A Beachfront Cineaste

Star Trek Into Darkness

J.J. Abrams' second Star Trek feature delivers on the action, grows some of the characters nicely, and features strong thematic and allegorical subtext. He also settles on telling a story that's been told before, and told better.

Jeffrey Siniard 5/18/13.

In all honesty, Abrams, Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, and Roberto Orci (i.e. the filmmakers) had a nearly impossible task ahead of them. They were building on an incredibly successful prequel, one that that re-ignited Star Trek as a franchise, generated huge box-office success, and received tremendous popular and critical acclaim.  

The reason for the success was twofold: they didn't sacrifice either the essential characters, nor the humanistic optimism that informed Star Trek's worldview. 

As a result of that success, the filmmakers gave themselves the freedom to re-explore Original Series-Era Star Trek without fear of canon. Personally, I also think Paramount gave them more money for the sequel and the responsibility to grow the franchise. Which to marketing folks, means one thing: Make it safe and make it saleable.  

In the Hollywood-verse of Star Trek, that means one thing... Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

As the universally-decreed "Best Star Trek Movie Ever Made," Khan is both the standard by which good Star Trek is measured, and unfortunately "a pattern to follow" as Kirk says of the Ilia probe in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

And in the case of later Star Trek (generally), and specifically in the case of Star Trek Into Darkness, my response might be the same as Spock's was to Kirk: "Indeed. They may have followed it too precisely."

Still, Star Trek Into Darkness is very good, and in places it's great. It also works as very good, and occasionally great Star Trek. Let's see why below the jump:

War of the Worlds

Steven Spielberg's biggest missed opportunity, and possibly his worst screwup.

Jeffrey Siniard 4/8/13

There shouldn't have been more of a sure thing than Steven Spielberg directing a modern (2005, in this case) adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic story of a 19th century Martian invasion of England. Yet somehow, (perversely, in fact) this picture may be Spielberg's laziest, most cynical piece of work. Nothing in this picture suggests Spielberg taking any chances, expanding himself as an artist, or even so much as engaging his imagination.

War of the Worlds shows Spielberg as a master technician and manipulator, in the worst possible way.

Prometheus

 

Ridley Scott’s symbolic near masterpiece is frustratingly marred by narrative hiccups.

By Jeffrey Siniard 6/22/12

Prometheus is no mere summer blockbuster. In fact, we’re getting something rare here: a talented filmmaker calling his shot, and swinging for the fences.  Prometheus is Ridley Scott’s attempt at an epic science fiction masterpiece to rival, if not surpass, the achievement of both Alien and Blade Runner.

Contrary to the opinions of some, Prometheus is not a bad film; it’s too well imagined to be considered an outright failure.  Prometheus is the best looking film Ridley Scott has made since at least Kingdom of Heaven, and a moving symbolic work about man’s need to sacrifice for the greater good. 

Unfortunately, Scott, writers Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts don’t keep the narrative quite clean enough for Prometheus to reach the masterpiece status it clearly aspires to.  That said, it’s still better than any science fiction film in recent memory, especially in terms of scope and purpose.

More to follow below…

Author’s Notes: 

I generally assume that anyone reading this post has seen Prometheus, and so I will not write a plot synopsis.  Follow this link if you want a regurgitation of the plot.   

Imperfection and the Divine: Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Tron: Legacy

The oldest and greatest human drama, the quest for divinity and perfection, as seen in two science fiction films, separated by almost 31 years.

By Jeffrey Siniard on 4/12/11.

I wasn't fortunate enough to see either Star Trek: The Motion Picture, or Tron: Legacy in movie theaters.  I was  2 when the former was released in theaters, and a 33 year old parent of 2 when the latter was released.  However, thanks to the wonders of home video, the former is probably the movie I've seen more times than any other in my life (well over 100 times - Alien would be the only other plausible contender), the latter I've watched twice since I picked up the Blu-Ray on Friday.

This isn't a review, rather a collection of thoughts on the similarities between the 2 films, in terms of theme and symbolism.  Additionally, their strengths - visually spectacular, symbolically designed, contemplative (not the same thing as boring), featuring terrific music - are the same.  Likewise, both films have been criticized for wooden acting, uneven pacing, anemic plotting, and something I'll call "outsized ambition" (i.e. the filmmakers have attempted to elevate the source material to undeserved heights).

Needless to say, I find that both of these films have been, almost criminally, undervalued by the critical community, and not fully appreciated by many of their devoted fans.  Neither film is perfect, but both are interesting for almost identical reasons.

