Movie Review+Redux

Bestest thing about weekends?

Rock Band with all your friends
plus
Movies with someone you love watching movies with
plus
Boomer's Milkshakes
plus
Not reading that book for class even though you know you should
plus
Care package of food from grandparents so you don't starve to death during finals
plus
Sleeping FOREVER.

I won't go into RB details since most of you were there, but I thought I'd talk about some of the movies I watched, and include a bit of a re-review. A review squared? Whatev.

First there was Valkyrie. As most of you know (or don't), Mr.Cruise is not a fave of mine. I like, maybe...movies of his (let's see, Legend, Top Gun, A Few Good Men, oh and Last Samurai, so four) and was hoping for wowage this time around.
To be honest, wowage did not happen. Not that he didn't do a fine job but with the eyepatch, there needed to be more compensation in voice and facial expressions.

I suppose the best thing about this movie is how fast it is, at least from my perspective. It almost goes too fast, leaving not a lot of development. There was certainly a feeling that more could have been done, but at least it didn't drag.

EVERYONE was in this movie. I was constantly going 'Wait, that guy is in this too?'
It was somewhat gratifying to see Bill Nighy as someone who is NOT in control of the situation, he played off the nervousness quite well. Kenneth Branaugh was, as expected, quite good, I wish he'd been in more of the movie.

Though I'm sure some may find it difficult o accept this movie about Germans when there is only one German actor in the whole thing, I submit that they set up suspension of disbelief quite early and in what I felt was an extremely artistic way, so that it never really bothered me (and this is one of those things that usually aggravates me). The only real problem with this movie is many many times you felt that this scene was going to be one of those BIG DEALS, where Hitler was going to give this brilliant soliloquy or there was going to be an emotionally charged moment...and then that just didn't happen. So it wasn't so much that it was bad, it just felt like there was a lot of unfulfilled potential. /is trying hard not to make a Bryan Singer/X-Men joke

In conclusion: This movie is a good rental, definitely worth seeing once, though on one of those quiet days.

Immediately after, there was Frost/Nixon. Talk about flipping the coin, this movie was nothing BUT BIG DEAL moments, with a little bit of dragging. Nixon was brilliant, he stole every scene. The movie is a mix of documentary and classic cinema, which gives a definite story-focus. The downside was that in some ways, it felt very chopped together, it didn't have a nice smooth flow. The script was great, however, and there is a monologue by Nixon that will leave you going "...k..." with very wide eyes.
Michael Sheen as Frost probably did an accurate representation but between the two, it was obvious Nixon walked all over him, which unfortunately made Frost-in-the-movie seem like a weak acting job, when really that was how it actually went.

So if you're interested in history, journalism or politics, this is another good one-time rental. If not, you'll probably not get too much out of it.

And finally, another look at Star Trek. I'm really happy that from what I've seen, The Internet has reacted favorably. Even people who were not so into the canon change admitted that it was a good movie and they enjoyed it. I was a bit surprised it got bumped from number one at the box office so quickly, because there's so much rewatchability (speaking of which, still open to seeing it again :D). This time, I tried to focus on some technical aspects over content, which was my focus last time.

I was really blown away by the music. Besides having the greatest use of a Beastie Boys song ever, the whole soundtrack is just really solid, epic in some places, delicate in others. Any fan of John Williams will tell you that Sci-Fi movies offer the greatest opportunities for composers because you just don't have many other conduits to do really uplifting, big band, classic orchestra numbers.

Little tidbits, homages to other films (I promise there is a Star Wars reference in there) stuck out more as well, and I walked away more impressed with Spock, Bones and Uhura. Sadly, Kirk is still the weakest character for me, but he had to do a lot in not-a-lot-of-time, and I am more than willing to extend the benefit of the doubt to any subsequent sequels.

Like I said, some people didn't like the canon change, but there is one scene that to me acts like a giant disclaimer. They literally say: Our destiny has changed, things aren't going to be like they could have been (IE, the way the show was)and we don't know what will happen. Yes, as a long time fan, this can be really disconcerting but remember what it is that people REALLY like about the series: The characters. THOSE don't change. Yeah, Kirk and Spock didn't get along in this movie, but it made total sense in context and it was clear that the relationship would be built up. Other than that, and a few other dynamics being a little bit different, everything you liked about the old characters are here, just in a new situation.
To me, that is better than if they'd kept the STORY but changed the characters, and I think the fans would have responded way differently.
Now of course, the challenge is to maintain the inertia, bring us something else that's epic, while maintaining the intimate character dynamics, especially in our jaded consumer market.
I realized I had a problem with the trailer for Transformers 2, complete with Michael Bay explosions was shrug worthy. A few years ago, I would have been blown away, and now, it's passe'. So, Mr.Abrams...feel free to wow us some more.