The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls – Dirs. Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi (2014)

Nothing against computer animation, but it is a shame that it has supplanted hand-drawn and stop-motion as the predominant art form. What a strange sight it is to see CGI versions of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Charlie Brown. Thank goodness there are still hard working animators dedicated to keeping traditional methods alive.

The Portland-based Laika continues to make strides in stop-motion animation with films like Coraline and ParaNorman, both of which were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. The Boxtrolls continues that streak, but it's the slightest entry in their oeuvre and if I had my druthers I would have slotted The LEGO Movie in its stead.

The Boxtrolls is set in the Victorian-era village of Cheesebridge, a charming little burg built on top of a mountain. Cheesebridge does have one major drawback. They are plagued by subterranean creatures known as Boxtrolls, who earned their name for their penchant of wearing cardboard boxes like turtle shells. When parents want to scare their kids straight, they tell them the Boxtrolls will snatch them out of their beds and gobble them up.

However, none of those tales are true. Just ask Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), an orphaned boy who has been raised by the little critters and actually believes himself to be a Boxtroll. It seems these lies have been spread by one Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley), who has fashioned himself a premiere pest exterminator. Make no mistake, he has no altruistic bent. Snatcher wishes to use the Boxtrolls in a scheme to climb the social ladder and join the exclusive White Hats. Led by the Mayor of Cheesebridge, Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris), the White Hats gather together to taste some of the world's finest gourmet cheeses.

If I've discussed Snatcher more than I have the protagonists, it's because the villains are the most interesting characters in the film. With his stringy hair and hook nose, Snatcher takes obvious inspiration from the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He goes to such great lengths in demonizing the Boxtrolls that he dresses in drag and performs a stage show as Madame Frou-Frou. Snatcher has three henchmen under his employ, the first being Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan), a diminutive lunatic who simply repeats the last word he heard. There's also Mr. Trout (Nick Frost) and Mr. Pickles (Richard Ayoade), who try very hard to convince themselves that they are the good guys of the story.

The Boxtrolls themselves don't play much of a factor. The Boxtrolls opens with a terrific introduction to their underground lair filled with knick knacks that have been transformed into Rube Goldberg-ian gadgets. After that, they're simply creatures who must be rescued by their human friends. Eggs is a surprisingly bland hero while his companion Winnie (Elle Fanning), the daughter of Lord Portley-Rind, is defined only by her morbid fascination with assorted grotesqueries ("I was promised rivers of blood!").

That's not to say that The Boxtrolls isn't without its charms. The details in the production design are exquisite with elements of Gothic horror, German expressionism, and Roald Dahl. The animators' passion can be seen in Snatcher's ragged, red jacket and every cobblestone that paves the street of Cheesebridge.

Laika's track record proves they make pictures that appeal to audiences of all ages while never condescending to their youngest viewers. The studio hasn't shied away from giving the kids a good scare, from an otherworldly creature sewing buttons into your eyes or a town plagued by puritan zombies. It's all in good fun and never in a manner that would rack up therapist bills. The Boxtrolls follows suit with a plot drawing parallels to Nazi Germany with the title characters serving as scapegoats for a power hungry madman. The city's leaders are portrayed as ineffectual twits and the townspeople are a few pitchforks shy of becoming a rabid mob. Although Snatcher wants nothing more than a seat at the White Hat table, he is violently allergic to cheese and his face swells to gruesome extremes.

There's a mid-credits scene in which Trout and Pickles ponder the notion that an invisible puppetmaster is behind their every move. This shifts into a time-lapsed video of Laika CEO Travis Knight animating the henchmen's movements. It's a clever button to a movie that could have used that same inventiveness in the screenplay loosely based on the novel, Here Be Mosnters! by Alan Snow. The Boxtrolls doesn't measure up to Coraline or ParaNorman, but the animation and off-kilter sensibilities can still be admired.

