Boldly Going Pt 10 (Star Trek: Nemesis, 2002)

So, after the disappointing returns the studio brought in the director of Executive Decision, Stuart Baird, and John Logan, the screen writer of the Time Machine.

The Romulans are in turmoil and during a high level meeting of their government, there is an assassination of the council. Shinzon is installed as their leader.

Picard and the Enterprise are lured to a remote planet by a unique signal that is emitted by androids like Data. They discover the pieces of an Android named B-4. Once assembled they try and determine how he got to the planet and his purpose. It turns out that he has a connection to Shinzon.

When he meets with Picard, it is revealed that he is actually a clone of Picard from an abandoned secret Romulan project. Shinzon is deteriorating and needs the genetics of Picard to stop it.

To be honest? This is the film that nearly killed the franchise. It is a dreary and dark mess. The characters do not feel like themselves and the attempts at epic game changers just do not feel like they were at all committed. Data’s self sacrifice would probably feel more heavy hearted if there was not already an onscreen replacement. When Troi is literally mind raped, she requests to step down and Picard refuses to allow it, asking her to endure more.

Even scenes that feel like they should be exciting adventures are just lifeless.

Nemesis is a disappointing slog. True story, I tried to watch this film five different times in the years since it came out and fell asleep until the fifth time. I recently watched it again. I did manage to stay awake, but boy was it not a good time.

June 15, 2020 0

Boldly Going Pt 9 (Star Trek: Insurrection, 1998)

After a rousing success with First Contact, Jonathan Frakes returned to the directors chair with Insurrection.

When Data goes haywire as part of an undercover science team observing a small community on a remote planet, the Enterprise is called to investigate.

When they arrive, the peaceful Ba’ku are discovered to be aging very slowly. As they dig deeper, they realize there is a dark conspiracy at play to remove the Ba’Ku so the planet’s unique radiation can be harvested.

Picard and his crew, of course, side with the Ba’ku and work to stop the attempt to forcefully re-home them.

This film seems to be a less popular entry…but honestly? I do not think this is the film is “bad”.

Largely, Star Trek films lean towards a larger and more “epic” adventure. Stories bigger than the TV series would have allowed. But Insurrection is a pretty small scale story. And it feels like it easily could have been at home as another episode of the Next Generation. But this is not a bad thing.

Insurrection is an action film with small level ethical questions. And it is a lot of fun. They lean into jokes where the crew all start to feel re-invigorated by the planet…and even find sone ways to make it a bit meaningful (as Geordie’s eyes heal and he is able to watch a sunrise in a way he never has been able to in his life).

There is some nice twists with the villains and F. Murray Abraham rages like a master.

Is this up there with the best of film Trek? No, but it is a solid Star Trek tale that is a lot of fun.

June 12, 2020 0

Boldly Going Pt 8 (Star Trek: First Contact, 1996)

For the Sophomore voyage of the Next Generation crew, they pulled a Wrath of Khan and a Voyage Home. They reached back to a central villain from the the series, the Borg, and added time travel.

Picard is still haunted by a voice from his time in the Borg Collective. When he senses the Borg are mounting an attack on the Earth, he is surprised to learn that the Federation feels there is too much risk for him to be there and command that the Enterprise patrol the neutral zone.

Picard and the crew decide they cannot sit things out. They arrive to find that the Borg are on the verge of victory, but Picard gives the fleet the orders to hit the right coordinates to destroy the Borg ship. A small escape ship trails out and the Enterprise follows it, only for it to open a rift in tine and space, they realize as they follow, time is changing around them, the Borg have gone to the past to assimilate a defenseless pre-Federation Earth.

The Borg manage to damage a small community that happens to be the base of operations of the first man to achieve Warp Speed just days before his flight. After the Borg ship is destroyed, the Enterprise crew sets about making sure the flight happens.

