Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Dir. Robert Wise

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which itself marked the return of the live action version of Star Trek. In the interim between the show’s cancellation and the first Star Trek film there was a short lived animation version which is generally considered apocryphal in series canon. The level of excitement for the new Star Trek series must have been palpable because many probably believed that new Star Trek of any kind of would unlikely. Yet Star Trek: The Motion Picture sparked a return of Star Trek that has lasted to this day albeit with some varying degrees of quality. With the eleventh Star Trek film due to be released in May, it seems as a good a time as any to revisit the film that started that Star Trek film franchise.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture has always had a spotty reputation among the ten current Star Trek films and generally ranks toward the bottom when they are ranked. Watching it again but for first time in its “Director’s Cut” version on DVD, I concur with the nickname it has earned: the “slow motion picture.” But I am also more impressed than I have been before.

In writing about Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it is too easy to focus on the obvious problem: it is boring. Why is it boring? Not because what happens is not that interesting, but because not that much happens. Here’s a quick synopsis of the film: A mysterious cloud is on a collision course with Earth and disintegrates everything in its path including a squadron of Klingon warships and a Federation space station. Because the only starship capable of intercepting this cloud is the newly refit U.S.S. Enterprise, now Admiral Kirk takes command of his favorite starship from its new captain Will Decker, much to Decker’s annoyance. The ship is later joined by Spock who feels drawn to cloud. The U.S.S. Enterprise enters the cloud which zaps the ship's bald helmsman Lt. Ilia who had a fling with Decker in the past. This cloud, called V’Ger, then returns Ilia to the ship as a herald. Kirk, McCoy, Spock, and Decker race to solve the V’Ger mystery before it zaps everyone on Earth. They all venture to V’Ger’s core which turns out to be an old NASA probe “Voyager 6.” V’Ger wants to unite with its creator and Decker volunteers for the job as a way to reunite with his former flame. V’Ger disappears, evidently evolving into a higher form of life, and the U.S.S. Enterprise warps off into space.

Now, that description makes it seems like a lot goes on, but it takes the movie forever to reach its conclusion. The U.S.S. Enterprise does not even get under full steam until forty-five minutes into the movie. Long stretches of the film are devoted to admiring the Enterprise and the mysterious V’Ger cloud. This film is in love with its own special effects.

I think Star Trek: The Motion Picture needs be viewed differently from the other Star Trek films that followed. This is mainly due to its ambitious nature. While Star Wars allowed STTMP to be made, the filmmakers did not want this film to be a Star Wars rip-off. Star Trek always tried to be more cerebral and tried to explore big ideas rather than purely being swashbuckling in space. This first Star Trek film instead went the 2001: A Space Odyssey route and attempted to be a cerebral Sci-fi film. This is evident in the fact that there are no space battles and long stretches of the film are silent except for the score. The Starship Enterprise goes “where no man has gone before” in its V’Ger adventure. And just like Dave Bowman, Decker turns into a sort of “star-child.” Spock even has a sort of “star gate” like trip inside V’Ger. On second thought, this film really should have been called Star Trek: A Space Odyssey.

I mentioned the special effects before and how this film is love with them, but they are excellent special effects. The shots of the U.S.S. Enterprise in space dock as magnificent and I especially enjoyed the shots of the Enterprise relative to massive scope of V’Ger. They did marvelous work in 1979 and it still shows almost thirty years later.

The “Director’s Cut” version of the film added some special effects and trimmed some of the film to give it better pacing, but I didn’t notice that much of a difference watching it this time. Perhaps this is due to the fact that not much has changed or I haven’t seen the film enough to notice. A few new special effects shots were noticeably too modern for 1979 but these additions are peripheral and add value rather than being too anachronistic. In one impressive addition, colossus sized statues pepper the Vulcan landscape during the scene where Spock fails his Kohlinar test. But on a whole, the Director’s Cut version seemed largely the same as I remembered it.

Some other thoughts I had while watching the film: The uniforms for Star Trek: The Motion Picture were dreadful and without a doubt the worst in the series. Why they thought those pastel pajamas were attractive is beyond me. McCoy and Chapel looked like they stepped out of Love Boat with the medical garb they are wearing. Although I did like Kirk’s admiral uniform. The Enterprise seems very anti-septic flurescent and I’m glad this is improved later in the film series. The transporter accident that kills two crewmembers is very scary and I don’t recall anything before or after this as being as gruesome a death in Star Trek. I liked the little cameo Janice Rand and Nurse Chapel being promoted to Doctor Chapel. I loved McCoy’s first appearance where he beams aboard with a full beard and gold chains. I'm glad gold chains make a comeback in the 23rd century. Awesome.

