Mini Review: 5 For; 5 Against - "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine

The movie's already been out a week; it's late on the last day of my 5-day weekend; I'm still sore and everything's already been spoiled, so I thought I'd give Star Trek: Into Darkness Jeep Guy Sean's "5 For; 5 Against" treatment.

5 For

5. Zachary Quinto. The adorable Marriage Equality activist proves once again to be Nimoy's destined successor. 

4. The New Timeline. It allowed them to take a Rubik's Cube approach to Wrath of Khan, sometimes quite cleverly refitting and reusing major plot points as part of an overall new story. This franchise shouldn't be viewed as a reboot as much as an Alt History version of the original. If they continue to mine the rest of the cannon this cleverly, they could make as many of these as they want for a very long time.

3. Deep Roy! The diminutive Indian actor has been making genre films since the mid '70's. I first noticed him in 1980's fabulously over-the-top Flash Gordon, billed as Princess Aura's Pet. I didn't realize he was Keenser in Star Trek until I saw his name in the credits this time around. He's in a million things and you usually know him when you see him. Hidden under a ton of makeup in yet another silent role, Roy manages to still convey the humor in Scotty's weird, little alien sidekick.

2. Karl Urban; John Cho; Zoe Saldana; Anton Yelchin and Simon Pegg. While Urban brilliantly channels his own version of DeForest Kelly, the other supporting leads take their iconic characters and make them both new and familiar. Plus... a Tribble!

1. The action sequences and special effects are simply magnificent. J.J. Abrams' eye for exciting action is flawless. Of course we know our heros will survive. They always do. But Abrams manages to make the danger they are in seem very real, no matter how preposterous.

5 Against

5. Chris Pine. Ventriloquist's dummy-headed Pine's version of a young James Kirk just bugs the heck out of me. It's not that he's doing anything particularly wrong... he just doesn't seem to be quite right.  Of course, it could be the way the character is written. Or his age (too young). It just... well, he just isn't the 'Win' that the rest of cast is for me.

4. Benedict Cumberbatch. I don't get the trend of unattractive, pasty Brits in American films lately. But an unattractive, pasty Brit playing a role originated by a handsome, swarthy Spaniard? Khan Noonian Singh is NOT a pasty anything. Was Javier Bardem not available? Or even Gael Garcia Bernal? Hell, Bollywood hottie Hrithric Roshan would have been an even better choice.

3. Lens Flare. Okay, we get it, J.J. It's kind of your thing. But it's getting damned annoying and it hurts my eyes. If you do it in Star Wars, I will hate you forever. Stop it. Stop it now.

2. The Deck. Is it me, or did it look like Hello Kitty threw up in the Enterprise? What was up with all the pink? 

1. IT WAS TOO LOUD!

To be honest, K, Q, Dale and I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was a fun and exciting movie, even if there were no real suprises. Hearing Quinto shout one of Shatner's iconic lines was particularly funny and I was pleased to see Leonard Nimoy in a brief cameo. We didn't see it in 3D and we all agreed we didn't miss anything. ***1/2 (Three and a Half Out of Four Stars). A great way to start the Summer Movie Season.

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article 5 For; 5 Against / Hrithik Roshan / J.J. Abrams / Movies / Reviews / Star Trek / Summer 2013 / Zachary Quinto with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2013/05/mini-review-5-for-5-against-trek-into.html. Thanks!

The Strangest Opera, Best Sci-Fi and Worst Superhero You'll See this Week

Oh, Hell No!

So, Uncle P has an honest to goodness date tomorrow night - my first in more than ten years! Yikes! I met T on "Compatible Partners," the site E-Harmony was compelled by the courts to create. T seems likes a nice, normal guy from our emails, texts and phone conversations. Of course, my breakup with Ric was rather devastating as I thought I had found the person with whom I was going to spend the rest of my life. Looking back, I'm actually glad that didn't work out as my life would have been very different had we stayed together.   

But that has little to do with tonight's post.

First up (via) comes this bizarre and rather entertaining video from tenor August Schram,who mixes realism, surrealism and kink to create this possibly NSFW video for the aria "Habanero" from Bizet's classic opera "Carmen:"

Of course, regular readers know how much of a geek I am when it comes to Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy. And as much as I really loved JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot, I'm really looking forward to it's sequel: Star Trek: Into the Darkness. Here's a little "behind the scenes" video to whet our geeky appetites:

Last, but not least, new photos of wackadoo Nicholas Cage in test footage for Tim Burton's proposed (and happily aborted) "Superman Lives!" movie have surfaced, featuring Cage wearing a 'muscularly enhanced' Superman costume (see above photo via) Personally, I can't get past Cage's receding hairline. Superman should have super hair, no? Henry Cavill may not have been my first choice for the iconic American superhero, but Cage would certainly be my last. Thank goodness this film was never made. Poor little Cal-El Cage might never have lived down the embarrassment.

