Star Trek III: The Seach for Spock

When it's all said and done, the original Star Trek films were really something special. A quality series with great story lines that went in all different directions. Along with Undiscovered Country and Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock is quite different and another great film in the series.

Following in the foot steps of the last film, The Wrath of Khan, the plot here has Spock (Leonard Nimoy) dead and gone. The whole crew is in disarray with Kirk (William Shatner) hurt the most. Somehow though light comes through with Spock possibly still alive and somehow connected in spirit to Bones (Deforest Kelley) and on the mysterious and dangerous planet of Genesis.


This was probably one of hardest films to put together in this series because of the many levels of plot here. The Genesis planet might not be the most original idea on the block but there is still a lot of creativity here with settings that are new for a Star Trek film and giving the cast a lot to do. The film does bring the classic old cast back including characters of David Marcus ( Merritt Butrick) and Saavick (Robin Curtis). A villain in Christopher Lloyd with the name of Commander Kruge who is hard to figure and very strange but still hard not to like. Lloyd as usual delivers a quirky performance. The plot is great and frankly I don't think this could have come out any better.

With the title, you might think that we don't see Spock but it's one of things where it is "Don't judge a book by it's cover". There is a younger resurrected Spock idea that turns into more then you might think and also some small flashbacks. The ending is something that we know is coming but does fit into Start Trek history quite nicely. In the end, we find the Spock character even though it might not be clearly obvious where he was.

The film can be a little slow and sad and depressing. This is kind of a change of pace for the Star Trek series and for me this makes it seems more special because of it.

This film is directed by Leonard Nimoy who did good job here. I think The Search for Spock is really the perfect film to start the middle of the series with.

4/5

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Star Trek Into Darkness

In 2009, J.J. Abrams made one of the biggest and riskiest moves a film director could make. He put out a reboot of a famous series with a large and loyal fan following when he made Star Trek. Surprisingly,  it was an absolutely great film that earned it's money and put every actor's career who was in it on track. In a different way, a sequel was going to be more difficult to pull off. You would have to put in a new villain, put in a new plot and work with the same cast again. Well after seeing Star Trek Into Darkness, I see it as a very fine piece that could live on forever.

With similar feel of the the terrorist acts which are happening in our world today, there is a bombing of a secret Section 31 installation in London. This was masterminded by former Starfleet agent John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) who is on run with the Enterprise and it's crew in pursuit so to capture him.

The plot seems simple but once put into the bigger picture, it is much deeper. The character, John Harrison is no doubt the main highlight of this film. His performance more than matches the villain, Nero from the 2009 movie including a great Klingon fight and he fits neatly into the Star Trek world.

The third act is the most interesting part of this film. This is where everything comes together and also shows the San Fransisco of the future but it this is also where the main problem comes in. It drags and involves the death of Captain Kirk but with a plot twist on that and it seems that Abrams just didn't want to end this.

 

The movie does have the same main cast as the previous movie. Characters are more developed with performances that fit into each character. Zoe Saldana plays Uhura and is in the first act and only in some of the second. Anton Yelchin as Checkoff is in and out of scenes. The surprise of the film is Simon Pegg as Scotty who has a larger role than the previous movie and closes the film well. The cast plays out differently than the previous movie and I think they fit into the plot well.

As he does with the previous movie, Abrams nails the little points of this film. There is a new setting and the special effects are better than the last one. The costumes of each character are also pretty fun to look at and will help make the movie memorable.

I don't know what is next for this series. For now, I like where this series is. I do have a lot of confidence in Abrams and would not mind maybe five more of these and I bet he could do it as he has proved himself with this film and the last one.

4/5

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Iron Man 3

After 2010 and with two Iron Man movies in the books, you could really say that this series was rolling. The series was making it's actors even more popular than they were before and it had momentum. The movies also had villains that were quite memorable and they also worked as a comedies a little with Robert Downey Jr's witty and hilarious quips. The Iron Man movies also were one of the first series of superhero films that didn't have a geek feel to it. With Iron Man 3, we certainly expected more of the same; something good to add to the series. Well even though Iron Man 3 is certainly above average, in the end it is really not the Iron Man movie I wanted it to be.

Iron Man 3 has pretty much the same cast as the first two movies but there is a different director, Shane Black. The film follows Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) after the series previous events in Manhattan. He is stressed, has anxiety problems and and is not his usual cool self. To add to this, a terrorist by the name of the Mandarin begins to terrorize the country with a string of bombings. The Mandarin is really mysterious but turns into something kind of cool once his identity is revealed. Anyway, with Tony's stress, girlfriend problems and the Mandarin lurking around, things are not looking good for Tony Stark at the start of the movie.

