Now, they’ve upped the ante with the latest Star Trek movie.  The director, JJ Abrams, rebooted the series by giving it over the top special effects, high energy music, shiny new (and expensive) sets, and fresh young faces.  Topping it off, it’s presented in glorious IMAX sight and sound in the theaters.

SPOILERS ALERT BELOW!

I tried my best to lower my expectation, but I can’t help but hold the movie to a higher standard.  Overall it’s not a bad movie, but it had too much energy.   It was pretty much non-stop action.  There were also too many “lens flares” on the screen, which JJ Abrams admitted overdoing it.   The camera work jitters too much, and with the big IMAX screen, it gave me a little motion sickness.  Also, it looked like the movie was upconverted to IMAX resolution, so it was kind of blurry during fast camera pans.

Then there’s the story itself.  It’s clever that they made a “reboot” as an “alternate universe” story.  As far fetch as it is, I have to forgive it because it’s Star Trek , where time travel is always the best story to tell.  The story flowed quite well from beginning to end.  A minor exception with Montgomery Scott plot hole:  How the heck did he know how to fix the Enterprise’s engine, when he spent most his time stranded in an icy outpost before?

Of course, the main attraction is the new set of actors playing the famous original series cast:

• I give kudos to Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban for their superb job emulating Shatner, Nimoy, and McCoy, respectively.  It’s a good thing too because The Original Series is pretty much about this trio.  They must work, otherwise the new franchise won’t go anywhere.
• I didn’t find the new take on Uhura, Sulu, and Scotty particularly good.  Uhura was too slutty.  Sulu became a ninja.  Scotty just became too darn annoying with his one-liner quips.  And what’s up with the alien sheep dog accompanying him?  They could use a rewrite, or at least a more dignified character development.
• The new Chekov is amusing because of the way he speaks.  The inside joke is the mispronunciation of words with “V”, made famous from Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, such as  “Wictor” and “Wessel”.  This character has potential, but ended up as a side show – which is too bad.

Overall, the new series is going to make many people happy.  Some of my friends, who are not Trek fans, enjoyed it as an action movie.  For me, a mild Trekker (as much as I want to admit), the movie has enough tie-ins with the Original Series, it’s fun to watch.  The IMAX screen & sound enhanced the experience.  So I’m glad to have watched it.  I’ll most likely watch it again on DVD.

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This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Star Trek in IMAX (Spoilers Alert)

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Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
(Release June 24 2009 – in IMAX!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3STHC63hU

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
(Release August 7 2009 – hopefully in IMAX)

G.I. JOE trailer in HD

Meanwhile, here’s hoping JJ Abram’s doesn’t disappoint with the reboot of the Trek series.

Star Trek 2009
(Release May 8 2009 – in IMAX)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w4vk5OZmn8

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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• The Dark Knight: we all like this new version of Batman, adapted from Frank Miller’s comics.
• Heath Ledger is potentially an Oscar nominee, maybe winner for his role as The Joker.
• Not watching the Olympics 2008.  Too many world records broken.  Way too commercialized.
• Chinese TV satellite feed possibly broadcast the opening/closing ceremonies live.  Unlike their world counterparts.  Even if it’s live, there will be 10-seconds delay and censorship imposed by the Chinese government.
• The use of the words “Sir” or “Ma’am”.  It’s polite, but results may vary.  some people like it, some people don’t.
• The IMAX Experience: amazing ground pounding sound, huge dramatic screen with stunning detail, breathtaking cinematography with the sweeping aerial shots of the sky scraper.
• The movie’s Gotham City is actually a mixture of Chicago and London.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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