Never, ever feel bad about neglecting FSR during the week. We understand. Maybe you’re still tired from Thanksgiving. Perhaps the colder weather and darker sky is causing you to nap more. Or, maybe you had to spend your free time shopping for the holidays or stringing lights around the house. Possibly you saw our guide to must-see movies out this month and have been spending all your time at the cinema. Probably — most likely — you prefer to just wait until Saturday morning and look over highlights in the ol’ Recap. By the way, if you still have shopping to do, check out our latest holiday deals and gift ideas for movie lovers.

This week, we posted reviews for new theatrical releases, including Playing for Keeps, Hyde Park on Hudson, Deadfall and Lay the Favorite, and the new home videos, including The Dark Knight Rises and Beasts of the Southern Wild. We also interviewed Hitchcock actor Danny Huston, The Fitzgerald Family Christmas writer/director Edward Burns and Only the Young directors Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet. And we watched trailers for very long-awaited new films from Roman Coppola (A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III) and Shane Carruth (Upstream Color) and a montage celebrating 2012 in film, or at least their trailers.

Now, check out our biggest and best stories and original content from the past week after the break.

Star Trek Into Darkness Teaser Shows the Villain, But Who Is He?

Another trailer we watched this week is the first tease of Star Trek Into Darkness, and ever since we’ve been wondering if it reveals enough hints from which to deduce who the villain is. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the character might be the return of Khan or maybe another from the TV series, Gary Mitchell. In our posting of the teaser, Jack spoke against the former idea, but he had a positive response overall: “The scale and stakes of Trek 2 look far bigger than what we saw in the first film. Every money shot is pure, colorful spectacle, even if it all has a unsurprising dark edge to it. Plus, Cumberbatch’s growling voice proves once and for all that he’s the illegitimate son of Jeremy Irons and Ian McKellen.”

More on Star Trek Into Darkness:
Has the ‘Star Trek’ Franchise Lost Its Uniqueness Going ‘Into Darkness’?

Guide to the Singing Talents of Les Miserables

If you’re skeptical about any of the stars of the new musical Les Miserables, at least as far as their voices are concerned, Kate compiled a guide to the main singers in the film, complete with YouTube proof of talent. These include big names like Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway and lesser knowns like Samantha Barks. They all have a musical past, including Sacha Baron Cohen: “While it would be easy to joke that Baron Cohen should just stick to his silly singing work as Borat, Ali G, and Bruno, the funny man seems bound and determined to change that perception – between his work in Sweeney Todd, Les Miserables, and that gestating Freddie Mercury biopic, Baron Cohen definitely wants to be recognized for his voice work. You’ll be shocked to learn that Baron Cohen has no formal voice training.”

What is Francis Ford Coppola’s Epic New Project?

The director of Apocalypse Now and The Godfather films has vaguely revealed that he’s working on a new film at Paramount, which will be set in New York over the course of many decades. Could it be Francis Ford Coppola‘s return to the big time? Nathan commented on this scoop: “An infinite budget, a return to the studio machine, and a script that spans decades? It sounds like Coppola is looking to make a splash again. And, traditionally, he’s always been at his most effective when he’s shooting big and getting a little nutty.”

Slamdance and Sundance Programs Announced

This week continued the unveiling of programming for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (premieres and shorts) and saw the first announcement of the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival selections. Kate spotlighted some of the reasons to check out the smaller event this year: “Despite the flux of new talent, there are plenty of recognizable names that pop up within the lineup’s ranks, including Brea Grant, Michael Urie, Jesse Eisenberg, Mamie Gummer, Ralph Macchio, Natasha Lyonne, Ben Stiller, Gavin McInnes, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Patton Oswalt, Sean Conroy, Paul Provenza, and Marc Maron.”

What’s More Exciting? Announcement of Clerks III or That Kevin Smith is Retiring Afterward

Because he’s one of the most divisive filmmakers on Earth, any news about a Kevin Smith project can be met with delight or scorn. This week’s revelation about Clerks III and the director’s plans to retire when he’s done with the trilogy closer. Nathan played it fairly neutral with his response: “While the accusations that this is just a way for Smith to make a grab for another big paycheck before he stops doing movies will certainly start popping up almost immediately, it does seem pretty fitting that he would revisit his most enduring work for his last go-around with a movie camera.”