But while Riker and his team work to correct history, the Borg managed to get to the Enterprise before their ship was destroyed and Picard must lead the charge against the attempts by the Borg to take over the Enterprise and its crew.

First Contact is highly regarded, and not unjustly. It is easily one of the best of the entire film series. The Borg provide a new perspective on Picard and pairing him with Alfre Woodard’s 21st Century Lily (who ends up trapped on the Enterprise) is a perfect choice as she is able to see past his authority and is not afraid to call Picard out in a moment of machismo.

The film mines a lot of humor from Zefram Cochran’s unwillingness to embrace the hero Geordi and Riker expect him to be.

There is a lot going on with themes of heroism, revenge, blinded by one’s perceived righteous anger and fear of the demands others place on you.

The performances, from the regular cast to Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, James Cromwell as Zefram Cochran and the previously mentioned Alfre Woodard are some of the best of the franchise.

The film holds up as a true high water mark for what the Star trek Franchise can be and is easily rewarding for multiple visits.

June 11, 2020 0

Boldly Going Pt 7 (Star Trek: Generations, 1994)

Coming only a few months after the Next Generation series came to a close, Generations was to be the film to bridge the original series and the Next Generation.

And there was a hope that it might bring together both crews in an exciting meeting of titans so to speak.

Opening in 2093, the new ship the Excelsior is making it’s maiden flight. Kirk, Scotty and Chekov are part of the celebration when the ship encounters a distress signal. They beam the inhabitants to their ship, but in an accident, it appears Kirk was killed.

The film jumps to the present (I mean, for the Next Generation Crew) where they are having a celebration. They answer a distress call from a science vessel. There they discover a scientist who claims they were attacked by Romulans.

The scientist wants to get back to his experiment, to the point of attacking the crew. Picard learns that he is part of the same long lived race as Guinan and he is trying to get to another dimension known as the Nexus. But doing so could be highly destructive. Add to the mix Klingon mercenary sisters who are working with the scientist and things look bad for the Enterprise Crew.

Picard ultimately finds himself alone with the mad scientist on a planet where he must try and stop him…but he finds an ally in a man thought long dead.

To be honest, for a long time I just did not like this film. I came to realize that this was mainly due to the fact that it was not what I wanted it to be. Only Picard and Kirk meet. And upon revisiting the film recently, I think I hold this one up a bit higher than in the past. There are some things I really enjoy.

Everyone is great, but I confess I find Stewart and Spiner to be the MVPs here. Stewart gives real heart to Picard who is suddenly facing a sense that maybe he made the wrong choice in never having a family.

Meanwhile, Data opts to install and activate his emotion chip. At first, this is mined for humor, with Data recalling jokes from early in the television series and discovering-with joy- that he hates a particular drink. However, he starts to become overwhelmed by his emotions, ultimately becoming paralyzed with fear, leaving Geordi to be taken captive.

They try and up the stakes with the destruction of the Enterprise, which is a pretty exciting crash sequence.

Is Generations the movie a younger me wanted? No. Is it a better film for not being what the younger me wanted? Yes.

June 10, 2020 0

Space Suckin’ (Lifeforce, 1985)

When I planned this post, Tobe was still with us. In October, I will be exploring some other Hooper films. But my thoughts go out to Hooper’s friends and family.

Set in 1985, the international space shuttle the Churchill is observing Halley’s Comet. They discover an object hidden in the tail of the comet, only to discover it is a giant spaceship. The craft is full of corpses of strange humanoid bat creatures…and then there is the weird part. Three beautiful humans encased in crystal coffins. The Churchill goes silent, and is only discovered after it appears to be adrift. It is found with only one remaining crew member (Col Tom Carlsen) and the beautiful young woman.

