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My Thoughts on Star Trek

May 13th 2009 19:14
First off, fair warning, I'm about to be a salivating fanboy for the course of this and unashamedly so, too. There are potentially going to be spoilers littered throughout the article, as should be expected when talking about a movie that has been seen several times since the opening, last week.

If you have not seen Star Trek, also known as Star Trek XI, and do not wish to see spoilers than I suggest you do not go past this sentence; it's your fault, not mine, if you read past this point.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, on to my salivation and blathering on about how J.J. Abrams has a lot of intestinal fortitude for what he decided to do with the Star Trek franchise, as well as how, in my opinion, respectful he was toward it, too.


J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtsman have taken the multi-verse concept, a concept that has been touched upon, several times, in the Star Trek franchise and ran in for a 97-yard touchdown. Now it's not perfect, not that awe-inspiring 100 yard touchdown that we see in movies, as well as some freaky and weird games (I mean American Football, by the way), but the very close to perfect version.

Star Trek, as it should be called since Star Trek XI implies that it is a continuation of the movie franchise, instead of a branching of it, is a fine movie that should be one of the biggest movies of Summer 2009. It is also, in my opinion, a film that surpasses the budget of Star Trek II: The Wraith of Khan, yet only just equals the story and quality of it.

Abrams and his cohorts have given us a reboot that is faithful to the material, respectful of those who have come before it, yet has given us a whole new sandbox to see that universe in, all while having a beautiful moment where torches were passed.


The concept of the muti-verse, both in fiction and conceptual reality, is that for every choice that is made, for everything that is done or not done, there is a universe, a reality, where that moment happened or didn't happen and it plays out from there. There are an infinite number of realities, as there are an infinite number of possibilities, in fact there is a concept in Star Trek known as IDIC, which is Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations, that puts the concept down, years and years before the concept was investigate much. Sure, IDIC was more about racial equality and the vastness of sentience in the universe, as well as a cool Vulcan thing, yet it is also a gate to the concept of understanding a multi-verse, too.

We're now at a point where we will be seeing new stories of Star Trek, with different actors in familiar roles, with the technology updated, yet it all makes sense, because we know it's in a different timeline of Star Trek. The timeline that we've known, that we've followed, is not gone, it's just not the one we're seeing on the screen right now.

It is still out there, in novels, in comic books, and video games, but, for now, we're following a new timeline and it looks to tell an awesome story. We're seeing our favorite characters, pure in concept and portrayal, yet in different stories, in different defining arcs, that softens the blow of seeing someone else play James T. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Because of a psychopathic, yet sympathetic madman, a Romulan named Nero, the universe of Abram's Star Trek split off from the main timeline at the time of Jim Kirk's birth, which speed up the technological development of various aspect of the universe, due to strife caused from the ships presence around various sectors of the galaxy.

Kirk joins Starfleet late, but does so under stressful and impressive enough circumstances that he pole vaults his career forward, by the end of the movie, by several years. Spock's life takes several drastic changes, changes that seem to leave us with a Spock who is more like himself from the Pike era, as well as the movie era, of Star Trek and less like he was in the Original Series. We're also left with a universe whose Vulcans are so few and now, whether they know it or not, being influenced by an elder Spock, from the main timeline, who is something of a visionary and inspiring activist.

While I cannot say Star Trek was perfect, I will say that it is so close as to not truly matter whether it is not perfect. The cast was, is phenomenal and we are seeing a Star Trek whose current gross, within a week, is almost double that of the prior Star Trek movie. We are seeing a Star Trek do what all experts said, prior to it, could not be done, which is revitalize a franchise that, just a year or so ago, was thought to be dead.

Star Trek is an awesome movie, for those who are fans, but also for those who have either never seen or never wanted to see Star Trek before. It is so interesting to see how many people came to Star Trek this past week, saying they were not fans, yet are now fans. It's just that cool of a movie and I'm still excited about it.
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My Thoughts on The Wrestler

February 26th 2009 02:55
Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler is a fine movie for more reasons than I think I am capable of verbalizing, but that's not gonna keep me from trying.

As with many of my "reviews", I'm not really going to cover plot points and spoilers, but more empathic content of the movie. In my view, movies aren't purely about entertainment, although it is a big part of it, but also about what you think and feel about it after words. Does it inspire you to see things different, understand something deeper, make you wanna be a better person, or maybe even be a lesser person?

