Twenty years after the Captain of the USS Enterprise retires, young Terry McGinnis is recruited to...

What?

Oh. Let me start over.

Set to a rousing soundtrack of "Sabotage" by The Beastie Boys, the trailer for STAR TREK BEYOND comes across more like a music-video mashup than a movie trailer. It has a ton of intense action scenes and incredible jumps (both on foot and on wheels), highlighted by humorous one-liners. I half-expected Star-Lord to appear at any moment to help out.

So here it is -- the trailer for STAR TREK BEYOND. Let's hear your opinions on it.

The hunt is on for Ethan Hunt in the latest installment of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise. With recent events in the IMF history, the CIA, headed up by Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin), is keen to have the force defunded and folded into CIA operations. But Hunt (Tom Cruise) is now personally involved in unmasking the existence of an anti-IMF team calling itself The Syndicate. No one believes that this Syndicate exists, and when Hunt is callled in, he goes to ground, becoming the CIA's most wanted.

When Hunt is finally ready to make a move against the Syndicate leader (Sean Harris), he needs to call in favors from his friends, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) -- all of whom live under constant and intense scrutiny by the CIA for any chance that they might betray Hunt's location.

My first real exposure to steampunk was Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series way back at San Diego Comic Con in 2011. I happened to be looking for someplace to take a break waiting for a panel to start, and I ended up sitting in on Scott Westerfeld’s panel. He talked quite a bit about his other work, but his description of Leviathan caught my attention. It is a retelling of World War I, but the Central Powers (Clankers) use mechanized, steam-powered war machines opposed by Entente Powers (Darwinists) who fabricate living creatures genetically. Even before the panel was over, I had downloaded the first book on my Kindle and loved it.

Cheap Pops - December 13, 2015

by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!

- TLC Predictions

- NXT Takeover London Predictions

When I see a musical theatre production for the first time, you pay close attention to the story and the song lyrics. I let the music envelope me and let the set and costumes bring me on stage and pull me into their world. The second time I start noticing little things, like how lines are delivered differently from the actor who played the roll the last time the tour rolled through town. The third time, I keep my peripheral senses open to hear the gasps of delight of the audience around me, enjoying the same reactions I had the first time. That's why my third time seeing WICKED at the Fabulous Fox Theatre was still just as charming and fun as the first time I saw it.

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for next year's X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. I have enjoyed pretty much enjoyed all of the X-Men movies (even X-MEN: THE LAST STAND), and Apocalypse is one of my favorite comic villains. It's real early to judge, but I am not sure this trailer captures the character all that well. He totally looks like a villain from a Power Rangers episode.  X-Men: Apocalypse is set for release on May 27, 2016.

ALL-NEW X-MEN #1 by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley

Summary: Wolverine and Young Angel are skiing in Vail, Colorado.  They are both competitive, cheating in an effort to beat the other down the mountain. Wolverine ends up hitting a rock, and Angel catches her.

Meanwhile, Young Beast and Kid Apocalypse are in Florida.  They are going to pick up Iceman and meet up with Wolverine and Angel in about a week.  They have been trying to reach out to Young Cyclops, but he’s been refusing their calls and laying low since Old Cyclops died as “the world’s most hated mutant.”

Many geeks may know Noel Clarke as an actor. He played Mickey Smith in the first two season of DOCTOR WHO, and he had a major (but brief) role in STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS. But what many fans may not know is that Noel Clarke has also been touted as one of England’s hottest young writers and directors. His films (like 4.3.2.1, Kidulthood, and Adulthood) have been earning him all kinds of awards and recognition. So, when I head he would be writing a new spin on superheroes for Titan, I was definitely curious.

THE TROOP #1

Call me Ishmael. No, wait, don’t do that. Ron Howard didn’t. With IN THE HEART OF THE SEA, Howard managed to make Moby Dick in full glory, creating a killer (no pun intended) whale that is almost as likeable as Godzilla. It’s a shame, though, because there’s just no reason not to make MOBY DICK. Howard decided to play it safe and make the story behind the story, the truth of which I would think would be pretty hard to verify. The film is based on a nonfiction book of the same name, detailing the misadventure of the Essex, a Nantucket whaler in the 19^th century. I have no doubt that the Essex’s misadventure happened, the book was non-fiction, verified by various firsthand accounts in historical records, but the odds that it informed Herman Mehlville’s writing of MOBY DICK seem pretty long.

Merry Christmas, Flash-fanatics! As a special treat for all of you (or maybe just for me), the CW has brought back the Rogues -- Weather Wizard (Liam McIntyre), Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and my personal favorite looney-tunes, The Trickster (Mark Hamill)!

