Tag: Chris Pine

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 4:20

Posted on by Dan Persons

Chris Pine (right) and Zachary Quinto (left) have nemesis Benedict Cumberbatch at their mercy (don't kid yourself) in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.
Chris Pine (right) and Zachary Quinto (left) have nemesis Benedict Cumberbatch at their mercy (don't kid yourself) in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS.

STAR TREK is back, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is still flouting the rules, director J.J. Abrams is still dividing the fan base, but amazingly, inconceivably, there’s no dissent within the Cinefantastique Online ranks this time: Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons all agree that STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS is supreme, quintessential TREK adventure. Telling the tale of the Enterprise’s encounter with a diabolical mastermind (Benedict Cumberbatch), the film at once delivers the big-scale action (even better in IMAX 3D) that audiences have come to expect from a major studio tent pole release while honoring the ideals that made creator Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of the future so compelling.
Come join Steve, Larry, and Dan as they delve deep into this top-notch entry to the TREK franchise, exploring what makes it both a superior entertainment and a worthy elaboration of Roddenberry’s humanistic vision. Plus: What’s coming to theaters next week.

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RISE OF THE GUARDIANS: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 3:47

Posted on by Dan Persons

An all-star cast (l to r: Isla Fisher, Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, and Hugh Jackman) protect childhood's most valuable resource in RISE OF THE GUARDIANS.
An all-star cast (l to r: Isla Fisher, Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, and Hugh Jackman) protect childhood's most valuable resource in RISE OF THE GUARDIANS.

With THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Disney succeeded in extending the holiday film season from the beginning of November to the end of the year. Now, DreamWorks has upped the ante with RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, a CG animated, 3D fantasy that not only has a burly, Slavic Santa (Alec Baldwin) heading up a team of dedicated fantasy icons charged with protecting the innocence and wonder of children, but also extends the market into spring by adding the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman) to the corps, and then covers the gaps with Jack Frost (Chris Pine), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and a mute, but adorable, Sandman.
The film has an impressive pedigree, with Guillermo del Toro as producer and a scenario loosely based on William Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood chapter books. To discover how loosely, we invited beabetterbooktalker.com‘s Andrea Lipinski to give us background on the movie’s literary roots, and to join Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski and Dan Persons in determining if RISE rises (see what we did there?) to its self-imposed mission as champion of all that’s wonderful in genre film.
Then: Steve delivers his capsule review of the the-Commies-are-coming, domestic warfare fantasy RED DAWN; plus, what’s coming to theaters next week.

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