No offense.
👍 I just got "Taken" on Blu-ray, but haven't watched it yet - I was actually trying to remember how it made it's way on to my rental queue, but I'm quite looking forward to it now. I also got "Hunger", which scored a great review from Tom Servo a few weeks ago.
As for my viewing:
The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)
I don't want to be too harsh, as it was a 'fun' film, and the stellar cast gave it a good shot, but... I think the best thing I can say about it was that it was light-hearted, chucklesome, and on the odd occasion, quite interesting...
As for the downsides, however - well, making a feature-length film based on a Jon Ronson documentary was always going to be a tough gig. The humour is hardly cutting edge, and the plot is practically non-existent. The film really doesn't even have a take home message to speak of either, and as such it is almost instantly forgettable. 3/10
Star Trek 👍👍
I've watched an awful lot of Star Trek in my life. I've seen all of the movies, every episode of the original and TNG, as well as most of DS9, Voyager, and even Enterprise. So I'm slightly invested in the series.
Yup, they broke with series canon in both explained and unexplained ways - but it certainly isn't the first time we've seen that. They also came up with some hokey pseudo-physics that formed the basis for the movie - but it's not the first time we've seen that either. I certainly didn't need either of those things, but I can't say I wasn't ready for them, or that I wasn't ready to overlook them.
I wasn't ready to see elements of Galaxy Quest reflected in the new movie. That one caught me off guard - but after thinking about it a bit I actually kinda like it. It's a little tip-of-the-hat to an excellent parody of the Star Trek universe and cult.
Overall the movie hits every note it needs to hit. A strong, developing, emotional storyline with some genuinely interesting characters set in front of a fantastic backdrop. I was pretty impressed by the writing and execution throughout the movie. Very little seemed out of place or unwelcome.
It doesn't replace anything that's gone before it. The TNG crew had a different dynamic altogether which was fun to watch for different reasons. Likewise the DS9 crew had yet another dynamic. Each one seems to fit the situation and I think they all work. That being said, and I want to reserve judgement until a second viewing, but this may be the best Star Trek Movie ever made. It's certainly among the top 3 (the other two being 2 and 6). I'm not convinced yet that it's better than Wrath of Khan (which was in my top 10 of all time at one point), but it's close, and I want another viewing to try to make that determination.
Way recommended.
Star Trek 👍👍
I've watched an awful lot of Star Trek in my life. I've seen all of the movies, every episode of the original and TNG, as well as most of DS9, Voyager, and even Enterprise. So I'm slightly invested in the series.
Yup, they broke with series canon in both explained and unexplained ways - but it certainly isn't the first time we've seen that. They also came up with some hokey pseudo-physics that formed the basis for the movie - but it's not the first time we've seen that either. I certainly didn't need either of those things, but I can't say I wasn't ready for them, or that I wasn't ready to overlook them.
I wasn't ready to see elements of Galaxy Quest reflected in the new movie. That one caught me off guard - but after thinking about it a bit I actually kinda like it. It's a little tip-of-the-hat to an excellent parody of the Star Trek universe and cult.
Overall the movie hits every note it needs to hit. A strong, developing, emotional storyline with some genuinely interesting characters set in front of a fantastic backdrop. I was pretty impressed by the writing and execution throughout the movie. Very little seemed out of place or unwelcome.
It doesn't replace anything that's gone before it. The TNG crew had a different dynamic altogether which was fun to watch for different reasons. Likewise the DS9 crew had yet another dynamic. Each one seems to fit the situation and I think they all work. That being said, and I want to reserve judgement until a second viewing, but this may be the best Star Trek Movie ever made. It's certainly among the top 3 (the other two being 2 and 6). I'm not convinced yet that it's better than Wrath of Khan (which was in my top 10 of all time at one point), but it's close, and I want another viewing to try to make that determination.
Way recommended.
I see we are of similar minds when it comes to Star Trek. It is a very close call for me on whether it or 6 are better though. There is a lot to be said for attacking your enemy while cloaked and taunting them with Shakespeare.
Don't get your hopes up too high though. It was a very good rental, Neeson is badass, but it's no classic. I found it to be an very good action 'flick'.
Since I'm a fan of both Almodovar & Cruz, I was following your review very seriously. That made the last comment even more comical.
Los Abrazos Rotos (a.k.a. Broken Embraces) (Pedro Almodóvar, 2009) -- Almodóvar's new movie is very much unlike his previous ones. There's no transvestites, no prostitution and very little flaming homosexuals. Still, while none of those get in the way of the story, there is little to no story to begin with. Goes on to being sort of a romantic drama and it works well as such for a while. There's even an element of mystery to it that works nicely as well. But the mvoie falls short of being in any way conclusive and that's a majour flaw, which earns it a 5.5/10 from me.
@Shintaro: Penélope Cruz shows her breasts in this one!
Ship physics are something the new movie greatly ignored. I just told myself that the ship wasn't completely ready yet due to the emergency, and the Enterprise wasn't even allowed its test flight, so it just wasn't up to full spec. And as past films have shown us, when the ship is forced to leave early nothing works right.I really enjoyed the movie as well. Right up there with 2. The only problem I have with the movie was how fast the Enterprise could go. Warp 4!
The NX 01 Enterprise was the 1st warp 5 Earth ship. What happened. Budget cuts?
I see now. I didn't know the same guys wrote those 3 movies but it seemed like such a glaring mistake. Sort of like in Transformers 2 when they are in the Smithsonian museum in DC and walk out the back and they are in a desert plane graveyard. Where is that in DC.
Sort of like in Transformers 2 when they are in the Smithsonian museum in DC and walk out the back and they are in a desert plane graveyard. Where is that in DC.
So youre right... DC and Arizona are a few 1000 miles apart... Sometimes I wondered if there are more people that see that kind of stuff... I guess Im not alone 
I actually went on a date to see this when it was in the cinema, she was hungover, I was trying to punch above my weight. It was quite possibly the worst first date I have ever been on, the only way I managed to get a second date is because we could both agree how horrendously bad that movie was.
