patrick stewart | the m0vie blog

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Hide & Q (Review)

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also next year’s release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, I’m taking a look at the recent blu ray release of the first season, episode-by-episode. Check back daily for the latest review.

I have a confession to make. I quite like the first half of Hide & Q. Don’t get me wrong, the ending of the episode ruins any goodwill that sequence built up, and the opening section of the story isn’t exactly amazing – it’s just crafted more competently than any episode since Where No One Has Gone Before. I think part of the reason I enjoyed that first half of Hide & Q so much more than most of the recent episodes is because it accomplishes something that Star Trek: The Next Generation has been trying to do since The Naked Now, and with much more success. It manages to channel the original Star Trek.

Okay, the first half wouldn’t make an exceptional episode of the original Star Trek. It wouldn’t even make a great episode of the original Star Trek. It would, however, make a somewhat passable episode of the original Star Trek. Which is, sadly, more than enough to put it quite ahead of most of the other episodes in this first season so far.

Caught in the net…

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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi, Encounter at Farpoint, Farpoint, Geordi La Forge, hamlet, Jadzia Dax, jean-luc picard, kirk, Klingon, List of Star Trek characters, Naked Now, Next Generation, patrick stewart, picard, Q Continuum, Science fiction convention, Squire of Gothos, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: deep space nine, star trek: the next generation, star trek: the original series, Tasha Yar, Troi, Where No One Has Gone Before, William Riker, Worf | 8 Comments »

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Code of Honour (Review)

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Darren

Remember how yesterday I said was hesitant to throw around adjectives like “worst” or “mind-numbingly” or any other similar sounding pejorative term? I was doing that so that when I did string them together to form a sentence or a description, it would carry a bit more weight. After all, Star Trek: The Next Generation didn’t have the strongest first season, as I keep noting apologetically in these opening paragraphs. However, Code of Honour is pretty dire by any measure, and it remains one of the low watermarks of the troubled first season.

Yes, I did type “one of”, but that doesn’t make Code of Honour any easier to manage.

Not quite steps to greatness…

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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: Amok Time, arts, Brent Spiner, Code of Honor (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Data, Earth, Earth Sciences, education, Environment, Honour, Klingon, Lutan, Michael Salla, Organizations, patrick stewart, Ro Laren, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: the original series, Tasha Yar, Television | 6 Comments »

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Encounter at Farpoint (Review)

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Darren

It is very hard to believe that it has been a quarter of a century since Star Trek: The Next Generation first appeared on our screens. It is actually quite nice that Paramount and CBS are using the opportunity to give the series a bit of a visual overhaul, going back to the original films and special effects and updating them for high definition. This is not the same approach adopted by George Lucas with his remastering of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Instead, the aim of these high definition re-releases is to bring what was already there up to modern standards, rather than to retroactively re-do the special effects. The project is being overseen by the wonderful Mike and Denise Okuda, and Mike has argued that this restoration is a very bold endeavour, suggesting, “it’s the largest – as far as we know – the largest project of its kind that has ever been attempted.”

And I am proud to support it. In a large way, my interest in this high definition release is in large part grounded in recognition of the scale of the work involved. Because, let’s face it, the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is a solid contender for the worst year of Star Trek ever produced for television.

“Let’s see what’s out there…”

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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: Brent Spiner, Charlie X, Denise Okuda, Encounter at Farpoint, facebook, Farpoint, Game, Jonathan Frakes, Klingon, levar burton, patrick stewart, picard, Squire of Gothos, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: enterprise, star trek: the next generation, star trek: the original series, Starfleet, Tagged, video games, Wil Wheaton | 9 Comments »

Watch! Trailers for The Impossible and Song for Marion…

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Darren

I love me some Terrence Stamp.

Okay, a lot of that love is rooted in the fact that he was cinema’s best comic book supervillain for well over a decade, playing the iconic Zod (of “kneel before…” fame) in Superman II. However, as I grew older, I came to love spotting Stamp in all manner of roles – whether serious, comic, subversive or even random. Whether it’s small roles in comedies like Yes Man or Bowfinger, or leading performances in films like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I just have a massive fondness for Stamp. (It’s a fondness, I must confess that extends outwards to other British actors of his generation, including Malcolm McDowell and Patrick Stewart.)

Anyway, I just received this trailer for Song for Marion, and it looks like it could be fun. Stamp plays a grumpy old man who gets involved in his wife’s choir. Oh, and Christopher Eccleston plays his son. It’s strange, but somehow brilliant casting. Anyway, the clip is below.

