Star Trek Into Darkness Review

As of this moment, I’ve already seen this movie twice because it’s that good. Star Trek Into Darkness is the best Star Trek movie I’ve ever seen and it is easily the best movie of this summer so far (sorry Iron Man 3 fans). I was fortunate enough to see the 3D press screening on Wednesday and I just had to see it in IMAX 3D so I took my Number One to see it at the Brenden Theaters IMAX at the Palms here in Las Vegas Thursday night and I am so glad I did. If you can see this movie in IMAX 3D, do yourself a favor and see it in IMAX 3D.

In between viewings I stopped by Cosmic Comics to pick up the official prequel trade, Countdown to Darkness, and enjoyed a quick read that gave me some insight to Spock’s (Zachary Quinto) mindset and the type of company that Admiral Alex Marcus (Peter Weller) keeps. It’s not essential reading for the mainstream fan, but fans of the Star Trek franchise should give it a read. It’s also kind of cool how in the movie Sulu (John Cho) references an event (the Mudd incident) that took place in the comic book prequel. If you’re in the Las Vegas area, you can pick a copy up at Cosmic Comics for $17.99 (pull box members get 20% off).

Before I get back to discussing this amazing movie, I should preface this with some information about me. I am a huge Star Trek fan, but I’m one of those people who likes Star Wars too. (Why should I have to choose?) My mother raised me on her VHS copies of TOS (that’s short hand for Star Trek The Original Series) and Star Wars (back then it was just called Star Wars not Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope); while other kids were watching Saturday morning cartoons I was watching Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) rescue Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) from “The City On the Edge of Forever” and dreaming of space travel on board the USS Enterprise. Some of my earliest memories are of when I was a toddler emptying out my toy box and making “alien terrain” in my bedroom, then climbing into my empty toy box to travel on away missions to the planet below. I was put to sleep during much of my early youth to the sounds of John Williams’ score coming from the small black and white television in my bedroom. Needless to say, my mother conditioned me from as far back as I can remember to love science fiction.

Based on all of that you’d think I probably loved the 2009 Star Trek reboot, but truth be told I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I didn’t buy Chris Pine as Kirk and while Zachary Quinto’s Spock looks amazingly like a young Leonard Nimoy, his voice was distracting to me for some reason. I didn’t much care for Nero at all and I hated that Vulcan was destroyed and Spock’s mother killed even though the movie was set in a parallel universe (click here or here or here and here for more info on that). Overall, I did like the movie and what it did for Star Trek as far as exposing it to a wider audience and finding large commercial success, but other than Karl Urban’s brilliant portrayal of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, it didn’t feel like the Star Trek that I grew up loving, even with the inclusion of Leonard Nimoy as “Spock Prime” (as he was credited). Also, the main theme to the 2009 Star Trek didn’t have any similarity to the original Star Trek theme by Alexander Courage or the updated versions of the Star Trek theme by Jerry Goldsmith or James Horner, at least not until the closing credits. That may seem petty, but I’m pretty damn sure the reason Star Trek: Enterprise failed was because it abandoned the orchestral score for that horrible “Faith of the Heart” song.

All of that said, I loved Star Trek Into Darkness. Before I saw this movie, my all-time favorite Star Trek flick was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which thanks to AMC Town Square 18 and MaximuM Comics I got to see on the big screen a couple of Saturdays ago. I say “was” because Star Trek Into Darkness is now officially my all-time favorite Star Trek movie. In 2009′s Star Trek, the stage had to be set as far as “How does this crew end up together earlier than the original timeline?” and “How does Kirk become the captain of the Enterprise so young?”; it had the burden of an “origin story” and Star Trek Into Darkness does not. In fact, the movie starts out with the crew of the Enterprise completing an away mission on the planet of Nibiru and in typical classic Star Trek fashion, pretty much all of the senior staff is on the away mission for some reason.

