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REVIEW: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
After its kinetic rejuvenation in 2009, the Star Trek franchise – captained by J.J. Abrams – once again takes flight, boldly going where no CGI has gone before. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is still up to the same rule-breaking, womanizing shenanigans that in any other universe would have him discharged from military service, but here earns him his own ship. That is, until his ever logical right-hand man Spock (Zachary Quinto) sells him down the river for violating the “Prime Directive” of Starfleet. Stripped of his post, Kirk is forced to relinquish control of the Starship Enterprise to its former Captain, Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood).
The demotion doesn’t last long when Starfleet is attacked by one of its own: a baritone-voiced ubermensch named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). After launching multiple attacks that kills civilians and Starfleet members alike, Kirk is returned to his old ship and urged by Admiral Marcus (an awful Peter Weller) to follow Harrison into Klingon territory. The Klingons are a belligerent race that will interpret any Starfleet presence in their region as a provocation of war. With eggshells under foot, Kirk leads his crew into deep space and learns the truth behind Harrison’s actions.
21st May 2013
Notes: 3
It’s rare that a film shows us true, enduring love. We’ve seen plenty of romantic movies in which love endures the obstacles of distance or time, and they almost always end with the couple finally getting together and presumably living happily ever after. But what we don’t frequently see is love enduring itself. Romantic films tend to be about “getting together.” Before Midnight is about “staying together.”
The third part in what director Richard Linklater calls his “accidental trilogy,” Before Midnight picks up nine years after the second film – Before Sunset – and 18 years after the first – Before Sunrise. If you haven’t seen the first two (like me), have no fear, as Before Midnight is a remarkable stand-alone film and an early candidate for Best Picture.
REVIEW: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
After its kinetic rejuvenation in 2009, the Star Trek franchise – captained by J.J. Abrams – once again takes flight, boldly going where no CGI has gone before. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is still up to the same rule-breaking, womanizing shenanigans that in any other universe would have him discharged from military service, but here earns him his own ship. That is, until his ever logical right-hand man Spock (Zachary Quinto) sells him down the river for violating the “Prime Directive” of Starfleet. Stripped of his post, Kirk is forced to relinquish control of the Starship Enterprise to its former Captain, Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood).
The demotion doesn’t last long when Starfleet is attacked by one of its own: a baritone-voiced ubermensch named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch). After launching multiple attacks that kills civilians and Starfleet members alike, Kirk is returned to his old ship and urged by Admiral Marcus (an awful Peter Weller) to follow Harrison into Klingon territory. The Klingons are a belligerent race that will interpret any Starfleet presence in their region as a provocation of war. With eggshells under foot, Kirk leads his crew into deep space and learns the truth behind Harrison’s actions.
In The Great Gatsby, the eponymous Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) throws extravagant parties at his Long Island mansion in hopes of attracting his beautiful former love Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Director Baz Luhrmann takes the same approach in trying to get a hold of his audience. His The Great Gatsby is an over-indulgent, bombastic facade, compensating for its shallow host/director.
Based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby is told in hindsight by Nick Carraway (played flatly by Tobey Maguire). Once a spry, hopeful war veteran hoping to make a living selling bonds in 1922 New York City, Carraway now resides in a sanitarium trying to cope with the events of the previous summer. After moving into a humble cottage in the “newly rich” West Egg, Long Island (modeled after Great Neck), Carraway soon became aware of the scandalous life that seemed to inherently come with being wealthy in NYC.
WHY THE MANDARIN WAS PERFECT IN IRON MAN 3
The following article contains a MAJOR SPOILER regarding Iron Man 3. It is strongly recommended that you do not read this until after you’ve viewed the film.
If you saw Iron Man 3 last week (given the $175 million opening it enjoyed, chances are you did), you were probably caught off guard by The Mandarin. Given how he was displayed in the trailers, fans fully expected him to the primary villain facing off against Iron Man. His measured speech delivered in an undeterminable accent threw a cloud of mystique over the character, played by Ben Kingsley. Where did he come from? Who are his allies? What does he want? He wears lavish robes, is adorned in jewelry, and sits on a throne. All of this means he MUST have power, and this is why we should fear him.
It’s not until you watch the film that you see Marvel has successfully orchestrated one of the greatest trailer misdirections of all time. It turns out The Mandarin isn’t a powerful terrorist leader at all. He’s just an actor, and a particularly goofy one at that. His entire existence was a ruse devised by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) in order to satisfy his own evil plot. Writer and director Shane Black took Iron Man’s greatest nemesis from the comic books and reduced him to a punch-line; a meager pawn in the scheme of a villain that hardly appears in the comics at all.
And it’s an absolutely brilliant decision.
REVIEW: IRON MAN 3
Iron Man 3 should be renamed Tony Stark, as that more accurately captures the true subject of Shane Black’s new summer blockbuster. The third entry in the Iron Man canon and the first Marvel film released post-Avengers, Iron Man 3 offers a hefty share of CGI battles featuring an innumerable quantity of red and gold suits of armor. But those who want nothing more than crash-bang-boom action will have to be patient, as we also spend a healthy portion of time with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the man beneath the iron mask.
REVIEW: IRON MAN 3
Iron Man 3 should be renamed Tony Stark, as that more accurately captures the true subject of Shane Black’s new summer blockbuster. The third entry in the Iron Man canon and the first Marvel film released post-Avengers, Iron Man 3 offers a hefty share of CGI battles featuring an innumerable quantity of red and gold suits of armor. But those who want nothing more than crash-bang-boom action will have to be patient, as we also spend a healthy portion of time with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the man beneath the iron mask.
Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) was a family man. He married his first and only love, Deborah (Winona Ryder), and together they had two beautiful daughters, Anabel and Betsy (McKaley Miller and Megan Sherrill). They moved into a nice house in Trenton, New Jersey and enjoyed a relatively luxurious lifestyle. When asked about “Richie’s” profession, Deborah would reply that he worked with stocks in some capacity. That’s what Richie told her and she had no reason to question it.
What was their real source of income? Richie was a contract killer for the mafia – and he was good at his job.
Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) was a family man. He married his first and only love, Deborah (Winona Ryder), and together they had two beautiful daughters, Anabel and Betsy (McKaley Miller and Megan Sherrill). They moved into a nice house in Trenton, New Jersey and enjoyed a relatively luxurious lifestyle. When asked about “Richie’s” profession, Deborah would reply that he worked with stocks in some capacity. That’s what Richie told her and she had no reason to question it.
What was their real source of income? Richie was a contract killer for the mafia – and he was good at his job.
REVIEW: MARRIED AND COUNTING
In late 2010, only five states (and Washington D.C.) recognized gay marriage as legal. At the time, gay couple Stephen Mosher and Pat Dwyer were preparing to celebrate their 25th anniversary together. Sharing a small, love-filled apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, Stephen and Pat wanted nothing more than to be able to call each other “husband.” Unfortunately, New York did not allow gay marriage. Unlike most states, however, New York did honor gay marriages that were performed in other states and recognized them as legal. So Stephen and Pat planned a romantic “wedding tour,” in which they would get married in every single state that would allow them.
