50/50 Review #45: Star Trek: First Contact.

I knew a bit in advance the list of films for this particular month, and my knowledge of Star Trek at the time was a passing knowledge of the characters in the original series and the Next Generation (and the reboot film). So I decided that, since this film apparently takes place soon after the finale of Next Generation, that I would check that out. Unfortunately, of the 7 seasons, I only completed the first 4 (and the season premiere of the 5th) before getting distracted with other things... which was, coincidentally, a year ago this month. But did that cause any problems with the film?

The movie picks up as Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is having nightmares about being assimilated by the Borg--an robotic alien race who conquers entire races and brings them in to their own kind. As it turns out, the Borg have finally reached Earth, and the Enterprise decides to fight back. But when they get there, they notice the Earth has long since been assimilated and realize the Borg must have traveled back in time to do so in the past. The Enterprise then follows the Borg into the past to stop them and realize they've followed the Borg to the day before Earth receives First Contact... the term associated with the moment a planet gains the ability to perform faster-than-light travel and an alien race introduces themselves to the planet to let them know they aren't alone in the universe. So now it's up to Picard and Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and the rest of the crew, to stop the Borg and help Zefram Cochran (James Cromwell) finish his space mission so that First Contact can still happen and the future can happen as planned.

The first thing I noticed about the film is that it throws you into everything without so much as an introduction. It expects you to already know the characters (who they are and what they do and their relationships with each other) and a lot of the backstory, particularly with Picard and the Borg. Fortunately, the two episodes this movie heavily references are at the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4 (the season finale and premiere, respectively), so I was at least familiar with the situation. But the first 30 minutes or so was still incredibly jarring. There's no easing in to the movie. It just throws you in media res. And even having the character and background knowledge that I did, I still felt off balance for quite some time.

It eventually does slow down and allow you to catch your breath, however, once they get to Earth and the initial Borg raid on the Enterprise has finished. And it's at this point that the film splits into two primary stories. On Earth you have Riker, Geordi, and Troi trying to help Cochran. On the Enterprise, you have Picard, Data, Worf, and Beverly trying to stop the Borg from assimilating the entire ship. Also on the Enterprise is Lily, played by Alfre Woodard. She was easily my favorite part of the film. The way she is able to give Picard some attitude without the repercussions of insubordination was fun. The sequence where she accuses him of wanting revenge and he snaps is brilliant. In fact, most of the good stuff came from on the ship. The stuff on Earth with Cochran was OK, but nothing special. And it was basically the same joke over and over--Cochran is a drunk who likes to play rock music really loud. I just often found myself really enjoying the ship story and wanting to go back to it when it was focusing on Earth.

The film isn't bad once you can get into it. The time travel aspect is full of plot holes, but that's time travel for you. As a fan of Next Generation, I already had a connection with a lot of these characters and was able to have a feel for them already. However, I do think the film was made for fans of the show only. I can't see an outsider (or someone who just watches the films) being able to watch this film and comfortably be able to follow or understand it perfectly. Every major plot point or character development is something that's built on from the show. I otherwise don't have much to say about it. I was entertained by it once the chaos of it balanced out, but it still wasn't perfect. Still, I liked it well enough.


I Am McLovin!

(P.S. Apparently I'm in the minority despite the positive rating, as from what I've read, this is a lot of people's second favorite after Wrath of Khan.)

R2D2's Ultimate Top 10 Countdown Of The 2000s #4 - Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

[For the last 10 days of the decade, I'm doing a Top 10 list a day, all culminating into an ultimate post of Top 10 lists. We have previously seen Top 10 Comedies, Dramas, and Animation. Now we're moving on.]

Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Films of the 2000s

Nothing says Christmas like aliens, dystopian futures, wizards, and elves. I'm not saying Sci-Fi and Fantasy are the same thing. I just didn't have enough of either/or to make two separate lists. So why not put them together? Most people do that anyway. But I have to say, this was one of the toughest to put into a list format. But let's get to it.

10. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 - 2003)

To not include this on the 'fantasy' list would be near blasphemous. There's really not much to say about these films. Between the visuals, the characters, the story, the Oscar wins... it's the definition of epic. I tried watching all 3 extended editions back-to-back once. I got through the first two and gave up... but I plan on attempting it sometime again in the future. Who would have thought three movies "about people walking... even the trees walk in these movies" (as Clerks II puts it) would be so entertaining?

9. Equilibrium (2002)

It's essentially 1984 and Farenheit 451 rolled together and dipped into an action movie. And it's really all about the action. Kurt Wimmer has a fantastic, action-packed imagination. The action is even arguably up there with The Matrix, but without the slo-mo. And then there's Christian Bale... back before people started obsessing over him (and before every one of his movies had a "Batman" voice).

8. Pandorum (2009)

One of my favorite films of the year, Pandorum gave us a classic space Sci-Fi film that we hadn't had in a while. It's also the third film on my list (and not my last) thus far with Ben Foster in it. Similar (but better than, in my opinion) the film Event Horizon, at least in feel/tone, Pandorum has a couple guys wake up from cryo-sleep completely disoriented and with some memory loss. They also seem to be two of the only guys left. They had been on a journey to a new planet when something happened... and that something quickly starts coming around the corner to kill them. It wasn't without its flaws, but it was still pretty dang good.

7. Avatar (2009)

The primary reason this made the list was its outstanding visuals. Yes, the story is nothing to shout over. But the visuals are. And the imagination of the film, ironically taking place on the planet "Pandora," is astounding. From the flora and fauna to the whole mythos of the film, it was just imaginative and fantastic.

6. Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams' re-envisioning of the series was a risk, but it worked out. With enough to please the past fans, but keeping it fresh enough not to alienate newcomers, Star Trek found a middle ground that appeased everybody. It was funny and dramatic, and the special effects were fantastic. And it had Simon Pegg. It quickly found itself in my top sci-fi list of all time from the day I saw it.

5. Minority Report (2002)

Maybe I'm just crazy, but I could have sworn this got only so-so reviews when it came out, but then later started being loved (or maybe I just read the wrong bunch of reviews). But I always loved this movie. I loved the concept, the visuals... everything. But I'm a fan of Philip K. Dick films, as they're always entertaining. And this one in particular was helmed by Stephen Spielberg, so that makes it twice as good. I remember it really stood out to me, as it was one of the first films I'd seen that had a specific color tint throughout (silvery-blue). But anyway, it's a pretty good sci-fi thriller, which is why it made my list.

4. Pitch Black (2000)

Remember when I said Titan A.E. was one of the earliest films on my list? Well, this one beats it, originally released in February of 2000. This is the film that introduced one of my favorite film characters, Richard B. Riddick. It's also one of my favorite Vin Diesel films... and probably his best film to date. Its follow up, Chronicles of Riddick, was a bit of a let down, as it completely changed the tone and scope... but since a third film has been announced (and not only that, but announced as going back to a tone and scope of Pitch Black), I'm pretty excited once again. Thankfully, the sequel wasn't able to destroy my love for this film. A great sci-fi/horror film.

3. The Harry Potter Series, 1-6 (2001-2009)

There are still a couple movies to go (as the final book is being split into two films), but the bulk of the series has finished, and it's quite an achievement. Of course, there have been some downfalls (the third and fourth film, in my opinion). But even the worst movies of the series have outstanding moments (the visuals and overall tone of the third, and the graveyard scene of the fourth). For the most part, the series has been faithful to the books, either nearly page-for-page (the first two) or in spirit (the 5th and 6th). It has every top British actor, and because of that, some of the greatest casting for any film ever. Overall, it's a fantastic series, and the final films are promising to blow the rest of the series out of the water.

2. MirrorMask (2005)

For those of you who know me, not only excluding Harry Potter from the fantasy top spot, but putting over it a relatively unknown film is so preposterous that you'd have to see it to believe it. In other words, that says a lot about this particular film. If ever there was a film that was to delve into the realm of imagination and show it for its pure absurdity and craziness, it's this one. MirrorMask comes from the mind of Neil Gaiman and is about a young girl fed up with her life working in a family circus. But then her mother gets really sick and ends up in the hospital. Similar to the girl in Pan's Labyrinth, she takes refuge in her imagination, and you can never quite figure out whether the events of the movie are real or not. It's pretty much left up to you. But she ends up in a world different than her own, one with an evil queen and fantastic creatures, all drawn in her own style... very similar to the drawings she has all over her walls.

In fact, I find this movie so imaginative that whenever I have writer's block for my fiction, I pop in this movie, and it almost always helps. It's funny, quirky, insanely creative, and an all-around bizarre time. I wasn't sure whether or not I liked it the first time I saw it, but come that second time, I adored it. Fun note, the girl who plays the main character in this movie is sisters with the girl who played Katie Bell in the 6th Harry Potter film (always fun to tie films back to HP).

1. V For Vendetta (2005)

A holiday movie if there ever was one... just not for Christmas. It brought people everywhere to celebrate Guy Fawkes day AKA The Fifth of November. Produced by the Wachowskis (The Matrix) and directed by James McTeigue (also known for the recent Ninja Assassin), V For Vendetta is brutal, honest, metaphorical, heartbreaking, mysterious, thrilling... and probably a hundred other adjectives. I think, overall, the best adjectives would be "beautiful" and "powerful." And who doesn't wanna pop this guy in come November 5th?

End Note: For those curious, Sunshine barely missed my list. While I really like the movie, that last third still irks me too much for me to put it on the list. But it probably would have made #11 had there been more.

STAR TREK.

This will probably be the shortest movie review for a movie in theater I've ever done. To start off, I am not nor have I ever been a fan of Star Trek. Not for any negative reasons... I just never got into any of the shows or movies. I knew a few things about it, of course, but not a hell of a whole lot.

That being said, this movie was flippin' brilliant. The action was great. The music was epic. The visuals were stunning (no pun intended). The acting was as expected. Karl Urban had the best character in the movie (and according to my mother, who was a Trek fan via her father, he was dead-on with the original). The movie was exciting, suspenseful, and hilarious. I might even go see it again (this time in Digital), and I'm definitely going to get it on DVD. I can only account for fans through the opinions of my mother, but I would wager that this is a movie for fans and non-fans alike. Unless you're an uber-purist... then I've heard you might not like it a whole lot. But otherwise, you definitely need to see this.

If you want any criticisms against this, I'd give it three: First, they actually managed to give Anton Yelchin and even more questionable voice (I wouldn't say annoying, though, because he wasn't). Second, Simon Pegg doesn't come in until nearly the end (and I love me some Simon Pegg). And finally, there's a bit at the very end where....

SPOILER


Somehow Nemoy Spock is suddenly at their base when they had left him on the ice planet... doing exactly what he had previously and specifically told Kirk not to do. I know there's the whole speech about it, but still... it seemed counter-productive.


END SPOILER

But otherwise, it has become one of my favorite sci-fi films. I know this is a lousy review of nearly endless praise, but I'm not sure what else I could possibly say about the film.


Royale With Cheese