It’s not quite clear how long after the events of 2009′s Star Trek this takes place, but it has been long enough for Kirk (Chris Pine) to become quite the pain in Admiral Pike’s (Bruce Greenwood) ass while displaying to the top brass at Starfleet that he’s not quite ready to be a star ship captain after all through his blatant disregard for the rules and his reckless behavior. I really enjoyed the father/son relationship between Kirk and Pike and the character development that takes place at the beginning of the movie. I’ve been asked to keep the review on this site spoiler free, so I’ll just say that all the doubts I had about Chris Pine’s interpretation of Kirk are gone after this movie. Fueled by Pike’s belief in him, Kirk goes from a brash, reckless cowboy with a sense of entitlement to a captain who “respects the chair” and faces death bravely instead of cheating it at every chance he gets and Chris Pine plays the part wonderfully. There are two scenes especially that he’s extremely wonderful in and I swear I thought I’d never say that about him.

I also enjoyed Zachary Quinto’s interpretation of Spock this time around and while his voice still distracts me somewhat, the progression of the Spock character in this parallel universe is one I enjoy watching in Star Trek Into Darkness. There’s a scene near the end where Spock releases a scream that Shatner should approve of and loses control of his emotions. It could have easily come off as comical, but Quinto pulls it off. I also enjoyed watching the progression of Spock’s relationship with Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana). In 2009′s Star Trek their relationship was too “lovey-dovey” for me. This time around their relationship explores the strains that come along with one-half of the couple being someone who suppresses and hides their emotions and what that type of behavior would do to the other half. In fact, there’s a scene where Uhura and Spock have a lovers’ quarrel that Uhura drags Kirk into and it’s extremely entertaining to watch.

Star Trek Into Darkness does a wonderful job of focusing on the relationships between the characters much like the original Gene Roddenberry show and, in my opinion, has done the best job of any of the subsequent series at capturing the spirit of the original Star Trek. Even small exchanges, like the one between Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) and Lieutenant Sulu on the bridge after Sulu contacts John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) for the first time and Bones expresses his respect for Sulu or when Captain Kirk tells Ensign Chekov (Anton Yelchin) to put on a red shirt, reminded me of all the character relationships I loved so much in TOS. Scotty (Simon Pegg) even has a great scene where he’s drinking in a bar when Captain Kirk calls him; it’s just great.

On top of all of the great character interactions was the action and Star Trek Into Darkness has plenty of action. Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job as the movie’s main antagonist, John Harrison, and at one point in the movie he actually had me feeling sympathy for the character as he explained his motivations to Kirk. Of course I would later feel guilty over being played a fool when Harrison’s ripping people’s heads off and unleashing hell on the Enterprise with a really BIG damn ship (even though from movie posters and trailers alone I should have known better). For fans of the original Star Trek, the ending of Star Trek Into Darkness has all of the action and emotion of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but then after the emotional ride comes even more action. It was like everything I felt from watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but in one movie with modern day kick ass effects and action. For new fans of Star Trek, this movie is a worthy sequel as it is far superior to its predecessor in both story and action.

Enjoy the latest trailer below then do yourself a solid and go see Star Trek Into Darkness! (Preferably in IMAX 3D if you can.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ1qOs7jkIQ

Movie Description from Paramount:

“In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.”

Star Trek Into Darkness, directed by J.J. Abrams, is in theaters now and stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The post The Dork Knight’s Star Trek Into Darkness Review appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

Honesty time, I have never seen nor read anything Battlestar Galactica before. I didn’t jump on the hype bandwagon when the reboot tv show was exploding through the nerd circles, and I didn’t even stop and try the original 1978 series. So, I’m essentially running into this sci fi series blind.

Here’s what I can tell you. Humans on a giant warship conveniently called the Battlestar Galactica, fight for survival against a race of death machines known as the Cylons. There’s this really creepy smart kid who’s “wise beyond his years” who creates a “temporal warper”, an illegal weapon that essentially shifts time and space. If things went as planned, there would be no story. Take that as a hint hint for this first issue.

Cylons look like shiny stormtroopers with eyes that light up like Kit’s from Knight Rider. Human pilots wear helmets like Egyptian pharaohs, and their pet dogs look like furry robotic killing machines. These are all observations of course, it really takes nothing away from the story.