Avatar

James Cameron's magnum opus is about embodying an ideal, for good and evil.  

Is it possible that Avatar is both overrated and underrated?  I think so.  Obviously, James Cameron's picture has been exhaustively reported for the following reasons: the fact that it is far and away the biggest box-office smash of all time (unadjusted for inflation), it's understated and "immersive" use of 3D, and the obvious political and environmental issues it raises.  It has also been criticized for recycling the "civilized man going native" story, which has been used in films such as Little Big Man, Dances with Wolves, and The Last Samurai.

Furthermore,  people who should know better love to use Cameron's Best Director statement from the 1998 Oscars against him.  I think that when Cameron proclaimed "I'm the king of the world!", he was not displaying unbridled ego, as much as he was searching for a way to express the joy he felt that Titanic (and his work) was so well received.  As a result, Avatar has been dismissed by many critics who choose to view the film as a manifestation of unchecked hubris, rather than evaluating the film on it's own merits and debits.

Regardless of the film, an artistic evaluation based on such preconceptions is ridiculous and unworthy.

I'm assuming that most people who read this have seen Avatar, and thus, I will provide only the barest bones of a story recap.

The Vastness of Outer Space: Images from films

By Jeffrey Siniard 7/30/10.

I'm going to poach an idea I saw on a blog that I read rather frequently.  John Kenneth Muir is a terrific genre critic, and he received a challenge that has been spreading from blog to blog, starting with Checking On My Sausages. The challenge here is to select a theme and provide images from films that express that theme.

I don't know if anyone else who sees this blogs about movies on their own time, but if so, I'd like to see what someone else has to contribute.

Myself, I'm choosing the theme of The Vastness of Outer Space.  I've always found that in their rush to provide excitement, many filmmakers(and audiences, unfortunately) never pause to consider just how vast and unknowable space can be.  I've selected images from films going back to the 1950s, up to films that are very recent in our history.  Hopefully, the shots I chose can give you a moment of pause. 

Images with captions follow below...

Alien

Ridley Scott's first masterpiece, and one of the expertly crafted thrillers of all time.  See the original soon if the "remake" stories are true.

Disclaimer: Alien is this author's "desert island movie."

By Jeffrey Siniard

5/29/09

Monday was the 30th Anniversary of Alien's release.  Sure enough, 3 days later, stories broke all over the Internet about 20th Century Fox's plans for a "remake."  This is among the worst ideas ever.  Alien is, without question, the greatest science fiction thriller of all-time. In fact, James Cameron's sequel Aliens, John Carpenter's The Thing, Byron Haskin's War of the Worlds, and Fred Wilcox's Forbidden Planet are the only other films that belong in the discussion.  Additionally, Alien is among the 10 best science fiction films ever made, and simultaneously among the 10 best horror films ever made. 

I intend to make the case here for preserving a classic in your minds, before 20th Century Fox ruins everyone's memories.

Star Trek

J.J. Abrams gives audiences a three-for-one deal; Star Trek works as a reboot, sequel, and prequel.  He also gives audiences a blast.

By Jeffrey Siniard 5/14/09

There are few things more nerve-wracking than being a long-time fan (Trekkie in my case), seeing a cherished icon of youth get an extreme makeover.  In the specific case of Star Trek, I spent most of the 30 minutes in the theater before the start of the picture, thinking the following:

    "Please God, let this not suck like Nemesis, or Insurrection, or The Final Frontier."

    "I hope the critics are right."

    "Abrams is a TV guy, like Harve Bennett was a TV guy.  This could work."

    "Please God, let this not suck.  Please, please, please."

When Good Scenes Happen to Bad Movies

by Jeffrey Siniard 6/28/08

One of the most frustratings things I can think of is sitting through a bad movie that should be really good.  The feeling is similar to going to a fancy restaurant and having a bad meal, or having bad sex with someone who's really hot.  We desperately want to be pleasured, enthralled, excited and satiated.  In all three cases, the experience is particularly disappointing, if only because it holds so much promise.

Zodiac

Director David Fincher's obsession leads to a thrilling true-crime picture

By Jeffrey Siniard 8/24/07

From 1969 onward, Zodiac has maintained an unfortunate platform in the annals of American crime, that of the Infamous Celebrity.  The picture Zodiac is about the obsession to catch that serial killer, as well as an meditation on celebrity and the inability of intelligent people to communicate, even as information surrounds them. Thus far, it's also the best film in David Fincher's career.