Dr. Phil's Dreamwidth Journal

Thank You, Sue!

Sue Hill from Michigan Tech posted this link on Facebook: My Little Pony for Geeks. There are FIFTY, count 'em, FIFTY My Little Ponies, done up as Stormtroopers, Princess Leia (bikini and white robe), Han Solo in Carbonite, Tron, Edward Scissorshands, Kill Bill, Alien, Spock, Klingons, Freddie Kruger, Borg, Wonder Woman, "Pony Stark" -- just one impressive list of geek standards in art form. Which just happened to be made from My Little Ponies.

Enjoy!

Dr. Phil

What To Do, What To Do?

What a dead Saturday night for television. Time to go through the pile of new, unopened DVDs. Ooh, here's the J.J. Abrams' Star Trek which we saw just a year ago...

Star Trek [PG-13] on DVD

Seeing it on a small 20" TV, as opposed to the giant IMAX screen, doesn't take away the power of the opening act. Ooh look -- it's an early one nacelle starship. There's Kirk -- it must be before he took command of the Enterprise. Oh no, it's George Kirk -- it's Dad and there is James T. Kirk about to be born. "Your father was captain for 12 minutes. And in that time he saved 800 lives." Right from the start we know we are in a new timeline. And dammit, it brings tears to my eyes every time I see the beginning. (grin) A touch, a touch, I do confess.

The casting really is brilliant, from top to bottom. Zoe Saldana holds her own as the only major female character on the bridge. Gifted and talented, she even gets The Guy. Karl Urban as McCoy has it down cold -- his entrance explains everything and it only gets better from there. And I find Simon Pegg's Scotty to be just the right cockiness for all the others in this band. The Spocks are all three perfect. I can even deal with our young Captain Kirk. If only Star Fleet as a military organization wasn't so cringe inducing. All those people on board and no one can ever find any officers except for the wunderkids?

Sure, the movie is almost campy. But it's got the fast action they were looking for and the sense of urgency needed to make a 124 minute movie seem short. Yeah, red matter is cringe worthy, too. As one wag said, it's probably made of unobtainium, that other 2009 SF materials science disaster. But you were never supposed to really look too closely at Trek in the first place, even though we made a whole cottage industry on making excuses for all the errors. Guess this really is Star Trek -- in glorious lens flaring spades.

Deleted Scenes

There's always more film shot than they can use in movies. Deleted scenes are interesting, because they suggest ways that a movie might've gone. Sometimes it's a good thing that they're deleted. Of the bunch on Disk 2 of this DVD set, I can deal with most of them on the cutting room floor. But I think they should've included the one with the young Jim Kirk. First of all, it shows his older brother George. Second we learn that the asshole is the uncle. Third, we find out it's really Dad's car. And fourth, we figure out why James Tiberius Kirk takes the Stingray out for a spin in the first place. It makes him look almost principled, instead of a J.D. as in the film. Just sayin'.

The first special feature on Disk 1 was a blooper real, with titles cut like Original Star Trek. Ah those damned doors. The extras documentaries were fun. Not only did it look like a fun shoot, but there was a lot of respect shown to the old show and the old cast.

Bottom Line

Can't wait for Star Trek 2. And Nimoy's cameo. (grin)

Dr. Phil

A Comment on Movie Perfection

The Usual Suspects is one of my favorite movies, in part because of the deliciously perfect way it has been assembled. You have this great cast of characters, this incredibly convoluted plot, and when you get to the end you say "Oh no..." and immediately want to see it again. And you do. And realize it was all in vain, because it is all a wonderful lie.

The track record of the previous Star Trek movies is pretty spotty. It doesn't mean we didn't rush out and go see it. It just means they aren't quite in the same league as Really Great Movies. But the pressure that Star Trek fans can put on any new project is tremendous. The serious fans know the Star Trek canon backwards and forwards. And the hard core OST -- "original Star Trek" -- fans are a very tough crowd.

I am here to tell you that J.J. Abrams has pulled a real rabbit out of the hat here. The ad phrase "This isn't your father's Star Trek" is literally true. This is an alternate Trek, in the best sense of the word, and is from the opening moments of the film to the credits.

Trust me. I think Star Trek fans can live with this.

Star Trek in IMAX [PG-13]

Celebration Cinema North IMAX, 7pm

We chose to go the IMAX route on first viewing, because we could. As I mentioned the other day, we were surprised to still get tickets on Wednesday morning. The perfect spot in this theatre is dead center in row 4 -- we were slightly off from center in row 3, which was good enough. Settle back and let it unfold.

The new Spock I knew would be perfect. Even before I saw the make-up, I knew he'd be right. Indeed, the cast is spectacular. McCoy especially, though having Simon Pegg as Scotty is somewhat inspired. The only one I might quibble with is James T. Kirk, who is scrappy and reckless in a way that is more raw than the young Shatner. But... there's a reason for that and I'm willing to accept it for the moment.

Just as Battlestar Galactica modernized the old designs, while keeping up appearances, Federation starships look like Federation starships, old school of course, and shuttlecraft look like shuttlecraft. And for several crucial scenes, the vacuum of space is silent.

This is not a secret, I don't think, but we begin on the USS Kelvin and when we meet Captain Kirk, it's Daddy, not sonny boy. Events are set into motion which bring out starship crew together years later -- set in motion by a distressed madman. Or mad Romulan, actually. He's the weakest link in the whole movie, by the way. We get scant mention of his motivations and just have to deal with him. That's okay, but we're not talking Khan-level villainy here.

Numerous times in the film, things happened or characters voiced lines we expect them to say and we were greeted by polite applause from the sold out audience -- and cheers at the end. There's humor here and a few surprises. I suppose some will not settle well with some people.

Okay, so I've not told you a damned thing about the movie, have I? What I have tried to do is let you know that I think they've done a good job. This is a re-imagining of Star Trek, this is a New Trek. There is, I have heard, already work being done on a second script.

I think the Star Trek franchise is in good hands for now.

Highly Recommended

Dr. Phil