While folks over in the J.J. Abrams camp are revving up for the final season of LOST, there’s still something to look forward to on the horizon. News has just hit that a release date for the sequel to last May’s Star Trek has been announced…and that date is June 29th, 2012.

So before we start joining in the debate on whether the next villain should be Kahn, Klingons, The Borg, or Tribbles, realize that we still have over two years before we’ll get to “boldly go…” once more in theaters.

No word has been stated on what the plot will be, but last we heard from the cast and crew, just about everyone will be returning for the sequel (with the exception of Nimoy as Spock Prime). The film will at least be getting a prime box office slot, as it’s the weekend before Independence Day, which is primarily a hot ticket weekend for theaters.

Just think, between now and the time the film hits theaters, we’ll have already seen two Iron Man films, a Thor movie, and another six films starring Miley Cyrus. Isn’t the anticipation overwhelming??

Rather than tell you what I think I should, I decided to come clean on this list. For instance, I am aware that A Serious Man might technically and artistically be a cut above some of these, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much. I’ll also preface this by saying since I was covering most of the main-stream movies this year, there were a lot of independent movies I didn’t see, so they may not appear on the list. The film title links to a review when applicable.

Up In The Air – Buoyed by a trio of fantastic actors, I found this movie to be utterly charming. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno), the movie is touching, prescient, original, and funny. Vera Farmiga, George Clooney and Anna Kendrick all received Golden Globe acting nominations.  George Clooney’s depiction of a traveling man who keeps any type of human interaction at arm’s length is effortless, and is a joy to watch.

A Single Man – This film is still in limited release, so many people have not seen it, but I was absolutely blown away by designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut. He brings an artistic eye to the story of a gay man in 1962 who has recently lost a live-in companion. Heavy stuff, and Colin Firth gives a truly amazing performance that will break your heart.

Julianne is a stunning aging beauty who longs to have a relationship with the emotionally unavailable George. Universally relatable to anyone who has ever been in love, or experienced unrequited love. Seamlessly shifting from sepia, black and white, and color, the film is gorgeous. Beautifully scored by Abel Korzeniowsky as well.

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Now, before Zachary Quinto supporters get all bent out of shape, allow me to first explain. The following is a fan-edit of the audiobook for Alan Dean Foster’s novelization of this year’s Star Trek. The audiobook was narrated by the film’s co-star Zachary Quinto, who played Spock.

From there, an overzealous fan decided that the narration would make a much better romance novel than a story about intergalactic heroism. With that, “Spork! An Erotic Love Story” was born. Dean Foster is quite descriptive in his narrative, and sadly this is only used against him in this slashfic (fan fiction which ends in romance).

Check out the video after the jump, but be warned, if you’re sure dialogue and descriptions from a novelization of Star Trek can’t be considered NSFW, you might be proven wrong. Also, be aware, it can get pretty intense towards the end, but overall it’s quite hilarious. Enjoy.

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While James Bond gets a lot of attention on the big screen there’s another pseudo-spy that’s just as good in my opinion.  I’m talking about Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. Clancy’s novels have been the basis for four films to date with various actors taking on the Ryan role.

Way back in 1990 The Hunt for Red October started it all with Alec Baldwin as the first Jack Ryan. When Baldwin left, Harrison Ford took over for two films, Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. The series faltered somewhat thereafter until Ben Affleck arrived in The Sum of all Fears.

As diverse as the actors have been the series overall has held together pretty well in my opinion. While Ford was probably the closest to what Ryan was like in the novels bringing Affleck in was necessary to reboot the franchise with a younger star. Sadly, that never seemed to work out.

Fortunately, producer Mace Neufeld, who has been with the series since the very beginning, is still planning a fresh start.  Chris Pine (Star Trek) will take Affleck’s place as Jack Ryan and word is the fifth film may not be based on a Clancy novel as the other films have been:

“We ran out of books,” says Nuefeld. “Red Rabbit was the last one, and we just couldn’t seem to get a script out of it.” Red Rabbit is one of only two novels, alongside The Cardinal of the Kremlin, in which Ryan is young enough for Pine’s portrayal to be book-faithful.”

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Here’s a list of some of the new movie and TV shows coming to DVD and Blu-ray this week that we’re looking forward to seeing. Also, there’s some classic, and not-so-classic, movies hitting Blu-ray for the first time this week as well.

Of all the new releases, we’re particularly interested in the Blu-ray versions of movies and TV shows such as J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, Gone with the Wind, Thirst, Rome: The Complete Series and the Blu-ray debut of David Fincher’s awesome Fight Club (shown above with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton). We are Jack’s excitement at this release finally coming out.