Col. Colin Caine is trying to determine what has happened, but a new threat arises when the beautiful girl awakes and we discover she is a life draining energy vampire. Seducing a young guard, she dramatically draws his life energy out, leaving a desiccated corpse. It all created a domino effect as it turns out those she drains are not dead, but now lesser vampires. They can return to life briefly, but without regular energy infusions, they die permanently. Caine and Carlsen start trying to track down the Space Girl (this is actually how the character is credited) who is moving through London psychically, while her body is hidden away.

The visual effects in Lifeforce are very strong. The corpse monsters (and there transformations) are especially cool sequences. There is a sequence where the Space Girl reaches out to the leads building a blood body that is effective (though the two bodies are clearly dummies).

The cast is good, with Railsback’s Carlsen being a seemingly dubious character who seems more obsessed with the Space Girl rather than stop her. The film aims to be pretty epic, but can veer into some real campy territory. Most notably, although the beautiful young actress Mathilda May only appears as the Space Girl for about ten minute or less? She is naked for about twelve of those minutes. Sure, by Game of Thrones standards, that seems quaint…but it was a pretty big deal at the time.

There is a goofy charm to the film, and most of the strengths are the presence of British Thespians such as Frank Finlay and Patrick Stewart (who shares an on screen kiss with Railsback). Hooper has certainly made weirder films (*cough* the Mangler*cough*)

September 1, 2017 2

Breaking Down (Logan, 2017)

First things first. You might figure this is a super-hero movie and safe for kids. Logan is a hard ‘R’ and earns it in the first five minutes.

It has been known for quite some time that this was Jackman’s swan song. Seventeen years is a long time to play the same character. Just a few days ago Stewart said this was his final time playing Professor X. And Logan is, without a doubt, a way to go out on top.

Taking the approach of Unforgiven, Logan is set in the not to distant future of 2029. We meet a Wolverine who is not quite the best at what he does anymore. He is sickly, he claws don’t work quite as well and his healing abilities are significantly slower. He drinks, stumbles and is quietly hiding an even more troubled Charles Xavier. There are hints and references to a massive tragedy that Charles is guilty of causing. Logan and another mutant Caliban (who is able to sense and track other mutants) keep Charles drugged because he has seizures that could destroy a city.

Although it is believed mutant kind is essentially wiped out, a young girl named Laura falls into their lap, forcing them to run from a nefarious organization that wants to get her into their possession.

Logan is a dark film, one that feels from the start that it has only one end for our leads. It is a bloody struggle to get Laura to freedom. However, it has it’s light moments. These are primarily between Jackman and Stewart, as well as with Laura. She is a feral child in some respects and has powers very much like Wolverine’s.

This is most certainly one of the best films in the X-Men franchise. The story is compelling and the performances engaging. The quality of the Wolverine films is a rare example of going from bad to great. Logan is worth a watch.

March 4, 2017 0

Green Room Serenade (Green Room, 2016)

Green Room is one of Anton Yelchin’s final films. The story is simple. Pat and his friends are in a punk band. When their show falls through, they get a new gig in a remote club. They discover it is a Neo-Nazi bar. When they stumble upon a terrible crime, it is a fight for survival.

Once things start, the film is unrelentingly intense as the band fights for survival, along with a young woman who may or may not be on there side. The film is full of surprises and the performances are great. Yelchin’s performance as Pat (who starts out a quiet and peaceable young man then forced to fight) is solidly sympathetic. The absolute stand out is Patrick Stewart. As the head of the Neo-Nazi group, Darcy, he is unnervingly menacing. I am used to the kindly and wise characters Stewart has played for over two decades. None of that is here. He is cruel, manipulative and lethally skilled.

Imogen Poot’s plays Amber as a mystery. Is she trying to help the band, or is she actually devoted to Darcy and his crew?

The film takes many twists and turns, constantly giving you hope for success only to have it taken away in a shocking moment. Writer/Director Jeremy Saulnier shows a real understanding for creating tension. His first feature film, Murder Party was an amusing horror/comedy about a lonely guy invited to a costume party that turns out to be a a group of psychopaths who invite people to hunt and kill. Using a similar premise of innocents trapped by psychopaths, he trades in humor for intensity.

