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Director J.J. Abrams' 2009 prequel to the dusty Star Trek property got the space saga out of mothballs and back on the pop culture radar. Star Trek Into Darkness resumes the franchise's penchant for futuristic allegories to modern times. Well, if you consider the Bush years the state of today's foreign policy debates.The '60s series never bludgeoned viewers with its mission statements, and the Star Trek sequel similarly embraces razzle dazzle over speechifying. Abrams is too keenly focused on ambitious action sequences, those maddening lens flares and the bond between the ship's crew that made those prior voyages such a...

Saw it last night. Couldn't make sense of certain aspects of it until I realized they're telling the 9/11 truther plot that Bush planned everything. (Spoilers ahead with plot details revealed)

Why would a Starfleet admiral ask a 300-year-old frozen man for help?’’ asks Captain Kirk in his latest adventure — and, after sitting through two-plus hours of the mind-numbing “Star Trek Into Darkness,’’ damned if I could tell you why.

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For a TV show that debuted back in 1966 and struggled in the ratings during its 3-year run, there's no question that "Star Trek" has endured and defied the odds. But in order for it to truly live long and prosper well into the 21st Century (and, hopefully, beyond), it had to change, take risks, think outside the box and appeal to a much bigger audience than just its devoted fan base of Trekkers. Fortunately, that's exactly what the 2009 big screen reboot directed by J.J. Abrams did, and in a very big way. In fact, no review for its...

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“Oblivion” is a spectacular science fiction movie... until it isn’t. Writer-director Joseph Kosinski (“Tron: Legacy”) has created a post-apocalyptic world so rich in detail and gorgeous design, that from the get-go it’s easy to assume this film will become a sci-fi classic. But as “Oblivion” crosses the threshold from the unknown to the all-too-obvious, the Tom Cruise alien adventure falls into familiar territory.

As a conservative and a fledgling filmmaker with a few early-stage documentaries in the works, I've long been concerned about conservatism's struggle to relate to the culture. While our ideological opponents are partying with Beyoncé and having action movies made about their foreign policy decisions, the pop-culture portrayals of our party have led many voters to associate us more closely with segregation than economic liberty. As unfair and inaccurate as the characterizations may be, it's our job as a movement to fix the problem. Unfortunately, a new production by the conservative nonprofit Tea Party Patriots, called A Movement on Fire,...

Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have made headlines numerous times over the past few months with their epic series “The Bible” on the History Channel. TheBlaze has covered the show in detail, most recently providing an look inside a fascinating Bible exhibit that accompanies it. Tonight, the five-part series comes to a close, appropriately concluding with Jesus’ death and resurrection. While the series has been monumentally successful, some critics have pointed to historical inaccuracies they believe are present. Now, before critics of the show get too excited over these claims, there’s much to consider. The exclusions and changes, it appears,...

Today being Resurrection Sunday, the pick for today's feature is the perennial Easter favorite based upon the Lloyd C. Douglas novel about the Roman centurion who wins Christ's robe and how his life changes. The first film shot in CinemaScope. I particularly love the scene where Jean Simmons' character tells off Emperor Caligula.

Thanks to the "The Bible" mini-series that has exposed the story of Jesus' life to the nation, He is getting his own mini-series to come. The handsome and gracious Jesus in "The Bible" may have altered some viewers' take on the most influential man who has ever walked on earth, and now, with the newfound spotlight, He may appear on the TV screen more often than before...

The television drama series based on the Bible and shown on the History Channel has amazed critics by garnering huge viewing figures across America and becoming the most surprising television hit of the year. Defying expectations that a simple retelling of Bible stories, including those of Adam and Eve, and Samson and Delilah, would not appeal to a modern audience, the 10-hour series has been making headlines and had more than 13 million viewers for its first episode. The Bible has consistently been the top-rated cable television programme on Sunday nights, and some reports estimate that 50million people have watched...