Check them out:

Movies

Bruno ~ Sacha Baron Cohen, Paula Abdul (DVD and Blu-ray)

Clerks ~ Brian O’Halloran, Kevin Smith (Blu-ray)

Downhill Racer (The Criterion Collection) ~ Robert Redford, Gene Hackman (DVD)

Fight Club ~ Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter (Blu-ray)

Galaxy Quest ~ Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman (Blu-ray)

Gone with the Wind (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) ~ Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh (Blu-ray)

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Just after one of the first deleted scenes from the upcoming DVD release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek last week, there is a brand new scene to keep us entertained until the November 17 release date. This one may not involve Klingons, but it most certainly has two much better things: Diora Baird and, well, Diora Baird as an Orion Slave girl.

In the scene, Chris Pine shows off Kirk’s racial insensitivity by confusing one Orion girl for another, proving that while he may be one of the most important people in Star Trek lore, he really isn’t that bright.

Check out the deleted scene after the jump, starring Pine and the lovely Diora Baird, who got to go through the hours-long makeup process, only to have one of her two scenes cut from the film entirely.

Star Trek hits DVD and Blu-Ray shelves on November 17th nationwide.

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Chris Pine, who was recently seen as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, is reportedly in talks to help reboot another franchise character for Paramount: CIA analyst Jack Ryan. The article stipulates that said talks have just started, but Pine is expected to come aboard the Jack Ryan film soon while the project is still taking shape.

The studio and producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mace Neufeld are reportedly working with a script draft by Hossein Amini, based on an original concept. The project is still in development and at the moment there’s no word on if Pine will make another Star Trek film before taking on the role of Jack Ryan. Let’s hope he does.

While I do think Pine was a surprisingly good Kirk, I have to wonder if he’s right for Jack Ryan. Alec Baldwin worked very well as the character and so did Harrison Ford. Pine just doesn’t seem to fit somehow. Maybe because he just seems too young — which worked fine for Star Trek but seems a bit of a stretch for this. Although, if he does end up doing another Star Trek first, he’ll be just about the same age Alec Baldwin was when he did The Hunt for Red October. Maybe Pine will end up a great choice after all.

There was a lot of concern from fans about J.J. Abrams reboot (Yes, I realize he doesn’t want to call it that but if the shoe fits…) of Star Trek.  Trekkies/Trekkers take this content very seriously making it a daunting task to appease those loyalist while making a film accessible to regular movie-goers. Fortunately, Abrams pulled it off and the new Star Trek universe was met with excitement and anticipation for future films.

Speaking to the L.A. Times, Abrams talked about what avenue the second film would take and how it would get back to the roots of the original series:

“The ambition for a sequel to ‘Star Trek’ is to make a movie that’s worthy of the audience and not just another movie, you know, just a second movie that feels tacked on. The first movie was so concerned with just setting up the characters — their meeting each and galvanizing that family — that in many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. it needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant.”

There’s a significant importance in that mention of allegory. The best stories are the ones viewers can relate to and is what made the the new Battlestar Galactica TV series so successful. In fact, you were so drawn into that world you nearly forget it took place in space. If Abrams can capture that same formula for subsequent Star Trek films it would be a huge win for him. If anyone can do it Abrams certainly can, especially considering his track record of character driven shows like Lost and Fringe. Now with Star Trek on the right path, the only thing I’d like to know now is what Slusho is an allegory for?

It’s hard to believe that J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was only two months ago, but since then, we have had transforming robots, teenage wizards, and hangovers to keep our summer busy. Now that most of the dust has settled, there is finally some more goodies to look forward to in the world of Star Trek as the details for the 3-disc Blu Ray and 2-disc Special Edition DVD (both out November 17) have been announced, and they look like the wait may be worth it.

DISC 1:

- Commentary—By director J.J. Abrams, writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk.

- NASA News— This BD-Live feature gives viewers access to the latest NASA news about real space exploration. Learn about new mission developments and check out featured imagery from around the universe.

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Last time on on The Flickcast, your favorite trio of talented talkers discussed a whole slew of topics including the proposed remake of An American Werewolf in London, the Watchmen Director’s Cut, Comic-Con in San Diego, changes to the number of Best Picture Oscar nominees and the death of Michael Jackson.

This week, Chris, Matt and Christina are back with a brand new episode and ready for action. Among the subjects covered this time around are the T.J. Hooker movie, the “Red Band” trailer for Jennifer’s Body featuring Megan Fox, rumors of a new, live-action Star Wars TV series, Katie Holmes’ appearance on So You Think You Can Dance? and much more!

The team also makes more picks this week including Christina’s pick of the Curtis Hanson film Wonder Boys, Matt’s pick of the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood and Chris’ pick of the 1987 vampire biker movie Near Dark, starring Heroes alumni Adrian Pasdar and directed by The Hurt Locker’s Katherine Bigelow.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email. Thanks for listening.

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