eric135

Star Trek Movie Review... 8 stars out of 5!!

GODS, what a good movie. I mean, I could just write that sentence for the next few paragraphs. Everything about it was great -- the characters, the acting, the action, the special effects, the one-liners, all of it.

If you're a Trekkie concerned about [whatever], just stop all that silly nonsense and go see the movie. [No spoilers until after the jump...]

• They totally explain the subtle (and not-so-subtle) divergence from the Star Trek Canon. At this point, they can do whatever they want with the upcoming movies and it will be ok (trust me).
• Every scene where you are introduced to the original characters is electrifying.
• When the first shot of the Enterprise 1701 came on screen, I shed a tear. She's an important character in the film and story and she's great in a bitch fight. She really gets a chance to clean her claws.
• The action is great. More importantly, it carries the film forward, and never seemed pretentious, extravagant or unnecessary.
• You get to know James Tiberius Kirk, and you know why he's the kind of guy that he is.
• The magical friendship between Spock and Kirk is pure and real and will make your heart ache. The neat thing is that, every once in a while, you can see William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy while watching Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.

[Spoilers after the jump]

Jury Duty, George Takei, Twitter and a watercolor Rooster...

• I hadn't painted anything in a few days (that didn't look like something only my mother would hang on her refrigerator at home). But I was listening to CNBC, a Senate hearing on the need for Senate oversight on corporate spending of TARP money. This image of a rooster came to mind. Yeah I know. Big one, eh? Yeah I thought so too. I've got a serious problem with scale, if those trees are, say, oaks. Puts that cock at about 100 feet (sorry I could not resist).
• I gotta go to Jury Duty. Again. I barely make it past my 18-month hiatus and then another letter comes in the mail. I have been to jury duty at least 4-5 times since we moved here. It's ridiculous considering how many folks I know just never ever get summoned. So over the next few weeks, I'll try to think of some really offensive statements to make in front of the judge so I won't have to go for a trial.
• I've been Twittering more lately (follow me @Eric135). It is fun, now that I'm following folks, and some folks are following me. I'm not sure, but one of the Twits (don't scoff, that's what we're called) is apparently none other than Mr. Sulu himself, @GeorgeTakei!! I got the link to the latest Star Trek Movie trailer. God bless the internets.
• Back to work for 2 nights...

William Shatner hears that he won't be in the new Trek movie

There's been some buzz about the new Star Trek Movie. The word is that Leonard Nimoy will be in it, but not William Shatner. Here's a clip of James Tiberius Kirk himself, describing how he called Leonard Nimoy and got the news.

I personally would LOVE to see them in another movie, and I'm still holding out for a Leonard Nimoy appearance on Boston Legal.

I was talking with a fellow sci-fi fan at work, who suggested the Star Trek Universe would have been more interesting if the battles played out with the ferocity and fast pacing that we see on Battlestar Gallactica. But where Battlestar Gallactica's action was based on the battle tactics of the aircraft carrier (with the fighter planes, landing decks, etc.), Star Trek starships fought more like submarines. The best example of this is the episode, "Balance of Terror."

Yes I know... Too Much Information...

Google Video

I finally had a day to really get acquainted to my new camera. I had been using the movie function but hadn't had any luck in transferring the movies to my computer. When I finally figured out how to play them on my computer, I found out it had sound (didn't know that).

So I decided you just had to see it for yourself.

I tried to upload to YouTube, but I guess I have an account and for the life of me, I can not remember the ID, the Password, or the associated email address. So I went with Google video.

No more goldfish vids, I promise.

X-Men: The Last Stand

We saw the latest X-men movie. I took this picture with my cell phone camera.

I thought the movie was pretty good. I must say, a lot of mutants were killed. I was surprised but I hear this will probably be the last X-men movie. They plan to spin off Wolverine on his own.

If you plan to go, make sure that you stay until the very end of the credits. There is a goodie at the end that you won't want to miss.

Evaluations, Silent Hill, Flight 93, Mission Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, Mrs. Brady

I've been so busy with work stuff, but I'm finally done with the annual evaluations. I competed 46 evals, and on a 1-4 point scale, the average was just a tad above 3, which is what I like. I think most will be happy with their evals. The ones that won't be happy will probably never be happy, that's how such things go. You just can't satisfy everybody, and the trick to staying in this business (nursing management, and maybe nursing and healthcare in general) is to realize you will not make everyone happy.

We went to see Silent Hill a while back. Yes, I know, what the hell am I doing going to a zombie flick, but roomie was just aching to go because it was based on a computer game that he played. And it was actually pretty good. Scarey but not in the usual zombie way. More disturbing really.

