STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Review

J.J. Abrams' sequel to his 2009 "Star Trek" may not be brimming with the originality and awe of his initial creation which worked as a unique and clever pop culture reboot, but "Into Darkness" still makes for fine summer blockbuster fare. Now that Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto have been firmly introduced into their roles of Captain Kirk and Spock filling the shoes of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, Abrams and his screenwriting team (Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof) can settle in and have some fun with the franchise.

The rest of the crew is back, too, and the interplay between all the characters is the best part of the film's writing where a bunch of disparate personalities butt heads. In the frantic opening, Spock is caught in the depths of a volcano, which forces Kirk to break Starfleet regulations to save his life. The half-Vulcan, unable to express full emotion, seems ungrateful for the heroic act instead harping on the rules broken; crewmate and girlfriend Uhura (Zoe Saldana) is equally upset with his lack of reaction. Abrams makes sure to keep us emotionally invested in these characters which work together like a dysfunctional family. Bones (Karl Urban), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Sulu (John Cho), and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) all bicker, joke and really pop with a whole new dynamic and then ultimately join forces on the Enterprise now under Kirk's full command. The volcano incident is a hick-up that gets Kirk temporarily demoted by Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood).

A much larger threat, however, brings immediate attention when an attack on Starfleet from a mysterious rogue agent named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) begins a galactic manhunt. The team flies to the world of the arch enemy Klingons to find the culprit who turns out to be Khan, the story pulling its inspiration from 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." The casting of the British actor mostly known as Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, has beefed up and is brilliant as he brings a cold, calculated and ruthless unpredictability to the role. What's most exhilarating about this villain is the way, once captured and placed in a cell, he burrows his way into Kirk's mind forcing him to question his every action.

The villainous Khan brings real world implications to 9/11-style terrorism creating a tension-filled morality play. In that effect, Abrams manages to bring "Into Darkness" onto a grander, more menacing scale without sacrificing any brains or brawn. And yet, even with as faultless as Abrams' second outing is, it already feels too familiar. The action sequences are muted and uninteresting save for a harrowing sequence where Kirk and Khan shoot like bullets from one spaceship to another. The mild frustration comes from not escaping the feeling of being a sequel for the sake of a sequel and only occasionally soaring to greatness.

My 4-star review of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek"

SUPER 8 Review

"Super 8" (2011)

Thank goodness for "Super 8." J.J. Abrams' ultra secret sci-fi thriler--one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer--is this year's "Inception" not in terms of content or tone but simply in reminding and reaffirming what summer blockbusters are all about. This is a huge action flick, but you may not even recognize that at first; there is an absorbing human drama letting us never forget that among the enormous explosions and chaos, there are families, a group of friends and a small town to be concerned about.

Written and directed by Abrams, this is also a heartfelt throwback, a retro and nostalgic look back at what made old-fashioned summer blockbusters so appealing--those directed by the likes of Steven Spielberg. Produced by Spielberg, the film borrows heavily from the director's older movies such as "E.T.," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and even "Jaws." Abrams' borrowing isn't without reason, however, because his film is a love letter to the Spielbergian movies that inspired him. And, what more, it's a love letter to the classically American genre of the B-movie and to the pure joy of filmmaking and moviegoing.

The irresistible story takes place in 1979 and follows a group of middle school-aged boys making an 8mm zombie movie to be entered into a youth film festival. What makes this feel so authentic is that Abrams was 13 years old in 1979, so the details are all there. Just as Abrams is nodding to Spielberg, he's even more so reminiscing on his own childhood and the Super 8 monster movies he made as a boy. In watching a group of kids passionately make a zombie flick, we become aware that we're watching a movie created by a grown-up kid in the same spirit--one that is exquisitely well-made, thrilling and wonderful.

While filming a pivotal scene for their movie, the kids witness something terrifying and spectacular. A train unexpectedly derails right before their eyes in one of the most elaborate and magnificently colossal train crashes ever to grace the big screen. This accident creates a string of intrigue and mystery that gets a shady military presence involved. Strange occurrences threaten and overwhelm the small town, and it all escalates to a full-scale evacuation. The tropes of the sci-fi genre are there, but they're being played with in our favor.

Take for example when the demanding director of the young production played by Riley Griffiths--who is a great supporting player and acts like a pubescent Orson Welles--mentions how the hero of their movie needs a wife, so audiences will care if he dies. They recruit the elegant Alice (Elle Fanning) to play the role, and by the same token, we're given the extremely talented and divine Elle Fanning as the butterflies-in-your-stomach first love to Joe (15-year-old novice Joel Courtney). He is the sensitive yet strong lead of "Super 8" who is experiencing the grief of having lost his mother.

