Cool News

When it comes to movies, I listen to four sources. First, my friends, since I have a decent sense of what sort of movies they like, and I can discern from conversation whether or not I'd like the film. Second, Rotten Tomatoes, because I think it's a good (although not perfect) barometer of a movie. The last two are the only two critics I really listen to. The first (or third by the first method of counting) is Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, although if I already want to see a movie I generally don't read his full review, since he usually gives away more spoilers than I like. The last is Harry Knowles of AICN. I don't have the breath of movie experience that he does, but I've found that a thumbs up from him is a pretty good indication that I'm going to enjoy a movie.

I am therefore understandably new excited about MI: 3. It was reviewed by Harry a few days ago, ago and received an ethusiastic endorsement. Harry compared it to True Lies, which to me is, along with The Rock, one of the best action/comedies to come out in the last 10 years. Now MI: 3 is the directorial debut of J.J. Abrams, the creator of Alias and Lost, the later being the best show on tv. So we know the director has some serious skills. Harry compared MI: 3 to True Lies because, as he said, "Had scene after scene [of True Lies] not been hit with jokes throughout... well, it would have been amazing [as a serious spy flick]. It would have been... Mission Impossible 3." By the way, those ellipses are his, not mine.

So now, where I was merely interested in seeing MI: 3, since the first two were either headache-inducing or vapidly soulless, I am now officially excited.

And today, I got more officially excited. Not about MI: 3, but about Star Trek. Because the next movie has been announced for 2008. And directing will be none other than the same J.J. Abrams. And who will the movie feature, you ask? There's no current Trek series. The TNG crew is getting older and don't fit into their uniforms as well as they used to (as we saw in the Enterprise finale). No, instead JJ will get the reins on a couple of guys named Kirk and Spock, and will detail their meeting at Starfleet Academy and their first space mission. Recasting the two seminal characters of classic Trek will be tricky, but if I was going to put anyone in charge, it'd be the guys who produce Lost (because, at this point, I'm ready to put them in charge of just about everything). And how much do you want to bet we get to see Nimoy and Shatner in space garb one more time?

Just one more reason why Lost is the greatest show ever: it gets its incredibly talented creators jobs like this.