First Star Trek trailer indicates the villain is Khan

The first trailer for the next Star Trek movie has come out. Star Trek Into Darkness opens on May 17, 2013. But we get clues as to which villain Benedict Cumberbatch will play. I believe it's Khan.

First check out TrekMovie.com's excellent breakdown for the trailer. Now, I've posted my thoughts on that post as Basement Blogger. On this site, I will do the same but also embed the Japanese version of the trailer below because it has a couple of extra scenes.

This trailer indicates the bad guy is Khan. Let's take a look at the voice over narration by Cumberbatch.

"You think your world is safe? It is an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace for I have returned to have my vengeance."

First, we know that Cumberbatch's character is canon. In the trailer, we see that he's a human. He exhibits super-strength in dispatching Klingons. He also is seen wielding a laser weapon. Now if he's Gary Mitchell from the original series, Where No Man Has Gone Before, he would use telekinesis. Of course, the comment about vengeance makes sense for Khan since he was exiled or fled from earth after ruling a large section of the planet as a tyrant. See the original series episode, Space Seed.

Alice Eve. She plays a character that is also canon. If Cumberbatch is Khan, then she is Carol Marcus, the mother of Kirk's son. First, her hairstyle is similar to Marcus' from the movie "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." In the trailer, check out the romantic looks between her and Chris Pine's Kirk. Eve prepared for the role by watching all the original series episodes. She seems to have focused on Kirk. Why would she do that? My guess is to create chemistry between her character and Kirk.

Couple this trailer with the evidence. There was a search for a Hispanic actor to play the villain ala Ricardo Montalban from The Wrath of Khan; and the commentary on the 2009 movie about a scene with the Botany Bay, Of course there is the TrekMovie story which confirmed Cumberbatch is Khan.

It's Khan, my fellow Trekkers.

Update: One thing I forgot to mention. There's a scene in the Japanese trailer where it looks like Spock is trying to touch another hand through glass. It's a clear reference to the scene in The Wrath of Khan where a dying Spock "touches" Kirk through the glass. Both are Spock's "Live long and prosper" hand signal. More evidence that this new Star Trek will feature Khan for better or worse.

Stephen Colbert on low testosterone medicine

On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert did a piece on low testosterone medicine. The crux of the piece. If you take low testosterone medicine, you won't be able to touch anybody. Hilarious stuff.

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Reflections on The Dark Knight Rises

With the DVD release of The Dark Knight Rises, it's time to think about the ideas in director-writer Christopher Nolan's film. And while Nolan says his Batman movies are not overtly political, there are plot points in the films that reflect what's happening in our world. (Rolling Stone interview with Christopher Nolan.}

1. Modern Batman films are the children of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In 1986, DC Comics released Frank Miller's graphic novel, "The Dark Knight Returns." It was a gritty, and subversive look at the the Batman story. Gotham, American society and even President Ronald Reagan did not get positive treatment. What Miller's work did do was to take the Batman story to more serious heights. Now Batman stories could feature social commentary.

So, starting with director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), the film version of Batman could comment on what's happening with the world today. Particularly in Batman Returns, Batman is a champion for the common as Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne fights against his economic class by opposing another super rich man's plan to milk the public of its money. And isn't that what Batman creator Bob Kane had in mind when he envisioned his character as a Zorro type.

Christopher Nolan's Batman films are more realistic than the campy TV series and Burton's surreal approach. There are modern themes in the first two movies. In Batman Begins (2005), there is the theme of revenge versus justice. And in The Dark Knight (2008), he explores terrorism and the means to stop it. A theme you will see in The Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight Rises resembles The Dark Knight Returns in terms of plot. In the graphic novel, a middle age Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to become Batman again. In the movie, an older and crippled Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to also become Batman again.

There's a fun nod to the graphic novel, in The Dark Knight Returns. While chasing robbers, two cops, one an old officer and the other a rookie, are passed by Batman on his motorcycle. The old cop sees Batman, and says, "You are in for a show tonight, son." It's a scene and line paraphrasing a similar one in The Dark Knight Returns.


2. Crime occurs at all levels of the socioeconomic spectrum of society. In The Dark Knight Rises, there's a rich and greedy, construction company owner named Dagget. His goal in life is to take over Wayne Enterprises. And he'll do it anyway he can. Legal or illegal.

3. Greedy capitalists can wreck our economies. The villain Bane attacks the Gotham stock exchange. He confronts a greedy stock broker. The broker says to Bane, "This is stock exchange. There's no money you can steal." Bane says, "Really? Then why are you people here." Yes, this is an obvious comment on the 2008 stock market meltdown, where Wall Street almost destroyed America.