I was surprised watching this film again that Lt. Ilia is not in it that much. I always thought it was odd she was featured alongside Kirk and Spock on the stupid rainbow colored poster art that is on the DVD box and this latest viewing confirms it. Although she’s important to the plot and its conclusion, she doesn’t have much dialogue and screen time.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a flawed film without argument and is rightly considered a bore, but it is an ambitious effort made by people not quite sure how Star Trek could work on the big screen. It differentiates itself from other Trek efforts by perhaps being the most cinematic. Maybe this was due to its big budget and direction by Hollywood legend Robert Wise. Everything seems bigger in Star Trek: The Motion Picture which is something that is lost in some later Star Trek films which often feel like overgrown TV episodes. This should not be forgotten when remembering this first attempt at Star Trek on the big screen.

Vampire Weekend spoofs Wes Anderson

This music video for "Oxford Comma" is not new, but it is still a hilarious send up of film director Wes Anderson's style. It makes sense for Vampire Weekend to parody Wes Anderson, because their music could easily be used in an Anderson film. I love the long, single take tracking shot of the lead singer as he walks by bizarre tableaus. Its use of Royal Tenenbaum chapter divisions and Anderson's font is also inspired. Check it out.

My Star Trek Film Series

On May 8, 2008, a new Star Trek film will be released to American theaters, the first new Star Trek film since Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002. This will be the eleventh Star Trek film in the series and it will be first to feature actors not from a television series except for Leonard Nimoy who will reprise his iconic Spock role. In anticipation of Star Trek, I will review the first ten films in the Star Trek film series. I will look at the high points with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact, and the very low point with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. While some guard Star Trek with an almost religious zeal, others have always seen Star Trek as a stupid series. However there is a reason why in 2009, a series over forty years old still continues to fascinate and is one of the most durable franchises in film history.

Partners in Kryme: Where are they now?

For some reason I was thinking about the original Ninja Turtles movie. When it came out, it easily became my favorite movie of all time. I even had the soundtrack on audio tape which contained the rap classic "Turtle Power" by the duo Partners in Kryme. They were so badass, they didn't even spell 'crime' correctly. The low rent channel in Anchorage used to play music videos back in the early 1990s and I got very excited when the music video for "Turtle Power" was played. Reading about the song on its Wikipedia entry, I remember that the video infamously labeled Raphael the leader of the Ninja Turtles, not Leonardo, in one of its lyrics. Why question is, what happened to these pioneers of rap?

The 81st Annual Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday, February 22nd. Unlike last year, the films nominated from the 2008 crop seem to not be quite as stellar. Nevertheless the awards will be given out with the requisite amount of comprises, sentimental favorites, and politically appropriate choices made at any Oscar awards. Even though I will weigh-in on who should, I admit I have not seen that many films nominated this year. Therefore I will offer “who I think will win” and “who I would like to win.” The latter opinion will be based entirely on the person or film nominated rather than on any artistic merit.

Best Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
The Dark Knight

All the buzz recently has been surrounding the visual effects in Benjamin Button used to create the old man-baby version of Brad Pitt, but the effects in Iron Man were as good as they possibly can be for a comic book movie. The Dark Knight didn’t seem to be as effects heavy as Iron Man, but scene where the semi-truck flips ass over tea kettle is pretty astonishing even though it is grounded more in reality.

Should Win: Iron Man
Will Win: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Song
Slumdog Millionaire - For the song "O Saya"
Slumdog Millionaire - For the song "Jai Ho"
WALL•E - Peter Gabriel - For the song "Down to Earth"

I have not seen Slumdog Millionaire and have no idea what those two songs nominated sound like, but I like Peter Gabriel’s music a lot and I think Academy voters will be thinking like me. Plus, the votes for Slumdog will probably cancel each other out.

