Star Trek

Just as I was bitching about being an action movies hater in my review of Olympus Has Fallen, Star Trek comes along, making me want to jump ship if more action movies were of this standard.

Though being a Trekkie could definitely elevate one's liking of Star Trek Into Darkness, the movie isn't limited to just those in that cult as anyone could enjoy this movie, thanks to the stellar and involving performances, stunning visuals, humor, and massive excitement. It's a treat for anyone.

Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is often not taken seriously by his fellow crew most notably Spock (Zachary Quinto) and others under his lead, but after the one-man machine Khan (Benedict Cumberbach) creates a reign of terrorism, death, and destruction, Kirk will get his opportunity to prove that he is one to be taken seriously.

There's much more to Star Trek's plot, but a big portion of the fun is watching the twists as they unreal, as no one can be trusted, no one's motives are as one-note as they seem, taking the viewer on a wild ride as all of the Enterprise's secrets are revealed.

Part of the magic watching Star Trek is seeing all of these actors morph into the roles they are given. Chris Pine gives a realistic and natural performance as the man that is the glue holding everything down. Zachary Quinto steals the show as Spock, with all of his odd quirks, lack of emotion, and unintentional sarcasm. And Benedict Cumberbach is as menacing as they come, you get a feeling of Darth Vader-ism (I know that's not a word) just by the mere looks he gives on screen, he's as chilling as they come.

Star Trek also manages to be quite funny. Watching Chris Pine's interactions with his fellow crew members such as Spock and also Scotty (Simon Pegg, who seems to be on quite the roll lately) really elevates the material considering this really wasn't a movie that needed to provide as much humor as it does.

If Star Trek doesn't get nominated for some of the more technical categories there is clearly something wrong with this year's nominations. The hair, makeup, cinematography and visual effects are out of this world (pun intended). You feel like you're watching a dream world unfold on screen. Even the opening prologue of the Enterprise attempting to rescue the foreign planet from volcanic destruction is worth a nomination.

Another way I felt that Star Trek really gets it right is the decision to involve the audience in what is going on. J.J. Abrams does this by giving his characters a pulse and heart, really adding suspense when things go terribly wrong. You're not just watching Star Trek, you're almost living Star Trek due to the brain the material uses from beginning to end. Star Trek is a cinematic dream come true.

4/4

The World's End

When it comes to good humor in the face of danger and the end of the world, I must say that the Brits have a slight lead over the Americans (This is the End), proving that if your material is solid, just about anything can be funny.

Though The World's End falls short of Shaun of the Dead's brilliance, it's a worthy addition to the Cornetto Trilogy, far surpassing Hot Fuzz.

Simon Pegg stars as Gary King, a man living the past determined to revive some old fun, taking his friends on a journey in their hometown to go drinking through 12 pubs, ultimately ending at The World's End. To say Gary is the only one with any interest in this goal would be an understatement.

Slowly (very slowly) but surely, the old gang realizes that no one from their town is acting normal as no one recognizes or really gives a shit about them. And when some of the members of the town begin leaking blue goo as their heads are ripped off, it's clear something is up.

I've said many times that you can only have as much fun in a movie as your main stars allow you to, and The World End's cast is clearly on board for a party. All of the performances are full of fun. Simon Pegg is stellar as the lead has-been who wants nothing more to bask in former glory despite no one else being in his boat. All of the opposite stars are great yings to his yang, most noteably Nick Frost as Andy, the leader of the IDGAF crew.

Though end of the world/disaster movies feel far from fresh right now especially considering This is the End was just realized two months earlier, The World's End manages to work the material in an inventive way. Part of this could be due to the effectively used sense of ignorance throughout. Everyone else in the town has been overtaken by alien robots and yet the leads are clearly the ones with their heads the farthest in space as it takes forever for them to get a clue. Like in Shaun of the Dead, you can always have a blast even when fighting for your life and luckily The World's End despite having themes of growing up, moving on from teenage escapades, and fear of commitment, never seems to take itself seriously.

My only fault with The World's End is that similar to This is The End, after a while, you start to feel the burn and stretch of some of the material. After the climax hits and all hell breaks loose, there seems to be a bit of meandering until both hit the home run (which both achieve in might I add). At times though, The World's End makes you feel like you're getting nowhere and running in as many circles as the leads do.

Despite some nitpicks, The World's End is still a solid comedy well worth a view. If the world ever were to be overtaken by aliens and robots I would only hope we would have nearly as much fun as The World's End makes the situation seem.

3/4

Olympus has Fallen



I really try not to be biased against action movies and give them a chance, but when they're as painful, bland, and bloated as Olympus Has Fallen I find it really hard to jump ships into the action genre boat.

What's up? Gerard Butler plays Mike, a bodyguard whose decision on the job results in the death of the wife (Ashley Judd) of President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart). It's clear the president isn't happy as Mike receives a huge downgrade in jobs, but he soon gets a chance to redeem himself as the White House is overtaken by terrorists from North Korea.

What's good? Olympus Has Fallen was clearly casted to impress. Gerard Butler is rootable and believable as the hero, Aaron Eckhart gives good likeability and credibility to the presidential role and Morgan Freeman also delivers a solid turn as the Speaker of the house.

The early scenes of chaos in Olympus Has Fallen are so ridiculously authentic looking it's horrifying. Some of the early scenes of distruction are so frantic and frightening that they look as if they came out of 9/11 footage tapes. It really draws the viewer in as to what is to come.

What the fuck? Sadly, after these initial scenes of horror, you're left yawning more then anything else with Olympus Has Fallen. The villains are given no personality so it's really difficult to care when the material starts moving in their focus more then anyone else.

The action scenes feel terribly repetitive as if you're stuck on the same level in a video game for two hours. There really isn't enough going on of intrigue to justify this ridiculously unneeded running time as you're often wishing a terrorist would strap something to your head to end what you're viewing.

Olympus Has Fallen just feels so stock and routine, every you think will live ends up living and vice versa for those who you think will die. How can a tragedy leave you so unmoved and catatonic?

Overall: Olympus Has Fallen had the cast and the visuals in its' favor but chose to throw them away and torture the viewer with the world's longest and most tedious video game. At least those that are shot down quick receive a quick finish as you're envious due to the billion hour length of film that you have left to go.

1/4

V/H/S 2

Contrary to the popular opinion I'm going to against the majority and say that V/H/S 2 is so ridiculously amateur and unscary it makes the first entry feel like a masterpiece. All of the fun and thrills seem to be sucked away from the franchise and we're left wondering what the point of a part two was.

What's up? V/H/S 2 has the same set-up as the original. Several people break into a house that they shouldn't be in. While doing so they view several peculiar and creepy videotapes that make them wondering what the hell they're watching and if they are the only ones in the house where they are watching them. This time there is four stories; the first about an eye surgery gone wrong, the second about an uneventful bike ride in the park turning into a life-changing experience, the third about a cult and all of their sadistic rituals, the fourth about a sleepover ending in an alien attack.

What's good? V/H/S 2 starts out strong. The video about the eye surgery gone wrong is a blast. The effects of what the eye allows the main character to see are great, it's an interesting idea especially when compared to some of the bland messes to come, and the whole thing just gives off a Twilight Zone-ish feel which can never fail.

The third story is also great, the one about the cult named Paradise Gates. At times it feels like you're watching a documentary of Hell. Just when you think the short film can't get even wackier or more sinister it will prove you wrong. And what I really appreciated in this entry is how the terror starts early even before the monsters come out to play, thanks to some effectively ominous performances and a dreadful (in the good way) location.

What the fuck? What really is depressing about V/H/S 2 is right after the good story a bad one immediately follows. The second story about the zombies in the park is ridiculous. There's no point or method to the madness, it's not scary, it's not clever or funny, the makeup looks poor and it takes forever to end.

Though it's not nearly as awful, the story about the alien slumber party feels really lackluster as well. It's hard to tell what's going on due to a strange decision of filming this entry through the dog's perspective, you can't really see anything except yourself getting a migraine, and the ending leaves you speechless.

The wrap-up scene with the characters discovering the tape feels incomplete as well. You're left with more questions then answers about the missing character whose house is being raided by the detectives and the ending scene is completely ridiculous.

Overall: V/H/S 2 feels terribly unneccessary and unsatisfying. A good portion of the material is pointless, bland, blah. V/H/S 2 is the equivalence of watching a tape's good moments so many times that they eventually feel skipped over, leaving you with the leftover scenes that you wish were erased instead.

1/4

Spring Breakers

If the energizer bunny directed a movie, played the lead character, consumed a ton of alcohol while having sex, partying, and robbing, the final product would feel something similar to Spring Breakers, a movie which goes from 0 to 90 within seconds.

What's up? Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, and Rachel Korine play the lead partiers who after getting in trouble with the law, are bailed out by a mysterious unknown man named Alien (James Franco). To say Alien has a few tricks up his sleeves and skeletons in his closet is an understatement as the girls get dragged down into an area of "the good life" that they had never imagined themselves in before.

What's good? Whoever did the cinematography for Spring Breakers deserves a high five. Generally when someone would describe a movie as having a similar look to a music video I would be turned off but that type of surreal, colorful, dream-like look works well with the unusual, unorthodox strange world that these characters are put into. Looking unreal has never looked so good.

This is easily one of James Franco's best performances to date, easily making his bland turn in Oz forgivable. Funny that the two characters have that scheming, dishonest leadership attribute in both movies yet Franco is giving it his all in this one as opposed to Oz where his portrayal felt terribly phoned in and lazy. Whether he's thugging or singing a Brittany Spears' song, Franco is in it to win it. The four girls aren't given a ton to do, but they do it well. It's a shame that the one that makes the most impression (Selena Gomez as Faith) bones out early just before things get even crazier.

I also admired the weird lovechild of Scared Straight and Girls Gone Wild that Spring Breakers emulates. It's like the world's most colorful and violent lesson about avoiding the dark side, staying in school, not riding with strangers or getting into gunfights with their enemies. Somewhere a parent's secretly thanking Spring Breakers for not beautifying the bum life.

What the fuck? As wild as Spring Breakers gets, at times I wish it did a bit more with the material. I found it quite original and entertaining to watch but after a while Spring Breakers seems to feel quite complacent with itself, not pushing the limits and instead coasting on what the film had previously set up for the viewers. Luckily soon after Spring Breakers makes you wonder when it's going to end, it actually DOES END. I just wish at times that it had taken as many risks throughout as opposed to setting them all up in the beginning.

Overall Spring Breakers is a fun ride that certainly won't be winning any awards but it's a colorful, funny, and fresh film that leaves an impression and also gives James Franco cool points and a half for going as far out of his norm as he did in this movie.

3/4