Last week we ran a quick little blurb about a possible trailer to a “secret” JJ Abrams monster movie that would show in front of Iron Man 2. The rumors were flying out of left field on what it could be, was it a secret like Cloverfield, was it the prequel or sequel to the now famed handycam monster film? Who knows?

Today we have the official trailer for you of Super 8. Below I have taken a screen cap from the trailer that shows what I believe to be the monster emerging from it’s captivity.

Whatever this movie becomes, it is way too long for me to wait to find out till it’s release next summer.

Enjoy the trailer:

What do you all think about the trailer? Is it something you want to see? Check it out and do let us know. This is something that intrigues me like anything else JJ puts his hands around. Since the days of Alias I have been enamored with this man!

Although it was reported that Brad Bird was in final negotiations to direct M:I 4 a while ago, that news has now been confirmed by Tom Cruise, in an interview with Empire.

In June, it was announced that J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise had an idea for a fourth installment. Abrams wrote an outline and hired Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec, of Alias, to pen the screenplay. After it was announced that he would not be directing (apparently he was busy on something else), possible directors included Edgar Wright, Ruben Fleischer, and Brad Bird.

Well, Bird has officially signed on in what will be his live-action directing debut. His previous animated work includes The Incredibles and Ratatouille with Pixar and The Iron Giant, all among the best animated films ever. After working on getting his project 1906, about the San Francisco earthquake, off the ground at Warner Bros., the studio balked at the $200 million price tag, forcing him to rework the script.

Now, at first this upcoming film was considered a “reboot” but I’m not entirely sure what that means if Cruise is returning as Ethan Hunt (which was confirmed last October). Maybe the movie is a set-up for a new star? Anyway, I loved the first Mission: Impossible, loathed the second (that film made me sick — I’m not kidding), but then the third one came back in a huge way. Hopefully, the super-talented Bird can continue this streak and deliver an awesome spy film.

(By the way, that image of Bird is ridiculously high resolution, so if you want a poster of him or something, now is your chance.)

After tonight, pretty much all of the press and a lot of the folks around the world will have seen Iron Man 2. With that being said, lots of the world including some special folks in the US have seen it already, as evident by all of the rule breaking reviews along with the leaked ending on Youtube.

With the above said and out of the way, much like Cloverfield, JJ Abrams is rumored to have a special, US only trailer for a “secret” movie attached to the front of Iron Man 2. So at Midnight on Thursday across the US there will be the gasp of….who knows, I guess only JJ does.

All of this comes from Drew who can be found owning all movie news at the Hit Fix. It seems he was thinking about keeping the news a secret as not to spoil anything, but alas the news journalist within broke the story.

I tried a few contacts and because of the standard operating procedures the prints are locked until the first viewing. Stay tuned as I am trying a few other sources!

Could this be the Cloverfield sequel? They kept the first film totally under wraps prior to the trailer that was attached to Transformers. Could it be for his upcoming Television crime drama? I doubt either or true but until I see Iron Man 2 tonight, I guess we will have to wait.

Stay tuned to Atomic Popcorn for your latest breaking news on this situation!

Cloverfield, J.J. Abram’s brainchild of viral marketing, was a whopping success on that front. The movie itself was pretty good, if not migraine-inducing for many. However, I wouldn’t want to revisit it on DVD or Bluray — it’s too much of a theatrically based experience to succeed on a small TV.

However, if this viral video is any indication, we’ll all have our chance to revisit the “Cloverfield monster” in the theaters once more — fashioned in the same mold as the original film’s marketing, this offers plenty of hints that we’re in for more of the same ground-level fun.

Is this from the Abrams camp or just a well done fan film?

Also — keep an eye on the space above the tall buildings. I know I’m not crazy. I know I saw something.

More news on Cloverfield 2 as it develops.

According to a brief interview conducted by Collider, J.J. Abrams  is excited for Star Trek 2. But will the director be back to direct the sequel to one of the summers biggest (and best) movies, Star Trek?

“It’s about that kind of feeling, like ‘oh my god, I can’t wait to do that!’ I won’t be walking away from Trek in any way in the next film. I feel too lucky to be a part of this thing to say goodbye to it,” Abrams said while on the red carpet at the Saturn Awards.

Flash lens.

No official word on whether the Cloverfield director will return to the Enterprise either in the director’s chair or purely in a producing role.

