star trek | the m0vie blog

Star Trek (X)II: The Search for Issues?

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Darren

This could go either way… or nowhere at all.

Recent quotes from JJ Abrams and Roberto Orci seem to suggest that the sequel to this year’s Star Trek could “reflect the things that we are all dealing with today”. It’s certainly interesting, suggesting that the movie series could reflect the goings on in the real world – but it would require a damn fine writing staff to pull it off.

Kirk will have issues...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: allegory, films, jj abrams, Movies, robert orci, science fiction, sequel rumours, social commentary, social issues, star trek, star trek 12, star trek sequel | 2 Comments »

Bah Humbug! Are We Past the Point Where Technical Wizardry Can Amaze?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Darren

Hmm… I bet Robert Zemickas was expecting a somewhat bigger reaction for the release of the first trailer for his version of A Christmas Carol (aka Jim Carrey plays almost everyone), the follow-up to The Polar Express (aka Tom Hanks plays everyone), than the collective ‘meh’ that it received. I’ve watched the trailer and it looks technically magnificent (and I’m sure it’ll be even more technically impressive in 3D) – but why should I care? If I’m going to put on a pair of glasses and look at something beautiful until it give me a mild headache, shouldn’t I at least be looking at something interesting and intriguing of itself? Are we past the point where technical wonders alone are enough to lure the geeks out in droves?

Here's hoping Santa can bring Zemickis a 150% return on his investment...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, a christmas carol, animation, audiences, avatar, box office, cgi, digital, films, final fantasy, final fantasy: the spirits within, first, groundbreaking, heaven's gate, imax, james cameron, jim carrey, pioneering, pixar, robert zemickis, star trek, technical, technical wizardry, the final destination, the polar express, toy story | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Star Trek – First Contact

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Darren

I love it when the movie channels have an unexpected treat for me. Like coming home from work on Saturday and finding Star Trek: First Contact playing in high definition on Sky movies. Also known as “the only good Next Generation movie”, the film stands the test of time well and is – thus far – the only movie in the franchise that all my family can agree on. It is awesome.

"You're all astronauts... on some kind of... Star Trek?"

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: borg, enterprise, first contact, james cromwell, jean-luc picard, jonathon frakes, non-review review, patrick stewart, review, science fiction, star trek, star trek: first contact, star trek: the next generation, the borg, the next generation | 2 Comments »

Awards Season Forecast…

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Darren

It’s summer time! That means blockbusters, comic book movies! It’s comic con time! That means more blockbuster and more comic book movie gossip! It seems that everything from the Tron viral campaign to the impending release of the Alice in Wonderland teaser is generating a lot of buzz. And quite right, too. We do live in the era of the geek. However, once we get into autumn proper, there are more prestigious films approaching. Looks like the studios are sticking to the tried-and-true “cram as many Oscar contenders as you can into the least amount of time” method, and there’s a huge schlock of films coming out. Here are just some of the main ones I’m looking forward to during awards season.

Starring Morgan Freeman? Check. Directed by Clint Eastwood? Check. Story of an iconic figure? Check. Story of triumph over adversity/prejudice? Check. Set in the past? Check. Oscar Gold? Check.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 2010 academy awards, 2010 oscar nominees, academy awards, amelia, avatar, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis, ewan mcgregor, film, hilary swank, invictus, james cameron, Leonardo diCaprio, martin scorcese, matt damon, moon, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Nine, oscar nominees, Oscars, peter jackson, pierce brosnan, precious, rob marshall, scorcese, Shutter Island, star trek, stephen soderberg, the ghost, the hurt locker, the informant, the lovely bones, the road, up | Leave a comment »

Space Racism = Bad (District 9)

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Darren

I finally got around to checking out the District 9 trailers that everyone’s been talking about. The movie’s attracted a lot of cult attention – mainly because Peter ‘Lord of the Rings’ Jackson has plastered his name all over the trailers – but I haven’t seen any sort of advanced publicity in Ireland, despite a fairly deftly-managed viral campaign in the United States. In fairness, we aren’t getting it until two weeks later than the Americans, but it would be nice to see some of these advertisements reaching us – just pretend we’re a semi-important market. For the uninitiated, it’s a movie about illegal aliens settling in South Africa and becoming second class citizens. The catch? They’re from outer space. In fairness, this year looks to be an epic year for science-fiction – Watchmen is already out, Moon is currently on release, Avatar is due out in the next few months and there seems to be legitimate buzz around The Road as an Oscar contender. Still, District 9 looks like it might just be a bit preachy for my tastes, but isn’t most science fiction?

