Star Trek: Into Darkness–It Should Have Been a Whole Lot Better

I love Star Trek. Please do not take this the wrong way, but this movie could have been made a lot better. The story line is good– although there are times I was left scratching my head and saying “WTH?” to myself.
There are two villains in here. First you have Benedict Cumberbatch who does an EXCELLENT job of portraying Khan. It is hard to imagine him as Khan if you grew up watching the original series and saw “The Wrath of Khan“…However, he does make that part his own in a sense. One thing the viewer may come away with is a strange sense of empathy for his reasoning because it does have some logic.

This character is not just simply a “madman” hell-bent on getting even with Kirk, as portrayed in earlier versions. Cumberbatch actually gives Khan a high degree of intelligence, cunning and an ice-cold demeanor, whereas in earlier versions Khan was much more emotional. A viewer really cannot predict Khan in this one either. Other characters are used for that purpose and that is also a good thing!  However what led to the feud with Kirk from the original story line is totally absent. They wrote in a new reason for it. If you go to this, you’ll see what I mean. It could have something to do with the timeline being messed with in the 2009 version.

Then you have Peter Weller. I have seen a lot of Peter Weller’s work and he is usually top-notch, but I felt that as Marcus, he was over the top in some of those scenes. This is the character that should have been the “greater villain”/”God Character” but this is role where he came off as “not believable” for lack of a better description. That character was also written to be too predictable. I like being surprised and I was not surprised with that character’s actions. I think the fault for this lies with J.J. Abrams. Anytime that happens, it’s usually direction that is the cause of it.

As usual, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and the actors portraying those we all grew up watching did a great  job in this film. They are the main reasons I’ll get the DVD. I was really impressed with how Scotty (Simon Pegg) actually ends up being what I call the “God Character” here. His character knows what is best and finds out what is really going on at times–so some of this story line is revealed through him. Writing-wise it is a good strategy to use him for that since the writing with the Marcus character left much to be desired.

The other issue I had with the film is that there is some mirroring of Wrath of Khan with a bit of role reversal. One will know what I mean when they see the film so this is not a spoiler. I felt that the writers should have had a little more restraint with that tactic and more originality. Something needed to be fresh and different from what we know of as viewers in that sense, but I feel that this was a set up for a later film.

I do not understand why in the world there is a scene in this movie where Alice strips down to her underwear while Kirk is in the room.  She makes him turn around, but the funny thing is, she really didn’t change clothing.  The dress she put on may have been a different color.  It’s not like she put on any special gear.

The acting was great! Don’t get me wrong there, but it is obvious that the writers borrowed way too much from “The Wrath of Khan“. I do like how they made Khan more cunning and cold–less emotional. For that reason, Benedict Cumberbatch deserves some kudos. For those who have not seen the “Wrath of Khan” you’ll probably love the whole thing! For those who have and grew up watching Star Trek, you’ll find that there is too much borrowing from the 1980 movie script with no sign as to what originally led to the feud between Kirk and Khan. For a movie that takes place in the early days of the Enterprise crew, that was disappointing. And then there are those who love action–period…They will love it too.
While there is non-stop action and a good story going on here, I feel it could have been told without all the references to the other film. I do like how the Klingons were portrayed. They rocked! Get ready for the next sequel. Let us hope that it follows the 2009 version in terms of originality. This film does not ruin the franchise by any stretch because it is good, it is just that it could have been so much better. Maybe next time…

Dear Hollywood: This is My First Rant of 2013–Signed Nana

Psssst!  The baby boomers are not going away…Did you hear that?!  They make the money, they buy the movie tickets, they buy the CD‘s and, in short, they can literally pull the plug on the recording industry and on the film industry by NOT giving the kids and grand kids money to see and hear the crap being marketed to them.

This generation doesn’t ask for much, but it does ask for logical script-writing and not this re-visioning crap.

It ask for music that means something other than getting messed up or laid at the next party…There is more to life than that during the work-week.

It asks for innovation and originality–not the rehashing of old ideas in order to debase them publicly like Warner Bros. did in 2012 with the Dark Shadows film.  If you’re going to redo a classic, stick to the real story line.  Believe it or not, it was logical and would have worked.  The baby boomers are not interested in you projecting your political thinking into a script either. It was like watching “Occupy Collinwood” and it sucked.

In short, you have bitten the hand that has fed you for the past 20 years and this generation is about to say, “Enough!”

Your networks cancel good shows like “Memphis Beat” and “Harry’s Law“…What’s with that shit?

You give us tripe like “Jersey Shore” and “Sixteen and Pregnant”–or still worse “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant”…Really? Come on! Get a life! If it weren’t for TiVo the kids would probably be in school and never see that crap anyway.  Thank God I got rid of cable after it became clear that crap is all we’re going to get. I’m not paying $130 a month to watch tripe.

There is enough drama and bull crap in life that Reality TV is not a necessity. You’re better off bringing back the variety show–and I don’t mean shows with nothing but rap and such. Different musical genres should be represented.  God! I miss “Laugh-In”…Seriously and I was a kid when that was cancelled.

New Year’s Rockin’ Eve was a travesty…Not the same without Dick Clark so please change the name of it.

You discard the older actors with real talent and change them for pretty faces that cannot act their way out of a paper bag–even with a good director, which is rare because the good directors, producers and actors are also from the boomer generation, but we’re older than most of you newer CEO’s so we don’t know jack-shit, right? WRONG!  I know most of what people consider “bad acting” lies more at the feet of the director than the actor who has to portray the part as they are told to do…Go figure. The crap the actors get should trickle UP the ladder–not down it.

