BEWARE OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS (but I will try to avoid them)

I must say that the wait was well worth it.  I will say that the plot was typical J.J. Abrams.  Anyone who watched Alias or watches Lost knows that his plots can be convoluted at best.  That being said, everything that made the past series was present in the film but non-Trekkers should also enjoy it… provided that sci-fi is to their liking.

The how and why of the destinies (I don’t think the word is out of place, at all) of the two lead characters are laid out.  The brash, looking before he leaps and darn the consequences of Kirk was dramatically portrayed by Chris Pine.  The balance of the mixture of Vulcan/humanity of Spock was brilliant.  I almost thought that Zachary Quinto was a young Leonard Nimoy.  In fact, I thought the 7 ensemble characters of the Enterprise command were each portrayed quite well.  Dr. McCoy’s first impression of Spock is hilarious… and how did he get the nickname of “Bones”?  I still have a hard time seeing Chekhov on the bridge this early.  Maybe as a member of the crew in some smaller capacity, but it just seemed strange.  There is another relationship on board that I’m not quite sure fits.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away.  However, the villain sets out on a mission of vengance that could have catastrophic effects upon the universe.  Isn’t that the way all of these seem to follow?  Final verdict:  While the plot is somewhat out there, the characters fit like a glove and made the movie quite fun.   It was better than Star Trek V… so it was far from the worst.

Tonight at 7, I will be in an area multiplex watching the first summer blockbuster of the season (did not get to Wolverine).  I have watched interviews with cast members on a few of the gab fests.  Surprisingly, little has been divulged concerning the plot of Star Trek which is a VERY good thing.  The only cast member (aside from Mr. Nimoy of course) I really recognize (by name) is Eric Bana.  Bana will be playing the villain Nero.  The only cinematic of his I have had the pleasure(?) of spending too much for a two hour + movie was the original dud of the big screen Hulk.  At least if Trek fails, it will be hard to blame him because he is one of the lucky individuals who got to sit in the chair and endure hours of prosthetic application.   I think it would be neat to play a character at least once (probably no more) in which I had to sit through three hours of having my face totally transformed.  So… Live Long and Prosper, Beam Me Up, Scotty (never said by Shatner’s Kirk), Warp Factor 9.99.  I don’t know if I am more excited to see this movie or if I was more excited to see Indiana Jones’ return last year.  Not nearly as long to wait for the return of the Enterprise.

While I hopefully will have a jam-packed summer to look forward to, I do plan to see at least a few of the big-budget, popcorn munching, no chance of winning any major awards movies coming soon to a theatre near me.

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the backstory to arguably, the most popular member of the gang of mutant superheros… opening Friday.  If you haven’t seen the much publicized copy that surely found its way onto the internet)
• Star Trek (the much-hyped reboot of the 43 year old franchise.  The trailers look phenomenal… hopefully, as is so often the case, the previews are not the best thing… I’m hoping the delay from Christmas Day to May 8th will be worth the wait))
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (the much delayed sixth movie of the seven book franchise.  The final book will be divided into 2 movies.  It has been two years since the last cinematic adventure of the students of Hogwarts)
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (didn’t I tell you that it was a summer of popcorn, senseless movies)
• Land of the Lost (Will Farrell in an update of the classic 70s Saturday morning series about dinosaurs)
• Up (Pixar’s Latest about an old man who hitches his house to a bunch of balloons and up, up, and awaaaaaaaay he goes.  Pixar movies are a must)
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (the sequel looks as fun as the original…LOTS)

I probably will not have time to see all of them but will do what I can.  I plan to be in one show, help with the realizing of another show, and squeeze in some work this summer.  May the summer bring fireworks in the cinemas as well as the sky.