Guess the moral...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: district 9, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, ethics, films, gattaca, message, morals, Movies, preachy, science fiction, space racism, star trek, star wars, the matrix | 1 Comment »

Avatar – Hollywood Continues to Break New Ground with Blockbusters

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Darren

We’re still months away from a release date for Avatar – though there are rumours of a trailer coming soon in front of Transformers 2 (the most interesting talk I’ve heard about that particular film) – but things are still very quiet. All we know about the plot is that it is a Pocahontas-style narrative, with one of a bunch of exploitive explorers “going native”. We know that t will be in 3D – apparently mindblowing 3D. We know that one of the reasons that the movie has waited 14 years to get made it because Cameron was waiting for the technology to do it justice. And we know that – according to early word of mouth from insiders – he has succeeded. I have to say, I am quite eagerly anticipating this film. However, I find Hollywood’s new-found love of innovations within major blockbusters fascinating, given the traditional cautious conservatism of the studios.

Wow, Cameron really has a thing for giant walking hulks of metal, doesn't he?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, blockbusters, box office, Christopher Nolan, hollywood, imax, james cameron, star trek, The Dark Knight | Leave a comment »

Fly Me to the Moon…

Posted on June 7, 2009 by Darren

I’m back…

Science-fiction film Moon, starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey is opening in the States next week. It actually looks quite good – with reviews seemingly spanning the divide from “it’s solidly entertaining with a great performance” to “it’s classic science-fiction”. It looks likely to be one of those films I will really try to get to see over the Summer (when it eventually opens here in Ireland), and the trailer is well worth a look. Still, this got me thinking about how the fictional fascination with life on other worlds has been embraced by the genre, and whether that has really changed in recent years.

Sam Rockwell's many jobs on the lunar station include changing lightbulbs when needs be...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: aliens, avatar, doctor who, forbidden planet, independenc day, james cameron, mars, moon, Movies, outland, plan 9 from outerspace, planets, red planet, roswell, sam rockwell, saturn, science fiction, star trek, the day the earth stood still, total recall | Leave a comment »

What Kind of May Has it Been?

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Darren

I’m off on holidays for the next few days, so you won’t hear from me until next weekend. I just thought I’d have a very quick look at how the “now arriving a month early” summer box office season is going so far. Back at the start of the month I predicted a massive summer, even by Hollywood’s standards. Would I care to revise my estimates, one month in?

Keep on Trekkin'

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: angels & demons, blockbusters, box office, fast & furious, managing expectations, may, Movies, Night at the Museum 2, star trek, terminator: salvation, terminator:salvation, The Dark Knight, up, watchmen, wolverine | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Darren

On seeing the new Star Trek, I decided to dig into my old DVD’s and review my personal favourite of the Original Series movies. The cliched choice is The Wrath of Khan, and it is indeed awesome, but I’ve always had a soft spot for The Undiscovered Country, despite its abuse of Shakespeare. So, having just witnessed Kirk and Spock’s first voyage, what did I make of their last?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: christopher plummer, kirk, non-review review, review, spock, star trek, star trek 6, star trek vi: the undiscovered country, the undiscovered country | 1 Comment »

Star Trek Sequelitis – Who We Want to See

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Darren

Never afraid to jump on the bandwagon, we were so impressed by the movie that we’ve seen, we thought we’d write a list of the aliens and creatures that we want or don’t want to see in the proposed sequel. Part of me really hopes that JJ Abrams continues to breath originality back into the series, but there are also a lot of very cool aliens out there in the big Star trek universe. Here are a few of the many, many characters and species we can see being considered for an appearance.