This Week’s Movie Quote

Agnes: He’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die!

Despicable Me (2010)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Review

Star Trek Into Darkness

Directed by JJ Abrams

Starring:
John Cho
Benedict Cumberbatch
Alice Eve
Bruce Greenwood
Simon Pegg
Chris Pine
Zachary Quinto
Zoe Saldana
Karl Urban
Peter Weller
Anton Yelchin

Plot Synopsis:

After devastating attacks on Starfleet, the USS Enterprise is sent on a mission into enemy territory in order to find the man responsible for these terrorist acts.

My Opinion:

I won’t go into how much I know about all things Star Trek – I already did that here when I reviewed Star Trek (2009), which I re-watched this past week, and The Motion Picture & The Wrath Of Khan, which I’ve just watched for the first time: Star Trek Reviews

Basically, I loved The Next Generation and then watched the original series after TNG & have just now started on the movies with the original cast. So, this review is from someone who likes Star Trek but is not exactly a Trekkie (or is it Trekker?).

I really enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness. I thought the 2009 movie was a decent enough intro to a new series of movies but it didn’t really blow me away. Plus, I fell asleep both times I tried to watch it all the way through. Well, I can say you’re not likely to fall asleep during Into Darkness.

I enjoyed the main characters more in this one as they were able to just kind of “be themselves” as opposed to in the first movie where they had to spend time setting them up for those in the audience new to Star Trek. It also meant they were able to spend more time focusing on the story and the action in this one – and there’s A LOT of action. It was pretty non-stop from beginning to end. I liked the opening scene (even if it was maybe a bit silly). The bits set in London and in San Francisco looked great. The emotional bits felt more “real” in this one than in the 2009 one (perhaps as we’re more used to the main actors now). Alice Eve is sexy, especially in all the different uniforms. And Benedict Cumberbatch is an EXCELLENT villain. He’s by far the best thing about this one. The only slight downside is he’s so good that it shows off the weaknesses in all the other actors in the film.

I’m reading mixed reviews of this movie now and see that some die hard Trekkies (Trekkers?!) are hating it. That’s unfortunate – I thoroughly enjoyed this but now, after seeing the first two Star Trek films, I can see why they’d take issue with certain things. To those who don’t hold the original movies so dear, I think it’s a lot easier to just sit back and enjoy the new films without overanalyzing them. To those who are pretty new to Star Trek, I can see them really liking the new films. Especially Into Darkness – I thought it was quite exciting (and much better than the first one).

My initial reaction was that Into Darkness was “fantastic” and I called it the best Star Trek film yet. Well, I stand by what I said about it being fantastic. It’s probably not the “best” one, though. I haven’t watched First Contact since it first came out but I do remember how much I loved it at the time. And I don’t think Into Darkness would EVER top The Wrath Of Khan for any big fans of the original Star Treks. So I think Into Darkness is “one of” the best films of the entire series. But, okay, yeah… I think, for its time and what it will have meant to fans when they first watched it, The Wrath Of Khan is still the “best”. It just didn’t have the emotional impact for me watching it for the first time all these years later.

Summary:

Star Trek Into Darkness is a thoroughly entertaining & action-packed film with a great villain played brilliantly by Benedict Cumberbatch, who is the highlight of the film. It’s a worthy addition to the Star Trek universe and, in my opinion, one of the best in the entire series. However, after the adrenaline wore off and I thought about the film a little more the day after seeing it, I can see some of the faults. There are minor things (Like the way Alice Eve ends up in her underwear. Yes, she’s hot. But the scene was silly). But there are a few major things as well, which I unfortunately can’t discuss without major spoilers. All in all, this film had the chance to possibly end up (almost) as much of a classic as The Wrath Of Khan. But it doesn’t manage it. None of the Star Trek films, for me, manage the depth needed to make any of them truly stunning films. And now that I’ve thought about things a bit more – Yes, The Wrath Of Khan is the one that actually came the closest to achieving the greatness that, hopefully, we’ll someday get from a Star Trek film. Star Trek Into Darkness was great fun but they’re going to need to get much more bold with the next film if they wish to ever achieve true greatness.

My Rating: 8/10

Okay okay – Here’s Alice Eve in her underwear:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture & The Wrath Of Khan & Star Trek (2009) Reviews

My Star Trek Knowledge:

I figure you should know how much I know of the entire Star Trek universe before I write anything about these movies. My Star Trek knowledge isn’t very extensive. Well, somewhat extensive for a girl, maybe? Or is that sexist? Here’s what I know of Star Trek:

- I saw a few episodes of the original TV series as a young girl. Thought they were okay but I saw that one with the creepy diseased kids or whatever and it freaked me the hell out. (I’m sure Trekkies would be able to name it – it was called Miri).

- When I was a bit older, The Next Generation came along. And I LOVED it. I turned into a massive TNG geek. I still know the most about this series and (sorry) will always love TNG the most.