Green Room is a tense and exciting thriller that keeps the viewer engaged right up to the end.

October 1, 2016 0

Back to the Future (X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2014)

Days of Future Past is a well loved storyline where Kitty Pryde is thrust into a future where Mutants are herded in camps, marked and in some cases killed. They are hunted by giant robots called Sentinels. And for the most part, Days of Future Past keeps these ideas. Except the film begins in the future and instead of Kitty Pryde going to the future, they send Wolverine back in time to stop it from ever happening. Kitty Pryde is still a part of this, as she can use her phasing ability to phase people through time. Only to a few days earlier, so they are playing a cat and mouse game with the Sentinels finding their hideout, Kitty sending Bishop back in time to warn them. They decide they need to go farther back, but it is to taxing on Kitty and the brain of the person she sends back. Wolverine volunteers to go, arguing his healing factor makes him the best choice.

Wolverine awakes in the 70’s and finds that the School Xavier opened is in shambles…there are no students. Xavier is addicted to a drug that allows him to walk, but also prevents him from using his powers. Beast is also there as his aide. They do not initially buy Wolverines arguments, but he eventually persuades them to the cause. They are trying to stop Mystique from assassinating Bolivar Trask. Trask is the creator of the Sentinels and he has been using mutants as part of his R&D. The research is fatal, and this is actually used to kill several characters from First Class off screen.

This is without a doubt one of the strongest films in the entire X-Men series. The return of Bryan Singer as director was clearly a smart choice. There is well timed humor and exciting action. We see the return of the original (still living cast). The future sequences are full of cool uses of power and we get new characters like Blink (who creates wormholes characters can escape through-the film is very inventive with these powers) and Warpath (a character from the 1970’s return of the X-Men comics). We have Storm and Iceman back. The films have always had a hard time placing Magneto on the side of evil and seeing real life friends Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan back together again.

And the new characters are pretty memorable. Quicksilver appears only a short time, but he totally steals every scene. He is funny and likeable. Peter Dinklage makes Trask a sympathetic and misguided villain. He is not simply evil…he is consumed by fear of what mutants mean for the human race. It does not make his actions acceptable. His choices are evil, but you can see what takes him there. William Stryker returns to the series and is trying to weaponize mutants, treating them as less than human already. The film is, of course, very Wolverine-centric.

There are two cuts of the film out on Blu-Ray. The theatrical cut eliminated Rogue entirely with the exception of the film’s final scene, even though they filmed several scenes focused on Rogue. The second is not a directors cut, it is the Rogue Cut and restores Rogue to the story. Both versions are good, but it is nice seeing the inclusion of Rogue and the important part she plays. It also brings things back to the first film and Rogue’s relationship to Wolverine.

The film has continuity issues in regards to the film series. One being how Patrick Stewart is back…it is a bit more focused on undoing X3 and “fixing a timeline”…which results in questions. Like First Class, Days of Future Past overcomes a lot of these questions while watching it. This film feels like the passing of the baton to the new cast (much in the way Star Trek Generations tried to do…but this does it oh so much better). It is, like X2, a film that has a strong identity that is built on strong performances.

August 1, 2016 0

Gene Splicing (X3:The Last Stand, 2006)

X-2 was how you build upon a decent movie to make a great second film creating excitement for your franchise. Annnnnnd this one is how you screw it up.

It all starts with Warner Brothers deciding that their superhero films were missing a vital link to making their movies awesome. Getting the guys who made those good X-Men movies. And Bryan Singer answered their call-swayed by his love for the first two Superman movies and he took his major players with him.

Fox and Marvel started to work on a replacement. Darren Aronofsky, Alex Proya, Joss Whedon, Rob Bowman and Zack Snyder were all considered before setting up a deal with Matthew Vaughn (Stardust). After a brief time, Vaughn felt he could not be away from his family for the length of time making the film would require, so he dropped out.

