Muppets and this week's links

With the previous week being the wonderful combination of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, it wasn't a particularly busy time for news. However, I did go see The Muppets, after suffering childhood flashbacks from watching Muppet Treasure Island. I'm not totally sure how they did it, but the movie just works. It's a freakishly perfect combination of nostalgia and humor and genuine love. I rank it a #8 for the year. There are some excellent cameos, with the best probably being Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory.

Star Trek gets a real release date and composer

I posted last week about the reported start of filming for Star Trek 2, and now it's official-ish. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel will shoot in 3D and release on May 17, 2013, giving me something to watch between Hobbit films. Additionally, composer Michael Giacchino has said he'll return to score the film. I was a fan of his work on Lost, and his music for Star Trek is one of my favorite film scores.

Red Dawn also (finally) gets a date

Star Trek 2 hasn't been fast-tracked in the same a film the Hunger Games was, but it's coming at a roaring pace compared to Red Dawn, which shot with a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth. However, now the cast members have gone and made themselves famous, it looks like the film will finally hit screens. FilmDistrict (who bought the distribution rights from MGM) has set a release date of November 2, 2012.

Bond will have cool toys

Remember how James Bond used to have cool toys like an invisible BMW and then Daniel Craig took over and the filmmakers realized they could just have Bond be cool all by himself? Well the gadgets look to be coming back in the next film, titled Skyfall. UK actor Ben Whishaw has been cast as Q, who was last seen played by John Cleese in 2002.

And here's a couple of Cyber Monday deals

Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy (Blu-ray + Digital Copy)

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Blu-ray + Digital Copy)