Should Win: WALL•E - Peter Gabriel - For the song "Down to Earth"
Will Win: WALL•E - Peter Gabriel - For the song "Down to Earth"

Best Animated Film
WALL•E
Kung Fu Panda
Bolt

Hands down, WALL•E will win and should win. The travesty is that it wasn’t nominated for Best Picture.

Should Win: WALL•E
Will Win: WALL•E

Best Cinematography
Changeling - Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight - Wally Pfister
The Reader - Chris Menges; Roger Deakins
Slumdog Millionaire - Anthony Dod Mantle

The race is between The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire. My money is on Slumdog Millionaire, because I think it will be a big night for this movie. The Dark Knight was one of the great achievements in film last year and also deserved to be nominated for Best Picture. The film sported several eye-popping sequences including the bank heist and the beginning and the kidnapping in Hong Kong. They were even better on IMAX.

Should Win: The Dark Knight
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Adapeted Screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Screenplay awards usually go with the movie that wins Best Director, so my money is on Slumdog Millionaire even though the other films were adapted from well regarded source material. Other than that, I have no other opinion to offer on this category.

Should Win: ???
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
Wall-E

Frozen River is the real indie-that-could, even though Slumdog Millionaire claimed that mantle. I think Milk goes home with this award, because it won’t win that many during the night. Wall-E should take this one for making one of the most emotionally rich movies of the year. It’s too bad it got pigeon-holed for being an animated film.

Should Win: Wall-E
Will Win: Milk

Best Supporting Actress
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Taraji P. Henson
Doubt - Amy Adams
Doubt - Viola Davis
Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Penélope Cruz
The Wrestler - Marisa Tomei

This seems to be one of the most up-in-the-air categories. Best Supporting awards always seem to have an upset. They usually go to old veterans who never one or newcomers to the Hollywood scene. Everyone thinks Cruz wins this award, but Amy Adams has recently become a Hollywood darling. Viola Davis got some buzz, but her scene is really short in Doubt and I think there is a backlash against awards going to actors in relatively small roles. But if there is any justice, Tomei should get this little golden man. Why? Because like Kate Winslet, Tomei is not afraid to do nudity and I think that should be supported.

Should Win: Marisa Tomei
Will Win: Penélope Cruz

Best Supporting Actor
The Dark Knight - Heath Ledger
Doubt - Philip Seymour Hoffman
Milk - Josh Brolin
Revolutionary Road - Michael Shannon
Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr.

Heath Ledger will win this award. Would he have been nominated if he lived? Probably. Would he have been such a lock to win? Probably not. His death can not be separated from the nomination which is too bad since his portrayal of the Joker took The Dark Knight to the next level. It is too bad Robert Downey Jr. will not win, because last year was his comeback year with Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. Josh Brolin also seems to be on a roll and he will probably win an award within the next five years.

Should Win: Heath Ledger
Will Win: Heath Ledger

Best Actress
Changeling - Angelina Jolie
Doubt - Meryl Streep
Frozen River - Melissa Leo
Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway
The Reader- Kate Winslet

This is another very competitive category, but Kate Winslet will probably get the Oscar win. Why? Because she’s been nominated a bunch of times before and has never won. Also she is a rarity in Hollywood for not being a waif and still being very hot. Plus she portrays a Nazi with a heart of gold and gets nude a lot in The Reader. Anne Hathaway is young and will probably win an Oscar won day, but not this year even though she received a lot of strong marks. Jolie is already an Oscar winner and Changeling wasn’t that popular. Streep might be Winslet’s strongest competition and she has not won an Oscar for a longtime despite being the most nominated actor in Academy Awards history. Who is Melissa Leo? That’s why she won’t win.

Should Win: Kate Winslet (because of the nudity)
Will Win: Kate Winslet

Best Actor
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Brad Pitt
Frost/Nixon - Frank Langella
Milk - Sean Penn
The Visitor - Richard Jenkins
The Wrestler - Mickey Rourke

This race is between Rourke and Penn. A Rourke victory would seem to be the better story, but Penn is always a distinguished actor and in Milk he gets to play a gay martyr. It is too bad Langella will not likely win because a win for Frost/Nixon would redeem the Academy for failing to nominate him as Skeletor in the He-Man movie. I like Richard Jenkins and seems like a genuinely nice man. It is too bad he won’t win.