Don’t wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

For date night this week, our movie options were limited.  We are lucky enough to live nearby cheap movie theaters that allow us to go to the movies weekly, so we see almost everything that comes out.  Well, everything we have an interest in  seeing, anyway.  There are movies such as Krank 2 that you couldn’t PAY me to see – I would rather just skip the movie altogether – same with the upcoming Star Trek (no offense to you Trekkies – just not my kind of movie!).  So this week we were left to choose between Obsessed, a stalker-thriller with Beyonce Knowles and the new boss Charles (who already left) from the Office or a movie called The Soloist, which is about a Julliard-trained musician who ends up homeless because his schitzophrenia stands in the way of his success.  The Soloist actually seemed to have some substance, but it also seemed like the kind of movie that could wind up being a tear-jerker or just plain boring.  So we went with Obsessed, despite its 4.0 rating on imdb.com (which had slipped to a 3.8 as of today – ouch).  Obsessed is a movie about a successful business man who had a beautiful wife (Beyonce) and child – essentially the perfect life – until an obsessed temp gets in the picture.  This woman is truly psycho, and I really enjoyed watching how she made this poor man’s life unravel.  The movie wasn’t bad until a few clues shed the light on the movie’s secret – Beyonce can’t act.  Add in bad character development and a weak script, and I can definitely see where the 4.0, er, 3.8 came in.  There was one line near the end of the movie that was one of the stupidest lines I’ve ever heard in any movie.  I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say that my husband and I got dirty looks for laughing out loud at its absurdity.  On top of all of that, the movie was completely predictable – it must have been based upon (copied) every popular stalker movie ever made – The Crush, The Temp, Hand That Rocks the Cradle…  Would I recommend it?  To the right person, maybe…  you have to like thrillers; so much so that you’d want to see one that is almost a thriller parody.  You have to go to this one in a cynical mood, looking for stuff to make fun of  – and you won’t be disappointed.

After the movie, we decided to mix it up a little and go bowling –  something we haven’t done in a LONG time (I blame my 4 pregnancies – bowling is NOT a recommended sport for expecting women, and I’ve been pregnant for about one tenth of my life!)  So anyway, for my first game, I’m embarrassed to say that I got a measly 99 – not very good for someone who used to bowl in a weekly league for years.  My second game was back on par with a 137 – but I was still surprised at how quickly I got the sore muscles of bowler’s fatigue.  I guess picking up 10 lbs with three fingers uses muscles that haven’t been thought about for years.  While I’m happy to report that I wasn’t sore at all the next day, I do have to say that my first attempt at bowling as a 30-year-old wasn’t pretty.  I guess I have to practice, especially if I’m ever going to go ahead and join that league I’ve been talking about doing for years.  I just hope I don’t hurt myself too badly.

Out of respect for my wonderful hubby, I will not disclose his bowling scores.  Let’s just say that he didn’t stand a chance against the former high school ‘Female Intramural Bowler of the Year’.  😉

As the days count down to May 8, so too does the speculation of whether or not J.J Abrams’ vision of (IMHO) one of the two most iconic and enduring franchises in sci-fi  will live up to the legend.  Even if you have never seen one of the hundreds of Star Trek television episodes (spanning over 40 years, 5 spin-offs, and an animated series), any of the 10 big screen movies, or could careless… unless you live under a rock, you have at least heard of the phenomenon in some way.  Last night, a group of movie goers who thought they were walking into a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were given a huge surprise.  Patrons at the Alamo Draft House in Austin, TX were greeted by the movie’s writers and the “old” Spock: Leonard Nimoy, himself and given an advance screening.  Unlike the recent problematic internet leaking of another summer blockbuster: X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Of course, in today’s world I would not be surprised to hear that Star Trek has by now made its way onto downloads… if so, I don’t want to know.