The young cast is the film's shining gem and brings with it a playful and gentle tone with perfect humor even when things get creepy and the atmosphere turns dark. The adult cast gives fine support, especially two prominent figures: the town's deputy played by Kyle Chandler who's also Joe's hard-loving father and Ron Eldard as Alice's conflicted and unstable father.

There is so much heart and so much fun contained in J.J. Abrams' "Super 8" with the type of innocent storytelling and eye-twinkling awe we rarely see anymore. And there's a beautiful message to boot telling us that--extraterrestrial or not--we all want a place to call home.

Archive: 'Cloverfield'

Movie Review
Cloverfield (2008)


Shrouded in mystery from all the rumors, "Cloverfield" has finally arrived, but was it worth the hype? While others may disagree, I think so. It's a stylish and clever little gem of a movie that is more than just a monster movie for the YouTube generation. As a hybrid offspring of "The Blair Witch Project" and "Godzilla," the movie is better than you would expect and packs quite a punch. The purposely in-your-face feel brings a sense of unbalance and panic to the entire ordeal as it's entirely shot in a queasy camera fashion that'll have your head spinning and your heart pounding.

Directed by Matt Reeves and labeled with the name of producer J.J. Abrams (creator of "Lost"), the movie opens with a black screen stating that the following is a government file entitled "Cloverfield," a still strangely neutral title that is never explained. Also never explained is the origin of the giant monster ravaging through Manhattan. This massive thingamajig is literally indescribable as it's some bizarre cross between a reptile and a spider that also happens to release mini spawns of itself that run around the streets biting victims, especially in dark subway tunnels. And unfortunately for the small group of people we follow throughout the course of the film, the refuge of a subway tunnel is exactly one of the spots they find themselves escaping through.

We first meet the small group of attractive, mainly self-absorbed twentysomethings at a farewell surprise party through home-video style footage. The party is for Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who is just about to leave for a promotion in Japan. His brother Jason (Mike Vogel) is given the job to tape goodbyes on Rob's video camera for him, but he pawns the job off on his friend Hud (T.J. Miller) who becomes our cameraman and narrator for the rest of the time. There's also Lily (Jessica Lucas) and another woman, Marlena (Lizzy Caplan), who Hud is especially attentive towards. She says she's on her way to meet some friends, but she never gets there. Something hits, the room rumbles, the lights flicker, and everybody heads to the roof to get a better look.

There's an explosion out in the distance, and things really get underway when everybody runs down to ground level and the head of the Statue of Liberty comes barreling down the street. The initial scenes of destruction are explicitly reminiscent of 9/11 with crumbling skyscrapers causing billows of smoke to spread across the street, making people frantically run out of the way. Even the movie's working title was "1-18-08." You can't help but wonder why they would evoke such similarities, but then again, how could they avoid it when telling the story in this particular way?

The destructive creature is scariest from a distance through clouds of smoke and debris as a giant presence looming about the city. It's less effective during a full frontal viewing of the thing's face. The building suspense comes from only seeing glimpses of the horrifying thing, which is still impossible to describe coherently. No unnecessary explanation of its existence is needed, either, due to the focus on the action in the video tape. The hand held camera brings a sense of immediacy that couldn't otherwise be portrayed, and it is what makes the film uniquely its own. The camera guy also brings some comic relief to the situation with his own side remarks about everything.

The movie makes up for its high costs in stunning special effects of demolishing New York with a low cost on no-name actors and actresses. Their acting, which isn't so much acting, is what makes them seem like people we could very well know. It puts a face on the victims of mass destruction, faces that could be our own, looking into the depths of something we do not and cannot understand. The characters work to the movie's benefit because there are no stereotypical roles with no real hero. They're all selfish but also selfless, especially Rob who puts his own friends in unnecessary danger to save his sweetheart, Beth (Odette Yustman). These people are meant to be everyday people, and the movie very well makes them appear that way.

The screenplay by Drew Goddard (who worked on "Lost" and "Alias") is smarter than you think, throwing in some unexpected turns while still containing everything within the context of the video footage. It's comprised of a string of well-crafted and harrowing sequences that are actually pretty scary. Along with the subway scene, there are numerous others involving the collapsing of the Brooklyn Bridge and the scaling of a ruined skyscraper leaning against another. And at only 80 or so minutes, it's over before you know it, making for perfect popcorn cinema. But stay tuned at the end because, although the movie is entirely void of any music, the pounding score through the credits is worth giving a listen, along with something else.