Should Win: Richard Jenkins
Will Win: Mickey Rourke

Best Director
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - David Fincher
Frost/Nixon - Ron Howard
Milk - Gus Van Sant
The Reader - Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle

This is another category I have no opinion about.

Should Win: ???
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

I thought Milk would be a lock a few months ago given its subject capturing the gay zeitgeist in Hollywood. But Slumdog Millionaire seems to have captured all the momentum. Anything but a Slumdog win would be a huge upset. The Reader seems like the most likely picture to be the dark horse since it is a Holocaust movie.

Should Win: ???
Will Win: Slumdog Millionaire

Fozzy Bear, Captain Picard, and William Wallace Finally Come Together

This is a great montage of inspirational movie speeches. There is nothing better than a good movie montage or a memorable inspirational speech to make me smile. Kudos to the author for combining both well known and obscure titles. Anything set to the Henry V soundtrack will sound great.

Lost Sports Night plot?

Citing security concerns, the organizers of a WTA event in Dubai decided to bar Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer from participating in the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships. This got me thinking: how great this would have been for an episode of Sports Night? This is the type of sports world meets the political world event that Aaron Sorkin would have found irresistible. It is too bad Dan, Casey, Jeremy, Dana, Natalie, or Issac are not around to put it all in perspective for us.

Find a Cylon lawyer?

According to Google, I can find a Cylon lawyer. I don't know whether to be frightened or intrigued. What kind of cases does a Cylon lawyer take?

Best of the Decade Nominee:
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) was one of the best films of the 90s and in 2007, Anderson released one of the best films of this decade. There Will Be Blood is a film epic in the best tradition of the phrase, but it is also an epic American film with its portrayal of a self-made man and his pursuit of capitalism at its grimiest. Anderson’s film offers sweeping vistas, grandiose themes, and a larger-than-life-character in Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). The film’s depiction of Plainview’s greed run amok can be closely compared to that Orson Welles masterpiece Citizen Kane (1941). Much like the fate of Charles Foster Kane, Daniel Plainview is “finished” by the film’s conclusion.

Watching the film a second time, I was struck by how meticulous and patient it is, especially at the beginning with its dialogue-free opening segment of Plainview prospecting. Anderson makes it clear from the beginning that this is not a plot-driven film but one of tone. In this way, the viewer’s experience is forced to parallel that of its oil man, one of patience with the hope of something important and rich to be discovered.

The scenes shot at Little Boston are some of the most brilliant in the film with oil derricks looming large over the land like Plainview himself. The fire burning through the night is the film’s signature image and probably will be the one most remembered.

However, I’m still put-off by Paul Dano’s portrayal of Eli Sunday. His conflict with Plainview is a central one of the film, but Dano seems too weak an actor to match the gravitas of Day-Lewis and Dano’s high, whiny voice seems severely out of place. I wonder if Anderson thought Plainview matching wits against the more diminutive Sunday would be an interesting contrast. However the viewer is never divided in this conflict on who to side with, because Plainview is the much more charming character. Granted, he’s a swindler and murderer, but he’s much more charismatic than the sniveling Sunday.

Although the “bowling pin scene” is shocking, Plainview’s meeting with his adopted son is almost as devastating. After Plainview discloses the truth to H.W., he transitions from Hannibal Lecter-like sympathetic villain to the sweaty, gangly monster who murders Eli Sunday. Anderson does offer Plainview some humanity with the flashback to Plainview playing with a younger H.W. in the past. He may disown his “son,” but some part of Plainview loved H.W. as more than a prop.

In many ways, There Will Be Blood is the film Stanley Kubrick never made. This is never clearer than in the final scene in the bowling alley with its deep focus photography of the largely empty room. Is Plainview’s use of the bowling pin to bash-in Sunday’s brains an homage to the ape’s use of a bone to kill in 2001: A Space Odyssey? Anderson’s use of classic musical and Jonny Greenwood unsettling score also recall Kubrick as well. And just like Kubrick, Anderson is able to depict a natural environment and make it alien and distancing at the same time.

Bottom Line: There Will Be Blood is a modern day classic that will stand the test of time along with Citizen Kane and Lawrence of Arabia.
Rewatchability: High
Best Line: “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.”

Isn't it strange that Rachel Maddow does not own a TV?

Rachel Maddow was Jon Stewart's guest for the January 7, 2009 episode of The Daily Show. She mentioned she did not own a television and she claimed this helped her show be fresh and different from everything else on television.