In the right audience, the audience that enjoys Battlestar Galactica, this book will probably meet their Galactica quota in the comic book department. For the Battlestar noobie like myself, I’m unsure if it will take us from Galacticant’s to Galacticans. Yeah I went there.

You can read more of Burke’s reviews over at nerdfarmblog.com, and be sure to pick up this book and plenty of others at Cosmic Comics! today!

The post Black Bear Beats, Battlestar Galactica. appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

Answer Star Trek Related Trivia Questions and win Star Trek Into Darkness promotional items. The Trivia questions will be posted on Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday May 15th starting at 12pm(noon)

First Person that answers the trivia question correctly in person at Cosmic Comics! will win! There will be a Prize Package* thanks to Paramount Pictures and Star Trek Into Darkness in theaters May 17th.

From Paramount Pictures

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

*prizes subject to change and avalibility

The post Star Trek Into Darkness Trivia appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

“Fight or Flight”

Who is X? Is he good? Is he bad? Is he even sane? These are the questions freelance journalist Leigh Ferguson is trying to answer, and now she’ll have her chance after the masked vigilante is dropped right into her lap.

Dark Horse Comics has brought back the merciless vigilante X from the grave, a resurrection of sorts. The character is still very much a mystery, with the majority of the first issue focusing on Leigh and a dirty Arcadia detective. You do however get to see some of X’s dirty work, very, very dirty work.

X is raw. X is gritty. X is a knife through a hand that’s followed by dismembering said hand. Eric Nguyen’s sketch-like art really grabs your attention, especially when dudes have holes in their chests and nails into their faces. These are only a few of the things you can expect to see in this rough book.

X is a very dark and graphic book, recommended for mature readers, and readers who enjoy the color of blood.

You can read more of Burke’s reviews at nerdfarmblog.com, and you can find X as well as other great Dark Horse titles at Cosmic Comics! Las Vegas!

The post X. appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

This is our last post before tomorrow’s big Free Comic Book Day 2013 celebration here at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas and it is looking to be the best one in town! Check out what all we have in store for you!

• Thousands of FREE Comic Books
• Iron Man #1 from 1968 and Tales of Suspense #50 Give-Away
  
• Costume Contests for Kids & Adults
• FREE Hourly Door Raffle Prizes ($50 minimum value) ALL Day Long
• Massive store-wide sale where everything (EXCEPT new comics) will be on sale from 20% to as much as 80% off
• HeroClix Demos with a FREE Marvel HeroClix: Iron Man 3 Movie FCBD Promo Figure
• Two Local Food Trucks
• FREE Movie Passes for Star Trek Into Darkness AND Man of Steel
• and last, but not least, Local Artists from the Artist’s Comic Collective, Dead Girls & Robots, and The 80s Kids will be at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas through out the day.

ACC Artists Free Isabelo (Avenger Red, The Cule), Dan Boldgett (Avenger Red, Frick, Frak, & Jack) Jay Savage (Blackline Comics), and Sarah Fong Darasouk from ONWARD! Comics will be here doing FREE sketches of your favorite comic book characters! You can also buy an AVENGER RED (locally produced comic by Onward! Comics) and have the creator and artists sign it!!!

In addition to all of that, The 80s Kids (prints available for purchase in our shop) will have a limited edition Iron Man print they made especially for us (check out the sneak peek to the right). The run is extremely limited and only ten will be available at the shop on FCBD 2013, but only a handful of those will be for sale, so be sure to show up in costume to get your raffle ticket for your chance to win! Whether you buy one or win one, have them sign your limited edition numbered print while they’re doing FREE sketches for those in attendance.

FCBD 2013 kicks off tomorrow morning at 9AM and runs until 8PM at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas. If you’re in the Las Vegas area come join us dressed as one of your favorite superheroes for a chance to win Iron Man #1 from 1968 and Tales of Suspense #50 from 1964 (The Mandarin’s first appearance). While you pick up a FREE sketch from one of our local artists, enjoy some good food from one of our participating food trucks, and take advantage of our huge store-wide sale.

