Take the first short trip to Gervais' "Cemetery Junction"

Actually, let's start with what, at first glance, seems to be the oddest news of the day: Steven Spielberg is eying Spock himself, Zachary Quinto, to play George Gershwin in a new grand biopic.

I say on the surface, however, because it actually makes a lot of sense. Spielberg revels in movies like this, especially when it's about a rather famous Jewish American. Anyone who had to suffer through high school marching band (I played the clarinet myself) has had the pleasure of trying to play Rhapsody in Blue at least once, and it was of course used to perfection in my favorite Woody Allen movie, "Manhattan."

And, judge for yourself with the pic of Gershwin here, but I think the resemblance is there, and though I gave up on "Heroes" a very long time ago (is it really still on the air?), Quinto can really act. Anyways, something to keep your eyes on.

But here today it's really all about the first trailer (that I've seen, at least) for "Cemetery Junction." And what is that? Well, it's the first collaboration of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant since "Extras," reason enough to cheer, and it's a movie that will hopefully open wide enough for me to see it when it drops ... well who knows? It's listed as April 7 for the UK and next fall for much of the rest of the world, but I can't find a release date anywhere for the U.S. Nards!

Anyways, though it's a return to the working world, it's hardly a "The Office" knockoff. Instead, though Gervais plays a role, the focus is on three young chaps who sell insurance in Reading in the early '70s. The accents are indeed a bit hard to understand when you're listening to them five minutes after waking up, but other than that, the trailer looks good to me. Enjoy, and stick around afterward for some big news about the U.S. "The Office" and a couple of more clips.



Next up comes a pretty big spoiler about the U.S. "The Office," so if you don't want to know, just skip down to the next clip. Anyone who'd been watching knows that Dunder Mifflin has been bought out, and now it seems that the buyer has been revealed.

According to movieviral.com (and, as you'll see, they have memo to prove it), Kathy Bates will very soon join the cast for at least a little while as Michael's new boss when Dunder Mifflin is bought by some entity called Sabre Corp. (and we all know he does so well with female bosses, so this should be a hoot.) Bates plays Sabre Corp. CEO Jo Bennett. The new company is apparently a printer selling company (synergy, anyone?).

Lest you doubt this, there's already a Web site for Sabre Corp. you can find here. And, because what would "The Office" be without a memo, here's the one announcing Sabre Corp.'s new acquisition:

FROM: Dunder Mifflin Management

TO: All Dunder Mifflin Employees

SUBJECT: Dunder Mifflin Joins Sabre

Dear Colleagues,

By now you have probably heard stories regarding the ownership of Dunder Mifflin. Allow us to take this opportunity to shed some light on our company's future. We are very pleased to announce that Dunder Mifflin will be joining the Sabre Corporate family. This marks a high point in our company's history. Rest assured that Sabre will do all they can to make this transition as smooth as possible.

At this time, it is important that we keep our focus on our every day activities and continue to deliver the kinds of results that have made Dunder Mifflin what it is today. It is an exciting time, and these are exciting possibilities. We are confident that you, our employees, are the best team to face the challenges and seize the opportunities that lay ahead.

This promises to be a very exciting journey for all of us.

Regards,
Dunder Mifflin Management

Like I said, Michael (Steve Carell) with Kathy Bates as his boss? Sounds like great TV to me. Stay tuned.

Except for that, all I have left today is a couple more clips. First up comes what purports to be a new trailer for Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island," which will finally hit theaters Feb. 19. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot new here, but I'm thoroughly psyched for this flick, so enjoy the trailer.

And finally, courtesy of Collider.com come three clips from "Thankyoumoreplease," the writing and directing debut from "How I Met Your Mother" (which I believe has just been renewed for a sixth season) star Josh Radnor. The movie stars Radnor, Malin Akerman and Tony Hale of "Arrested Development," and although the clips below don't really look all that promising for this flick about six New Yorkers dealing with, well, life, this movie did just win the Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance, so what in the world do I know? Enjoy the clips, and have a perfectly passable Monday. Peace out.