A Beloved Enterprise Is Reborn

Star Trek:
4 out of 4

I may not be a follower of "Star Trek," but that didn't make any less excited about director J.J. Abrams' ("Lost," "Mission: Impossible III") reinvention of the adored intergalactic franchise. I don't know about "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but it'd be safe to say that this movie has officially kicked off the summer movie season right into warp speed. The original space opera of the 1960s TV show gets the reinvigoration it desperately needed after a countless number of series spin-offs (a total of six) and movies (a total of ten) that created a drawn-out, downward spiral in popularity and praise. So now, here comes Abrams to kick everything off to a fresh start all over again. This "Star Trek" isn't simply for the diehard Trekkies to get their fix; on its own accord, this is pure moviegoing bliss as we're transported to an alternate universe that is irresistibly fun. It's a sci-fi fantasy that fantastically mixes the nostalgic with the fresh, opening up the possibility to take this once fatigued franchise, now newly reinvented, in bold directions.

We're presented Capt. James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) as a rebellious young boy who grows to being a bar-brawling punk to a Starfleet Academy cadet, and then ultimately to becoming captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He has a rough attractiveness and a carefree bad boy demeanor that at first gets him into trouble but rewards him in the end. His surefire cockiness shines through when he beats a simulation created by the seemingly level-headed, half-human/half-Vulcan Spock (Zachary Quinto). These two butt heads immediately as Spock is purely driven by logic suppressing all emotion while Kirk is hotheaded and just the opposite. Consider the sexy communications officer, Uhura (Zoë Saldana), who turns away from Kirk's flirtatious advances and falls in love with Spock. The kisses they share together show Spock as a conflicted soul who not only has to hide his sensuality but every other emotion, as well. Quinto gets beneath Spock's calm exterior showing the turmoil brewing inside. His delivery of the infamous phrase, "Live long and prosper," hints at a deeper meaning.

From its lyrical beginning sequence before the title even graces the screen to its explosive conclusion, the movie is exhilarating. A great supporting cast anchors all of the necessary dramatic entrances of familiar characters on board the Enterprise, and even if you're like me, a first introduction to this cleverly cast team is equally as exciting as being reintroduced. Bruce Greenwood plays Captain Pike, Karl Urban plays the head medical officer, Bones, Anton Yelchin lets his Russian side out to play the know-it-all Chekov, and John Cho (as known from "Harold and Kumar") plays helmsman Sulu alongside Chekov. It's comical to watch as Sulu's first attempt to kick the spacecraft into warp speed fails miserably. The scene-stealer, though, is Simon Pegg who is expertly cast as the genius engineer, Scotty, and he provides ample ammunition for the movie's cheeky humor. And the catch phrases such as, "Beam me up, Scotty!" and "I'm giving it all she's got!" are accounted for, too, which act as little treats for those faithful fans.

Eric Bana does an admirable job playing the sinister Nero, who is a revengeful Romulan seeking retribution for the destruction of his homeland planet. He kidnaps Captain Pike, and the film's plot goes on to revolve around this dangerous rescue mission that is reminiscent of the sad fate faced by Kirk's father. There is also a time traveling, alternate reality twist to the plot, which not only creates a storyline that is more dense, elaborate, and thought-provoking than one may first expect, but it also provides an ideal outlet to bring in the man who originally played Spock, Leonard Nimoy.

J.J. Abrams goes for pure spectacle with his "Star Trek," and it works. The special effects are swirling and majestic alongside some shockingly gorgeous cinematography. Just watch what Abrams does to three free-falling bodies in space or how he orchestrates Kirk's frightening encounter with a giant beast that resembles the monster from "Cloverfield." Abrams tends to indulge himself throughout, which is not unlike him to do anyway, but it never detracts from the overall experience. There's even a nod to "Lost" if you notice the font of the subtitles announcing new locations. He also brings in composer Michael Giacchino who provides an excellent musical score and rightfully holds off on the original theme until the end credits, which acts as a fitting triumphant finish. Abrams, along with his writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, have created a prequel without all of the baggage of a prequel. Things slow down when necessary but keep moving with fantastic action sequences that flash across the screen like a series of perfectly choreographed somersaults. This is a summer popcorn flick done absolutely right.