"Prayer, Mr. Saavik."

I'd hardly consider this news, but considering what this blog is, it's highly fitting that my last trial post is one about Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

You see, this blog has actually served a purpose. For lack of a better word, I've been auditioning this week for a news editor position with JoBlo.com. All week long, I've had to post at least three stories a day from the entertainment industry, specifically movie news. The folks over at JoBlo are either reading them daily, or they'll take a look at them after tonight - today's the final day that I have to post stories. Hopefully, I'll get the gig - but if I don't, I'll continue doing what I've been doing here for the last week. It's been fun, it's worked over my writing muscles, and it's made me realize just how much I really love to write. So there - the cat's out of the bag. Now what in the Hell has any of this got to do with Star Trek II?

Twenty-seven years ago, I wasn't much of a Star Trek fan. I had occasionally seen the show in reruns, but seeing as how I was a ginormous Star Wars fan, the late-'60s kitsch, the cardboard sets, and the second-rate optical effects just couldn't compare with the epic space opera from the mind of George Lucas. I went to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture as well, but the hard sci-fi intelligence of the story surrounding V'Ger flew right over my head. I just didn't get it.

I wouldn't call my father a Star Trek fan, but he liked the show well enough to take his young son to see the movies. My Dad thought I was space-crazy (while in all reality, I really wasn't; I was Star Wars crazy, and it happened to take place in space - there's a difference), so he made an effort to take me to the movies any time there were starships involved.

We were down in Myrtle Beach when TWOK came out, back in the summer of 1982. I know it sounds strange, by my family would actually catch up on a lot of movies when we were down at the beach vacationing. Most families go to water parks and jungle golfs, and while we did that too, we also went to see a lot of movies.

I wasn't all that jazzed about seeing TWOK. TMP was long, hard to understand, and frankly - kinda boring. It just sort of had that blaaaah effect on me; I didn't care about catching TWOK one way or the other because of my experience with TMP.

But we went anyway, and thank God we did. On that muggy South Carolina scorcher back in the summer of 1982, I sat in a quarter-full theater and watched my favorite movie of all time.

That's right: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is at the top of my list. It's not my favorite Star Trek movie - it's my favorite movie, period.

Is it the best movie I've ever seen? Of course not. Is it the most well-made movie of all time? Absolutely not. But it's my favorite. MY favorite. It's my desert island movie. It's the one that no matter what else is on, if I'm channel surfing and come upon it, I've got to stop. It's the one that I quote. It's the one that I put on when I'm sick. It's the one that makes me feel better when the world seems to be coming down around me. It's my favorite movie.

I could literally write about TWOK for days, on why I love it so much, why it's so special to me. I'm sure that sometime soon, I'll do just that - but not today. Suffice it to say that TWOK holds a very precious place in my heart, and that the subject of my last trial post has a truly special meaning. It's more than a happy little accident.

For the past week, Drew McWeeny (the artist formerly known as Moriarty over at Ain't it Cool) has been running reviews of all the Star Trek movies on Blu-Ray, and today he posted his review of TWOK. LIke I said, it's hardly news, seeing as how the film is nearly thirty years old, but it's a good read, and I encourage you to head on over to HitFix and check it out. Drew's a young father just like myself, and he's passing on the wonder of Star Trek to his son. That perspective is an interesting angle to review a movie from, and it's worth reading.

Thanks for taking the time to read these posts this week - it really means a lot to me, just like TWOK. Did I mention it's my favorite movie?

Eli Roth's out of The Cell

Eli Roth took time out of his schedule recently to speak with ComingSoon.net, and while the full interview won't run until the premiere of Inglourious Basterds, Shock 'Til You Drop was able to preview a few tidbits on what the man will - and won't - be doing for the next few years.

It seems that Hostel: Part III is full-steam ahead, but Roth won't have anything to do with it. "I've said everything I have to say with it," said the creator of the series. "I feel very lucky I got to make them and the fans responded the way they did, and if you guys want to continue it, great, go ahead." It looks like the direct-to-dvd film is moving forward with his blessing, but that's about it.

More interesting to me is what Roth had to say about his involvement with Cell, Stephen King's 2006 shot at the zombie genre. "I walked off 'Cell' kind of quietly," Roth confessed, citing creative differences in reference to the adaptation. I'm a huge King fan, but Cell left me a little flat. It was bursting with potential, but when I finished the final page, I was unfulfilled. Maybe Roth felt the same way - or maybe the studio felt the same way, and Roth wanted to stick to the source material. I don't know. He simply goes on to say that it was an amicable split, and that the future of the movie remains up in the air.

They get a few more thoughts from Mr. Roth regarding a remake of Tobe Hooper's Funhouse, his love for Friday the 13th Part IV and Nightmare on Elm Street III, and RZA's (of Wu Tang Clan fame) directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fist. There's also a smidgen of info about Endangered Species, his secret sci-fi blow-'em-up that's got everyone bristling with anticipation - but just a smidgen.

