By now, you've probably seen the leaked trailer for J.J. Abrams' reinvention of Star Trek. Hopefully, as you're reading this, you will probably have seen a shiny official version. This is supposed to be Trek for a new generation, a movie that reintroduces the original characters of Kirk and Spock to people who have only seen Trek through watered down sequels and spin-offs. As impossible as it seems, there are people who find all things Trek a mystery -- and when our beloved editor, Erik Davis, asked me to put together a guide, I found myself in a bit of a panic. I began asking my Trekkie friends what they would tell a newbie -- and since we all arrived at roughly these same ten facts, I feel less silly sharing them. If you're new to the final frontier, read on. If you've been wearing your Spock ears since preschool, just go watch the trailer again.

Fact #1: Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry modeled the show on Gulliver's Travels, wanting each episode to be both an exciting adventure and a social parable. The show tackled all kinds of 60s social issues -- feminism, racism, ecology, religion, the Cold War, and Vietnam. Perhaps the biggest hurdle facing Abrams' film is whether or not it can attain that same level of social awareness. Will the new Trek film make a commentary on anything, or will it be nothing but empty action in the name of rebooting?

Continued after the jump...

The madness of Election Day is over -- and I certainly hope you have your I Voted! sticker to prove you were there! No matter what your politics, you can't deny that we saw one of the most exciting and historic elections in history. And whether today finds you ecstatic or despondent in our next President, you have to appreciate what we saw happen in 2008, and what a fantastic country we live in. We have the right to vote our conscience! We have the right to speak our minds without fear of repercussions! We live in a country where anyone can become president, where men and women are created equal, and we all pursue happiness with the freedom and means to do so. We can agree on that whether we're Democrat or Republican. And you know what? At the end of the day, whatever way you vote, we're not that different. And what better way to illustrate that than to have a nice chat about movies? Because whoever your candidate and whatever your affiliation and beliefs, you're here on Cinematical because you love movies.

With that unifying spirit in mind, I'd like to know what films you think best capture the American spirit. Are they John Wayne westerns? The feel good films of Frank Capra? The sacrifices of Saving Private Ryan? Maybe it's less obvious or more personal -- for you, there's no one more American than John McClane, or nothing that says family values more than E.T.

And while I would be quite tempted to pick E.T., I have to go with the one pictured above: To Kill a Mockingbird. To me, there's no one or nothing that embodies the promise of America more than Atticus Finch. Everything you need to know and want to believe of our country is embodied in his quiet fight for justice, and the deep love he has for his young family. It doesn't get any better than that. But of course, that's my opinion -- and it's time for you to have yours.

There's not much in the land of geekdom that can successfully follow up Star Trek, but here's a round-up of what is fit to know.

• Richard Donner tells Variety that a sequel to The Goonies nearly happened -- but the project is now as dead as a doornail. "We tried really hard, and Steven (Spielberg) said, 'Let's do it.' We had a lot of young writers submit work, but it just didn't seem to call for it." Thank all that is holy. If you're feeling nostalgic, check out the link to the full article, as there's some funny behind-the-scenes stories, particularly about Josh Brolin.

• Variety also reports that Brad Ingelsby is writing Sleeper, Sam Raimi's bigscreen adaptation of the DC/Wildstorm comic. I assume for the time being Tom Cruise still wants to star, and get in on this whole comic book thing.

• Yet another poster for The Spirit has been released, and this time it's popped over at Bad Taste.

• Moviehole reports that the World of Warcraft movie is still going forward, and a script is being written -- but no one can say anything more for fear of being shot.
  

• Playmates drops a few hints on their upcoming Terminator: Salvation figures. The "Terminator T-600 Voice 'n' Vision Skull" sounds rather amusing.

The Sherlock Holmes photos appearing online are almost disappointingly fast, aren't they? JustJared already has a second set up -- this time, we get a glimpse of Jude Law as Dr. Watson ... and well, he looks like Law in a mustache. I was hoping for a frock coat, at least! But what's more interesting is the second look at Robert Downey Jr. in costume as the great detective. He's considerably more polished this time around, which suggests several of our commentors were correct, and we may have glimpsed Holmes disguised as a member of the lower class. With the rate these photos are pouring in, we may see Rachel McAdams in full corset soon -- and the costume geek in me can't wait to see what she's wearing as Irene Adler.

With Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes kicking off in London this week, it wasn't going to be long before we got a glimpse of Robert Downey Jr. in Victorian costume. And a bunch have popped up on JustJared, accompanied by some bedraggled extras.

But did we expect him to look like this? Most people see Holmes in securely buttoned down tweed, complete with deerstalker cap and pipe. But that image was invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's illustrator, Sidney Paget. His description on the page was a bit different: "His very person and appearance were such as to strike the most casual observer. In height he was rather over six feet,and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded; and his thin, hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination. His hands were invariable blotted with ink and stained with chemicals, yet he was possessed of extraordinary delicacy of touch, as I frequently had occasion to observe when I watched him manipulating the fragile philosophical instruments." He was also frequently described as "Bohemian" and would slip into a lethargic lifestyle between cases.

So there you go -- lethargic, with a carelessness hand hygeine. Ritchie will probably get flak for "reimagining" the character, but Holmes was never a put together fellow. How many cocaine and morphine addicts do you know who are, anyway? (Yeah, I know that's been cut from this PG version, but I wouldn't be surprised if it pops up in the way they're tackling the character in production.)