Personally, I want to know as little about the movie as possible; but the trailers look amazing.  What I want from the movie is basically what I enjoy most about the original series.  A good plot, a good villain, action whether it be on land or in space (however, a good ship to ship confrontation with phasers and photon torpedoes blazing is always enjoyable.  However, what I enjoy most about the old show is the chemistry between the three core characters: the devil-may-care, go where angels fear to tread Captain Kirk; the logical, usually stoic half-Vulcan/half-human Spock; and the certainly outspoken, cantankerous, passionate Dr. Leonard H. “Bones” McCoy (my personal favorite of the original characters).  Some of my favorite moments revolve around heated displays of verbal one upsmanship between the first officer and the chief medical officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Most often, Captain Kirk would be the man in the middle who had to ease the tension.

Overall, I hope to be entertained and feel like I am stepping back into the world of 22nd century excitement.  The actors on screen may not be the same, but hopefully the characters they portray will be recognizable.

May 8th seems like an awfully familiar date to me… wonder why 😉  Maybe if I check out my coutdown widget….

Have I yet posted on the coincidence involved in the Halloween movie franchise (at least the original 1978 movie)?  Well… if so, I apologize.  It seems that during the  3 year run of the original Star Trek series, William Shatner was fitted for a death mask.  Perhaps if the series had continued on the Enterprise’s five year mission (“to seek out new life and new civilizations”… yada, yada, yada…), the good Captain Kirk would have met his demise (guess we will never know).  As it turns out, the mask made its way into the hands of the creators of the horror film.  You can follow the link to a more in depth detail with the Shat himself being interviewed by his daughter, Melanie..  I think he might have been confusing the actor Mike Myers with the fictional villain Michael Myers.

Perhaps the most enduring fixture in the world of Star Trek was Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.  She was in every incarnation of the universe.  She played the role of Number One in the original pilot entitled “The Cage.”  However, the role was scrapped when television censors first viewed the show as the role was too progressive for a woman (this was the mid 1960s after all).  When the series was relaunched, the wife of series creator Gene Roddenberry was given the part of Nurse Christene Chapel who had an unrequited attraction to a certain Vulcan first officer.  After the series ended, Mrs. Roddenberry would be heard in the animated series as Lt. M’ress as well as the voice of the computer in all future Star Trek series and later films including the new movie coming this summer.

However, my favorite role portrayed by the actress was as Lwaxana Troi who was the mother of Enterprise councellor Deanna Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Mrs. Troi would make periodic appearances not only to the Enterprise but also on space station Deep Space Nine.  Part of the fun of this character was her hilarious flirtatious advances toward Captain Jean-Luc Picard.  Unfortunately for the captain, Lwaxana is a full telepath able to read the thoughts of others.

On December 18, 2008 Mrs. Roddenberry lost her short battle with leukemia a disease I know all too well this year.  May the great bird of the galaxy watch over her and those she left behind.  Total coincidence that two postings in a row have a common theme.

Ok… so this past week has not be fraught with hilarity… some fun, but a lot of downness (I KNOW a word that is not ), So, to cheer things up, I found a list of 24 quotable quotes from television… not from movies now. I’ll start off and let’s see how many we can come up with:

• “Space… the final frontier” (Surprise, surprise, eh?)
• “De plane boss… de plane” (Fantasy Island)
• “Faster than a speeding bullet… more powerful than a locomotive” etc (another shocker, yes)
• “NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!“
  
• “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia“

Ok… that’s five. come on all you shy people keep the ball rolling. Remember only television quotes for this one.  Sounds almost as fun as a rousing game of Shoes and Socks or “I’m Going on a Trip.”

If you were planning to make a space in your upcoming holiday season to see two rather high profile movies, it would be wise to consider changing them or you will be waiting a LOOONG time in line. A few weeks ago, the reboot of Star Trek by Lost head guy, JJ Abrams has been shoved from Christmas Day to May 8, 2009. More recently, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has been rescheduled for a July release. Not entirely sure why but articles suggest that the writer’s strike from earlier this year may have something to do with it. However, producers claim that the sixth installment of the cinematic adventures of the boy wizard is in the can ready to roll. Some speculate that changing the release date will help in the long run as Warner Bros. previously had no big releases set for midsummer.