The full interview won't run for a couple more weeks, but as far as early looks go, there's a ton of information here to ponder. Head on over there and check it out!

Will Twilight completely Sabotage Comic-Con?

Peter Sciretta over at /Film has a really interesting piece on the Twilight phenomenon invading Comic-Con. Apparently the tweens, their moms and dads caused quite the stir last year, and due to poor scheduling at this year's show, the crowds could potentially screw things up for the Avatar and Tron 2 panels.

I get Twilight. I really, really do. It's not my thing - but I get it. The girl behind the counter at my local Shell station is a huuuuuuuge Stephanie Meyer fan, and her pestering got me to sit down with the first novel. Stephen King she ain't - but I can see the appeal of the story to girls and women alike. I watched the flick on-demand with my wife, and she practically went sex-feral while staring at the television screen. That was great for me after the movie, but during it? Not so much. I didn't find the movie painful to sit through, but at the same time, if I'd never seen it, I wouldn't be missing much. I'm definitely not the target audience.

So me and Twilight? We're cool - but then again, I'm just sitting here, kicking it in the backwoods of North Carolina - NOT going to Comic-Con (dammit). I don't have to worry about the lines at the convention, because I'm gonna be watching the liveblogs, feeds and streams from the comfort of my office. If I traveled 3000 miles (and believe me, people here do) to see a 3-D Avatar presentation and found out I couldn't get in because some coven of babysitters camped out and took my seat? I'd probably fuckin' flip.

Cam Gigandet vs. Twilight Fans from Cam Gigandet

Megan Fox. That should be enough.

JoBlo's got a shot of the new one-sheet for Jennifer's Body, and you can check out the supersized version over at Bloody Disgusting. According to the article, Daniel over there is the luckiest man on the planet, seeing as how he got Megan Fox to take his pants off and do awesome stuff to him. You sir, are my hero.

I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day, and we were discussing the ridiculous beauty of this breathtaking creature. He said God broke the mold when he made Megan Fox. I disagreed.

Jesus Christ is the son of God, right? Well, Jesus had to have a mom. Yeah, yeah - I know all about Mary, but I'm gonna posit a theory: Mary was just a surrogate mother, you see? God had a wife, they made holy cosmic love, conceived the baby Jesus zygote, and shot him down to Earth, directly into Mary's womb. The Almighty had a bride, and her name was Megan Fox.

Stroker Ace 4815162342: "For God so loved the world, he sent his hot-ass wife from Heaven to bear her midriff in Michael Bay movies."

That's in The Bible.

McLovin' Gets Misty

MTV's Splash Page just snagged an exclusive shot of Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad's McLovin'), dressed in his crazy getup as the Red Mist. CMP plays one of the many adolescent vigilantes in Matthew Vaughn's upcoming film adaptation of the Mark Millar/John Romita, Jr. comic series Kick-Ass.

I'm super-pumped to see this. Seeing as how I've been in college the last two years, not only have I been broke, I've had to read everything from pre-Civil War North Carolina history to autobiographies of unloved Chinese daughters. I haven't had the chance to read jack when it comes to comics, and I sure do miss 'em.

Vaughn's Layer Cake and Stardust got the thumbs up from me, and both Millar and Romita consistently deliver the goods. I've got high expectations for this one. Head on over to MTV to check out the full-sized image!

Alfredson, Morgan Tinker with Le Carre's Spy Classic

I shouldn't admit this, but if I'm anything, I'm brutally honest. I haven't seen Let the Right One In.

There's no excuse. The flick's available for instant streaming, and I'm paying for it. I've got Netflix, an solid web connection, a computer and an XBox 360 - yet I still haven't gotten around to checking it out. I'm a bad person.

The BBC is reporting that Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, the man behind the aforementioned vampire flick, is set to direct Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, an adaptation of the Cold War espionage thriller by John Le Carre. Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) is set to script the film for Working Title.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was previously adapted as an award-winning tv series in the late 1970s. The show starred Alec Guiness as a retired intelligencer who gets back into the game to uncover a Russian double-agent who's wreaking havoc in the agency he was dismissed from. If you're interested, you can check it out right here.

Destro's Giant Head Revealed!

Boy, those fellas over at UGO sure are lucky. My kids would have a field day with this.

Earlier today, the UPS guy showed up at their geek stronghold, and the guy with the big brown truck dropped off a big brown box. Inisde that box was a ton of new G.I. Joe swag, courtesy of Hasbro: action figures, vehicles - the whole nine yards. I'm guessing that playtime ensued, because the video they posted mysteriously stops as soon as the delivery box is emptied. Lucky dogs.

Watching the UGO scribes show off their new toys was cool, but what's more intriguing is the pic they posted from the packaging art. We've gotten good looks at most of the heroes and villians from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but other than a flaky, unfinished pic of Destro, we've been in the dark. This shot, even though it's a painting (I think), gives us a good idea how 'ol Chrome Dome is gonna look.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra opens August 7, 2009.