There’s also this trailer for The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. It’s the story of a family struggling to survive the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I’m very curious to see how this plays out, because it’s a premise that really needs to be handled with a great deal of care.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, christopher eccleston, ewan mcgregor, general zod, Impossible, Irritable male syndrome, Malcolm McDowell, Naomi Watts, patrick stewart, superman ii, Terence Stamp, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert | Leave a comment »

The Top 30 Under-Reported News Stories of 2012…

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Darren

Today is a very special day. We’re officially a third of the way through 2012. It’s been a pretty solid year for movies, and it’s been an interesting year for movie news. However, some news stories haven’t had quite the traction that I would have expected, and might have passed readers by. So, to celebrate getting through the first third of 2012, here’s the 30 most underreported movie-related news stories of 2012.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: April Fools Day, black and white, george clooney, jean-luc picard, liam neeson, michael bay, Michael Fassbender, Navy, patrick stewart, Practical joke, quentin tarantino, robert downey, roland emmerich, Sex & The City, star trek: the next generation, StarTrek, Terrence Malick, William Shatner, Wrath of the Titans | 4 Comments »

Joe the Barbarian: The Deluxe Edition (Review)

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Darren

December is “Grant Morrison month” here at the m0vie blog, as we take the month to consider and reflect on one of the most critically acclaimed (and polarising) authors working in the medium.

Ultimus Alpha tells it how it is, Kid. This fairtale’s on a one-way trip to Hell.

Joe the Barbarian isn’t Grant Morrison at his creative peak. It isn’t going to redefine the medium, or become an enduring classic for the ages. If it features on college reading lists, I suspect it will be sorted with the “optional” texts somewhere below the “key” Morrisonian works. That doesn’t mean that Joe the Barbarian is bad or anything nearly as drastic. It’s a nice little fairytale fantasy story, one that feels like Morrison paying homage to a bizarre mix of Cabaret and The Lord of the Rings. There’s a lot here to enjoy, but there’s nothing that’ll really knock anybody’s socks off.

Swordplay...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, death, grant morrison, Grantmorrison, jean-luc picard, Joe, Joe the Barbarian, Joe the Barbarian: The Deluxe Edition, morrison, new x-men, patrick stewart, Quitely, Sean Murphy, seven soldiers, superman | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: X-Men III – Last Stand

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Darren

I’ll confess right off the bat that I don’t share the same honest-to-goodness hatred of this third film in the X-Men series that most on-line commentators do. It isn’t a patch on Bryan Singer’s original two films (and – looking at Superman Returns – it might have been better for all if he’d stayed on here), but it isn’t quite as weak as other third-instalments in other superhero franchises (Spider-Man III and Batman Forever, for example). It’s not a fantastic film, and it’s not the final chapter that the film series deserved, but it’s not a complete disaster.

Weathering the Storm...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: anthony heald, batman forever, bill duke, brett ratner, bryan singer, cure, cyclops, dark phoenix, dark phoenix saga, gifted, Golden Gate Bridge, Halle Berry, hugh jackman, james marsden, mutant cure, patrick stewart, phoenix, Shohreh Aghdashloo, spider-man 3, superman returns, Warren Worthington III, wolverine, x-men | 5 Comments »

A Good Poster for X-Men…

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Darren

If you were on the inter-webs yesterday, you might have had the grave misfortune to stumble across Michael Fassbender’s face superimposed over Sir Ian McKellen’s crotch and James McAvoy’s eyebrows being cut short by Patrick Stewart’s wheelchair arm in a vain attempt to promote X-Men: First Class, which must have the worst marketing campaign in the history of cinema. However, in order to help you forget those images (I never will), Last Exit to Nowhere tweeted the below epic X-Men posted from Eric Tan. It has nothing to do with actual movie, but it still manages to fit the whole “nostalgic” thing the movie’s going for (albeit fifties instead of sixties).

Superb.

On the other hand, I do quite like the (relatively) more subtle European posters which don’t feature Michael Fassbender’s face superimposed over Sir Ian McKellen’s crotch and nor James McAvoy’s eyebrows being cut short by Patrick Stewart’s wheelchair arm.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: ian mckellen, james mcavoy, matthew vaughn, Michael Fassbender, patrick stewart, Professor X, x-men, x-men:first class | Leave a comment »

Family Guy: It’s A Trap!

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Darren

Oh, we’re about to do Jedi, aren’t we?

Let’s just get through this.

– Stewie and Peter introduce the episode

And so we reach the end of the Family Guy Star Wars specials. It’s A Trap! is pretty much at an immediate disadvantage – the guys have already made two Star Wars specials, so a lot of the novelty is gone; not to mention the fact that Return of the Jedi is hardly a classic, fondly remembered in comparison to the prequel trilogy, but still nowhere near as good as the original two films. However, the production team acquit themselves admirably. When the episode works, it really works – there are some absolutely hilarious scenes in there. It’s not the most consistent piece of television you’ll see this year, but it’s damn entertaining, and made with a respect that shines through.

That's one bad dad...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: blue harvest, family guy, Galactic Empire (Star Wars), It's a Trap!, patrick stewart, Seth MacFarlane, star wars, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | 3 Comments »

The Best of Both Worlds: A Retrospective

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Darren

I am Locutus – of Borg. Resistance – is futile. Your life, as it has been – is over. From this time forward, you will service – us.

– Locutus introduces himself

I only found out last week that The Best of Both Worlds is twenty years old this June. For those unfamiliar with the title, it’s the two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, which represented both the franchise’s first real cliffhanger (there was a two-part episode of the original series, but that was simply to incorporate a framing device around the original unaired pilot, The Cage – which featured an (almost) completely different cast) and the first real showcase of perhaps the franchise’s most iconic antagonists, the Borg. It’s also a damn good two hours of television.