<p>NEW YORK The seemingly unstoppable hit "The Book of Mormon" has broken another record — this time on the other side of the Atlantic.</p> <p>The quirky, profane musical opened Thursday night to some critical bashing, but the next day earned the highest one-day gross in London theater history.</p>

Tina Fey, like other Hollywood-created stars including Lena Dunham, is showing herself to be a box office bust. Her newest film, Admission, in which she stars as an admissions officer who falls into romance with typecast normal person Paul Rudd, clocked in at a mere $6.6M on its opening weekend. “Red States may be holding a grudge over your SNL Sarah Palin impressions,” writes Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood. But this isn’t Fey’s first tepid box office response. She has a long string of them.

With Ninja angels in ancient Sodom, the highly publicized TV miniseries "The Bible," which made its national debut Sunday night on the History Channel, does not always stick to Scripture, despite being produced by two famous Christians and having numerous biblical experts as well as Texas megapastor Joel Osteen advising on the project.

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The History Channel miniseries "The Bible" has been a hit in the ratings, but it's also grabbing attention because of the actor playing Satan -- and the public figure some viewers think he resembles. After actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni's first appearance as Satan in "The Bible" aired on Sunday, a number of viewers took to Twitter to say that he bears a resemblance to President Barack Obama. One person who took notice was conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who tweeted on Thursday, "The bible on the history channel Sunday. Best episode yet. Don't miss it. Does satan look EXACTLY like Obama?...

There's a swirl that the devil character in "The Bible" TV show is a thinly veiled President Obama ... and Mark Burnett tells TMZ, it's all the devil's doing ...THE REAL DEVIL. Burnett -- a deeply religious man -- tells TMZ ... he believes there is a devil on earth. Burnett says the devil has stirred the pot and created a false likeness between Obama and the TV devil. Why, you ask, would the real devil care about a TV show? Fact is ... the show is HUGELY popular and is having a big impact on viewers. Burnett notes the...

Episode 3 is expected to see a ratings bump with the first appearance of Jesus, played by the Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado. Though Morgado does not look like a Middle Eastern Semite, the producers have the age right. Morgado is 33, the age of Jesus at his death. The History Channel's third episode of the Bible takes huge leaps through history. It moves from the Babylonian captivity to the baptism of Jesus. It is dramatic and entertaining, but as with episodes 1 and 2, it lacks historical grounding and fails to present the cultural complexities of Abraham's Horite descendants, especially...

March 17, 2013 DID YOU KNOW HOLLYWOOD MADE A MOVIE ABOUT BEN CARSON? WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE Mytheos Holt Dr. Ben Carson has been hot with conservatives since his well-publicized speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he criticized President Obama’s policies while the president sat all of 5 feet away, not to mention his CPAC address this past weekend. But what you might not know is that before he became a hero on the right, Carson was already a minor celebrity, and even got a TV movie made about his life. The movie, titled “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson...

“Wreck-It Ralph” is adorable. The film evokes an essence of heart that is not anchored by the innuendos of today’s “kids” films. Most animated films today are produced with the idea of selling it to the kids while keeping the parents awake. Usually, like above that is brought on by double entendres, and adult themes strewn about. “Wreck-It Ralph” brings a different approach, nostalgia. Throughout the film (mostly the first act), “Wreck-It Ralph” is a goldmine for adults reminiscing of the hours spent at home or the arcade. From the 8-bit Disney logo to cameos by Bowser and Sonic, to...

Everything Wrong With Skyfall In 4 Minutes Or Less

Dramatic and conventional in its portrayal... that's how I characterize the History Channel's presentation of Genesis and Exodus. Did it present Abraham's Horite people faithfully? Not at all. This was a rehash of old interpretations that fail to tell the whole story. In other words, a missed opportunity. The program clearly stirred interest because after it aired this blog had over 300 reads in less than 30 minutes. The higher traffic continued the following day. People arrived from different search engines with questions like "Who was Abraham's firstborn son?" and "What color was Abraham?" If you watched the program, try...