The episode opens with a confrontation between Zoom and Doctor Harrison Wells of Earth-2 (Tom Cavanagh of Earth-Prime). Zoom wants something from Wells, which is why he's been keeping Wells' daughter, Jesse (Violett Beane) hostage. Wells talks the demonic dervish into getting more time to make his decision, and then for the bulk of the episode seems pre-occupied.

Growing up, the holiday season was a time to look forward to for all of the obvious reasons.  Receiving gifts was a huge part of childhood, all the decorations, visiting Santa, and spending time with extended family was something to look forward to.  Another big thing were all of the holiday specials on television.  When I grew up, especially in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, you didn’t get but one chance to see these shows each year.  It might seem impossible to people even a little younger than me, but there was no DVR, and I didn’t have a VCR until 1983, so I had to check my TV GUIDE and get my arse in front of the television at the appropriate time.  If you missed your favorite there simply wasn’t a second chance!

This contest has ended. The winner is Jill R. of Pennsville, NJ.

Lara Croft returns, desperate for answers -- and seeking a hidden truth. After uncovering an ancient mystery, Lara must explore the most treacherous and remote regions of Siberia to find the secret of immortality before a ruthless organization known as Trinity. Lara must use her wits and survival skills, form new alliances, and ultimately embrace her destiny as the Tomb Raider.

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Cheap Pops - December 6, 2015
by Chris Delloiacono, Mike Maillaro and Jeff Ritter

This week!
- State of the WWE
- Complete Listing of matches and segments for Best of NXT Vol. 1
- WWE Network adds more classic wrestling
- NXT Results

State of the WWE

by Mike Maillaro and Mike Weaver

Red Wolf #1

Written by: Nathan Edmondson
Pencilled by: Dalibur Talajic
Inked by: Jose Marzan, Jr
Colored by: Miroslac Mrva
Lettered by: VC’s Cory Petit

Published by: Marvel
Cover Price: $3.99

Doctor Who Series 9 - Episode 12 – Hell Bent

• Writer:   Steven Moffat
• Director: Rachel Talalay

Cast:

Singer-songwriter Johnny Beauford is known for his distinctive Americana style, soaring vocals, and narrative lyrics. He employs a sense of spontaneity on his new sophomore set, A Pig Eating Past Love.

Beauford has made considerable waves in the Americana and local Texas music scene both as a solo artist and as part of bands the Jack Kerowax and bravo, max!

The seven-song EP was recorded in large part as a one-man process (with help on a few tracks from friends), resulting in a lo-fi sound and “interesting rhythm concepts” that fans of Beauford’s first solo work will recognize and appreciate. “Think Bon Iver’s debut For Emma, Forever Ago, performing most of the parts for each song on his own,” says Beauford. “But instead of a cabin in the woods of Wisconsin, I used a studio apartment in the big city of Dallas.”

This contest has ended.

I might not be a big fan o f clowns, but I’m a huge fan of clowning around. Sing a song, tell a joke, perform a little stunt or better still, a little magic, and bring a smile or even a laugh from the grumpiest of Scrooges—that’s what the holidays are all about, right? CIRQUE DREAMS HOLIDAZE, a kind of circus/variety show hybrid with a wonderfully low creepy clown threshold (none!),brought, smiles, laughs, cheers, gasps of awe, appreciative whistles and tons of applause from the Fox Theatre audience in St. Louis on December 4, 2015. Like most of the audience I had to deal with a variety of community holiday events, the typical Friday night traffic, and traffic jams that had some highway commuters parked for more than a mile. I’d imagine more than a few of us arrived feeling mighty grumpy, but I’m quite positive we all went home very happy.

I was a Patty Smyth fan back in the days when she sang such hits as “The Warrior” and “Good Bye To You” with her band Scandal. She was not only beautiful but she also had a way of picking songs that showcased her talents, and a voice that put right up there with Pat Benatar in my book.

After Scandal broke up, I lost touch with what Patty was doing. I knew she married John McEnroe later on, but I lost touch with her musically. I recently discovered that I must have been living in somewhat of a musical shell, because I found out she has written and sung songs that have garnered her Grammy and Academy award nominations.

A short time ago Patty recorded a Christmas album, COME ON DECEMBER, on Parallel 22 Records.

I absolutely love that Dynamite snatched up the name SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT. Dynamite has been making a lot of cool moves over the last few years, bringing in big name talent and letting them loose on a variety of genres.  The name SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT has a reputation in the comic industry because of how much damage Dr. Fredric Wertham's book did to the industry back in the 1950's.  SEDUCATION OF THE INNOCENT basically casted the vast comic industry to shrink down to "superhero" and niche books.  Companies like IDW, Dynamite, Dark Horse, and Image have been making huge strides in expanding the industry again.  I can't but see Dynamite repurposing the title SEDUCATION OF THE INNOCENT as the perfect example of "taking it back."