As far as the latest franchise to get a face lift, I say ENOUGH already. We will probably be subjected to a totally new interpretation, with an entirely new cast, and be asked to forget everything that came before. Leonard Nimoy is set to make an appearance as an aged Mr. Spock. Of course, Mr. Shatner is bitter because he was not offered a spot in the role that made him famous. However like every good captain, Kirk DIED in Generations (although Bill in his profound wisdom did revive him in a series of spin-off novels… talk about ego). And we will again ask the question, when exactly DID Chekov come aboard the Enterprise. Another sign that this will be an entire relaunch of the series (only the names are the same to not protect the innocent?), it is simply entitled Star Trek (no bloody A, B, C, or D; but wait, they dropped the number after 6, I think).

I am a reader.  I have been a reader since I was a child, especially of science fiction and fantasy.  I remember back when I was around ten, reading a book series about an alien called a “Martinean” who everyone called Martin E. Ann, assuming that was his name.  Except for the boy who knew he was an alien of course.  I don’t remember anything about that series aside from that, but it shows that I have been reading for awhile.  I have read some Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Piers Anthony, Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, Terry Pratchett, Alan Dean Foster, Robert Jordan, and more.  Currently I picked up a new book at the library from Timothy Zahn, called The Third Lynx.  Noting this was the second book in a series, I also picked up Night Train to Rigel from the non-recent stacks and read it first.  Now before I continue, I should say that there are a few types of books.  There are those that you take one look at and then leave on the shelf.  Then there are those that you read for a bit and then realize that reading that book is just a waste of time, so you either force your way through it just so you can say you finished it or you stop reading it.  I actually had a book of this type recently, a Star Trek Titan book part of a post-Nemesis movie about Captain Riker and his starship, Titan.  I read one by a homosexual author who put a scene in the book that served no purpose other than to say that he believes in homosexual relationships.  In fact, you could remove those pages entirely and no one would ever realize it was missing as it had no bearing on the plot.  Anyway, I digress.  After finishing that one, part of the third category I have yet to mention, I checked out another one where they found entire groups of the giant sentient “spaceships” Captain Picard and company encountered at Farpoint way, way back in the very first Next Generation episode.  After getting about halfway through I realized that the book was just not my type of book so I stopped reading it.

The third category included those books that you read and finish, but are just not memorable.  You finish the last page, close the book, and go, “meh- whatever.”  The last category is the book you just can’t put down.  Timothy Zahn is one author who writes books like these, at least in my view.  Star Wars fans might find his name familiar as he had the first books out in the newly approved-for-writing post-episode-VI universe.  This first trilogy consisted of the books Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.  Leia and Han Solo are now married and give birth to twins Jacen and Jaina, and later Anakin (you know who he’s named after…).  Luke starts taking on students would would become new Jedi.  I read this series about ten or so years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  When he wrote a couple more Star Wars books I was quick to read those as well.  He introduces a new enemy known as Grand Admiral Thrawn.  He was an extremely brilliant alien strategist bent on keeping the Empire alive after Palpatine was gone.

His new books star a character who bears some resemblance to Thrawn in that he is is quite brilliant in his own trade, as an investigator, or spy.  Once employed by a government agency, Frank Compton had a falling out and was fired, though not for lack of competence.  He has just taken on a job for someone when another one falls in his lap in the form of someone who dies just as he finds Frank.  Frank picks from his pocket a quadrail (futuristic train that travels interstellar distances) ticket in his name, and leaves immediately to discover an answer to this mystery and is led to the one who would hire him, leaving the first job on the backburner- or did he?  The employer for the first job is only revealed later in the book, and the job he was hired to do not until the very end.  There are some imperfections in the books, but overall they are also books that I can’t put down. I will definitely be adding Zahn to the list of authors I will be keeping an eye out for, and I will have to read the other books he’s written as well.