I've been thinking of going to Flight 93, but I haven't decided yet. It's been out for a short while and is doing well in the theaters. It's been more than four years and I still don't like going to crowded places, and I still type pages-long instructions to my room mate on what to do if I die in an airplane accident every time I get on a flight. So that movie might have to wait a few. Years.

We decided not to go to Mission Impossible 3. I don't know why but sometimes looking at Tom Cruise just makes me angry. I don't have a problem with Scientology, but he has been so hateful about it. And hate is so easy. Love is hard. Apparently, Mission Impossible.

The Da Vinci Code looks interesting. I read the book, and wonder how much I'll enjoy it knowing the ending. And not just knowing the bit about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I mean because the director has stayed true to the book's plot development as well as the ending, will I be surprised enough?

I watched a few minutes of reality TV with roomie. I got to watch some really horrible bit involving Florence Henderson getting treated really rudely by a contestant on a reality show (the name of which was so immediately, and thankfully, forgotten). Negative reality shows are disturbing enough, but I hate it when the money draws in stars from the past that I held some weird place for in my heart. I know they have to make money, but really...

Eagles and Airplanes

A cool Live Eagle Netcam site. I am pretty sure it's real, but I have checked it throughout the day and the eagle is never NOT there. I checked it this morning and thought the eagle was dead -- but it was just sleeping with its head on the ground (I sort of thought all birds sleep with its head tucked under the wing). But it was alive. Oddly captivating (or maybe he just reminds me of Buckbeak from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).

A trailer for a movie about Flight 93, bravely re-taken after being hijacked on 9/11. The trailer has been yanked from theaters in NY, even though the producers of the film cleared the movie with the families of the passengers and crew.

Brokeback Mountain -- not at all like City Slickers...

I finally sat down and watched Brokeback Mountain last night. I had meant to watch it with all of the hoopla over the film, and then with Ang Lee winning the Best Director category. For some reason (admittedly idiotic) I had that movie, City Slickers, on my mind.

It totally wasn't anything like City Slickers. Obviously.

I liked it (my room mate was surprised because I generally don't like anything that isn't SciFi, Action Adventure or Suspense). But really, I already knew one of them would get bashed to death. Typical gay tragic hero (I'm not trying to trivialize what really happens, but really, why couldn't they just have started that damn ranch and lived happily ever after?)

We've also been watching The X-Files Season Two. I missed a couple of years of that show. I think I had just quit as a high school teacher and was busy starving to death as a real estate agent.

We also watched a documentary on the Lesbo channel (oh okay the Lego channel) about the Aids Ride. Again, I surprised my room mate because it was one reality show that I really liked. I think I met one of the comedians that worked the talent show years ago when I volunteered as a counselor/advocate with a local gay/lesbian youth organization. If I had better knees, I'd like to bike some of the AIDS ride, the documentary was that good. No way I could do it now (although there are other parts to play other than riding the bike -- although my skills setting up tents are not great, or even good).

I sent myself home last night. No one wanted to take a night on call so I took it myself. I just couldn't get psyched up to work anyway, so I sort of took advantage of the fact that we were so well staffed for the first time in weeks. I am sure I will hear about it later. I went home and worked on evaluations (well, after watching Brokeback Mountain, that is.)

Wow, on CNBC it is snowing in NY, and it is raining really hard here in Phoenix.

Chronicles of Narnia

 

We went to see Chronicles of Narnia yesterday. We really enjoyed it. I read the book a long long (long) time ago, but I still remember most of the story. I thought the special effects were excellent. Yes, there were lots of common themes and elements with Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, but they were in the book, it wasn't like they just made it up. Besides, we really like stuff like that.

Some Christian groups are hailing Narnia as a version of the Passion of Christ. In fact, I knew folks that lost their interest in the movie because they didn't want to go to a movie about the Passion story. It really wasn't like that at all. The story works on its own.

The rest of this post might be a spoiler.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

We ventured into the sunlight went to the movies yesterday to see the latest Harry Potter movie.

I really liked it, although I don't remember the book being that dark and scarey. This movie, like the previous Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban, have moments that definitely make it a PG-13 kind of movie. Torture and killing of a CGI spider. Child drowning. Wrist slashing. A teenage boy gets killed. I think any kid that enjoys the book can handle the movie, but this movie is not a Disney film. No cute singing frogs. No funny Headless Nick. Pretty intense, but I did like it.

The actors really are growing up fast. Daniel Radcliffe looks like a young man already, and he's supposed to be 14. He acts against an 18-year-old character, and I'm pretty sure they did some camera tricks to make him look shorter than the 18-year-old. Maybe they did the same thing they did in Lord of the Rings, where the hobbits had child actors that did wide-angle shots and had other actors up on platforms. Either that, or the guys playing the 18-year-olds are 8 feet tall.