If you haven’t already, RSVP on our Free Comic Book Day 2013 Facebook Event Page and as always, be sure to #getyourfix at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas!

The post Free Sketches From Local Artists at FCBD 2013 appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

Tomorrow’s the big day! Free Comic Book Day 2013 is upon us and fans of HeroClix are in for a real treat. All day long Cosmic Comics will have two tables for FCBD HeroClix Demos and every demo participant will receive a FREE Marvel HeroClix: Iron Man 3 Movie FCBD Promo Figure (while supplies last). Read below for more info on this Iron Man FCBD HeroClix Figure.

From Diamond Comics:
All of the excitement of Iron Man 3 comes alive on your tabletop with this all-new HeroClix Free Comic Book Day offering based on the newest Marvel movie blockbuster! The latest Marvel Comics movie thriller Iron Man 3 comes alive with this exclusive promo figure. Each Marvel HeroClix: Iron Man 3 Movie FCBD Promo Figure comes labeled in its own individual “FCBD 2013″ box complete with its Character Card for your convenience. This FCBD promo figure features an all-new dial designed specifically for this promotion.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to get into HeroClix with our upcoming New Guy Night HeroClix Demos & Tournaments to help ease you into the world of collectible miniatures gaming! The New Guy Night HeroClix Demo Series is the follow-up to the FCBD HeroClix Demo and is open to anyone interested in learning how to play the game of Heroclix.

The judges will teach players the basics of the game and get them ready to participate in the Fear Itself Organized Play Series starting in June where all participants will receive a Book of the Skull Resource Dial and the first Hammer of the Worthy that attaches to it.

To get started, new players should create an account and register for the event on the WizKids Event System (WES) at: www.wizkidseventsystem.com.

Free Comic Book Day kicks off tomorrow morning at 9AM and runs until 8PM at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas. If you’re in the Las Vegas area come join us dressed as one of your favorite superheroes for a chance to win Iron Man #1 from 1968 and Tales of Suspense #50 from 1964 (The Mandarin’s first appearance). While your here learn how to play HeroClix with your FREE Marvel HeroClix: Iron Man 3 Movie FCBD Promo Figure, enjoy some good food from one of our participating food trucks, and take advantage of our huge store-wide sale.

If you haven’t already, RSVP on our Free Comic Book Day 2013 Facebook Event Page and as always, be sure to #getyourfix at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas!

The post Get a FREE Iron Man HeroClix Figure at FCBD HeroClix Demos appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

A high end defense lawyer for the mob loses sight of whats right, then literally loses his eyes to the mob. Given a second chance with high tech eyeballs from a mysterious group, he’s now a vigilante for the good of the city, and driven by revenge.

Dynamite Comics has been unloading pulp comics by the truckload, and I’m beginning to lose track of what’s what. I originally really dug Masks, a book that includes the Black Bat, so seeing him in his own book was a welcomed invitation I gladly accepted. Unfortunately, now that I’ve read a lot of these pulp books, Masks, Green Hornet, The Shadow, The Spider, and Miss Fury, I’m beginning to notice how they all run the same gamut, Miss Fury being the exception since she deals with time travel.

The Black Bat though, lives in the comic book section of: Meh. I have no strong emotional feelings towards it, it simply exists. Guy has eyes black like a bat, fights the mob, rinse and repeat. The fortunate thing for The Black Bat, it has a storyline it can build itself upon, and if it maintains it’s course with Ronan Cliquet’s fine art, it’ll remain a favorite among pulp fans. If not, I can easily see it getting lost in the shuffle.

You can read more of Burke’s reviews at nerdfarmblog.com, and be sure to pick up tons of pulp Dynamite Comics with arrays of different covers at Cosmic Comics! today!

The post The Black Bat is not Batman appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

A few days ago I got to attend the screening for Iron Man 3 thanks to being an employee of Cosmic Comics! As I was leaving the theatre I heard the inevitable “It was nothing like the comics” which I admittedly have no bias to since I never really read much into the Iron Man mythos. But I learned quite some time ago these movies that come out based on books, comics, etc are really more so the interpretations of the producers and will never be exact to the previously told stories. In general to say something NEEDS to be exact to a comic isn’t exactly feasible… what arc? They all tell very different versions, nothing ever really remains the same in the comic universe.

