Movie Review: Star Trek (2009)

Plot: The brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father’s legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.

JJ Abrams is a fine modern science fiction director.  He’s been behind the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fringe and Armageddon to name only a few. He’s also the creator for Alias (2001-2006), which as I slowly progress through the series impresses me even further. It’s not his best work, but it shows the variety of fields to which he can apply himself to.

2009 feels like yesterday, though it is almost – gasp – ten years ago now. Star Trek was successfully rebooted by JJ, and a clever tactic of combining old with new worked out particularly well. Starring Chris Pine, Chris Hemsworth, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin and Leonard Nimroy, the reboot is entertaining. I’ll inform you that I’m not as versed in Star Trek as I should be, yet I didn’t feel as if I was lacking information and could follow without too much prior knowledge.

The decision to cast Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk is only questionable until you witness him in the role. He is charming, cocky, reckless and brave and he is pivotal in the success of this remake.  Leonard Nimroy provides substantial impact, and seeing him return as an older version of Spock was surely a big moment for established fans. Zachary Quinto embodies what I always imagined of Spock – like I said my knowledge here is rudimentary – but I thought he did a great job. He is also able to portray the level of feelings Spock experience, even though his race is seemly unfeeling. I enjoyed the blatant dislike Spock had in Kirk, and how that changed throughout the film to becoming first a grudging admiration and then a tentative friendship.

The film is quite long, but it also doesn’t feel stretched out. There is naturally a time where they set up the film, and to get everyone on the same page. It provides enough insight into the characters and the events so that the film can progress at a good pace and get to the plot as it should. I wouldn’t call the story a generic one, as it is littered with interesting information, races, visuals and action, but as a Sci-Fi we have all heard the tale of planets being wiped out and its terrestrial force seeking (somewhat uncalled for) vengeance. The end is also just slightly convenient and quick, but overall not something that deducts from the experience of the film. I know it kept me entertained throughout, which is quite the feat these days as everything seems to bore me.

I am ready to venture more deeply into the world of Star Trek, starting with the newer films and someday going back to the older ones.

Rating: 8/10

January 26, 2018January 24, 2018 by Natasha Categories: Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Anton Yelchin, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pin, JJ Abrams, Leonard Nimroy, movie, Movies, Review, Romulan, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Star Trek 2009, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana 3 Comments

Watched, Read, Loved: October 2017

My battle cry should be: “What a Month!”. 2017 in particular has felt like a whirlwind. Every month, so busy, so rushed. Work has been mad. Growing career wise is exhausting. There have been a number of unpleasantness in my team – people resigning, a sexual harassment case (super happy to report that my esteem for my company rose with how they handled the matter), and naturally just the normal amount of pettiness, drama, laziness and idiocy I’ve come to expect from working professionals. However, that said, some demented part of me enjoys working in such a difficult environment. It is enormously satisfying when people bend to your will, see your point, praise your efforts and start acting less like two year olds. I’m probably going to go crazy while doing it, but man, what a ride.

Some things are stressing me out still – waiting for my final results to get my degree is one particular one, and my University is as relaxed about releasing results as they usually are. It is so frustrating to be on a cliff, waiting for an answer, so close to the finish line. That and the course was pretty damn hard, so I am STRESSED. One moment I am convinced I passed and the next moment I’m sure I failed. I’m not the most pleasant person to be around right now, of that I can assure you.

I am also planning my oldest sister’s baby shower. She’s married with a baby on the way; I applaud myself when I comb my hair in the morning. These are the paths we take. However, planning an event is something that always stresses me out – I am such a perfectionist and if I don’t feel something is nice, I get really grumpy. With that is all the baby things too – stressing me out, because my ovaries are going to die soon (I might remove that sentence, I might not). Looking at children in the mall and wondering why anyone would put up with that is what I think of the most, yet at the same time there is something to be said about leaving a legacy. But I also like having my entire salary to myself, and let me tell you, pregnancy seems to come with many ailments that makes me want to revise my previous notion that pregnancy isn’t a sickness.

To load more on my plate, I’ve literally started loading things off my plate. That’s right – I’m at the “healthy lifestyle” game again. It’s a pretty pompous term, but I enjoy using it and it is certainly a better one than the word diet. I’m taking it very basic – cutting out most carbs and eating veggies and protein, with lots of water. I don’t drink any sugar carbonated drinks, so that isn’t a problem, but I do consume copious amounts of Coke Light. Working on lessening that too, as my primary objective is living as clean as possible and not consuming pseudo junk. I like to think I’ve become a regular at our local Parkrun, my total tally of walks is now somewhere around ten. I’ve even done one on my own, because I’ve realized that fitness and companionship aren’t always something that can happen at the same time. So far I’ve lost 3kg, which is obviously slower than I’d like, but it is a consistent trend downwards that makes me happy. I am also sleeping better and feeling more alert, which are two things I desperately needed.

So after an entire dialogue about all my problems, here’s what went down entertainment wise this month.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017): This was one of the big ones I wanted to see. My darling favorite superhero returned to the big screen, and I was ready. Thor has never been my favorite franchise of Marvel, but on a science level it has always worked really well. This time around Waititi joined in to direct (and star), and I actually watched it TWO times in cinema – super super rare for me. The second watch did highlight some issues – some of the pacing is off, especially by Tessa Thompson, but it was still so much fun that I am not willing to alter the 8.5/10 I gave it.

It was also Halloween month, so I picked up Hocus Pocus for the very first time in my life. It was okay, I’ve definitely seen worse and better, but I did enjoy the drama of the three witches and how excellently they acted it out.

Dis Koue Kos, Skat, was my Afrikaans feature for the month. Think Eat, Pray, Love, with less praying (and travelling). Anna-Mart Van Der Merwe, a South-African film legend, stars in this excellent film as a newly divorced woman settling into her new life. I had  a lot of fun with it.

Lego: Ninjago movie (2017) – This was October as well?! October WAS a long month! I had a lot more fun with this than I thought I would, which is saying something.

Star Trek (2009) – it took me nearly ten years to watch this, and I am happy that I finally did. Review coming soon.

I kept it pretty simple this month with reading, revisiting the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. It’s simple reading, perfect for stressful days where you just need a bit of chill and sexy vampires.

The real reason for the little amount of movie watching that went down can be pinned to Spartacus. I finally started the series. It’s pretty good despite awful dialogue, though just not one of the shows to watch with your parents / child. EVER.

What have you been up to this month?

November 13, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Avengers, Movies, movies, novels, reading, Reviews, Romance, SeriesTags: 2017, Andy Whitfield, Anna Mart van der Merwe, Bette Midler, Books, Cate Blanchett, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pine, Dan Feuerriegel, Dis Koue Kos Skat, Dustin Clare, Hocus Pocus, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Lego Movie, Lego: Ninjago Movie, Liam Mc, Liam McIntyre, Loki, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennet, Mark Ruffalo, monthly rundowns, Nick E. Tarabay, October, Peter Mensah, Reading, Sarah Jessica Parker, Spartacus, Star Trek, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, The Hulk, Thor, Thor: Ragnarok, Tom Hiddleston, Vampire Academy, Viva Bianca, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana 5 Comments