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Bad Ideas / Dating / J.J. Abrams / Movies / Nonsense / Opera / sci-Fi / Star Trek / Superheroes / Superman / The Weirdest Thing with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-strangest-opera-best-sci-fi-and.html. Thanks!

All Over the Place

I was going to do a "Forgotten Gems" post tonight but after my usual round of surfing, I came across a couple of other things I wanted to talk about, first.

Does anyone else remember 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture? That's Iranian model Persis Khambatta as Illia, a character who is killed and replicated by V-Ger in the movie. While essentially an expanded (and exceptionally boring) episode from the original series, the first 'Star Trek' movie posits that Voyager I went to the furthest depths of space where it essentially became a sentient being after encountering a silicon-based race of aliens. Because of space wear-and-tear (I guess), it called itself "V-Ger" and demanded to be reunited with its creator. Illia became V-Ger's avatar aboard the Enterprise and eventually she/it merged with Stephen Collins' ("No Ordinary Family") character in cinema's first intergalactic orgasm. Damn! Collins was sure pretty then, wasn't he?

So, what does that have to do with anything? Well, launched by NASA in 1977, Voyager I is now poised to become the first man-made object to actually leave the Milky Way. Discover Magazine is reporting that Voyager I, while no longer propelled by solar winds, is about to move into deep space, potentially fulfilling it's cinematically prophesied destiny. This story has restored my fascination with deep-space travel and everything we don't know about Life, the Universe and Everything (which I doubt actually adds up to 42, which non-nerds should look up).

Okay. On to other sort-of related movie news. Take a deep breath, boys (and str8 gals). The Sexiest Man Alive is single again! Salacious gossip site TMZ (via) is reporting that Ryan Reynolds and his wife of two years Scarlett Johansson, are divorcing. I, for one, would be more than happy to console the poor boy. Anyone care to join me in that effort? I mean after Alanis and Scarlett, surely he must be looking for something different, no?

And since we're (okay, I'm) already talking about movies, (also via) New York Magazine has posted this gallery of the best film performances of 2010 that will not be winning any awards. Surprisingly, I agree with most of their choices.

And finally, (via) comes the trailer for the Most Unnecessary Sequel Ever, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides.  Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush return, joined by "Deadwood" alum Ian McShane; Dame Judi Dench and the oh-so-creepy* Penelope Cruz in this fourth installment in Disney's ride-turned-into-a-movie. This time, directorial duties are taken up by Chicago director Rob Marshall. May God have mercy on them all. Though I will give it a shout out because it does it does feature zombies...

*I'm glad I'm not alone in my assessment of Cruz's creepiness, as my oldest friend Q thinks she's creepy, too. It's her mouth, I think. It looks like it was badly drawn by a child with a crayon or something. Of course, she's now married to Javier Bardem (and with child), so maybe her "creepy" quotient will decrease after she whelps... Ooh - that was kind of cruel, wasn't it? Still, she makes me throw up in my mouth a little, every time I see her. Maybe it's just me.

I promise to post my "Forgotten Gem" tomorrow.

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Hot / Johnny Depp / Movies / Ramblings / Ryan Reynolds / Science / Star Trek / Trailers with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2010/12/all-over-place.html. Thanks!

The Geekiest Thing You'll See This Week

This is a picture of a young person named "Pickle." Or, at least, someone called "Pickle." As it happens, I actually went to high school (and performed on stage) with a kid who was nick-named "Pickle."

The "Pickle" in this picture is not my high school friend. I have no idea where either of these "Pickles" are, but if you were called "Pickle" in high school, went to Woodrow Wilson and was in Bye, Bye Birdie and Godspell there, look me up on Facebook. And, like a great "Simpsons" episode, this opening actually has very little to do with the brunt of this post (I love that word. "Brunt." So butch!).

Anyhoo... This is really more about the fact that the Pickle in this picture is apparently a huge Star Wars fan and he (I think it's a he - I can't imagine a girl being called "Pickle." That wouldn't be appropriate at all, would it?) is simply the first amusing result I found on Google Images for "Star Wars fan."

So then, this post is really about two very special kinds of geeks (both of which I am proud to call myself). So watch this video, and then come back for the discussion. 'We'll tawk; we'll have cawfee. No big whoop.'

