Star Trek

[Valka]

Nice poster, but I don't see the Vina who was in the picnic scene.

[Buster's Uncle]

Don't look at me - I didn't make that cover.  I luvs me some picnic Vina.

[Mylochka]

Very considerate of her jailers to provide her with chalk...

...It looks like a cell in the opening.  I can't understand what she's mumbling -although it appears to be the same as the poem or what ever she's writing on the blackboard? in her cell- and what she's wearing both looks like a costume -instead of clothes- and too much like a Xena look, considering who's wearing it.  Shot so I was distracted trying to read whatever she was writing in chalk.

Not a promising beginning, for all that I'm nitpicking really harshly...

[Mylochka]

I liked their CG in general.  Very good quality stuff... but their Star Fleet Headquarters set is a little Blade Run-ish...  More smog than we usually see in Star Trek era San Francisco.

They sorta blew the SFX on the planet being destroyed.

I thought those aliens were armored Klingons at first, 'cause I'd have sworn some of them were carrying bat'leths.  -Which would be lame in multiple ways.

This speaks to what's at the heart of what's wrong with this flick -which I knew over a year ago from the first trailer- real Star Trek isn't dark; it's day-glo and optimistic.  More than a teeny bit of flirting with dark is fundamentally off-model, a mistake they made a lot in fake Trek from the latter seasons of DS9 on.

Bias going in duly disclosed; more after lunch...

(I did like the domed tanks in the establishing shot of the dilithium facility.  Got that one right. [I just had to add 'dilithium' to the dictionary on my stupid mundane spellcheck.])

[Mylochka]

I agree.  Admiral Chekov is an adorable old man.  Looks much better bald than he did in that weird wig they had him wearing in the last fan movie he was in.

A.) Walter Koenig  should have just let the bald out 30 years ago.  -He was already combing his hair forward from the back in the early 80's -which looked grotesque and pathetic up close- when it was already too late to still pull off a young prettyboy look.  He's had Shatner disease for a long time, and MAJOR + points for getting him to be bald and somewhat old on screen, a look that suits him better.

[Mylochka]

It's not a terrible design per se, but the fit is rather baggy on a lot of the the performers.  I've always felt the spandex look was unrealistic, but the fit is so loose on some of the actors that the costume looks un-military.

What's with the lame pseudo-movie era pseudo-retro uniforms?

[Buster's Uncle]

I agree.  Admiral Chekov is an adorable old man.  Looks much better bald than he did in that weird wig they had him wearing in the last fan movie he was in.

A.) Walter Koenig  should have just let the bald out 30 years ago.  -He was already combing his hair forward from the back in the early 80's -which looked grotesque and pathetic up close- when it was already too late to still pull off a young prettyboy look.  He's had Shatner disease for a long time, and MAJOR + points for getting him to be bald and somewhat old on screen, a look that suits him better.

That was Gods and Men -which sucked SO hard despite some good moments- also a Tuvok production.

Pity; it was a MUCH better premise than Renegades, and you did believe Charlie Evans could give Gary Mitchell a fight.  Nichelle Nichols, alas, showed up either drunk or senile, and her part desperately needed cutting by a good 66.6%.  It was terrible use of Chekov, maintaining a 45-year string of terrible misuses of Chekov.



I was wrong about them blowing the SPX on the planet destruction - I thought it was a crapped-up explosion/implosion or something, when it was actually a plot point.  That's largely a failure on their part, even so...

[Buster's Uncle]

...And I want to double-down on the bald Koenig.  He's looked terrible most of my life, with a bad case of Shatneritis - not aging gracefully, and looking pathetic trying to fight it the wrong ways.  I already covered that; but this: he's a beautiful OLD man.  He has lovely eyes, and there was something in his expression -like he's happy or something for the first time in forever, not faking it- that appealed.

Old, bald Chekov has definite charisma, something I love seeing in the man, almost for the first time...

[Mylochka]

I think I missed about five minutes of dialogue while I sat there tilting my head and saying, "Is that Sean Young?  Really?  Sean Young?  Man, she did really piss some folks off..."

Why the glasses?  Are future folks just not interested in curing eye problems?

...It took me until they showed her in extreme closeup -making out with a hologram- to clock Sean Young.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

[Mylochka]

Tuvok had a smaller -- but much better use of his character -- part in this one, I think.

I agree.  Admiral Chekov is an adorable old man.  Looks much better bald than he did in that weird wig they had him wearing in the last fan movie he was in.

A.) Walter Koenig  should have just let the bald out 30 years ago.  -He was already combing his hair forward from the back in the early 80's -which looked grotesque and pathetic up close- when it was already too late to still pull off a young prettyboy look.  He's had Shatner disease for a long time, and MAJOR + points for getting him to be bald and somewhat old on screen, a look that suits him better.

That was Gods and Men -which sucked SO hard despite some good moments- also a Tuvok production.

Pity; it was a MUCH better premise than Renegades, and you did believe Charlie Evans could give Gary Mitchell a fight.  Nichelle Nichols, alas, showed up either drunk or senile, and her part desperately needed cutting by a good 66.6%.  It was terrible use of Chekov, maintaining a 45-year string of terrible misuses of Chekov.



I was wrong about them blowing the SPX on the planet destruction - I thought it was a crapped-up explosion/implosion or something, when it was actually a plot point.  That's largely a failure on their part, even so...

[Buster's Uncle]

...I'm close to forgiving Tuvok for existing and being Tuvok and everything.  I don't know if that's me, or him...

There's internal continuity logic to having Chekov and Tuvok running Section (gag) 31, so not enough points to make up for using Section 31, but less lost.

[Mylochka]

And the character said that they couldn't communicate with Star Fleet because of interference in the atmosphere..?  What?  Are they using Charter Cable for their phone service or something?

BTW?  It's never impossible to communicate when your ship is covered with working running lights...

[Buster's Uncle]

That stuff was just weak.


In stores THIS week:

[Buster's Uncle]

SO - Chekov's finest part on screen ever, or just in the last 50 years?

[Valka]

I think I missed about five minutes of dialogue while I sat there tilting my head and saying, "Is that Sean Young?  Really?  Sean Young?  Man, she did really piss some folks off..."

Why the glasses?  Are future folks just not interested in curing eye problems?

Maybe, like Kirk, she's allergic to Retinax-5.

Or maybe it's an affectation. Some people actually wear glasses for fashion.

I was coming out of the 7-11 a few years ago, and a group of young women were in the parking lot. One of them started gushing about how she loved my glasses (the frames). I told her I'd gladly trade them if I could see without them.