Star Trek

I wanted to see this movie when it was in theaters. Somehow I never got around to it. I wanted to see it when it was at the discount theaters, again I didn't get around to it. I finally rented it this weekend. While I would not consider myself a Trekkie, I have always been a Star Trek fan. I usually like the movies, and I regularly watched The Next Generation series on TV. I am a little young to have watched the original series on TV, but my parents made sure we saw the movies.

This movie was good not great. For those few of you who may not be in the know, this is an origins story with a twist. It shows you how the original characters from the series came together to man the Starship Enterprise, well how they would have come together if it had happened in an alternate universe. For those of you who are closer in age to my generation you may find some of this movie boring or confusing since you are probably not familiar with the original cast. Sure you have heard the phrase "Beam me up Scottie" a lot of times, and you may be cool enough to do the Vulcan farewell, but you don't really know much more than that. For this group of people this movie is more about the action and adventure of deep space travel.

The story is that a Romulan man named Nero has traveled back in time to try to prevent a tragedy to his people. He personally holds Spock responsible. Nero kills Kirk's father, so Kirk grows up a rebel with no respect for Star Fleet. He still ends up joining but winds up as a stowaway on the Enterprise's first voyage instead of captaining it. The Enterprise pursues Nero across space to try to stop him from destroying Earth. It's very entertaining. There are lots of phasers, hand to hand combat and explosions. I definitely think that you non-Trekkies out there would enjoy this movie.

For those of you that do know and love the original Star Trek cast then this movie is a must see. It's very witty, there are lots of jokes that reference the original series, but they are somewhat subtle. Directed by JJ Abrams this film definitely captures the excitement from the original series in an updated way. I think the most exciting part of the film was seeing Leonard Nimoy comprise his original role as Spock. He still has what it takes. The scene where future Spock meets current Spock was laugh out loud funny. Major points go to Zachary Quinto for pulling off Spock in a manner that I think old Leo himself was impressed by. Young Sulu, Chekhov and Scottie are near perfection. One of my favorite lines in a Star Trek movie is said by Checkhov: "Take me to your nuclear wessels." While they don't use this line exactly there is a scene or two of Chekhov trying to say the letter V.

So in the end I say definitely watch this one. It's a little long, so it is probably perfect for a rainy Saturday. I wouldn't tell you to run out and buy it, it's not the kind of movie you watch over and over. If you haven't seen it yet, and you like the idea of Star Trek even a little bit, put this version on your list of rainy day movies.

Avatar

To tell the truth I put off going to see this movie. It was so hyped up. People were painting their faces blue, they went to see the film over and over. I feared getting excited about the movie and then being let down when it didn't live up to the hype. To tell the truth this movie looked weird. The blue people looked a little strange to me. I hate watching people fall in love when I know one of them is lying, which I thought was the premise of this movie. It makes me uncomfortable and nervous waiting for that moment when the truth is out there, and it just sits there. To Avatar's credit, while this does happen in the movie, the movie is so much more than that.

The people that have called this movie visually stunning were not over-hyping it. It was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. James Cameron has always been one of my favorite directors. (Can you say Titanic?) He definitely didn't disappoint with this futuristic epic love story. Everything you loved about Titanic is taken to new levels in Avatar, except that boys actually liked this movie. I call this an epic love story because in truth that's what it is. It's not your typical love story though. Sure boy meets girl and falls in love with her, but it's more than that. Boy meets girl and falls in love with an entire planet.

The story takes place on the planet Pandora. A large company has set up an operation on this planet to mine for a substance cleverly called unobtainium. There are three types of humans on the planet: company suits, mercenaries and scientists. The suits don't play much of a role in the movie, except that they are the reason everyone is there. The mercenaries are there to protect the operation from the indigenous people, the Na'vi, who don't like their planet being destroyed by mining. The scientists are there to study the planet and the aliens who inhabit it.

The cast is not heavy on big names. Sigourney Weaver plays the lead scientist who has formed a bond with the Na'vi people. Sam Worthington, a relative unknown, plays Jake a paraplegic ex-Marine who the entire story revolves around. Jake's twin brother, who dies before the movie begins, was a scientist who had planned to travel to Pandora. The movie's title comes from the real life Na'vi bodies who are controlled by human minds and who cost millions of dollars to create. The Na'vi bodies are mapped to specific human DNA sequences, since Jake is a twin he will fit the mold for his brother's Avatar. He knows nothing about science, the planet Pandora, the native language or the mission of the company. Once out and about in his Avatar on Pandora Jake is separated from his group. While out in the wilderness he meets the daughter of the local Na'vi tribe's leader. This chance encounter is what sets the story of Avatar in motion.

The planet Pandora is like nothing you have ever seen. The mountains float, the flowers glow, the animals have too many limbs and the people are blue. Much of the beginning of the movie is spent showing you scenes of this crazy beautiful planet. The colors and shapes jump off the screen, especially if you see this in 3-D. Once your eyes have feasted until completely over-sated on the scenery, you begin to settle in to the plot.

Jake petitions the tribe to let him live among them and learn their ways. Neytiri, played by the beautiful in blue Zoe Saldana, is charged with teaching Jake the ways of the Na'vi people. At this point you are started to be reminded of Pocahontas, but Cameron takes the story to the next level. The standard scenes that could be expected from this story line are escalated from routine to extraordinary due to the stunning background. By day Jake is with Neytiri learning to survive on this beautiful yet deadly planet, by night he is back at the company home base documenting his adventures. It is complicated to explain how this works, just trust me when I say it makes sense in the movie.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I will just tell you that tensions build and a battle ensues. I must say that this is one of the more exciting battles that has ever been on the silver screen. It rivals the Helm's Deep battle at the end of Two Towers. I didn't expect to fall for the plot line of this movie in the way I did. I expected it to be the same story that has been told before, but I found myself completely enchanted by all things Avatar. I think that is James Cameron's true gift; he takes a story that we have heard before yet he tells it in a way that keeps you completely riveted.

If you have the chance to see this one in the theaters I highly recommend it. If you can afford the few extra bucks, and you don't get motion sick, then I suggest going for the 3D version. It is not the 3D where crap seems to fly out at you from the screen and scared the bejeepers out of you. It really just enhances the depth of the movie visually, everything pops just a little bit more. There is a reason this movie is generating Oscar buzz. Give it a shot, if nothing else your eyes will love you for showing them something they have never seen before.