As I said, this advertisement appeals to two very specific (though often over-lapping) kinds of fanboys. First, and most obviously, it is aimed at Star Wars geeks. My friend Dan is a massive Star Wars and Star Trek geek. Whenever I come across Geek News, I email it to him (this time I'm emailing a link to this post - Hi Danny! Love ya!). Personally, while I like both franchises, there's a special place in my heart for the original Star Wars trilogy. I was in high school (ah - a link to the opening paragraphs - genius!) when the first movie came out. Having grown up on American Sci-Fi from the 50's and 60's and Japanese Sci-Fi from the 60's and 70's, I expected little more than an action-oriented version of The Green Slime. Needless to say, like for everyone else seeing that movie on a big screen for the first time, Star Wars was a revelatory experience. I imagine audiences seeing the original King Kong felt much the same way. So yes, I fall in to the first category, though not as deeply as some.

The second Geek Squad is comprised of fans obsessed with film scores and soundtracks. Of the nearly 700 CDs in my collection, the vast majority of them are films scores and/or soundtracks. From the obscure (Forbidden Zone) to the seminal (A Clockwork Orange); the abstract (Howard Shore's glorious scores for The Fly and The Cell) to the iconic (Bernard Herrman's Psycho), and just about every thing in-between. It is here that I really let my freak flag fly. there are few films without scores, but many films that would have been dismal failures wihout them. That rhythmic bass from Jaws; the 'screaming violins' from Psycho; Darth Vader's March from Star Wars... iconic notes from today's modern classical composers; as integral to those films' successes as the script, direction, camera-work, lighting, costumes, scenery and performances.

Man, I really am a movie geek, aren't I? sigh...
More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Geeks / Movies / Pickles / Ramblings / sci-Fi / Scores / Star Trek / Star Wars with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/09/the-geekiest-thing-you-see-this-week.html. Thanks!

Christmas in June

So, here it is, June 7th, and I'm listening to Christmas music. No, seriously. I'm trying to choose Intermission music for "Most Fabulous..." which ends Act I with the Nativity and places Act II at a Christmas Open House party in modern-day New York City (you'd be amazed at how much gay Christmas music there is). Why wouldn't I be listening to Christmas music (most of which, by the way, I despise)?

This is my last week to devote 97.99% percent of my attention to my cast, which saddens me. I love them and want to watch them play and help them grow as much as I can. But I find myself devoting more and more time to the technical side of the show, which excites me too, because I'm starting to get into how all the elements of the show will work together as a whole. So, as you can imagine, I am torn and in need of an occasional distraction.

Weekends are light for most of the blogs I read regularly (some don't post at all on Saturdays and Sundays), so I branch out and hit YouTube and funnyordie and any other number of sites I only visit on the weekend or once-in-a-while. Tonight, in a YouTube search for "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," I came across this report of a Florida production this past January:

I may have mentioned this before, but we're actually hoping the "good" Reverend Phelps and his clan show up. Their presence is just what may be what it takes for the entire New Jersey LGBT community to fully embrace the JTMF and what we are all about.

Yesterday afternoon was a line-through with most of the cast, and a barbecue/hot-tub/pool party as their reward, after. We carried-on, drank, ate, laughed and tortured each other, as usual. I quizzed my newest find about horror movies (he's good), gave some amazing foot-rubs and further cemented the bonds between us (no, NOT in THAT way, you pervs! ;-0).

There is something truly magical about a cast that not only 'gets" it, but connects to one another so extraordinarily. Either I'm a genius, or I am just a casting savant (though I doubt the latter... I've made more than my share of casting mistakes... lol). In either case, I am certainly the luckiest director on the entire East Coast.

Today was an amazing choreography session with one of the best fight guys around. The Bravest Actors in the World had it down and running at full speed in less than 30 minutes. Props to all three for once again delivering beyond expectations.

Finally, here's something funny. While I am not particularly a fan of Tori Spelling (except in Trick), this clip from her show, featuring Star Trek and "Heroes" alum, Zachary Quinto, is both hilarious and hot!

On that note, I am off to continue (and hopefully, soon finish) work on my soundplot. We'll talk again soon, I promise.

More, anon.
Prospero

PS - I am deliberately not watching the Tonys, because even though I took the time to write this post, I still have 12,546 things to do before the show will be ready to open. "Oy gay!"

P.

You have read this article Fred Phelps / funnyordie / Holidays / Ramblings / Randomly Funny / Star Trek / The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told / Theatre / Tori Spelling / Video / Westboro Baptist Church / YouTube / Zachary Quinto with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/06/christmas-in-june.html. Thanks!

Belated Review: Star Trek

This will be more of a mini-review for two reasons: First, the movie's been out for a week and every body's already posted their reviews; Second, I have a million and four things to do for the JTMF benefit and just don't have the time I'd normally spend on a movie review.

In director J.J. Abrams reboot of Gene Roddenberry's classic Sci-Fi epic, everything we think we know about James T. Kirk; Spock; McCoy; Scotty; Chekov; Ohura and Sulu is wrong. Not because Abrams doesn't respect his source material, but rather because he plays time-travel games with the plot and basically erases the past with the introduction of a revenge-bent, time-travelling villain. These are the same sort of games Abrams plays on his television shows "Lost" and "Fringe" (both brilliant and much fun).

Chris Pine is fine as James Tiberious Kirk, the impetuous Star Fleet Cadet who cheats on the infamous Kobiashi Maru test, weasels his way (via his buddy Dr. McCoy) onto the Enterprise and eventually becomes its Captain. Zachary Quinto ("Heroes") is also well-cast as Spock, the ship's half-Human/half-Vulcan First Officer. Rounding out the cast are John Cho (Harold and Kumar) as Sulu; Anton Yelchin (Alpha Dog) as Chekov; Zoe Saldana (Vantage Point) as Ohura; Simon Pegg (Sean of the Dead) as Scotty and Karl Urban (The Bourne Supremacy) as McCoy. Urban is particularly good as the Enterprise's eventual Chief Medical Officer, channel Deforrest Kelly's Bones in an hilariously eerie way. Eric Bana (Hulk) is on hand as the weirdly sexy villain, Nero and Bruce Greenwood (Capote) is terrific as the Enterprise's original Captain, Christopher Pike. Almost unrecognizable, Winona Rider plays Spock's human mother while Ben Cross staunchly assumes the role of Spock's father, Sareck. Several of Abrams' regular players are on hand in bit roles and Leonard Nimoy appears as "Spock Prime," the future Vulcan Ambassador to Romulos.

The SFX are top-notch and include some of the finest space battles ever filmed and Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman's screenplay manages to provide some terrific background for the characters we've known for so long. All in all, Star Trek is an exciting and fun ride and I, for one, can't wait to see where Abrams and company take the franchise. ***** (Five out of Five Stars).

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Movies / Reviews / sci-Fi / Star Trek with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/05/belated-review-star-trek.html. Thanks!

Why I Love Keith Olbermann

Not too long ago, after the passing of Proposition 8 in California, MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann gave an impassioned speech about Same Sex Marriage (it won him a GLAAD Media Award). Now, he takes on the misguided (and extremely stupid) Carrie Prejean and the ridiculous hype surrounding her loss of the Miss USA pageant and the subsequent media firestorm surrounding her misinformed opinions (via).

You have to love the girl's grammar: "...for which my grandfather fought for." Really? We should listen to the opinion of a young lady who can't even compose a sentence in proper English? Of course, media whore (and King of the Bad Comb-Over) Donald Trump, who owns the Miss Universe Pageant, had the final say in the matter, allowing the stupid little bimbo to retain her title as Miss California. And we all know that Mr. Trump is the be all to end all. Afterall, he does host "The Apprentice" and "The Celebrity Apprentice," two of the "finest" examples of "reality" TV programming. Quite honestly, I don't understand why Trump's 15 minutes weren't over ten years ago.

And while Mr. Olbermann may have his detractors (admittedly, he can be as over-the-top as his conservative rivals at Fox News), at least his opinions make sense. For example, here's his latest "Worst Person in the World" segment, taking on Fox legal correspondant, Greta Van Susteren:

Here's the thing: I don't understand why, in 2009, people are still being fed (and believing) the lies that are being told about the LGBT community. I have absolutely no interest in your marriage. Nor should you have any interest in mine (or anyone else's). When morons like Carrie Prejean and Fred Phelps are given a platform to disseminate bigotry and hate, we all suffer, gay and straight alike. Thank goodness that people like Keith Olbermann have platforms of their own, where truth and sensibility can be aired alongside the lies.

Oh, dear. I'm on that high horse again. I'm finally going to see Star Trek this coming weekend (between vacation and rehearsals, it's the first chance I've gotten), so I'll get back to movies and nonsense, soon. I promise.

More, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article Gay / GLBT / Homophobia / Keith Olbermann / Marriage Equality / News / Politics / Prop 8 / Ramblings / Scary / Star Trek with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-i-love-keith-olbermann.html. Thanks!

More Geekery

Since Watchmen opens tomorrow, I think it's time we move on to 2009's other big geek movie, Star Trek.

J.J. Abrams ("Lost;" Mission Impossible:3; "Fringe;" Cloverfield) directs a big budget re-boot of the Paramount franchise with this origin story of James T. Kirk, Spock, Ohuru, Scotty, McCoy, Chekov and Sulu and how they came to be shipmates aboard the starship Enterprise.

I was not exactly a fan of the original series. I certainly knew it existed, but I was never one to be caught up in the hype. That is until the series' big screen debut in 1979. As bad and boring as the original movie may have been, it inspired a series of alternately brilliant (The Wrath of Khan) and lame (The Final Frontier) movies, as well as four additional TV series. What hath Roddenerry wrought? If nothing else, a racially inclusive Sci-Fi franchise which not only featured network TV's first interracial kiss, but a starting point for today's scientists, who created (and are still envisioning) many of the modern electronic conveniences we take for granted today. Do you own a flip-phone cell phone? You can thank "Star Trek" for it.

I, for one, am excited to see Abrams' interpretation, starring Chris Pine and "Heroes'" Zachary Quinto, as well as Winona Ryder and Eric Bana. And especially so after having seen the latest trailer:

Though I seriously doubt anything could ever match this moment from The Wrath of Khan.

On a side note, a science teacher at my high school was invited to attend the 1979 premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I never got to talk to her about the movie, and while I don't know if she is even alive today, I hope that she is looking forward to the reboot as much as I am, even if it's only as a movie fan.

More, anon.

Prospero

You have read this article Movies / Previews / sci-Fi / Star Trek / Trailers with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-geekery.html. Thanks!

The Gayest Thing(s) You'll See This Week

I came across a very sweet and wonderfully inclusive music video tonight on Towleroad and thought I'd share it with you. The song, "'Til the End" by Tom Goss, is just lovely and the accompanying video reminded me of the 70's TV show "Love, American Style," in which the same brass bed appeared in every vignette.

When I went to YouTube to find the embedding code for "Til the End," I came across a few other LGBT themed music vidoes I wanted to share. The first is "Body's a Temple" from adorable young singer/song-writer Jay Brannan:

Then I started to notice the amount of LGBT videos on YouTube and was astounded at both their number and their depth (or lack thereof). Some were sexy, bordering on pornography. Some were homophobic and hateful. There were even gay Sci-Fi geek videos, as evidenced by this clip, based on an apparently gay-themed episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and featuring the song "It's Okay to Be Gay."

I always thought Alexander Siddig, who played Dr. Bashir on the show, was rather pretty and can completely understand why the gay alien haberdasher was crushing on him. Siddig also appeared in the 2007 season of "24' and in writer/director Neil Marshall's post-apocalyptic adventure, Doomsday.

Then there were the funny gay music videos. These were songs that made fun of homophobia, rather than homosexuality, and I admire their creators for their honesty and fearlessness. First, a video I've posted before; Mandy Steckelberg's "I Love the Gays."

Then there was this video from Oded Gross about a man whose wife leaves him, blaming gay marriage for their own connubial failures: "It's All Because (the Gays Are Getting Married)."

Finally, while this isn't a music video, it still made me laugh and fits in with my obssesion with zombies. I give you the trailer for Gay Zombie:

I refuse to be offended by that, as should you. It's too funny to be truly offensive. And if we can't laugh at ourselves, folks, we have no business laughing at others.

Certainly there is plenty more gay music out there. One needs only to watch "New, Now, Next" on Logo to find the hottest up-and-coming LGBT musical acts. And I can't even begin to tell you how many covers of Katy Perry's infectious "I Kissed a Girl" that I found that were called "I Kissed a Boy." There are gay C & W singers, gay rappers, gay balladeers and even gay metalheads. And all of them proudly flying their freak flags. And to all of them I say, "Well done! Well done, indeed!"

As always, more, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Gay / Music Video / Ramblings / Star Trek / The Gayest Thing / Trailers with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2009/02/the-gayest-things-you-see-this-week.html. Thanks!

The Gayest Thing You'll See This Week

Star Trek Voyages, the official on-line Trek series, has boldly gone where no Trek went before and created a gay story line. It involves Kirk's nephew Peter, an alien virus similar to AIDS and a Klingon attack. Gay geeks can finally rejoice! (via)

More of this, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Gay / Star Trek / TV / Video with the title Star Trek. You can bookmark this page URL http://tammycross.blogspot.com/2008/12/the-gayest-thing-you-see-this-week.html. Thanks!