Who knows, but it is something to think about and The Wrestler covers this quite nicely and I think it is a shame that Mickey Rourke didn't win the Oscar, although I can see some good reasons, as well as some kneejerk ones, as why it went to Sean Penn. Just as folks will always wonder if Heath Ledger would have won his Oscar, if he had lived (I think he would have), people should wonder if Sean Penn would have won his Oscar if Prop 8 would have failed, instead of passed. As with Ledger, I think he would have, but the curiosity is there.

Now, on to my thoughts on The Wrestler.

Not only do I watch professional wrestling, I enjoy it, as I feel it is a modern version of the Greek Hubris drama and aims its self toward so many parts of our being that I couldn't, wouldn't point at just one.

Our experience of the life of Randy "The Ram" Robinson is one of a man living through the twilight years of his stardom, looking back on a life lived and seeing the good and bad of it. We see such tribulation in Randy, his mistakes, his work ethic, and his realization of what matters most to him, or perhaps what is left to him that matters.

But, Randy isn't the only one going through a moment of twilight, as Pam, a stripped called Cassidy, is also experiencing a moment of choice in her life, of the emotional content of it, and where her future lies. Together these two people, thrown away by the populace in so many ways, seem to gravitate toward one and other, for good and bad.

Many people have had moments in their lives where they decide if they are going to be the person that they wish to be, be the person that others want them to be, or be the person that they are and, with respect to the Wrestler, we see that moment for two people and those that are in their life. It is the experience, the witnessing of these moments that holds the power of the Wrestler. The visceral wrenching impact of each moment that holds you and, for that, I feel the Wrestler is an excellent movie.

Period.
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Blu-Ray Disc - Wall-E

January 14th 2009 00:01
Now I avoided the whole battle between HD DVD and Blu-Ray, as I figured it would be best, for me, if I just waited and saw who one before I made the movie to adapt myself. Now this is a rarity for me, as I am normally an early adopter, but, for once, I held off on things.

Recently, though, I made the plunge and bought an 80 GB PlayStation 3, a choice that I whole heartedly enjoyed and that I am enjoying. In addition to being a nice game console, it is also an awesome DVD player replacement. While I have quite a few Blu-Ray discs on order, I purchased Wall-E as my first movie and it was the right choice, I think.

Not only are we talking about a well designed CGI movie that is awesome to look at, but the story is quite cute and enjoyable, too. Be it the overt message of protecting the planet and potential for social disconnect via over usage of various electronic devices and our leaning on them too much or the covert message of trends in human interaction and our laziness to do the hard fight of fixing our own messes.

Our story follows the adventure of the last functional Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, the titular hero Wall-E, whose stoic cleansing of Earth is interrupted by the erroneous titled EVE, Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, whose mission is to find signs of Earth recovering form environmental damage, thus allowing the human race, in self-imposed exile, to return to their home planet.

WALL-E's life changes with the arrival of EVE, as his previous solitary existence, save for a cockroach companion, is shattered by the love that the eccentric robot seems to have been craving and now suffering from. What follows is one robot abandoning his directive while following the other through a series if important, yet hilarious obstacles that leads to an artificial life form teaching humanity about what it means to be human, again.

Stunning CGI, excellent plotting, and enthralling characters, WALL-E is definitely a good buy and on Blu-Ray Disc it is utterly amazing.
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The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising

January 1st 2009 08:12
Now it should come as no surprise to most folk, given the prevalence of role-playing games in nerd culture, but I'm a lifelong gamer and I've been throwing dice at the table since the ripe old age of six. Yeap, you read that correctly, I started playing Basic Dungeons and Dragons when I was six years old, thanks to a very open minded mother taking a different route when a school counselor suggested she find me a creative hobby. Seriously, everyone was suggesting the accordion and, trust me, I've enough misplaced aggression issues, as is, without that added onto the bonfire of rage.

*grins


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Flashback - Robocop 3

December 21st 2008 01:53
While I don't have a boy named Sherman assisting me, nor am I a anthropomorphic canine, I am gonna set the way back machine to 1993, a movie I somehow missed back then, even though it was well within my preferred flavors. Sadly, it is also a movie that I feel shows that not everything Frank Miller writes is golden, even though the man is a legend, he can make mistakes.