4. Economic injustice can lead to revolution. Selina Kyle aka Catwoman warns Bruce Wayne about the continued abuses of the rich on the poor. She talks about the storm coming. "You're all going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us." Of course, one needs to look at the French and communist Russian revolutions.

5. Radical poor people can lead to mob justice. Bane exploits the economic fissures of society to cause the poor to attack the rich. Even Catwoman is drawn back by the poor throwing the rich out onto the streets.

6. The Dent Act is the Patriot Act. In the movie, the Dent Act is a law which is used to put crooks in jail. Yet, it's based on a lie. The lie being Batman killed district attorney Harvey Dent. That ruse was the justification of the law. This is similar to the use of Bruce Wayne's high tech eavesdropping machine to find the Joker. The question always becomes, "Does the ends justify the means?"

While the Patriot Act is useful to catching terrorists, it also can infringe on individual rights. These laws have short term benefits but can have long term side effects. Bane exposes the lie to Gotham. This leads to more revolution but in a bad way. Legitimate government is replaced by the tyranny of the mob.

7. Hope is a major driving force for our existence. A couple things. Nolan's Batman is a dark vision. But it's dark because of the evil that people can have and their acts that inflict pain on each other. And yes, fear is a big theme in Batman. It's Bruce Wayne's fear of bats that he uses to create his crime fighting alter ego. He wants to instill the fear he feels in the criminals that he wants to bring to justice.

But The Dark Knight Rises also raises the idea that hope is a driving force for humanity. Fear of dying in a hellhole might drive Bruce Wayne to make the leap to freedom but it's hope that keeps him alive. That's clear when Nolan takes the image of the cave like prison and mixes it with the image of the well that a child Bruce Wayne falls down. There's an image from the first movie of Wayne's father coming to rescue him. We hear his father ask Bruce, "And why do we fall Bruce?" Now the answer though comes from the first movie, Batman Begins. He answers in the first movie, "So we can learn to pick ourselves up." Yes, Bruce must use fear to drive him but he needs hope to sustain him.

The idea of hope is weaved throughout the whole movie. Of course there's the goals of Batman. Give people hope of justice. Detective John Blake has hope for Batman's return. Perhaps, the concept of hope is best demonstrated by Officer Foley. (Matthew Modine) When Bane takes over Gotham, Foley gives up as a police officer. But when he sees the symbol of Batman burning on a bridge, his hope is restored. He puts on the uniform and enlists in the fight against Bane.

So why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.

Huffiington Post reviews The Hobbit 48 fps.

If you're wondering what The Hobbit 48 fps looks like, Mike Ryan of the Huffington Post has already seen it. One question for me, is there a theater here in Cincinnati that can run it at that format? I also wonder what the hyper clarity would do to the story telling aspect of film. Here's Ryan's review.

Michaela Watkins takes on Ayn Rand

Former Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan is an Ayn Rand fan. According to Wikipedia, she's big into the laissez-faire capitalism. That makes her a hero to right-wingers like Ryan.

Last fall, Funny or Die did a parody of Ayn Rand if she hosted a variety talk show. It's based on her harsh philosophies and TV interviews. The talented and lovely Michaela Watkins (Saturday Night Live) plays Ms. Rand. Funny stuff. Check out the video below.

Ayn Rand Private Access Show from Michaela Watkins

Bengals grind out victory

Face it long suffering Cincinnati Bengals fan. After the Bengals took the lead, 20-13 over the San Diego Chargers, quarterback Philip Rivers was leading the Chargers down field in the last two minutes. Fourth down on the Bengals seventeen yard line, Rivers sent a pass towards the endzone. Could it be a Homer Simpson-Bengals moment? There was a big "No" to "Doh." Bengals safety Reggie Nelson jumped in front of the Chargers receiver and intercepted the ball. Bengals win!

It was an ugly game. The Bengals turned the ball over three times, including Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton throwing a pick six. There were stupid Bengals penalties. But the Bengals overcame the mistakes. Thanks to no small part to a great defensive line of Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap. Special mention to stud Dunlap. He had two sacks and forced two fumbles. The Bengals won this game in the fourth quarter by scoring ten points. Good teams find ways to win. And this goes a long way to showing that the Bengals are a good team. Here's the story with video.

The Bengals keep pace with the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers for the wild card. Both teams won big games. Look I'm a longtime Bengals fan and as any Bengals fan can tell you, we know heartbreak. So, I'll wait until the Bengals make the playoffs before I get too excited. But it's December and hope lives. Who Dey!

CNN: "The U.S. had plans to nuke the moon."

According to CNN, in 1958, the United States had plans to detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon. According to physicist Leonard Reiffel it was to show the world, read that to mean the Soviet Union, that the United States could maintain a mutually-assured deterrence. Oy. Sound mad to me. Here's Stephen Colbert's take on it.

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