More on Threequels:
‘Tron 3′ is Still a Thing

Academy Narrows Down Documentary Feature and Live-Action Short Oscar Contenders

Shortlists for the Documentary Feature and Live-Action Short categories of the 2013 Oscars were announced, and our resident award season expert, Daniel, provided us with a guide to all the contenders for the latter award. Although not a fan, he predicts the one about estranged sisters by Bryce Dallas Howard has the best chance: “Until recently, it was available in full online. Unfortunately, it’s both sappy and clunky. If last year’s win for Terry Geroge‘s The Shore is any indication, however, that might actually work in its favor. Everyone in Hollywood likes Ron Howard, so this has a decent shot at winning in spite of itself.”

More Oscar season coverage:
An Awards Season Plea: Stop Using the Word “Snub”
The Cynic’s Oscars: The Sorry Desperation of the Original Song Category
Read 19 Screenplays Vying for This Year’s Oscar Attention
National Board of Review Awards Honor ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild,’ and More

Could Movie Theaters Have Bonus Features Too?

Last weekend, I attended a special sneak preview of The Guilt Trip, a road trip dramedy starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. After the movie, audiences across the country were treated to a live Q&A with the stars via satellite and could participate by asking questions. In my report on the event, I featured amusing quotes about marijuana, Marlon Brandoand Babs’s bad driving, among other things. But I was mostly curious about this sort of event. “Could we see more of these happening, possibly to even more theaters and for a fee (or just included in the ticket price) during a film’s opening weekend? It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the movie business to give the people a little something extra. It’s like having a DVD bonus feature during your theatrical experience.”

More on movie theaters:
What Do Most Dine-In Movie Theaters Get Wrong?

15 Downright Brutal Attacks On Inanimate Movie Objects

This week’s list from David Christopher Bell might help you in your anger management. Just watch the clips from Goodfellas, Groundhog Day, Office Space and both Terminator 2 and Terminator 3. First, though, since it’s the season for it, he included A Christmas Story. On the destruction of the leg lamp: “Unlike almost everything else on this list, this wasn’t a crime of passion. It was premeditated, so much so to the point that she made sure there was no coming back – no means to repair what she had done. We don’t even witness it happen, but rather see only the sinister look on the woman’s face right before she passive aggressively destroys her husband’s ridiculous prize. In fact, for all we know, itwas an accident – and that’s what makes it such a delicious act of hate.”

More on A Christmas Story:
A Very Junkfood Christmas: Ralphie Gets His Gun For ‘A Black Christmas Story’

The Hollywood Melodrama is Back and Manlier Than Ever

In the latest Culture Warrior column, Landon noted this fall’s entries into the once-dead genres of the western, the musical and the melodrama, the last of which he focused on with a certain observation: ”This Fall, Hollywood has, seemingly under our noses, reinvented the male melodrama. Michael Philips of The Chicago Tribune recently celebrated the return of the mainstream film for adults, though with films like Skyfall, Lincoln, and Flight, this is a decidedly male return to maturity. But two of these films – Lincoln and Flight – seem indisputably melodramatic in the generic sense.”

Is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman a Bad Idea?

Last week’s big story was the rumor that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will reprise his role from The Dark Knight Rises as a surrogate Batman in the Justice League movie. In his latest Boiling Point column, Robert spoke out against the idea: “Gordon-Levitt should not play Batman (he could play Nightwing, though they still face the idea of setting the entire DC universe in Nolan’s world) and DC/Warners should plan for the future of all the franchises, not for the continuation of one Nolan is leaving behind. Anything else will potentially bungle not only Batman, but the Justice League movie, maybe the Superman movie, and perhaps the entire DC Universe. Which would be a shame.”

More on The Dark Knight Rises and Justice League:
A Storm Is Brewing with ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ Drinking Game
Rumor: Iconic DC Villain Might Be ‘Justice League’ Baddie