There might be some logic to this notion, but a TV personality not owning a television seems rather odd when you think about it. Wouldn't it be strange to find out Bruce Springsteen does not own a CD player or Philip Roth does not own a book?

Not that it is a requirement for a TV personality to own the very device that receives the thing he or she produces, but it seems odd nonetheless. Maddow seemed almost boastful telling Jon Stewart this. Perhaps because television has always been a maligned medium that such a fact is not supposed to raise eyebrows but it should.

Maybe there is a connection between Maddow's annoying holier-than-thou level of snark and this rejection of the TV machine.

Reading Recommendation:
Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How it Changed America by Ken Tucker

Why did a critically unpopular and commercial disappointment released in 1983 become one of the most well known and most quoted movie of all time? Frequent NPR contributor Ken Tucker attempts to answer these questions in his thoroughly entertaining new book. Tucker offers a history of the film's production and discusses the film's influence on pop culture, especially hip-hop culture. Most people don't even realize the Pacino Scarface is a remake of a 1930s gangster film of the same name and Tucker discusses that one too.

Tucker makes the point that Scarface is an anomaly by being a one movie franchise unlike the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Star Trek series. Scarface is one of those movies that have permeated the culture to a point that people probably know it's most well known quotes without even seeing the picture. Tony Montana's "say hello to my little friend" might be as ubiquitous as "may the force be with you" or "here's looking at you kid."

Even though Scarface is one of the most quoted films of all time and it would be impossible to enter the average college dorm room and not find it's famous black-and-white poster, it definitely is not one of the "great films" and does not hold a candle to The Godfather. It marks the point where Al Pacino decided it would be a good idea to play every character over-the-top and it's 80s synth-score is pretty cheesy by contemporary standards. And it's a wonder how Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio got another role with that frizzy Latina hair she displays in the film. Regardless, Scarface has had a profound impact on our culture and Ken Tucker's book is a good primer for anyone interested in the Scarface phenomenon.

Best of the Decade Nominee:
Gladiator (2000)
Directed by Ridley Scott

It seems only fitting to kick off this series with a hit movie at the beginning of the decade. Gladiator is the film that catapulted Russell Crowe to super stardom and won him Best Actor at the 2001 Academy Awards. The film also nabbed a Best Picture statuette as well.

After nine years, does Gladiator still hold up? Absolutely. The story of Maximus (Crowe) and his descent from general to slave to gladiator and finally to Roman Emperor killer is as entertaining as it was in 2000. Crowe superbly protrayed Maximus as a badass on a mission of revenge following the murder of his family. Other actors like Joaquin Phoenix as the evil Emperor Commodus, Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus, and Djimon Honsou as his slave pal Juba contribute greatly in supporting roles.

The movie's battle scenes are still good from the beginning one pitting a Roman legion against Germanic barbarians to the battles in the Colosseum. Maximus's battles against CGI lions might show some of the limitations of the technology back in 2000, but it doesn't detract.

Let's not forget Hans Zimmer's wonderful score which elevates Maximus's battles to mythic proportion. Gladiator's score is right up there in quality with Braveheart and The Last of the Mohicans.

Does Gladiator have any significance beyond being a wonderful piece of Hollywood entertainment? The soon-to-be dead Emperor Marcus Aurelis says: "There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish...it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter." Following eight years of President George W. Bush, many fear America's standing in the world will falter in the 21st century. Perhaps Ridley Scott had America in mind when he depicted this Roman world.

Bottom Line: Gladiator might seem to be only a high-tech update to those sword-and-sandal epics from the '50s and '60s, but Ridley Scott elevates the material to be a stirring, emotionally rich drama filled with great action and good acting. Hans Zimmer also contributes a memorable score.
Rewatchability: Very High
Best Line: Maximus: "Brothers, what we do in life... echoes in eternity"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172495/

Best Films of the 2000s (2000-2009)

With 2009 being the last year of the first decade of the new century, it is time to start thinking about the best and most influential films of the past ten years. While this decade did not technically start till 2001, for the purposes of this series, this decade began on January 1, 2000 and will end December 31, 2009. I will nominate, examine, and discuss films that were best of the 2000s. Maybe a film released in 2009 will even make its way onto the list too.