Paramount previews 'Star Trek,' 'World War Z' and 'Pain & Gain' at CinemaCon

Paramount Pictures gave movie exhibitors a more than generous sampling of their next three films at the Monday opening-night event at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Star Trek Into Darkness co-writer
Damon Lindelof filled in for director J.J. Abrams, who sent word that he's so immersed in post-production chores he couldn't make the trip to Vegas. (Abrams also took full credit for "Lost" in a jokey letter read by Lindelof, his collaborator on the hit ABC TV series.)

Lindelof then brought out four cast members of Into Darkness: Chris Pine (Captain Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Mr. Spock), Alice Eve (new character Dr. Carol Marcus) and John Cho (Sulu). Pine promised that Kirk would show "a lot more vulnerability" in this chapter of the rebooted series, while Quinto talked about his quest to reveal the "interior life" of his famously undemonstrative character. Eve goodnaturedly complained about on-set teasing from her more seasoned Star Trek co-stars, while Cho admitted to being pranked into believing that a laser research facility where the movie shot had made him radioactive.

Lindelof confessed that he and Abrams had been skeptical about the decision to release the movie in 3D, but called himself a convert to the immersive qualities of the technology. The proof was there onscreen, as the studio showed two exciting sequences totaling 18 minutes: a chase scene on a wild red planet that climaxes with Spock about to be toasted alive by an erupting volcano; and a marvelously nail-biting set-piece in which Kirk and new villain Benedict Cumberbatch are propelled at high speed from one spacecraft to another, not always dodging space debris along the way. Watching these clips, I was reminded how astute the casting of the reboot is, with very likeable actors capturing the spirit of the iconic 196os performers.

None other than Brad Pitt made an appearance onstage to promote three harrowing sequences from his ambitious zombie movie World War Z. Zombies are hotter than ever thanks to the cable hit "The Walking Dead," but this movie's zombies are different: They move very fast and gather in massive clusters like an army of cockroaches or soldier ants. The result is some of the most disturbing horror imagery this writer has seen for quite a while; it's definitely scary, but is it too intense for a general audience? As for Pitt, he said that he sought to make a movie his sons would want to see "before they turn 18."

Finally, Transformers director Michael Bay introduced a full screening of Pain & Gain, his $25 million change of pace from his usual action blockbusters. It's one of those movies you'd never believe if it weren't based on a true story, with both Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson in distinctly unheroic roles as bodybuilders who get caught up in half-baked kidnapping and extortion schemes. Mixing comedy and nasty violence, this kinetic "small film" may actually have some critics re-evaluating the profitable Mr, Bay.

Tomorrow at CinemaCon: product presentations from Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., and a screening of the buzzed-about Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat.