New on DVD and Blu-ray: Star Trek (2009) - 4.5/5 Stars

I'm scoring this DVD today, that's how good this was.

In a decade of reboots comes perhaps the most daring and challenging: the Star Trek franchise. With 40 years of history including a total of around 15 movies and/or TV spin- offs, a database of hardcore fans and a recent history of trailing off into oblivion, Star Trek has been on life support for about the last quarter of that time. Then came J.J. Abrams, a producer/director whose respect and credibility in the business had been entirely created in that 10-year span -- and suddenly Star Trek is getting the makeover that Trekkies might have feared, but that it definitely deserved. The new "Star Trek" is a true 21st-Century Star Trek (how fitting): explosive, exciting, character-driven and a miraculous spectacle to behold. It is surely 2009s first critical and box office success.

"Star Trek" follows the great action reboots before it in returning Star Trek to its origins: how the U.S.S Enterprise, the golden ship of Starfleet, protectors of the universe , came into being and how its characters forged their relationship on board its deck. Although there is a time travel element to the plot that declares this is an alternate reality and not the true story (to cleanse the creators of any mythos sins they elected to commit), it's a darn fine story that really establishes its characters and shows a maturing process.

The catch is that in the future -- a long time after the U.S.S. Enterprise formed -- a Romulan aboard a mining ship named Nero (Eric Bana) watches as his home planet is destroyed by a supernova, an event that arguably could have been stopped ahead of time. The person he blames is Spock -- yes, the one we've come to know played by Leonard Nimoy. When Nero's ship is sent back in time by a black hole technology to the time when Star Trek heroes Spock and James T. Kirk are born, he decides to take his revenge by plotting the destruction of planet Vulcan and making Spock watch his home get destroyed.

In the meantime, we witness the growth of Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) and learn how they join Starfleet, as well as the rest of the crew. The evil plot against Vulcan is what brings them aboard the Enterprise for the first time and under these altered reality circumstances, their friendship becomes quite rocky as they try and stop Nero.

"Star Trek" is an epic story of character development. Vulcans are notorious for being emotionless, but Spock is tested as a half-human whose planet is under attack. Kirk is a farm boy with all the leadership skills but too much of an ego who must learn what it takes to really become a leader.

Abrams and writers Orci ("Transformers") and Kurtzman (who writes with Orci on Abrams' newest TV show "Fringe") decide to focus their attention on this and ways to cook up exciting visual sequences, spending less time on what made Star Trek a cultural force back in the '60s: the diversity, the belief in peaceful coexistence and the incurable optimism. "Star Trek" isn't a dark or pessimistic re-imagining at all, but it's distinctly more modern and with that comes intensity and more introspection. It's a different optimism, one that's much more ... informed.

The mostly unknown cast is excellent. Abrams always seems to get great small-budget actors in his projects, "LOST" being a fine example, or more significantly that he made Jennifer Garner's career by casting her in "Alias." Quinto (from NBC's "Heroes") is fantastic as a Spock wrestling between emotion and reason and Pine is a really terrific find. Rarely do you find someone with leading man looks and presence who fits himself perfectly into a role as esteemed as Cpt. Kirk. He earns your respect very quickly, even though he's a wise guy. Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Simon Pegg ("Shaun of the Dead," "Hott Fuzz") as Scotty are excellent choices as well. Even John Cho breaks the stoner mold that "Harold and Kumar" created as Sulu.

This is a visually striking film. If nothing else, the action will blow away anyone from the biggest Trekkie to the person who thinks Klingons actually cling onto things. There is no lack of imagination on Abrams' part, from the space jump suits to the 2009-style phasers and shuttles. In terms of staying true to the source, Abrams gets a passing grade. The best way to go into the film, however, is to be knowledgeable and mildly aware of the Trek lore. People with no idea will be thoroughly entertained, but the more educated yet open-minded you are, the more "Star Trek" will blow your mind. This will be an exciting new series of films for this incredible franchise.

4.5/5 Stars

"Star Trek" (2009)

Directed by: J.J Abrams

Written by: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Eric Bana

Archive Review: The Thing (1982) - 4/5 Stars

If 1979's "Alien" was the original hypothesis that the best science-fiction thrillers are psychological, then John Carpenter's "The Thing" is the study that proves it true. A remake of John W. Campbell Jr.'s 1951 classic "The Thing from Another World," Carpenter's re- imagining is another brilliant execution of quiet suspense that gets quickly into your head and hooks into your brain.

