the only news at this point is casting rumors. In the meantime, DC Universe has moved up the release of Green Lantern: First Flight to July 21, 2009. Green Lantern: First Flight is the fifth straight to DVD animation movie by DC Universe.

I’ll admit, in the past I’ve identified with Peter Pan. And yes, others have even compared me to Peter Pan; both in positive and negative ways. However after watching the new Tinker Bell movie I can proudly say, I am Tinker Bell.

The new movie is part of the Disney Fairies franchised launched in 2005 and provides the origin of Tinker Bell, who of course is a Tinker Fairy named Bell. This actually goes back to J. M. Barrie’s original work. Barrie described Tinker Bell as a fairy who mended pots and kettles (a tinker). The movie expands on that simple concept.

You see, each fairy has a specific talent that is determined when they spring into existence; Tinker Fairy, Animal Fairy, Garden Fairy, Light Fairy, Water Fairy, etc. The fairies use these talents to bring the various seasons to the world. That’s right, without fairies there wouldn’t be a change of season. So for each season a wide range of nature talent fairies leave Pixie Hollow and go to the main land, bringing the appropriate new season to the world. Naturally Tinker Bell is enticed by the stories on the main land and can’t wait to go.

Unfortunately Tinker Fairies don’t go to the main land, only nature talent fairies. After all, Tinker Fairies are responsible for making and fixing things so why would they leave Never Land. They create items and devices to help the other fairies. They are the production fairies of Pixie Hollow.

After accidentally ruining months of preparation for spring, Tinker Bell uses her abilities to create new devices out of “lost things” (random items from the main land washed up on Never Land) to redo all the work in just one day. Talk about your process improvements.

The movie of course is about Tinker Bell realizing her talents as a Tinker Fairy and becoming happy with her abilities and herself. However I couldn’t help seeing this as a story about production in a creative environment. It demonstrates the importance of process and production regardless of the endeavor. Finally a children’s movie that I can get behind.

The Watchman court date has been set for January 6. This is earlier than either side was planning on. No change yet announced to the Watchman release date of March 6. Judge Gary Allen Feess indicated the case was too complicated to provide Fox with a preliminary injunction. So, we’ll have to wait at least a few more months to find out how all this will affect the release.

This has been brewing for a while, but I ignored it until it hit the New York Times. 20th Century Fox filed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers back in February claiming they still own the rights to Watchmen. Basically, this means the release date for Watchmen could be pushed back while the two companies fight it out. With all the hype surrounding this movie it amazes me that 20th Century Fox didn’t intervene long ago. The fact that they didn’t step forward earlier is part of Warner Brothers defense argument.

New Watchmen movie posters were revealed last week at Comic-Con. The posters clearly mimic the original comic book covers from the 1986-1987 series. Like the comics, the movie takes place in an “alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society.”
Comic Book Resources has an article on it.