There are some young actors out there that know their craft too…  I suggest you take a good look at Gary Cairns II. I said a year and a half ago that this young man is going places, and he’s proving me right with every project he gets hired for.  That man has range, and even as young as he is, he lets those characters breathe through him–and that is what I watch for in any actor’s performance. Zachary Quinto is right up there with him! Thank God he got his break!

2013 should be the year you make amends to this generation.  You can start by putting some of the older actors and actresses back to work with quality scripts.  NBC or CBS should take “Memphis Beat” and “Harry’s Law” and re-market them.  They would work just like Hawaii 5-0 did!  Note: The only good shows on right now are Law and Order SVU, H5-0 and NCIS in my book.  I’m beginning to mull the idea that maybe there should be a network created for my generation that will take up the mantle since the ball keeps getting fumbled out in Hollywood.

Anyone listening out there? I doubt it…I will end by saying this:  There are plenty of older actors and actresses out there that would draw us back into theaters and to the TV set  if you would get over your case of posterior cranial rectumitis and put them to WORK!  Kathy Bates, Michael Caine, Wayne Rogers, Ben Cross and Helen Mirren to name a few…Thank God “Banshee” airs on 1/11 on Cinemax…Since I killed the cable, I will find out who can TiVo that for me because I’ll personally watch ANYTHING that Ben Cross appears in.  The man knows his craft and he doesn’t take junk scripts.   Oh and by the way, Robin Williams can also act…You do know that, right?

Funny how you keep ignoring the generation that REALLY holds the purse/wallet.  This may be the year you get a wake up call. One can only hope, but the year does end in “…13” so we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?  I’ll try not to rant much until mid-year since we’ve only just begun, but it is time you stopped hitting the snooze button in the studios and actually wake up!  By the way, why is it the only way we can watch a decent flick or a good old-fashioned romance is to watch AMC or TCM–or the Hallmark Channel? Do you really think we’re that far gone?  Man, you people in the studios have a lot to learn…Maybe this will be the year–and since I am paying for tickets when I do think something good is coming out, I expect to be listened to.

 

These Types of Movies Rock!

 

In 1962, Sophia Loren won the Best Actress Oscar in “Two Women”…In 1965, “Shelley Winters” took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “A Patch of Blue“.  Both movies were tackling issues that a lot of writers will not touch on any longer–or if they do, they do something stupid when writing it (and/or putting the cast together–like they did with “The Women” in 2008) and it crashes on the remake. Both “Two Women” and “A Patch of Blue” were somewhat ahead of their time, I think, but were important to film history itself.

This movie rivets viewers even 52 years after it’s release…

One of the most important films of the era, “A Patch of Blue” tackles racism, abuse, alcoholism in such a way it made one think back then. This film was definitely ahead of its time in many respects. It was well before the on air kiss of Captain Kirk and Uhura on “Star Trek, too…No they don’t kiss here, but it’s obvious that these characters had some type of feelings toward each other.

I feel the same way about “Chariots of Fire”.  The reason that movie has  had so much staying power over 30 years time is that there is a universal issue it tackles that has absolutely nothing to do with religious faith of some sort, but more to the point of being true to one’s self despite what society tries to dictate.  In short,  Eric Liddel and Harold Abrahams had huge sets of cojones and did not compromise on what they stood for, period.

Ben Cross and Ian Charleson portrayed them well.  It took equal amounts of cojones to even take the parts given what society says of that sort of thing now. After reading what Ben Cross did to prepare for that role, I am convinced that he and Charleson are the other two reasons that movie will have staying power for another 30 years in film history.  Argue with me all you want, but you won’t change my mind or the minds of the fans who watch these types of films again and again. The themes are timeless and universal–and that is what is severely lacking in what is being put out today in Hollywood, so they try to remake EVERYTHING.  They need to get back to some original thought and scrap the damned remakes altogether–especially when it comes to classic movies like these.

One of the best movies in 30 years–and it has new life in it again…

Instead of tossing us bones like they would to a dog, Hollywood needs to start putting some meat out there–and NO I’M NOT talking about eye candy…I’m talking about using seasoned actors and actresses that can REALLY ACT.  It doesn’t matter if they are older–I want to be able to believe if someone is going to play a murderer, then I want that actor/actress to play said murderer well enough that I’ll believe he/she IS THE CHARACTER and is about to bolt through that screen to kill my ass!  The late Jack Palance had a knack for this–in fact he was so good, he scared a fellow cast mate once.  I believe strongly that Hollywood is going to suffer some backlash if it doesn’t stop this constant marketing to teens, ‘tweens, and those who love the bloody “chick flicks”.  Baby boomers outnumber the other audiences and they are tired of this trend, I think.  I know I definitely am.  Of the movies I’ve seen in the past year and a half, “The Help” is the best one so far.

If someone were to build competing film studios in other states that marketed to my age bracket, they would make a killing because people in those states would invest in a good film. They say non-attendance in theaters is why films are made to cater to the youthful market. That is crap in my book. If they would market to us and the entire families we have, they’d make more money.  I think that for every teen that will go to a flick, there are 3 adults that will go if the movie is worth a damn. If not, they simply leave the kids to their own devices while they use Redbox, VOD, or PPV.

There are few actors and actresses that can pull of that wonderful feat of letting that character breathe through them to the extent that it seems real.  Ben Cross, Melissa Leo, Gary Cairns II, Jessica Chastain, Dallas Bryce Howard, Glenn Close and Zachary Quinto are among that number. Just a note here:  I hated the Dark Shadows remake–totally detested it, but that kid Gulliver McGrath is going to have a good career ahead of him…Even as young as he is, he is totally believable in character.   Michele Pfeiffer also did well in that film.  They were the only good things about that fiasco.