The History Channel's "The Bible" miniseries once again raked in the ratings this past weekend, drawing in 10.8 million total viewers for its second episode, thus making it the most popular program in all of television on Sunday night. Although the historical miniseries was down 18 percent in total viewership from its premiere on March 3, it still managed to attract 3.2 million adults, ages 18-49, and 3.8 million adults, ages 25-54, according to Deadline. These high numbers made the new miniseries the most watched television program on Sunday from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. According to Channel Guide Magazine, over 50...

Hollywood's attempt to re-write history has been condemned by New Zealand's Parliament. MPs have today voted unanimously to support a motion from New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters that condemned the way New Zealand is portrayed in Oscar-winning film Argo. The film showed New Zealand diplomats turning away a group of Americans trying to escape from Tehran during the Iranian revolution in 1979. In reality, a New Zealander drove the Americans to the airport in Tehran so they could fly to Switzerland. Peters called it a "grave misrepresentation" of the courageous and commendable role of New Zealand diplomats. . .

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When "Duck Dynasty" returned for its third season last week, it was greeted by an audience of 8.6 million viewers. Pretty good for an A&E reality series about bearded bayou brethren who manufacture duck calls and love to go bird hunting. Except that's not what "Duck Dynasty" really is. Viewers who have ducked this show thus far, assuming it's just another mocking redneck display on the order of "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," have it all wrong. And they're missing out. Nor, by the way, is this a show that has much to do with the duck-call business (life has...

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What does Hollywood have against the British? Once again on Oscar night, Tinsel Town gave warmly with one hand — while cynically taking away with the other. The good news is that at least nine Britons will fly back across the Atlantic with coveted golden statues. But the bad news is that Argo — the movie that won Best Film — is yet another piece of Hollywood’s Brit-bashing junk history that casts the British in a poor light.

The Walking Dead Spoiler Bomb: Here Comes a Showdown—And Another Death! The Walking Dead returned from hiatus last week, and we saw a couple of zombies and a whole lot of angry and half-crazy humans. This week, well, let's just say that when you tune in on Sunday, you're gonna see a much different dead/undead ratio. And some major bloodshed. What else can you look forward to? Here are some spoilers to tide you over until Sunday:

In "Zero Dark Thirty," the movie about the killing of Osama bin Laden, one of the first scenes shows a terrorist being waterboarded, where useful information gets extracted. The movie thus asserts the controversial practice leads to actionable intelligence. Not only was former President George W. Bush criticized for "authorizing torture," his critics argued that "torture doesn't work." During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama said: "Torture is how you get bad information, not good intelligence. ... No more secret authorization of methods like simulated drowning. When I am President, America will once again be the country that stands...

Just got done watching Gangster Squad and it is a great movie. It takes some artistic license but clearly gives credit to Chief Parker for keeping the mob out of Los Angeles. I've lived in Los Angeles all my life as has my father - and he often has talked about how Chief Parker went Roman on the mafia in the 1950's in order to keep them out of Los Angeles. As a result, Los Angeles was considered off limits to the mob. The lack of corruption in Los Angeles from the 1950's on thru the 1980's was an important...

The list of the twenty-five top-grossing films (worldwide) of 2012 has been released, and I believe there are a few important lessons that proponents of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional Judeo-Christian values can learn from its inventory. First, let’s take a look at what types of stories drew the most attention in 2012. The top three – Avengers, Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall – are all superhero/action flicks. At their core, they are “good vs. evil” morality plays. They are about the pursuit of justice and defense of the defenseless. They are about sacrifice and loyalty and love. Of...

Skyfall, the latest James Bond blockbuster that grossed more than US$1 billion in ten weeks, has been lambasted by author Sebastian Faulks. Faulks, who was commissioned by the estate of Bond creator Ian Fleming to write a Bond novel, described the film as 'pretty distasteful', criticised some of the acting and said the film's attempts to show a sensitive side to the spy hero had failed.

I don't believe there are any spoilers in my review, most of the stuff is shown in the movie ads. Reader discretion is advised.