Kurt Russell, Carpenter's star from "Escape from New York," takes the driver's seat again as one of a team of scientists living in Antarctica when a helicopter with two Norwegian scientists arrives at their facility trying to shoot down a husky. The Norwegians are killed and the husky lives, only the husky is actually an alien from another planet that survives by taking the identical appearance of the organisms it kills. Having had the dog in their possession for 48 hours, the men realize that any one of them could be a thing, causing a huge build-up of distrust and tension.

The key part that makes "The Thing" stand above most other alien/creature/monster kills off a group of people one-by-one movies is that last bit about distrust. In other films, the creature is identifiable -- a shark, an alien, etc., but in "The Thing," it could be any of the characters -- now that's both terrifying and awesome. Instead of a thriller where we're just curious about the gruesome way in which the creature will kill the next random dude, we get the simultaneous thrill of wondering which person the creature is. It's like rolling a mystery into a sci-fi horror film.

The nice part about that dual entertainment is they feed off each other. While we're busy wondering who isn't human, Carpenter can fully utilize shock and awe when the thing actually does attack and boy, does he ever. The amount of prosthetics and mechanical devices used to create the constantly moving spool of guts mixed with slimy Venus fly traps that is the thing and the people its imitating are incredible. More than 25 years later you almost wish more films stopped pushing computer-generated images so hard and stayed devoted to developing better and better prosthetics.

But can shear paranoia and suspense along with the fulfilled promise of excellent visual effects drive a science-fiction story? Apparently so. Russell is the only known actor and there's not a whole lot to the characters other than the way they deal with their fear and paranoia.

Another less obvious reason "The Thing" works so well is the parameters the story sets up for itself. Carpenter and screenwriter Bill Lancaster establish a very specific set of rules for what the thing is and isn't capable of, even going so far as to show us the science of how cells from the thing devour other living cells. We know that the thing only reveals itself when its alone with its victim and that it is driven primarily by a survival instinct. These rules lend legitimacy to the story and make it much more interesting for the viewer trying to stay a step ahead of the plot.

When it comes down to it, "The Thing" is just smart formula film-making, even though the formula arguably came after this film. It has a director with impressive horror and suspense credentials in Carpenter, who directed "Halloween," one of the greatest film composers ever in Ennio Morricone to do the suspenseful, haunting score and a creature with more than meets the eye who wreaks psychological havoc on the characters and consequently, us.

4/5 Stars

"The Thing" (1982)

Directed by: John Carpenter

Written by: John W. Campbell Jr. (story), Bill Lancaster (screenplay)

Starring: Kurt Russell

Archive Review: Mad Max (1979) - 1.5/5 Stars

If you read the plot summary for "Mad Max," you've just ruined the first 1 hour and 10 minutes of the film. You've also found out that "Mad Max" takes place in post-apocalyptic Australia, which will be helpful because otherwise you won't have any idea what's going on. The film, made in 1979, tries really hard to be Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" (1971) only that film, in all its strangeness, actually makes sense and leaves an impact. This film does neither and ends up being a car/bike stunt-filled romp that crashes like every vehicle in the film does.

The first thing wrong with "Mad Max" is that it tries to sell itself as a revenge tale when no vigilante appears to take revenge until the final 20 minutes. If the first hour were condensed to 20-30 minutes and then the final 20 added on and then another hour added after that, "Mad Max would be a cool action film with a great vigilante protagonist. Instead, Mel Gibson has to wait around and act like a sissy for 2/3 of the film and then have a sudden epiphany to seek revenge. I've yet to watch the sequel "Road Warrior" and I have to admit I'm excited for it only because I want to know what he does next. This first film was mostly a waste of time.

George Miller does some great action stuff here, but his over-the-top symbolism is absurd and the unbearable cheesy reaction sequences every time a character discovers something horrifying like a burnt hand or what have you completely ruins those moments. Its a terribly cliché B-movie technique.

There is absolutely no thematic value or subtle critique of society in this film no matter what you might think. A great action sci-fi movie at least makes a point, but the gratuitous violence done by random, weird bikers doesn't say anything of value. Even the villain Toecutter feels modeled off Alex of "Clockwork" only uglier and completely unimposing. The PG violence just does not allow the violence of this gang to settle in and get a reaction from the viewer, it just cheeses it up if anything.

I'll give credit for the amount of stuff the film crew blew up and crashed into things and Miller does a great job making you feel the intensity of the collisions. Everything else is mediocre at best and then after an hour of mediocrity, you get something good and the film ends 20 minutes later. I'm just crossing my fingers "Road Warrior" will fulfill the expectations of where this film ends, otherwise that's more time wasted.