Which leads us to Brett Ratner. Funny enough, before Singer, Ratner was considered for the original X-Men film. Since then he had a string of moderate successes in the Rush Hour films and Red Dragon. I am not going to lie…I cringed at the announcement.

So, the film starts out in the past, with Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr (Magneto) going to meet with young Jean Grey and her parents. Both Xavier and Lehnsherr are taken aback by the latent power house within the child Jean Grey. I am more amazed at the some what humorous digital de-aging of Stewart and McKellen which makes them look kind like…they are made of plastic.

The scene then switches to a young boy in a bathroom. His father is pounding on the door for him to open up… honestly, this is one of the most solid scenes in the film as the young boy is attempting to keep a secret from his father. But his father manages to break in and we see the reveal that he was using a razor blade in an attempt to hack off bird-like wings. There is a real sense of heartbreak, and the actor playing young Warren Worthington is terrific.

We jump to the “near future” with what looks to be a city in ruins with young X-Men under attack. In the end, it is revealed to be a Danger Room training exercise. This is a first, as the Danger Room has not been seen until this film. We also see a Sentinel head in the simulation .

The film draws from Joss Whedon’s “mutant cure” storyline in Astonishing X-Men and the Phoenix Saga…minus pretty much everything from the Phoenix Saga. Cyclops is really broken up, he has stubble, so you know it is bad. Marsten was in Superman returns, so they get rid of him quickly. The story is an interesting idea, the cure for mutant abilities, allowing mutants to no longer be mutants. but it is second fiddle at times to the Phoenix storyline. In the comics, the Phoenix Saga is a large and dramatic storyline that spanned several issues. But here it is compressed into two small hours, lacking much of the

The strongest point of the film is the cast. Along with the cast of regulars, we get Ben Foster as Angel, Kelsey Grammer as the Beast (inspired casting if there ever was) and Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde. While Foster is not as pretty as I pictured Angel to be, he is a solid performer.

Ian McKellan is terrific as usual. He is able to seem dangerous and cruel, yet can seem generous and wise at the turn of a hat. At one point, Pyro makes mention that he would have killed Xavier for him…and Magneto stops and looks sternly at Pyro and defends the greatness of Xavier. McKellan has always done a wonderful job of selling the idea that Magneto truly loved and cared for his friend-in spite of being on opposite sides of the issue. His delivery of the Magneto speeches are poetic.

The problem is…the film is a mish mash of ideas. It has great moments, but it is filled with lazy writing. The resolution of the Phoenix story is troubling. Rather than letting her sacrifice herself what we get is depressing and problematic. The character could not just “get better”, she had killed to many people to come back from that. And she is so powerful, that letting her go forward would be hard to defend and there is no way to “imprison” her. The original story was grandly cosmic, and I realize that it was unlikely that we would see that version on film. Brett Ratner is clearly trying to go big, but it tends to fall short. Characters get short changed and used without much thought of their potential. It is by the books, taking interesting ideas from the comics and executing them badly. Professor X is basically reduced to Professor Exposition, leaving Stewart to fend for himself in a massively reduced role. I realize some of this may have been related to actors schedules and the like, but there is little effort to deal with the absences in a way other than to hope you forget they are not there. And what is the point of de-powering Magneto if you are going to end on him getting his power back right before the credits roll?

Rogue should be the real heart of this story. Her struggle is easy to connect to. She wants contact, but her powers prevent that. Yet, the character disappears for large swaths of the film. She misses the final battle entirely.

The film has some good effects, and often the actors overcome stiff or lazy dialog…but in the end, after the powerful and exciting X2, this movie just trips over itself.

This is the Alien: Resurrection of the franchise. And yet, it was better than Superman Returns. Go figure.

