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Trailer Time: The Wolverine
A brand new trailer for The Wolverine just dropped and it’s fair to say, this looks fantastic. Plus, non-spoiler alert, look who has a cameo!
Check it out below and let us know what you think.
The Wolverine is in theaters July 26th.
R.I.P. Ray Manzarek
I am absolutely stunned to learn of the passing of Ray Manzarek, keyboardist of The Doors. Manzarek passed away from cancer in a German hospital this afternoon. He was 74 years old.
I bought a keyboard last year. One of the first songs I tried playing was The Doors’ When The Music’s Over. A few days ago I bought the great new Doors app, created by Elektra records founder Jac Holtzman. This morning I imported all my Doors studio albums into iTunes. And now I found out that Ray has died.
I saw Ray and Robbie Krieger with Stewart Copleand and Ian Astbury over a decade ago. It was amazing hearing those songs played by two of the architects. If you grew up on classic rock, you probably loved The Doors at one point. They were a right of passage for all of us. And it was Ray Manzarek who helped perpetuate the myth of Morrison and the band.
Raymond Daniel Manzarek. Born 2/12/39. What a wonderful musician. I hope he and Jim are finally reunited, hanging out on heaven’s beach, singing Moonlight Drive together. Rest in peace, Ray.
Biff Bam Popcast – The Star Trek Into Darkness Edition
Spoiler alert! The latest and greatest Biff Bam Popcast is up. In this edition, Glenn Walker, JP Fallavollita, Emily McGuiness, Jason Shayer and Andy Burns talk Star Trek Into Darkness, what we liked (lots), what we didn’t (more than we thought) and much more.
As well, we take a look at the gorgeous new IDW hardcover, Star Trek: The John Byrne Collection. As mentioned in the popcast, IDW continue to knock it out of the park with their licensed properties and this book is no exception. Take a look inside during the popcast and then order your own copy here.
Guest DJ Jae’s Stash of Wax – Long Weekend Listening
I’ve been hunting down records for years now and am stunned at the endless supply of amazing and sometimes forgotten music that’s still out there. You need to hear this stuff!
So allow me to share with you some old and new gems from my milk crates. The only thing that I ask from you is that you leave your musical prejudices behind and read on with an open ear.
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Guest Blogger JMT On Why We’re So Excited About Star Trek Into Darkness
At the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last weekend, I bumped into occasional BBP contributor JMT, and we got to talking about Star Trek and why so many of us are excited to the arrival of Star Trek Into Darkness. A few days later, this arrived in my inbox, and summed things up nicely! – Andy Burns
We at Biff Bam Pop enjoyed the JJ Abrams (gritty) reboot of the Star Trek franchise. The 2009 film was suitably rooted in Gene Rodenberry’s universe and conveyed all of the size and scale we were hoping for, from the shipyard on earth, to the reveal shot of the Enterprise docked at a truly massive space station.
The cast offered interpretations of character audiences were familiar with, rather than mere impressions of the original cast. Two hours of Chris Pine doing William Shatner would have been insufferable, even if Karl Urban, couldn’t help but impersonate Deforest Kelley at times.
The device that linked the reboot to the original franchise was elegant. It avoided becoming bogged down in a discussion of the mechanics of time travel and jumping between universes. Even the most cynical moviegoers could take pleasure in Leonard Nimoy’s role.
The many smaller nods to the original series (Kirk in bed with an alien, who’s costume consisted only of some poorly applied green paint), seemed sufficient to satisfy most trekkies, at least according the aggregate scores on Meta critic and IMDB.
The first film in a franchise is the easiest, with a tried and true structure to rely on. Act one is an origin story, act two shows the transformation into a realized hero and act three presents a threat for the hero to overcome. The second film in a franchise poses the difficult question: what now? Sequels often end up adding more to the original without expanding upon it.
However, the lack of a specific formula for a sequel presents an opportunity for filmmakers to tell a new story. We have seen how Abrams successfully wove two origin stories together within the context of the Star Trek universe, and we are intrigued by the possibilities of Abrams, unfettered by the constraints of a first film in a franchise, may deliver as a sequel.
If Star Trek Into Darkness turns out to be a standard sequel, more spectacular shots of space, more cameos from members of the original cast, more poorly costumed aliens (dare we hope for tribbles), we will be satisfied… at least until the trailer for the inevitable third film.
Star Trek Into Theatres – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
After a long wait, a new Star Trek instalment is on the big screen. Will the anticipation translate into dollars? Here’s our prediction.
To everyone except a vocal minority of fan boys who will still lay down their dough, the 2009 Star Trek reboot from J.J. Abrams was a huge success, bringing in the most money of all eleven films. Now, with a story shrouded in secrecy, the cast is back Star Trek Into Darkness, with a new villain in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch. There’s no question that film will claim the top spot this weekend, though it may lose out on a few bucks for its three-day total, since the film actually hit theatres this past Wednesday night. Regardless, with eager audiences and critical acclaim, Star Trek Into Darkness should bring in an amazing $90 million this weekend.
Find out how the rest of the weekend will turn out after the jump!
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Star Trek: The Visual Dictionary Is Great For A Growing Trekkie (or Trekker)
How do you make sense of more than 45 years of interstellar history, hundreds of alien races, spaceships, and crew members across various fleets of star crafts?
Visually, my friend, visually.
Iron Man Still Soars, Gatsby Surprises: Biff Bam Pop’s Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up Report
Despite lukewarm reviews, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby managed to exceed expectations this weekend at the box office. Here’s what went down.
While it didn’t receive much critical acclaim (par for the course with Baz Luhrmann films), The Great Gatsby had a fantastic opening weekend, bringing in a stellar $51 million. Audiences flocked to the visually stunning, 3D film (those higher prices definitely helped pad those numbers); we also can’t discount the ongoing popularity of Leonardo DiCaprio. While it has a way to go to make back it’s budget (estimated at over $100 million), I have a feeling that, based on this great start, the film could have some legs over the coming weeks. I know I want to check it out soon.
Find out how the rest of the weekend turned out after the jump!
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