Rating: ** (*****)

The World's End

The World's End - Dir. Edgar Wright (2013)

Shaun of the Dead is widely considered to be one of the best zombie movies of the modern era. Yet, it also works as a great romantic comedy that just happens to have zombies in it. Hot Fuzz wasn't just a clever send-up of overblown action movies; it could also be enjoyed as a straight up action flick with car chases and stylish gunplay. Now, writer/director Edgar Wright teams with actors Simon Pegg (who co-wrote the screenplay) and Nick Frost once more to cap off his Cornetto Trilogywith The World's End. Once again, Wright isn't content to play around in one genre. The World's End is a wonderful mixture of drama, comedy, sci-fi, and 70's paranoia cinema along the lines of The Wicker Man or Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Andy Knightley (Frost), Steven Prince (Paddy Considine), Oliver Chamberlain (Martin Freeman), and Peter Page (Eddie Marsan) were the best of friends while growing up in the small town of Newton Haven. The glue that held the clique together was Gary King (Pegg), a real force of nature whose thirst for life was infectious. Time passed and everyone grew apart. They all left Newton Haven to become working professionals with the exception of Gary King, who hasn't changed at all in the past two decades. Unsatisfied with adulthood, Gary longs to relive the glory of his youth and the time he almost completed the "Golden Mile," an epic pub crawl through a dozen bars. In spite of bad blood between Gary and Andy, the gang gets back together to finish the Golden Mile, but find out the hard way that sometimes you can't go home again.

The World's End deftly explores various themes of disillusionment and middle-age malaise. While the characters appear to be successful, they aren't entirely happy. The meek Peter is the most obvious answer. He's clearly buckling under the pressure of working for his father-in-law and still harboring the effects of childhood bullying. Steven still pines for his unrequited love, Sam (Rosamund Pike), Oliver's younger sister who had a one-time fling with Gary in a men's room. Gary has had tremendous difficulty battling his addictions, which he masks underneath layers of braggadocio. There's also an aura of melancholy throughout the movie stemming from how much Newton Haven has changed since the protagonists moved away. The small town charm has vanished and been replaced by corporatized homogeny, a phenomenon sharply referred to as "Starbucking." That sense of nostalgia is wonderfully conveyed through a grainy prologue shot in 16mm of the gang in their high school days and a soundtrack of 90's Britpop (Primal Scream, The Stone Roses, etc.). Alone, these plot threads would have been more than enough to craft a satisfying dramedy. However, Wright throws in an additional twist that kicks The World's End onto a whole other level.

Nobody in Newtown Haven seems to remember the great Gary King. Has he really changed that much? No, you see, it's because the entire town has been taken over by robot duplicates from outer space. This allows Wright to stage several bar brawls infused with the type of choreography generally reserved for Hong Kong action films. Highlighted by fluid camera movements, the fights are innovative without forgetting that these are ordinary blokes engaging in fisticuffs. This is such a slick and gorgeously shot film, you'd never believe it was made with a budget of only $20 million.

The performances are strong all around, but Pegg and Frost are easily the highlights of The World's End. In previous outings, Pegg has played the straight man to Frost's overgrown man-child. Here, the dynamic has been flipped to fantastic results with Pegg injecting a surprising amount of pathos to the character. He probably won't get a lot of recognition during awards season, which would be a shame. As Gary, Pegg manages to walk a thin line between being a lovable scoundrel and a delusional jerk. If The World's End has any weak spots, one would be that Rosamund Pike, the only significant female in the picture, deserved more screen time along with Pierce Brosnan, who makes only a brief cameo.

Edgar Wright is one of the most exciting and original directors working in movies today. The energy and passion that he brings to his films is undeniable. The World's End is another cinematic triumph and one of the best pictures of 2013.

Rating: *** ½ (*****)

The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin - Dir. Steven Spielberg (2011)

Under the pen name Hergé, Belgian illustrator Georges Prosper Remi has become a renowned artist for his long-running comic strip, The Adventures of Tintin. The series was published from 1929 until 1976 and spawned numerous radio plays, theatrical productions, and even a few live-action films. The most faithful adaptation was an animated series that aired on HBO from 1991 to 1992. Though incredibly popular throughout the world, Tintin has yet to garner a strong fanbase in the United States. One American fan, the character did win over is Steven Spielberg, who was unaware of the comics until a critic compared Raiders of the Lost Ark to Tintin. During the 80's, Spielberg got the rights to the original stories and a seal of approval from Hergé himself, but a movie didn't become a reality until now. Spielberg tag teams with Peter Jackson for this big-budget romp that utilizes the latest in motion capture technology to bring to life a script written by Steven Moffat (showrunner for Doctor Who) and the team of Edgar Wright & Joe Cornish (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). The film is based on three prominent Tintin books, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure.

The Adventures of Tintin opens with a fantastic title sequence done in the style of Saul Bass and reminiscent of the title sequence to Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. The credits are set to a jazzy score by John Williams and encompass an entire adventure of its own. From there, we meet Tintin (Jamie Bell), an intrepid boy reporter as he gets a portrait done in a busy marketplace. Spielberg cleverly transitions from Hergé's trademark ligne claire (or clear line) style to the 3D mo-cap animation by showing us the artist is Hergé. He hands the old school version to the new interpretation and we are off.

Tintin purchases an intricate model of a 17th-century warship known as the Unicorn. No sooner is it in his possession when an American named Barnaby (Joe Starr) and a sinister collector known as Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig) attempt to buy it from Tintin for exorbitant amounts of money. He refuses to sell and soon finds his apartment burglarized and Barnaby murdered on his front doorstep. These events lead Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy on a globe-trotting quest for missing treasure. Along the way, they befriend the blustery Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis) whose ship has been commandeered by Sakharine and his henchmen. Turns out, Haddock's ancestor was the captain of the original Unicorn before it went down following a battle with the notorious pirate Red Rackham (also played by Craig).

The uncanny valley usually rears its ugly head whenever motion capture is employed. Said valley is the point in which simulated human beings become creepy because they failed to replicate the real thing. While it slips into the valley every now and then, The Adventures of Tintin soars over that unsettling realm. The animation is beautifully rendered and richly detailed with characters that are expressive and smoothly brought to life.

Jamie Bell stars as the plucky reporter, who, ironically, is never seen in front of a typewriter or shown turning in a story. The biggest criticism levied at Tintin is that he is bland. Tintin has always been something of a cipher as Hergé intended for the reader to project themselves onto the protagonist. Hergé wisely surrounded his hero with a colorful cast of supporting characters, the most beloved being Capt. Haddock. He is brought to life by a remarkable performance from Andy Serkis, the Lon Chaney of motion capture. Everything hinges on Haddock because he is the heart of the film and Serkis does not disappoint. He is pitch perfect as the quick tempered and generally soused sea captain, who responds to outrageous situations with nonsensical expressions like, "Blistering barnacles!" And a Tintin adventure wouldn't be complete without the bumbling Scotland Yard detectives Thomson and Thompson played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Yet, the most interesting character in the movie has to be Tintin's wire fox terrier, Snowy. The little pooch isn't just adorable; he's preternaturally intelligent and sometimes smarter than his own master. Snowy gets some of the film's best scenes, such as a chase sequence through city streets and dodging traffic after Tintin is abducted by the villains.

Tintin is marked by several spectacular action sequences. This is Spielberg's first foray into animation and the genre has freed him from physical limitations. The highlight of Tintin is another chase scene with Tintin, Haddock, and Snowy in a motorcycle with sidecar riding through a multi-tiered Moroccan village. Done as a single uninterrupted take, the set piece is one of the year's best as the camera glides through the air while controlled chaos sweeps through the town. Tintin also features a battle at sea that rivals anything in all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies and a large-scale duel involving two construction cranes. Spielberg doesn't forget to add a touch of humor to the proceedings with Looney Tunes-inspired gags and a sly Jaws reference with Tintin's trademark pointy hair serving as the shark's fin.

The Adventures of Tintin isn't the game changer one might expect from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. It's not deeply nuanced cinema, but it is an exceptionally fun boys' adventure in the way Kingdom of the Crystal Skull should have been. Tintin began its international run in October where it's done gangbusters, but has performed anemically stateside. Still, the numbers are enough to make the sequel (The Calculus Affair?) with Jackson as director a strong possibility.

Rating: *** ½ (*****)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - Dir. Brad Bird (2011)

Tom Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars in the history of cinema. Yet, his reputation and box office clout have been tarnished by his bizarre behavior. The Tom Cruise publicity machine has been working overtime to restore his standing in the eyes of the public. Will a return to the mega-successful Mission: Impossible franchise rehabilitate Cruise's status? In my opinion, the man can jump on all the couches he wants as long as he keeps making films like Ghost Protocol.

The fourth Mission: Impossible opens with an exciting prison escape as Ethan Hunt (Cruise) breaks out of a Moscow gulag with help from IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). During his incarceration, another IMF member (Josh Holloway from "Lost") has been murdered while attempting to retrieve launch codes for the Russians' nuclear missiles. As it turns out, the codes have fallen into the hands of sultry French assassin, Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux), who is in the employ of Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), a Swedish-born scientist code-named Cobalt. Hendricks genuinely believes all-out nuclear war will benefit mankind in the long run, allowing only the strong to survive.

The IMF team infiltrates the Kremlin in order to retrieve information on Cobalt. Unfortunately, the enemy is several steps ahead as Hendricks alerts the security to IMF's presence, steals a launch device, blows up the Kremlin, and implicates Hunt's team as the culprits. Branded as terrorists, the entire IMF department has been disavowed by the U.S. government. On the run from Russian authorities, Ethan and his team must clear their names and prevent a nuclear holocaust. Joining them as their newest member is Brandt (Jeremy Renner), an intelligence analyst whose combat skills belie those of a mere paper pusher.

Mission: Impossible III took the franchise down a darker path in line with Casino Royale and the Bourne franchise. Ghost Protocol gleefully embraces the over-the-top elements of the spy genre. JJ Abrams, who directed the previous installment, has stayed on as producer and brought on board writers Josh Applebaum and André Nemec from his Alias days to pen the script. Their screenplay seems to have emerged from the 80's since it is packed to the gills with Cold War trappings. There are Russian antagonists, shady villains with generic foreign accents, and the looming threat of all-out nuclear war between the superpowers. The gadgets are all here too. The IMF utilizes high-tech gear such as a contact lens that can transmit visual data, a magnetic levitation suit, not to mention iPads and iPhones. The iconic masks are present as well. What would a Mission: Impossible movie be without a cool mask reveal? A running gag throughout the film is how the team's equipment always seems to malfunction at the most inopportune of times. Even the famous self-destructing message (hidden inside a payphone) needs a good bang to the side to get it started.

Each installment of the Mission: Impossible series has had a different director behind the camera employing his own trademark style. For Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise went with an unlikely choice in Brad Bird, whose experience has solely been in animation. Bird has helmed The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles. His skills have translated to live-action with rousing success. Bird has managed to create an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride in a way that not even action maestro John Woo, who directed Mission: Impossible II, could have. Ghost Protocol consists of one unique action sequence after another as Bird takes the audience on a globetrotting adventure from Budapest to Mumbai. You have a foot chase through a blinding sandstorm and a climactic fist fight in the middle of an automated parking garage. Without a doubt, the centerpiece of Ghost Protocol is a spectacular set piece involving Tom Cruise precariously scaling the outside of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It's an amazing stunt that Cruise insisted on doing himself. The sequence was also one of several that were shot in IMAX. Ghost Protocol features approximately thirty minutes of footage shot in the larger format and Bird makes the most of every frame, including the ones featuring the beautiful Paula Patton in a slinky evening gown.

Despite being 49, Cruise is as youthful as ever and slips right back into the role of Ethan Hunt with his usual exuberance. But, Cruise is smart enough to know when to step aside and allow his co-stars to share the spotlight. Indeed, Ghost Protocol is more about teamwork than its predecessors. Simon Pegg is easily one of the film's highlights with his trademark brand of comic relief. Jeremy Renner, who might be groomed to take over the franchise, is a welcome addition. While his castmates play it big, Renner underplays the role of Brandt and gives him a dry sense of humor. Also look for cameos from Tom Wilkinson as the head of IMF and Ving Rhames returning as Luther Stickell.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the epitome of a well-made, big budget blockbuster. The law of diminishing returns is not in effect here as the fourth picture is far and away the best in the series. The extra surcharge is worth it for the IMAX version as Ghost Protocol is gorgeously shot and one of the most fun movie experiences of the year.

Rating: **** (*****)

Paul

Paul - Dir. Greg Mottola (2011)

Along with director Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost came to prominence in geek culture with their Channel 4 sitcom, Spaced. Their leap to feature films with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz was wildly successful. Having tackled zombies and cops, Pegg and Frost finally get around to tackling sci-fi with Paul, based on a script they wrote with Greg Mottola (Adventureland Superbad) behind the camera.

Paul makes it known right away who its target demographic with an opening sequence set at Comic-Con. Pegg and Frost are Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings, a graphic artist and science fiction writer, respectively. The best friends traveled to the United States to attend the Mecca of nerd-dom. They ogle the Slave Leias and get starstruck at meeting the robot from Buck Rogers ("…bidi, bidi, bidi."). Afterwards, Graeme and Clive embark on a bromantic road trip in a rented RV to visit famous UFO sites such as Area 51 and Roswell. Coming across a car accident, they are shocked to discover, Paul (Seth Rogen), an alien who has been locked away in a government facility since his spaceship crashed in the 1940's. Graeme and Clive agree to help Paul get to his mothership. Along the way, they also pick up Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig), a Christian fundamentalist whose faith is shaken by the appearance of a creature from outer space.

The supporting cast is a tremendous ensemble of players that include Jason Bateman as a no-nonsense man in black on the hunt for Paul with a pair of bumbling FBI agents played by Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio. They take their orders from Sigourney Weaver, who appears for most of the picture as a hidden voice sort of like Dr. Klaw from Inspector Gadget. We also have Jeffrey Tambor as sci-fi author Adam Shadowchild and Jane Lynch in a tiny role (a little Jane Lynch goes a long way) as a diner owner. Everyone is good, but none more so than Wiig as both a comic foil to Paul and love interest to Graeme. Wiig takes a rather one-dimensional character in Ruth and makes her extremely likable. She also possesses tremendous comic timing shown off when Ruth awkwardly tries cursing for the first time and launches into a series of nonsensical profanities ("Well, ain't that a bag of tits.").

Seth Rogen may be suffering from overexposure as of late. While you certainly cannot fault the man for venturing out of his comfort zone, the results have been mixed at best (i.e. Observe and Report, The Green Hornet). Here, Rogen goes back to basics providing only motion capture work and his distinctive voice. His Paul pulls a 180 on the prototypical alien by turning him into a rude and gross little guy with a cigarette constantly in his hand. He's E.T. if he were a potty-mouthed, bulb-headed stoner from a galaxy far, far away.

Paul definitely has its weaknesses. As foreigners, Pegg and Frost go the easy route by portraying most of the Americans they come across as bible-thumping zealots or gun-toting rednecks. David Koechner and Friday Night Lights' Jesse Plemons a bit wasted as the latter. Some of the subplots don't pay off, especially the one involving Ruth's domineering father (John Carroll Lynch), which could have easily been cut from the film to tighten the plot. In the end, Paul will live and die by its geek chic sense of humor.

While Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz poked fun at genre conventions, Paul is more concerned with making specific references, many of which will go most everyone's heads. There are tons of requisite Star Wars gags with entire lines of dialogue quoted by various characters. One of the best features a country western band playing their version of the Mos Eisley Cantina song. Other iconic sci-fi flicks like Back to the Future and obscure ones like Mac and Me are referenced as are numerous Spielberg movies to the point where the director himself makes a voice cameo receiving story advice from Paul.

Make no mistake about it, Paul is a movie for geeks and by geeks. As someone who is steeped in the culture (I'm a Comic-Con veteran for nearly two decades), it's hard for me to say how mainstream audiences might take the film. Hopefully, they'll find Paul as hilarious and surprisingly poignant as I have.

Rating: *** (*****)

Star Trek

Star Trek - Dir. J.J. Abrams (2009)

Yes, I am a Star Trek fan. Like other Trekkies or Trekkers or whatever terminology is approved of, the thought of rebooting the original series must have been anathema. The idea isn’t completely unheard of as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski wrote a treatment for a proposed remake series. Still, the very concept is like slaughtering a sacred cow. I approached the new Star Trek film with the same trepidation and disdain that I have with any other attempted remake from the Hollywood machine. I certainly didn’t consider J.J. Abrams to be the man that would be able to shepherd the franchise into the 21st century. Not to the mention the cast seemed as if they’d be more comfortable on a CW show than they would gallivanting through outer space. So it is with a great sense of surprise and satisfaction that I found the simply titled Star Trek to be a fantastic adventure film and the most fun theater experience I’ve had all year.

Abrams along with frequent collaborators Damon Lindelof (producer of Lost) and screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (Transformers) take us back to a time when the iconic Trek characters were still fresh-faced cadets in Starfleet Academy. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a farm boy from Iowa whose father was captain of a starship for a only a few minutes and saved the lives of nearly every crew member including his wife and newborn son. This Kirk has a lot to live up to in more ways than one. He’s shunned Starfleet in favor of chasing girls and picking bar fights until a man-to-man talk with Capt. Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood). Light years away on the planet Vulcan, Spock (Zachary Quinto) has grown up torn between his Vulcan and human halves. Though he’s chosen the logical, emotionally repressed ways of his father Sarek (Ben Cross), he still possesses the fiery spirit of his mother Amanda (Winona Ryder). Long story short, they find their way on board the Enterprise along with plenty of familiar names with all new faces. These include; helmsman Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), communications officer Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), the cantankerous Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), and eventually engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).

The maiden voyage of the U.S.S. Enterprise isn’t a smooth one as the crew must immediately go into battle against Nero (Eric Bana), a mad Romulan on a path to massive genocide. Nero has traveled back in time to avenge the destruction of his home planet by wiping out every world belonging to the Federation. Luckily for our heroes, an elderly Spock has found his way into the past to provide sage advice to the hotheaded Kirk.

Getting my nitpicks out of the way first, the script does feel rushed despite the film’s run time of over two hours. Kirk has an incredibly quick change of heart from rebellious youth to enlisting in Starfleet. From there, the story plays fast and loose as it assembles the famous crew of the Enterprise and gets them all in their proper place. Abrams manages to avoid the trendy shaky camera work that nearly everyone uses for action sequences in the wake of the Bourne trilogy. He does, however, utilize an awful lot of lens flare. It definitely works for many of the space scenes in accurately reflecting sun light off the hulls of the starships. I’m not so sure that it was needed for so many scenes, becoming quite distracting and obtrusive. Time travel probably wasn’t the most optimal choice for a storyline, but it was a necessary evil in order to placate the diehard fans in establishing this new Trek without wiping out or being beholden to previous continuity. It also allows Leonard Nimoy to take on a small role and symbolically pass the torch to this new ensemble. To their credit, the writers use time travel as a mere backdrop in order to avoid all the confusion and plot holes that usually comes with it.

The story, in and of itself, isn’t particularly original. It follows the basic journey of the protagonist into becoming the hero we know he will be while foiling the supervillain in his quest to destroy all life. Where the film shines is in its treatment of its characters and the actors who truly elevate the material they’ve been given. Chris Pine had the unenviable task of bringing life to James T. Kirk while the specter of William Shatner forever followed him. Pine captures the swashbuckling attitude of the original Kirk with a dash of Han Solo thrown in for good measure. His freewheeling ways stand in contrast to his restrained Vulcan first officer. Quinto not only looks the part of Spock, but captures his logical nature as well as the burning passions buried deep inside his human half. As expected, Simon Pegg provides the comic relief though neither he nor Sulu are given enough scenes to work with. Anton Yelchin nails Chekov’s Russian accent perfectly.

I’ve not been much of a fan of Eric Bana and found many of his performances a bit on the stiff side. I thought he was good in Munich though easily outshined by co-stars Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush. As Nero, Bana really relishes the villainous role and chews the scenery whenever he gets the chance. There are echoes of Wrath of Khan in Nero’s confrontations with the Enterprise along with a heavy influence from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Both characters suffered the loss of their family and people thus dedicating their lives to battling what they feel are injustice and imperialism. Perhaps, the best performance out of anyone is Karl Urban who shows off amazing comedic timing as the grouchy, wild-eyed Dr. McCoy. Urban, a self-professed Trek fan, practically channels the spirit of DeForest Kelly.

For the first time in a long time, we have a Trek film that was truly meant for the big screen. Abrams and company have fashioned a widescreen spectacle packed to the gills with action and excitement. Will it please every longtime fan? No. This is a Trek accessible to the masses and unencumbered by past mythology. Just like Bond and Batman, this is a reboot that works. This is a new Star Trek that still pays homage to its predecessor not just in spirit. There are several scenes and lines of dialogue that call back to past episodes and films. At the same time, the film frees up the franchise to boldly go where no one has gone before.

There are still detractors. I know some fellow Trek fans who absolutely refuse to see the film. I also know several people (friends and relatives) who’ve never shown an inkling of interest in Star Trek and are either dying to see this new version or have seen it and loved it. If someone went to see Iron Man, loved it, and wanted to read some of the comics, I’m all for it. If Abrams’ Star Trek gets new fans to watch the original series or Next Generation or any iteration, I’m all for it. I don’t agree with the viewpoint that the new Star Trek detracts from classic Trek nor does it erase what’s come before it. I’ve been more than willing to accept this new vision as an alternate reality far removed from the original. Consider Star Trek to be a flickering light in the corner of your eye and ignore it if you choose. Me? I’m more than happy to enjoy all versions.

I’m also happy to see that in the future go-go boots and mini-skirts are still in fashion.

Rating: ****

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People - Dir. Robert Weide (2008)


Loosely based on the eponymous memoirs of Toby Young which recounted his rise and fall at Vanity Fair. A male alternative to the sudden glut of Devil Wears Prada knockoffs, How to Lose Friends tells the tale of an obnoxious jerk and his stint at the trendy (but fictional) Sharps magazine. Ironically, the real-life Young was banned from the set after endlessly annoying the cast and crew.

The film gets off to a fine start. Simon Pegg acting like an uncouth ass and pissing all over the celebrity world he so desperately wants to be a part of? Sure, sounds like good times. Sadly, whatever bite this production might have had is lost when its teeth are pulled in favor of a second half that’s cookie cutter rom-com.

It’s not for lack of trying. Pegg is his usual entertaining self. Gillian Anderson puts Scully out to pasture as a Machiavellian publicist, Thandie Newton has a fun cameo as herself, and Megan Fox is actually wisely cast as a vainglorious starlet. A mock trailer with Fox as Mother Theresa is right up there with Spidey and Iron Man as gay monks in Tropic Thunder.

Their efforts are all for naught when the film can’t make up its mind between no holds barred Hollywood satire and schmaltzy romantic comedy.

Rating: **