- I didn’t watch any of the following Star Trek stuff other than a tiny bit of Deep Space Nine. Instead, I then went back and watched the majority of the original series. Yes, I do like that too but, obviously, it’ll seem dated to anyone who didn’t grow up with it.

- The movies. Here’s my confession: The first movie I watched was Star Trek: Generations. And I watched every one that followed that. But I never went back and watched the ones with the original Star Trek cast. Shocking, I know.

But with Star Trek Into Darkness coming along, I thought I should make a start. So this past week I re-watched Star Trek (2009) and then watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture & The Wrath Of Khan for the first time. And I’m now just back from seeing Into Darkness. I’ll do a review for that later…

Star Trek (2009) – My Opinion:

Yes, this was a good reboot. The characters still didn’t mean quite as much to me, though, as TNG characters. I should have watched the old movies before seeing this one – I’m sure I would have enjoyed it much more and I’m sure it’s a good feeling to understand the “inside jokes”. The film (of course) had to spend quite a while setting up each of the characters for those in the audience who were seeing this without having seen anything of the original Star Trek at all. I do think the overall plot suffered a bit because of this. I re-watched this as when I first saw it I actually fell asleep and didn’t remember it that well. Well, I fell asleep this time too. I did finish it but, overall, I was a little underwhelmed by the story. I’m not saying it was bad – it was a very good reboot of the original series. But I was a tiny bit bored and, after then finally watching the first two movies, I actually liked this the least of the three I’m reviewing here.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan – My Opinion:

I’ll do these together. As we’ve all heard for years, “The Wrath Of Khan is the best!!”. Well, I can certainly see why die hard Trekkies would feel this way. But bear in mind that I’ve just watched this now after seeing later Star Trek movies and knowing there were plenty of (original cast) sequels after The Wrath Of Khan. So, naturally, the ending of it is NOT going to pack the same punch as I’m sure it did when the movie first came out.

So, to be honest, I probably liked the first and second movie pretty much equally. I enjoyed the first one more than I was expecting to. I think the music was much better in the first movie than in the second. I think the first one, in a way, felt more “cinematic” (at least at the beginning). The pace was very slow (I don’t think the current generation would make it far into this movie!) but I kind of liked the long slow shots of space & the spaceships & all that – kind of reminded me of the end of 2001 (although that’s a much better film). But the ending of the first one was a bit, well, pathetic. I personally LIKED the story, though – it felt very very much like an episode of the TV series. But you want a bit more than that from “the motion picture”. So the movie felt a little bit like a good TV episode stretched into a long movie.

The Wrath Of Khan, to start out, felt even more like a TV episode to me than the first movie did. I don’t think the much more boring musical score helped this feeling either. Also, I like sci-fi. Obviously Star Trek is all sci-fi but the second movie is more of a “revenge story” movie whereas the first one focused more on cool “space stuff”. Sorry if that makes no sense but not sure how else to put that. I just liked the “majesty” of the first one a bit more, even if the special effects weren’t necessarily the best. (I think what I saw of the first one was a Director’s Cut? I have no clue how that might differ from the original version). Basically, the beginning and middle of the first movie are very good and the ending is “meh”. The beginning of The Wrath Of Khan is “meh”, the middle is fairly good, and the ending is excellent.

I think the ending of The Wrath Of Khan makes people forgive (and forget about) any of the weaker bits of the film. If the ending hadn’t been SO good, I’d have to say I’d prefer the first movie. And, quite frankly, Khan just kind of doesn’t do it for me as a villain in this. Ohh – controversy! But I think most people, watching The Wrath Of Khan for the very first time these days, would feel the same way and also probably wouldn’t be too moved by the ending knowing all that’s known by now. (Not that I exactly know – I still have to watch the third movie!).

Summary:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture & Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan are both very good films in the overall Star Trek universe and I did enjoy them. They are, however, very dated and won’t have as much of an emotional impact for someone watching them for the very first time today. Trekkies will probably find no fault in either film but as a bit of a “partial-Trekkie”(?), I can see the faults while still being able to look past most of them and still enjoy the films. I did enjoy them more than Star Trek (2009) but that’s mainly because I know just enough of (and have just enough of an affection for) the original cast and had a hard time adjusting to new actors playing them. All in all, the strengths and weaknesses of all three films mostly even them out for me, although I do prefer the first two but have to recognize that the 2009 film was a good start to a new series.

My Ratings:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – 7/10

Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan – 7.5/10

Star Trek (2009) – 7/10

Link to Star Trek Into Darkness Review

Gremlins Shifts Into Reboot Mode

The FOUR Mogwai Rules:

1. Never expose them to bright light (especially sunlight, which will kill them)
2. Never get them wet (which will make them multiply)
3. Never, ever feed them after midnight
4. And, most importantly – DON’T F*%KING REMAKE THEIR MOVIES!!!!!

Link: Empire Magazine

Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal

Hahaha! I’m probably late to this party but this is hilarious.

Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal, A Hilarious New Meme on Vine – a little about it here & all the videos plus the full one which is below: Laughing Squid

This Week’s Movie Quote

Ted: I met a girl; she’s a cashier.
John: No way! That’s awesome! We should fuckin’ double date or something, you, me and Lori and w-what’s her name?
Ted: White trash name. Guess.
John: Mandy.
Ted: Nope.
John: Marilyn.
Ted: Nope.
John: Brittany?
Ted: Nope.
John: Tiffany.
Ted: Nope.
John: Candace.
Ted: Nope.
John: Don’t fuck with me on this! I know this shit!
Ted: Do you see me fuckin’ with you? I’m completely serious.
John: Alright, speed round. I’m gonna rattle off some names, and when I hit it, you fuckin’ buzz it, okay? You got me?
Ted: You do it. I will tell you. Yeah.
John: Alright: Brandy, Heather, Channing, Brianna, Amber, Serena, Melody, Dakota, Sierra, Bambi, Crystal, Samantha, Autumn, Ruby, Taylor, Tara, Tammy, Lauren, Charlene, Chantelle, Courtney, Misty, Jenny, Krista, Mindy, Noel, Shelby, Trina, Reba, Cassandra, Nikki, Kelsey, Shawna, Jolene, Urleen, Claudia, Savannah, Casey, Dolly, Kendra, Kylie, Chloe, Devon, Emmalou, fuckin’ Becky?
Ted: No.
John: Wait; was it any of those names with a “Lynn” after it?
Ted: Yes.
John: Oh, I got you, motherfucker! I got you!
John: Okay. Brandi-Lynn, Heather-Lynn…
Ted: Tami-Lynn.
John: Fuck!

Ted (2012)

Tucker And Dale Vs Evil (2010) Review

Tucker And Dale Vs Evil

Directed by Eli Craig

Starring:
Tyler Labine
Alan Tudyk
Katrina Bowden
Jesse Moss

Plot:

A comedy horror in which two “simple” but sweet hillbillies, Dale played by Tyler Labine & Tucker played by Alan Tudyk, are on their way to the “dream vacation home” (a rundown shack) they’ve just bought deep in the woods of West Virginia. While at a gas station, they encounter a group of college students who are there to do some camping. The snobby students are immediately freaked out by these “hillbillies”, especially when Dale tries to talk to one of them (Allison played by Katrina Bowden). Mistaking his nervousness at talking to a pretty girl for “maniacal hillbilly craziness”, the college students flee. Later, when the students decide to do some skinny dipping in the lake where Tucker & Dale happen to be fishing, Allison is startled & bumps her head. Tucker & Dale save her but the other students again flee, thinking they’ve kidnapped her.

What follows as the students try to “rescue” Allison from the hillbillies’ cabin are a series of hilarious deadly mishaps which further reinforce the students’ belief that the hillbillies are killers while a baffled Tucker & Dale are confused as to why these students seem to have some crazy kind of suicide pact.

My Opinion:

This was a pleasant surprise! Especially as I’ve liked very few horror movies since the 70s & 80s (The Omen & The Shining are my type of thing with a bit of the Nightmare On Elm Street-type 80s slasher). I’m even pickier on comedy – I can’t say I’ve found many movies funny since the days of Wayne’s World, The Princess Bride & This Is Spinal Tap. Yeah, I’m old & grumpy. But Tucker And Dale had me laughing throughout the whole movie. As for the “horror”, it’s harder for me to say if horror fans liked this? The gore is cheesy & the film has that very 80s look overall as that’s (I assume?) what they’re going for since it’s a send-up of 80s slasher flicks. I liked that and it worked perfectly for this film.

This movie never “tries too hard” on the comedy, which is kind of refreshing. This is NOT, I repeat NOT, one of those horrible Scary Movie movies. This was made by someone with a brain who knows that being more subtle on the comedy isn’t a bad thing and who clearly has a love for 80s slashers and can make fun of them in just the right way. It’s also clearly made by someone the same sort of age as me, though, so I think this movie probably wouldn’t appeal so much to the younger Saw generation who didn’t grow up on 70s & 80s horror movies and might not get the comedy in this. And, of course, they’d just moan at the gore looking unrealistic and cheesy. And that it’s not in 3D with blood, vomit & entrails popping out of the screen at you. Kids these days – they don’t know what’s good.

Summary:

A thoroughly fun & entertaining comedy horror that lovingly pokes fun at the 80s slasher flick and the horror clichés of dumb college students doing every dumb thing possible in order to “escape” crazy inbred hillbilly maniacs. It takes what’s actually a very simple idea of having the hillbillies just be two nice guys who think that they’re actually the ones being terrorized by college kids who seem to have completely lost their minds and gives us a clever film that, in never trying too hard to please the audience, manages to do just that. However, you’re probably much more likely to enjoy this if, like me, you’re of the age where you grew up on 70s & 80s horror flicks.

My Rating: 7.5/10

All the movies I’ve seen in 2013 – Yep, Tucker And Dale comes in just under a Hitchcock film…