While plot details are obviously unknown, the Fanboy Nation has sounded off on their desire for a return of Trek’s favorite baddie: Kahn. Star Trek writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orcimay have openly speculated that they may go a different route where “…the unknown and nature itself is somehow the adversary or the villain model.”

The duo, who also penned the critical dirge Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, hinted on creating a loose trilogy much like Wrath of Kahn, Search for Spock and The Voyage Home.

"Thank God I'm not wearing a red shirt, or we would've been screwed this weekend."

Many sorts beamed their way towards their local movie theater or IMAX in order to see the latest sci-fi romp of the ongoing franchise in J.J. Abram’s Star Trek, and boy did they prove it. Not only did Star Trek beat out The Dark Knight in the highest box office gross for IMAX showings across the nation ($7 Million) but they also, if you combine Thursday’s earnings into the mix, have beaten out X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the best box office weekend so far this year. Regardless, we all know by this point that it grossed enough weekend earnings to gain the number one spot.

Of course there was still another movie released this past weekend, Next Day Air, that did not fair as ridiculously well as the Chris Pine and Zackary Quinto starring flick. Raking in about 4 million, the action comedy with Donald Faison managed to wrangle in an audience. Regarding even smaller films, if anyone seems to care particularly the Twilight women, Little Ashes is at the bottom of the barrel. This reporter figures that if there are as many Twilight fans that wander around the site as she believes, that they would at least be interested to check out their favorite blood sucker (Robert Pattinson) in this indie drama.

The rest of the films on the list faired out well including some surprises such as Obsessed raking in a cool 56 million overall so far comparing it to their 20 million budget. Need to sneak a peek at the rest of the top ten? Feast your eyes on it below.

Weekend Box Office (May 8-10)

1. Star Trek  ($75.2 Million)
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine  ($26.4 Million)
3. Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past  ($10.2 Million)
4. Obsessed  ($6.5 Million)
5. 17 Again  ($4.2 Million)
6. Next Day Air  ($4.1 Million)
7. The Soloist  ($3.9 Million)
8. Monsters Vs Aliens  ($3.2 Million)
9. DisneyNature’s Earth  ($2.6 Million)
10. Hannah Montana The Movie  ($2.1 Million)

The summer season is still getting warmed up with The Brothers Bloom and Angels and Demons gracing their way into theaters this upcoming Friday. With reviews on all the films stated and more information on your most anticipated upcoming summer flicks, stay here on Atomic Popcorn.

Star Trek is the anti-Watchmen. Most of you will scratch your heads, but the two share much in common. Both were handled by directors whom the fans were either against or didn’t think could do it. Each property is hard science fiction that isn’t as accessible to the common folk as would be Batman or Star Wars. Where they begin to differ (aside from one being a comic and another a television show) is how Zack Snyder and J.J. Abrams approached their respective material. Snyder chose to honor the Watchmen novel as best he could without trying to alienate people who never read it. My thoughts on his masterpiece aside, the general audience didn’t take well to it. Enter J.J. Abrams who went for the opposite, and has crafted a Trek film made clearly with a Star Wars mentality but hoping to keep what was so loved about The Original Series.

As a film, J.J.’s Star Trek is one of the most entertaining films of the year. It’s thrilling, exciting and the cast gels perfectly together. Those afraid that something would be lost due to Abrams’ modernization of the material need not fear. There are some liberties taken (more later) but overall they honor what worked about the original series to craft a film that’s sure to get people watching the original crew’s adventures. The biggest reason Star Trek works is due to its leading man and, dare I say, Chris Pine is James Kirk to a T. His performance isn’t as comical as Shatner’s (no “we…must…GET over there”), in fact he makes the role his own. It’s a wonderful thing to watch as Pine battles wits with Spock or has his way with a certain green alien. I expected Simon Pegg to steal the show when in fact, this is Chris… no, KIRK’s film. There’s no denying Shatner will always be Captain James T. Kirk, but Pine deserves to be in the conversation with him. It’s tough coming up with words to describe how great he is so I’ll leave it to the audience to discover his brilliance this weekend.