Seen those posters on the tube for 'Movie 43', seen its all-star cast? Wondered why aside from those posters that proclaim it hilarious and show us the incredible cast, you haven't heard hide nor hair of it? Well wonder no more, because the film has been released, and immediately nearly everyone who's seen it is kicking up a stink. The film consists of various short movies, acted out by its A-List stars, with a tendency towards gross-out humour as is to be expected with Peter Farrelly involved in direction. The amazing cast includes Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Richard Gere, Jason...

In space, no one can hear you scream. But in theaters showing movies set in space, everyone should be able to hear you cry — as long as director J.J. Abrams does his job right. In space, no one can hear you scream. But in theaters showing movies set in space, everyone should be able to hear you cry — as long as director J.J. Abrams does his job right.

Quentin Tarantino's latest film is being seen as a vehicle for the pro-gun movement in the US to rally African American support It is on course to be its director's highest-grossing film and has been nominated for five Oscars. But one rightwing US group sees an opportunity in Quentin Tarantino's anti-slavery polemic Django Unchained that the film-maker is unlikely to have imagined when he wrote it: promoting the importance of gun ownership rights to African American audiences. Political Media, which recently raised eyebrows in the US in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings with the launch of a controversial...

[Latest box office numbers from the site:]

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — The critics agree “Zero Dark Thirty” — a film depicting the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden — is gritty and moving. The movie is also filled with scenes of disturbing and graphic torture and has many people upset. But not about the images and what they depict — what the images suggest. The film has garnered five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. But it’s also beset with controversy and criticism. CBS2 and KCAL9 Political Reporter Dave Bryan went to a theater in Hollywood Friday evening and spoke to a group of people who say the movie...

... Julianne Moore won an award for playing Sarah Palin in Game Change, because of course she did. And then, apparently, the director of the movie was gushing about how “brave” she was for doing that. That’s right: Daring to depict Sarah Palin in an unflattering light is an act of bravery. In Hollywood.

Scant days ago, in that chilly time after Christmas, I strolled into our local theatre in the expectation of being entertained by an established well-loved musical that had just been rendered to film. I had no idea I would emerge from the darkness three hours later a scarlet-eyed blubbering wreck. Having bargained for diversion, I instead reaped a bounty of cinematic moral lessons wherein intense human ugliness runs headlong into the arms of sublime beauty and breaks our aching hearts in a fair exchange. Welcome to the spectacle of Les Miserables. In retrospect, one could not ask for a more...

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The nominees for the 2013 Academy Awards have been revealed in Los Angeles. Find out who is in the running for the main prizes below. This page will be updated shortly with a full list of nominees. Best film Amour Argo Beasts Of The Southern Wild Django Unchained Les Miserables Lincoln Life Of Pi Silver Linings Playbook Zero Dark Thirty Best actress Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook Emmanuelle Riva - Amour Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild Naomi Watts - The Impossible

After seeing the new Quentin Tarantino movie "Django Unchained," a number of moviegoers issued violent and racist tweets expressing a desire to kill white people, Twitchy reported Sunday. "Seeing Django reignited my desire to kill white people," said "Flex." The tweet had been deleted, but many more were available. "After watching Django, all I wanna do is shoot white people," another person said. "We need a modern dy django to kill some white people (sic)," tweeted another

We went to see The Hobbit yesterday and we thought it was awful. Been surprised that since it's release there haven't been any posts to the Hole. Are you all disgusted with Part 1?

A word of warning: It’s impossible to review Promised Land, the new movie written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski and directed by Gus Van Sant, without giving away its twist ending. Though the plot turn is fumbling in its execution, it is the slyest tactic in the movie’s clumsy crusade against fracking, the process of injecting high-pressure chemicals, water, and sand into the ground to access vast quantities of otherwise inaccessible natural gas.Here’s the premise: Steve Butler (Damon) is a corporate salesman who draws on his rural roots to persuade farmers to sell their land to a fracking...