Not only did the movie have an excellent writer, but it had a good director, Fred Dekker, and an excellent mix of an ensemble cast. On paper, with folks like CCH Pounder, Rip Torn, Stephen Root, Mako, Jill Hennissey, Bradley Whitford, and Nancy Allen, this movie should have been good, not great, but good. Yet, it wasn't, and a key point might have been that Peter Weller declined to do the movie, citing pain caused from long periods in the suit, and Robocop lost what little soul he had


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G4 Presents The Host

November 1st 2008 07:14
Tonight G4 presented the South Korean monster movie, 괴물 - Gwoemul - "Creature" - The Host, a non-traditional take on the monster genre where we follow a family town asunder by the attack of a horribly mutated beast and their attempts to reunite. In addition to the staples of the horror genre, the Host is also ripe with political commentary, dark comedy, environmental issues, and social satire. It is easy to see how and why this film rose to blockbuster status in South Korea, as well as firmly entrenched its self in several global top ten lists for that year.

One key difference between the Host and most monster films of our time is that the creature is not of some unimaginable size, it is more along the lines of an elephant, save for a preternatural agility and violent tendencies. Unlike its fellows of the monster movie genre, the creature from the Host is not shy about being seen by great crowds, as it acts similar to various aquatic and amphibious predators, going into a feeding and killing frenzy when presented with large numbers. The CGI of the monster is impressive, especially when the modest budget of $11 Million USD is taken into account


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James Bond - Full Circle or Modernized?

October 30th 2008 09:05
James Bond is as much a stable of my childhood heroes as is Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Starbuck, and Thomas Magnum, his suave charm hide the brutal efficient of a spy with a license to kill. For Queen and Country, the whole mystique of the super spy genre, for me, begins and ends with James Bond and the restart of the series, with Daniel Craig as the new Bond, is something I was worried about, initially, but fully embrace.

Sean Connery is my favorite bond, although Roger Moore was my first Bond, but Daniel Craig is a close second, a position formerly held by Peirce Brosnan. If we follow Bond's grittiness via his actors we can look at his deadly efficiency under Connery, his suave charm under Moore, his cheeky lethality with Dalton, his good looks and lethal hands under Brosnan and his dark and gritty return under Daniel Craig. It's my opinion, that in many ways, Daniel Craig is the Bond that Connery was before he cleaned himself up a bit and the Bond that we often saw during Connery's run


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Current Trends - Comicbook Adaptations

October 21st 2008 02:16
Now, I'll be one of the first to admit that I'm a dyed in the wool geek. You could get this from the fact that I'm blogging, although that has become a lot more mainstream before I stepped out of the com-closet. You could also get this from my being a life-long role-playing game enthusiast, a hobby that I started back in January of 1980, when I was a six years-old and improperly thought of as hyper, turned out I was just smart and needed a creative outlet. But, we could go back a bit further than that, to the fact that around the same time that I was getting into Star Wars, at age four, I was also getting into comic books.

Yeah, I started reading young, too. Like I said, I was smart, not hyper, but only my Grampa Fiegi had a solid lock on that fact, everyone else pressured mom into getting me on Ritalin. Feh. But, I digress


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Trend - The Brunette Invasion

October 12th 2008 01:31
While it might be sexiest or superficial, I have always found the physical beauty trends in Hollywood to be interesting, since they often lead to those trends being adopted for some years to come. Look at the extreme thinness that came out of Hollywood during the 70s to 80s, the waif crazy of almost boy-like, or prepubescent woman, it wrought some unhealthy expectations for years to come. Let's not forget the bleaching of hair and over perming, in order to get the Farrah wave, or some other oddity of coiffing.

My preference has always been out of step with Hollywood, as I prefer browns, reds, and black hair, which I guess means I'm not a gentleman, to reference a popular old film. There is something sultry about the natural depths of a heroine with dark hair, as well as a villainness. However, up until recent years, that thought was totally out of step with Hollywood, that was until now


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The Wicker Man - Comparing 1973 to 2006

September 28th 2008 06:11
Today I found myself in an unusual set of circumstances, being able to watch a cult classic movie and then its modern remark in the same day. Perhaps I did a disservice to one or the other, but I doubt it. Even though much of the dialog was intact, as well as some aspects of the basic plot, the Wicker Man from 1973 is above and beyond the remake from 2006. In fact, so similar is much of the dialog that when a line from the original is used in this remake, I winced in pain, as the previous scene was that much better and the new was that much worse.

It is odd, because when you look at the two films on the surface they should be equals, as they both had solid casts, named stars, and the dialog and content of the film is riviting. A law enforcement officer comes to a remote, isolated island to answer a written summons about a missing girl and upon arriving everyone denies that she even exists. It is a powerful, classic concept that is at the heart of the gaslight plot-type. However, the 2006 version not only fails to deliver, it is bumbling (sorry for the pun) in its attempt


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