"Star Trek": Not bold, but still brilliant

As I was waiting for J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" to start last night (I showed up plenty early, expecting, frankly, a much bigger crowd), I was trying to remember the last time I had even bothered to watch a movie based on an old TV show, and I really couldn't think of one.

"Bewitched"? Why bother? And despite the presence of both adorable Anna Friel and veryfunnyman Danny McBride, I really can't see myself getting into Will Ferrell's upcoming "Land of the Lost."

In most cases, even if its called a "reimagining," it usually just means adding tired jokes about all the anachronisms. What Abrams has accomplished with "Star Trek," however, is something entirely different. By embracing the best elements of the original animal but adding a fresh and almost uniformly appealing cast and enough of his own touches to give the series a big jolt of new blood (and adrenaline), he's created something so entertaining that it should relaunch the series and have it thriving (or, if you must, prospering) for a long time to come.

Though our 7 p.m. showing was only a little more than half full, I could tell from the crowd that we were in for something thoroughly fun. Despite the absurdity of a local country station giving out Trek t-shirts (to the only two people who bothered to come in costume), all the good-natured "Star Wars" jokes ("I should have come dressed as Vader") just set the stage perfectly.

So, what about the movie itself? Well, after a superb opening sequence that simultaneously features the birth of Kirk and introduces the movie's big bad, the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana, not really all that menacing except for the fact that - with all the Romulan facial tattoos - he looks a lot like Mike Tyson), Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wisely spend a lot of time introducing the new members of the Enterprise crew-to-be.

And though the types are already well set in stone, the new players are all just about perfectly cast (with the glaring exception of Simon Pegg, but more on that later.) The only thing I could remember seeing Chris Pine in was the mildly disappointing "Bottle Shock," but here he captures the combustible mix of anger and potential that makes the young Kirk intriguing, and though I gave up on "Heroes" during the disastrous second season, Zachary Quinto finds the soul of Spock rather than making him the cartoon it would have been easier to become.

Among the supporting crew, Zoe Saldana smolders just enough as Uhura, and gives the movie its most tender moment along with Quinto. Karl Urban's McCoy (a truly eerie dead ringer) and Anton Yelchin's Chekhov are mostly there for very effective comic relief, but my favorite crew member of all was John Cho's Hikaru Sulu, perhaps mostly just because it was so much fun to see him do something besides get incredibly stoned.

The main (and just about only) beef I had heard from the minority of critics who at least kind of panned this was that the story was lacking, but I have to disagree. Though it is indeed a fairly standard revenge tale with enough wrinkles thrown in to keep it interesting until the end, I have to wonder, just how intricate could you really expect what amounts to the first mission of Kirk's Enterprise crew to be?

As it is, Abrams keeps the tale moving at a very fast but fluid pace, enough so that - for once - I really didn't mind the occasionally shaky camera work because it really does set up some simply stunning set pieces. Kirk and Sulu get the best one of all, as they dive from the Enterprise to take out a crazy giant drill that Nero is using to assault the Vulcan planet. I guarantee it will be the best action sequence you'll see this summer (or at least I welcome the challenge from "Terminator: Salvation" trying to top it in two weeks or so.)

My only quibble (and I hesitate even to bring it up, because the movie really was just about perfect summer fare) was that, after producing a script that set up the natural dynamic of the young Enterprise crew, it really felt like they went back at the end and crammed in the catchphrases that any Trek fan (and even a casual admirer like me) expect to hear. They're very funny at first, but exceedingly just a little annoying as it feels like Abrams and crew are working from a checklist.

And the introduction of Pegg's Scotty unfortunately feels right in this vein too. You know going in that he can't be a member of the Star Fleet Academy class with Kirk and company, but he just feels tacked on when he's finally brought in, and it doesn't help matters that Pegg - shockingly - just doesn't seem to fit the part at all. It's the first time on the big screen that I just really haven't much liked him at all.

But all that said, the bottom line is that this is a thoroughly fun flick that will thrill "Star Trek" devotees and newcomers alike. And with that, I have to go pay $70 to keep from having my power cut off and then to the job that pays me just enough to put me in that admittedly rather sorry position. Peace out.