I think this is the first film in this series where you can really question the plot. It has a good idea of Tony travelling to Tennessee after his California home is destroyed and it also introduces a new character, a young boy by the name of Harley (Ty Simpkins) who bonds with Stark.  James Rhodes (Don Chedle) is back again in War Machine armor as the Iron Patriot and his character is given a little more to do this time. As mentioned before, the villain is a good character and acted well by Ben Kingsley. The story is given a good and interesting background set from 1999 but some parts are hard to believe and do not fit realistically into the story. The ending is of course filled with action, explosives and visuals but it is stuff we have seen  before and long, drawn out and uneven.

Just as with the plot, the characters and actors don't seem to bring much new in this installment. Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts is not given much to do and does not carry any scenes. John Faverau as Happy Hogan is kind of funny in a limited role. As for Robert Downey Jr, in the first two movies, he was really given a chance to bring out the wise-cracking character of Tony Stark. In this movie, the Tony Stark character lacks personalty and is not funny and there does not seem to be very much that is special about him here. In short, I think Iron Man 3 has a very talented cast but I don't think Black really knew how to use them properly.

The film does rely on some little things especially with the settings that add to the movie. There is a beautiful house used and set right by water and also interesting uses of technology and different sets in Tennessee with snow and a country feel.

So how does this film fit into the rest of the series? Like Hangover 3 which opens next weekend, Iron Man is kind of like Las Vegas. A film that we probably won't remember because most of what happened doesn't really make a lot of sense if you know what I mean.

3/5

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Prom Night

Horror is one of those genres where many times we think we have seen it all. At times, it seems like it is the same old concept with remakes and rip-offs left and right. In 1980, Prom Night came out and was billed as something "new". The plot is about a killer at a high school prom and sounds like something that could be very interesting and creative and a movie that maybe could have really been something if put in the right hands. Well Prom Night did not work for me as it is dull and frankly not very fun and one of the more disappointing horror movies I have ever seen.

A film, even a horror film, usually starts with it's lead actors who need to help move the film along. Here the cast is experienced, likable and they can all act. It is fun to see Jamie Lee Curtis right after her role in the successful Halloween movie. That said, the cast is not given much to do and nothing really out of the ordinary. Most of the characters play typical high schoolers that are mostly sex-driven with smoking pot a close second as far as favorite activities and they really just lolly-gagg around. Leslie Nielson plays the principal of the school and frankly is not shown as much as he should be and I think maybe he was just inserted into the movie because he was a "name" actor.

There is an interesting back story here but the killer is about as interesting as a rock. The killer really brings no electricity or pizazz to the table as he should. Further, the kill scenes are really uneven and lacking. Finally, the ending is just empty.

Being kind of a nerd and an outsider, I don't know much about attending a prom but this one in the movie seemed tiresome because it is where most of the film was set. It is also now dated with a disco "old-school" setting but the soundtrack is pretty good.

Prom Night is just plain blah. I was not at all impressed and frankly do not see how there were three sequels made after this one. I was done after this first one.


2/5

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Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Even though we didn't really want it to end, the Star Trek film series with the original cast had to end sometime. This series had a classic in Wrath of Khan, a big miss in The Final Frontier and was just ok in The Motion Picture. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country marks the last appearance together of the original Star Trek series cast. With Star Trek being such a successful series with such a following, this movie really should have been something. It should have been something to close this popular series off in a good way which would push any of the negatives in the series aside. I do believe this film is above average and it has it's ups and downs but still something seems missing.

The film starts with the Captain of the Enterprise, Captain Sulu (George Takei) who notices that the Klingon moon Praxis has exploded. An investigation leads to the capture of Kirk (William Shatner) and McCoy (DeForest Kelley). There is a full investigation aboard the Enterprise led by Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and interesting idea at a peace conference with their enemies.

This movie is quite a bit slower than previous Star Trek movies. A lot of the scenes are talking pieces with a lot of dialogue and drawn out scenes that do show some strong writing. The plot is something of a mystery and there are many different sets. It is also kind of a different style of Star Trek movie with snow scenes and tunnel scenes. In many places, this film feels like it is paying homage to the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and the Indiana Jones movies with these different sets. Finally, when there is action on the screen, it is top-notch.

As mentioned earlier, this movie has the original cast and they once again do very good work. In addition, there is a new character who is a Vulcan girl name Valeris (Kim Cattrall) who is hard to get a feel for. She is a character who we really don't know much about or even really care much about.

One important question for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is how does it play as a series-ending film? I think the movie feels not very "epic" like it should and left me kind of empty at the end. I think I was expecting a more grand exit and this movie feels like it should have been in the middle of the series. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a good film but I do believe that the series deserved something a little better for it's departure.

3.5/5

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