July 27, 2016 0

Gene Therapy (X2:X-Men United, 2003)

While it had it’s flaws, X-Men was a solid enough success to warrant a sequel. X-Men 2 went into production under Singer’s guidance. You do not fix what is not broke after all. And Singer got people excited by suggesting this was going to be his Empire Strikes Back.

Picking up pretty much where we left off, mutants are still feared, Magneto is in a cell of plastic, receiving visits from Professor X, who is trying to win his friend back.

In an excellent setup, we are introduced to Nightcrawler. He has infiltrated the White House with a band of tourists and takes off to assassinate the President. It is a really thrilling sequence that sets the film into motion. Professor X and the X-men start trying to locate this mutant who tried to kill the president.

The President is holding meetings with his advisors and General Stryker (played excellently by Brian Cox) . Stryker is the very type of person Magneto fears coming to power. He distrusts and despises mutants, and seeks to eradicate them. And part of that is to put an end to the threat he sees in the Xavier School for Gifted Children. He has been collecting information using as ort of “truth serum/mind control” on mutants.

That evening, with only Wolverine to watch over the kids, Cyclops and Professor X go to see Magneto, while Storm and Jean Grey track down Nightcrawler. Magneto has managed to set up an elaborate and exciting escape. At the same time, Jean and Storm have located Nightcrawler hiding in a church that is under renovation. They are surprised to find a somewhat timid and fearful mutant, not the hardened terrorist one might expect.

While this is going on, Stryker launches an assault on the school. It is here that he is surprised to discover Wolverine, suggesting Stryker may have answers to Wolverine’s past. Wolverine escape with Rogue, Bobby/Iceman and John/Pyro.

Ultimately, the mutants all meet up, knowing they must fight together to stop Stryker’s madness. He plans to use tech and Xavier to destroy all mutants. This leads Magneto and the X-Men to work together in an assault on Stryker’s underground bunker. They save the Xavier, Cyclops and the students but Magneto has no intention of trusting Xavier’s lofty goals and takes off, Pyro in tow. In their attempt to get out safely, The X-Men find themselves suffering another loss.

X2 really set the bar for Super-hero films. In describing it as his Empire, Singer really hit the nail on the head. It is a bit darker than it’s predecessor, the stakes seem higher and the losses more painful. Oh yeah, it ends on a cliffhanger of sorts. All the things that the X-Men comics excel at are present in Singer’s film.

The story functions both in allegory and straightforward adventure. There is humor, heartache, mystery and excitement. The writing really capture the characters, giving the performer and director a solid road map.

Nightcrawler is played to perfection by Alan Cummings. He is the sensitive and compassionate spiritual soul, but also the free-spirited swashbuckling showman. As I mentioned, Cox really hits it out of the park as Stryker. A menacing zealot, willing to sacrifice the dignity of his own child in his thirst for vengeance.

Not shockingly, of course, McKellen’s portrayal of Magneto is top notch. Bringing depth and thoughtfulness to the character. He has many great moments both exciting (his clever escape scene) and quiet (he has a nice moment where he discusses what it is to be a mutant in the world with Pyro. It is seductive in it’s emotional appeal).

Jackman shows a real affinity for the character of Wolverine. He’s able to bring together both the gruffness and genuine protectiveness that has long been a part of the character. And he still managed to pull off crazy “berserker rage” with Wolverine. This is also some terrific moments of humor for the character.

The pairing of Rogue and Iceman works real well in the film. Their attempts to navigate a relationship without touch is nicely handled. Both Sean Ashmore and Anna Paquin have a sweet chemistry that sells the relationship.

Some complain about the heavy handed-ness of the mutant=gay subtext. But the thing about the X-Men is, they address the “subtext of the times”. There was a time when mutant=race was the primary read…but the gay subtext is a pretty natural fit.

Like I said, the film raised the bar. X2 is easily still one of the top five super-hero films. It manages to both be enjoyable for a newer fan with plenty to reward the die-hard fan. This is a solid film that still holds up.

July 26, 2016 0