The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

J.J. Abrams Redubbed & Retouched Preview Scenes To Keep The 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Villain Secret

By Drew Taylor
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May 20, 2013 7:39 PM
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10 Comments

News

By now almost everyone who really, really wanted to see "Star Trek Into Darkness" has. And those who haven't probably don't care who the villain in "Star Trek Into Darkness" is. That said, we should still issue a perfunctory spoiler warning to those who get queasy at the sight of plot specifics. Not that this is really about whom the "Star Trek Into Darkness" villain is, but rather the insane lengths to which director J.J. Abrams went to cover up and classify this revelation. Homeboy's crazy.

By The Playlist Staff
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May 20, 2013 3:37 PM
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59 Comments

Features

This past Friday saw the release of one of the more hotly-anticipated blockbusters of a packed summer; J.J Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness." The film was already on the radars of many, thanks to its well-liked 2009 predecessor, but sci-fi geeks everywhere became doubly keen to see when it was announced earlier in the year that Abrams would be helming "Star Wars Episode VII."

By Drew Taylor
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May 14, 2013 12:57 PM
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8 Comments

Star Trek Into Darkness, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto

Features

This week, one of the most hotly anticipated (and deliberately mysterious) movies of the summer movie season boldly goes into theaters nationwide. "Star Trek Into Darkness" is director J.J. Abrams' follow-up to the ridiculously entertaining 2009 "Star Trek" reboot, which introduced audiences to a younger, sexier Enterprise crew and turned the occasionally lifeless original series into a zippy space opera. The first film was the best kind of surprise – Abrams only had a single feature under his belt (the somewhat disappointing "Mission: Impossible III") and had yet to solidify his magic-loving geek-cred persona into an identifiable, Steven Spielberg-like brand. "Star Trek Into Darkness" is less of an unknown quantity in that respect, but Abrams and his confederates have tried, tirelessly, to keep the movie shrouded in mystery, offering all sorts of red herrings and deliberate attempts at obscuring plot details from being delivered prematurely. Still, there are some things we can tell you about this new 'Star Trek' experience. And so, without further ado, we will deliver five things you might not know about "Star Trek Into Darkness." Because in space, no one will hear you nerd out.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 3, 2013 5:44 PM
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25 Comments

Reviews

Cast your mind back four years or so, to stardate early May 2009, and remember a time when J.J Abrams wasn't yet the anointed savior of Hollywood. He had an ever-growing fanbase, and had already been behind at least one bona-fide small screen pop culture phenomenon. But his influence on the big-screen up to that point only extended to a few screenwriting credits, mostly forgotten, a producing credit on disposable sleeper hit "Cloverfield," and directing "Mission: Impossible III," an enjoyable, but somewhat interchangeable entry to the Tom Cruise spy franchise.

By Kieran McMahon
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April 29, 2013 1:44 PM
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0 Comments

News

Having raised the temperature a few degrees with a tease of a nefarious Benedict Cumberbatch and some pretty thrilling trailers, details are starting emerge about what to expect from the long under-wraps storyline of J.J. Abrams' hotly anticipated space epic “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” and a new clip that just premiered is almost exclusively centered around Cumberbatch's mysterious villain John Harrison.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 13, 2011 8:33 AM
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0 Comments

Just a note: No, this isn't part of the official lineup, but we missed it at Sundance and took a trip into the Cannes marketplace today to catch up with it.