Zachary Quinto’s Spock is another matter altogether. He was my biggest concern coming in after hearing reports he was dull but that’s not the case. He honors Spock well and while he doesn’t do what Pine does with Kirk, Quinto is far from dreadful. His take is a little different than Nimoy’s which rings especially true toward the end of the flick. Whereas Nimoy’s was laid back and had a sense of cool about him, this Spock is quiet, a stickler for logic, and more feminine. Some things don’t work but overall he’s serviceable and hopefully will grow into the role with the later installments. Maybe it’s not his fault though because along with Pine, Karl Urban fits like a glove into Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. He’s essentially channeling DeForest Kelley but you can tell he’s enjoying the part. He’s probably the second best to enjoy next to Chris Pine. Much was made of Simon Pegg playing Montgomery Scott and he, like always, delivers. He’s the opposite of the laid-back Scotty we all know and love but it’s barely noticeable. If James Doohan was alive, he’d be proud of what Pegg does here. He also gets one of the most memorable lines in the film. Zoe Saldana is decent as Uhura, but for a good part of the film she feels like just another plot device. She’s independent, sure, but they sort of take that away from her when she they show her relationship with Spock (again, more later.) Anton Yelchin is just as good as Chekov while John Cho is pretty nice as Sulu although not as memorable as George Takei. What helps us remember who these people are, though, is that every character is given a moment to shine but in a different way. Yes, it’s the Kirk/Spock show for most of it but the film allows enough time for Sulu to show off his skills or Chekov to make the save in the nick of time. Special mention has to be given to Leonard Nimoy who still proves that he has been, and always shall be Spock. It’s one of the best moments of the film to see him light up the screen once more with that bowl cut and those pointy ears.

Star Trek’s action has always been more naval to Star Wars‘ air force action and that rings true here. It’s faster paced and understandably so, but the Enterprise can’t move like an X-Wing. The action is classic Trek complete with ship-to-ship communication and photon torpedoes being fired to finish off a ship. In fact most of the hyper action takes place away from Enterprise rather than on it. None of it feels like it’s too much but it’s just enough to keep both classic and new fans happy. The real treat are the visual effects which are some of the best I’ve seen in a film. Every dollar of their budget is spent on the screen as everything looks like it was shot in space using the real Enterprise. I don’t know if it’s set the new standard like Transformers was, but I do know if this doesn’t get the Best Visuals award then shame on the Academy again. Also, I’d like to know where J.J. is hiding the Enterprise so I can take her out for a spin. As for the references to the original show, they are in there but none of them feel forced. I geeked out a couple of times for some (notably a couple of Wrath of Khan ones) and I appreciated how organic most of them feel.

Star Trek has always been about the characters first and while the actors do a fine job, the story that’s around them isn’t half bad. Nero is a sort of one-note villain but Bana raises him above being one of the worst Trek villains. His plan isn’t that illogical in the grand scheme and he is sort of an interesting character. There are some things that don’t work, starting with Spock being the programmer behind the Kobiyashi Maru test. As much as I loved seeing Kirk beat the test, I felt indifferent to Spock being the one who designed it. It feels like it’s there just to give more tension to Kirk and Spock’s relationship and not because it’s an interesting idea (which it’s not.) Things are also fumbled with having Spock and Uhura in a relationship which just happens. It’s hinted at so quickly as things get underway that it feels random and out of place when the two engage in a kiss. They also have a golden opportunity to utilize the chemistry Pine and Saldana have together and instead pair her with a fire extinguisher. It’s not that Spock is devoid of all emotion, it’s that there is no sparking from the actors. There are other things I want to get into, but as to not reveal spoilers, I shall remain silent. The other distracting thing in this film are the lens flares. I’m not too sure why J.J. or cinematographer Daniel Mindel decided this was a good idea but it gets really distracting, really quick. A friend turned to me and said you could make a drinking game out of how many lens flares are in this movie and he’s right. I’m all for a director using a gimmick as long as it makes sense within the film he’s trying to tell. Here, I don’t see the purpose or need other than to blind the audience.

Overall this Star Trek works largely due to it’s leading cast and especially Chris Pine. The real captain, though, is J.J. who did a tremendous job of updating this franchise for new fans while keeping everything we love about The Original Series intact. I’ve seen the film twice now (once on IMAX) and at the end my feelings largely remained unchanged. It’s one of the best times I’ve had at the theater all year and is really enjoyable to watch unfold on the screen. In my book, the summer movie season starts here and kicks off with a bang. There are problems, yes, but the film is simply too fun to let those bog down an otherwise entertaining flick. Beam me up for the sequel, J.J.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

For all of you Trekkies who are desperate to get some form of Enterprise goodness before the upcoming J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie comes out, here’s a little treat from our friends at Atom.com. The animated short done by Dan Meth is more of a mock trailer, putting less edgy Abrams and more 80s John Hughes movies into the mix. Already curious? Of course you are, look below and see the strange and funny mayhem that ensues.