3 Quick Reviews

after finishing a big project this week, and smashing another dope live art event, i decided to zone out and hit the local sneakeasy with my boys. so here's my brief reviews of Up, Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation. don't be surprised if i review them at length later...

the first movie i saw (which i actually bought a ticket for) was the Disney/Pixar joint Up. despite my penchant for socio-political rambling and bad language, i'm really a big kid at heart. as such, a company like Pixar is a dream come true. they make the kinda films that actually live up to the cliche claim that they're "fun for the whole family". like any good kid's film, Up brushes up against deep themes like aging, love, and death in a way that work for me, but feel like they will not overwhelm a child. the computer animation and character designs live up to Pixar standards, and the talking dogs, little fat asian kid (kudos for non-white yet non-stereotypical protagonists), and slick writing made for great comedy. plus, this movie has nice action sequences, which were not necessary but appreciated. good stuff, that i would recommend Up to any parent or toonhead who needs something to watch.

So after that, i snuck into Star Trek, the ballsy reboot of the classic teevee-to-film sci-fi franchise, directed by teevee-to-film director JJ Abrams (Alias, Mission:Impossible III, Cloverfield). after hearing the hype about this film, i went in ready to resist its charms. i failed miserably... Star Trek is the bomb! Uhura is fine as hell. Spock is the shit. Kirk taps a green chick. Sulu kicks ass with his futuristic wu-tang sword style. scotty makes the impossible happen. Bones is a doctor, dammit! what more can you ask!?!

Abrams claimed not to be a Trek fan, but he pushed all the right buttons AND he made sure to rev all the action up well past previous levels ever attained in a Star Trek film. JJ Abrams biggest skill as a storyteller is the ability to bring everyday human emotions into his work. Love motivates everyone in a JJ Abrams flick, even the bad guys. this makes everyone easy to relate to and ultimately invests you more in the things that happen. anyone who writes can learn from this dude... i'm sure when the voting for ghettoManga Movie of the Year ends in December, Star Trek will have won by a landslide.

i imagine Terminator: Salvation could be in the running too, but it doesn't stand a chance. i missed the first half of the movie, but the franchise has seen its best film already in the classic Terminator 2. i think the trilogy of sequels they have planned will be much ado about nothing, as this one was. don't get me wrong, i think it was a good film, but the whole "change the present by messing with the past" thing is tired. there are more than enough special effects and such to overcome that, though, and despite what i heard online, Christian Bale was okay. his raspy intensity was not nearly as distracting as it was in The Dark Knight (which i liked), so i cut him some slack. there wasn't really any stand-out performances in Salvation, which is why i doubt this film will have the legs Star Trek has.

feel me? disagree?

holla at me!