That being said I personally loved this movie… it was heartfelt, which is not an opinion I had of the other two Iron Man flicks, in addition to, per normal action-packed. For the first time you see Tony Stark in a very different light, made more human and relatable by his love for Pepper, but still retaining his signature arrogant demeanor as well as showing weakness. Having anxiety issues and also showing the process of making the suits, and the glitches he experiences. The fact that everything he makes doesn’t come out perfect the first try is a new sight for these movies.…

Placed up against an enemy such as the Mandarin with no moral boundaries and on a very close to home front it shows his mettle tested at every turn. I was never left feeling like there was dead space during the build, the action to drama ratio was fairly even and each piece lead to the puzzle coming together. It was awesome to see Mandarin come to life on the big screen but Marvel and Shane Black really throws us through a loop with the movie twist!  Seeing Pepper save his ass definitely has it’s allure as well, since it’s no secret I dislike Marvel’s general mentality of girls needing a hero rather than being one themselves, especially since there are plenty of strong female heroines in the universe (which even though it wasn’t really, it was a nice hint at Rescue). The final battle is a little over CGI for my preferences but that is really my only complaint.

- Natalie

Be sure to check out our resident “Dork Knight’s” review as well.

Marvel Studios presents Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley opens in theaters on Friday, May 3rd (the day before Free Comic Book Day) in 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Don’t forget that this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day and it kicks off at 9AM and runs until 8PM at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas. If you’re in the Las Vegas area this Saturday, May 4, 2013 go to Cosmic Comics dressed as one of your favorite superheroes for a chance to win Iron Man #1 from 1968 and Tales of Suspense #50 from 1964 (The Mandarin’s first appearance), enjoy some good food, and take advantage of  their huge store-wide sale. In the meantime, RSVP at Free Comic Book Day 2013 Facebook Event Page and as always, be sure to #getyourfix at Cosmic Comics in Las Vegas!

The post Natalie’s Iron Man 3 Review appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

Contest rules for FCBD 2013

Anyone who comes to Cosmic Comics! on May 4th  will receive a free “Door” Raffle ticket

• “Door” Raffle ticket is only eligible for the hourly Raffle prizes

Iron-Man#1 & Tales Of Suspense Give-Away

• Anyone in Costume will be entered to win
• Every $30 dollars before tax spent will equal one (1) entry
• Winners of other contests with the prize (an Entry to win an Iron Man #1) will also be entered to win

All entries for “Iron Man#1 & Tales Of Suspense#50 Give-Away” are eligible for Hourly Raffles

Must be present at time of raffle for all raffles including but not limited to “Iron Man#1 & Tales of Suspense# 50 Give-away”

Prizes subject to change without notice.

The post Free Comic Book Day 2013 – Contest Rules appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.

Man Of Steel is one of the most anticipated films of the year. What better way to show your support than dress up as your Favorite Superman Character on Free Comic Book Day! We are giving one(1) lucky person the chance to win a Man Of Steel prize* that includes an early screening to the film thanks to Warner Bros.!!!

Come Dressed to Impress! Your Fellow Cosmic Comics! Fans will be voting on the winner!!!

Plot Synopsis

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes “Man of Steel,” starring Henry Cavill (“Immortals,” TV’s “The Tudors”) in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, under the direction of Zack Snyder (“300,” “Watchmen”).

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth.  As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do.  But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

The film also stars four-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams (“The Master”) as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”) as her editor-in-chief, Perry White.  Starring as Clark Kent’s adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Oscar® nominee Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) and Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner (“Dances with Wolves”).

Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”), and Faora, Zod’s evil partner, played by Antje Traue (upcoming “The Seventh Son”).  Also from Superman’s native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s mother, played by Ayelet Zurer (“Angels and Demons”), and Superman’s father, Jor-El, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”).

*prizes subject to change with out notice

The post Man Of Steel Early Screening appeared first on Cosmic Comics!.