1.5/5 stars

"Mad Max" (1979)

Directed by: George Miller

Written by: George Miller, Byron Kennedy, James McCausland

Starring: Mel Gibson

Archive Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - 3.5/5 Stars

It's not unfair initially to dismiss "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as sci-fi pulp from an era full of it, but the film's anti-war message given the Cold War context it was released in makes it nothing short of a classic. Its commercial exterior featuring posters with Gort the space robot pales in comparison to the social/diplomatic values it preaches at its core. Sure, it's not all that suspenseful or riveting for science-fiction, but it represents one of the first pop culture films to reflect important moral values.

Borrowing from the lucrative UFO alien movies before it, TDTESS begins with a flying saucer landing in the Washington mall and producing an alien with a human appearance named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his robot protector Gort, a goofy-looking man in a shiny suit with the ability to disintegrate anything with a beam from his eye. For starters, Klaatu is greeted by military bullets that destroy a gift he intended for the president that would give us the ability to study life on other planets. That's the example of the strict satirical tone taken by writer Edmund H. North (based on the short story by Harry Bates).

Despite humorous special effects and the cheesy running and screaming you see in pulp alien invasion movies, TDTESS manages to expose many of our flaws including our fear of the unknown and our propensity to resort to violence. It warns of the dangers of nuclear energy and outwardly scorns war. In the beginning years of the Cold War, such a message getting out to the public is an accomplishment that must be lauded.

TDTESS isn't only good for its messages, though it certainly is what makes the film stand out. Rennie is a terrific Klaatu. He's intriguing, friendly but also very frank, winning our sympathies but still convincing us of his other-worldly nature. The relationship he develops with the young Bobby Benson (Billy Gray) is the film's most interesting subplot next to Klaatu helping a scientist out with an equation that will lead to interplanetary travel.

Rarely does a film become a classic solely because of its message, but TDTESS certainly does. It's so frank, but speaks such an undeniable truth that in the form of cheaply made science- fiction, resonates in a way that straighter films can't. That's the beauty of the genre and why TDTESS is its first classic.

3.5/5 Stars

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951)

Directed by: Robert Wise

Written by: Edmund H. North, Harry Bates (story)

Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe

Archive Review: Dark City (1998) - 5/5 Stars

Since I haven't reviewed an older sci-fi movie and it's my favorite genre, I reached into my archive and pulled out one of my favorite movie discoveries, "Dark City."

One thing that science-fiction junkies often consider is what aliens would think of us if they studied our planet. Alex Proyas' mystery thriller "Dark City" tells a tale of how they might experiment with us if they discovered our planet and what they would learn about what makes humans tick. In essence, that's what Proyas' script aims to do, discover just a little piece of what it means to be human, and that's what all great films accomplish.

The Strangers are the aliens in the film who have the power of "tuning" which essentially means willing the physical environment around them with their minds and the help of their giant underground machines. They use this power of creation in combination with artificially manufacturing memories (with the aid of a scientist played by Kiefer Sutherland) to create scenarios in which to study their human subjects. So when John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) wakes up one night with no memory to find he's wanted for murder, he begins to uncover the truth as he searches for answers to his own past.

"Dark City" begins as more of a mystery thriller. There are unsolved murders, John is searching for his memories and he's being hunted by a detective (William Hurt). Couple that with Proyas' vision for this experimental city environment, modeled in a 1930s or 40s style but with a dark and decrepit feel to it and you have sort of a science-fiction noir film. It's really a beautifully imagined world even though it's very old-fashioned and downtrodden. 

As the film progresses and you learn more about what the Strangers are up to and what they're capable of (key in on Sutherland's character for the explanations), then "Dark City" emerges as the sci-fi thriller it was born to be. Visual effects abound (that are quite impressive for 1998), action around most corners and explanations of the bizarre aren't more than a scene away.

Directorially, Proyas makes more a visual statement early on in the more noir/mystery portion of the film. There some really great shots -- copious amounts of them in this film in general -- all of which are helped out by intriguing lighting and set design. Between this and the script, you can tell just how vivid Proyas' imagination has to be to actually bring this film to life.

For fans of science-fiction, this film is an easy favorite. All of the film's shortcomings, whether you find the acting just sort of at par or the dialogue not all that stimulating for the actors to work with, the mythology of this film is so elaborate and spectacular that it gives your brain plenty to chew on. The film is not shy about its probing into the relationship between human memory and emotion and is exceptionally poignant in tackling such an abstract concept.

5/5 Stars

"Dark City" (1998)

Directed by: Alex Proyas

Written by: Alex Proyas, Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer

Starring: Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland