Movie Review-Star Trek Into Darkness

I was surprised this latest Star Trek movie didn't make more than the 84 million it did on it opening weekend.  I loved the film!  From the start the Enterprise is engulfed in J.J. Abram's frenetic, camera-shaking style of film-making and holds you in a relentless grip.  Abrams has a way of getting the viewer emotionally invested and even caring for a villain...at least one of them.  This is a spoiler free review so I will not divulge any more about that.  The film is stunning in its CGI grandeur and scope.  The special effects that are the best I 've ever seen and I loved the fact we got to see a lot more of the Enterprise and its very cool new warp effect in this second installment.

The cast is fantastic at their job of portraying the crew of the Enterprise and Benedict Cumberbatch and RoboCop, Peter Weller, make great bad guys.

I like the fact that it got a little preachy about themes such as hunting down and executing a criminal without a trial and the futility of revenge.  It would seem that the writers have a problem with America's use of drones in summary execution of American citizens who are terrorists.  The drones in this movie happen to be souped-up photon torpedos.  The lessons Kirk learned in humility and when it came to his seeking revenge resonated with me as well :  "There will always be those who mean to do us harm.  To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves.  Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us.  But that's not who we are..."

Michael Giacchino's musical score was impressive and, being a big fan of soundtracks, I even heard some John Williamseque musical notes in there.  Giacchino's music has the power to evoke the emotion in a scene in a powerful way and his musical landscapes are ever the brilliant.

The tributes to and the mentions of the Star Trek universe were great.  The movie has a lot of humorous moments that made me laugh and I love the twists on the timeless stories from Trek lore.

I give this film a 9 out of 10.

'Nuff Said.

IRON MAN THREE - My Review

So, Tony Stark....you are a character.  One of the most colorful.  Robert Downey Jr's performance in the Iron Man trilogy certainly deepened the humanity of the Superhero movie genre.  I enjoyed the mixing it up of different elements characters and plot twists in Iron Man Three.  I'm sure that Gwenyth Paltrow enjoyed the fact that Pepper Potts had more to do than sit in an office in this movie.  Guy Pierce did a good job as he always does as a villain (he was a great bad guy in The Count of Monte Cristo).

Iron man Three was well-directed and managed to make the audience hold their breath a couple of times.  The movie's sense of humor was there too to keep watchers laughing.  As Tony bares his soul (you'll have to stay til after the credits to see who he is talking to) he acknowledges that he (like us) is responsible for a lot of the mayhem in our lives.  I think that that is a good lesson for us all.  Tony tries to find a solution for the turmoil in his heart by ceaselessly tinkering with his tech - like a lot of guys I know with their stuff.  But nothing helps.  He can't sleep and no amount of tech can rewire the human heart.  I enjoyed Iron Man Three much more than two, which was entertaining, but not as beefy in plot and deep in character development.

Director Shane Black brought his A Game and I'm glad that Jon Favreau was in the movie as a character but turned the direction over to Black.  This is something Lucas should have done in Star Wars episodes II and III the way he did with Empire and Jedi.  Fresh Directing perspective is a good idea with multiple sequels.  Brian Tyler's score was great and infectious and the new Iron Man theme stuck in my head afterward--a good sign the composer did his job well.

I'd say 8 out of 10.  Nuff Said.