George Takei
So, apparently George Takei – who played Sulu in Star Trek and, unbeknownst to me, also had a part in Heroes – has had an asteroid named after him. That’s very nice, and appropriate and all. But what I really want to know is whether there is a lump of rock out there with the sobriquet Shatner? How about Nimoy? or Kelley? (Bones is one of my very favouritest characters, if I as a non-Trekie had favourite Trek characters…). I’ll bet there’s not a Koenig (Chekov), and would bet an even greater sum that there is no Nichols (Uhura – the girl, remember?).
Anyway, this post is brought to you courtesy of my viewing yesterday of Star Trek V, in my ongoing quest to see all of the old Star Trek movies, which is quickly approaching completion. I’ll post more on numero 5 later… since I really ought to be writing reports at this precise moment.
(It started off lovely and warm today, is getting cooler with approaching rain; I have music and the cricket on – which I notice has just been stopped for rain, in sunny Hobart – so if I have to be writing reports, it’s a pleasant way to do it).
50 First Dates
I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. In fact, as a general rule, I avoid them as though they had something hanging out of their nostrils.
I really like 50 First Dates. I don’t tend to like Adam Sandler, but he’s ok in this; Drew Barrymore is wonderful. The thing is, I can’t stand the advertising it gets. The DVD cover – and the picture they use to advertise it on TV – has Barrymore looking utterly vapid and stupid. It misrepresents her character, and – once you know the film – misrepresents her character’s condition, too.
Yes, things like this really irk me.
One step closer
Not to the end of LastShortStory, but towards another – perhaps as yet unstated – goal: to watch all of the original Star Trek movies, in order. I’m currently watching number 3: “The Search for Spock.” It’s pretty good… you know, for an ancient Star Trek movie… Christopher Lambert (I think? – the mad scientist from Back to the Future) is dreadful. Kirk is really very entertaining – I love that he knows everyone’s jobs better than they do; Bones is probably my favourite, I’ve decided.
It has also suddenly occurred to me that maybe the Vulcans have the upturned eyebrows because they’re meant to be elven? Amoral, long-lived… not sure too many people have written about the elves as being driven by logic, but there’s always a possibility.
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
I am watching it right now. I’d just like to say gosh they imagined the Enterprise as enormous.
And James T really does have a recognisable voice!
And… the effects look terrible, but probably brilliant for the time…
Ray
We got the movie Ray for Christmas, and we finally sat down to watch it on Sunday night. I loved it. Jamie Foxx is fantastic – I understand that Ray Charles approved him, before he died, which is cool. (It was weird to hear him sing a Ray Charles song and realise that it was the bit that he, Jamie Foxx, sang in a Kanye West song that I know I should dislike and… just… cant’t.) Most of the other actors were also really good – and it wasn’t half weird to realise that the dude who didn’t look all that old and actually had hair was, indeed, Toby (or Richard Schiff (West Wing) if you want to be pedantic).
It was a lot like Walk the Line, which I guess is unsurprising: they were two of the biggest stars of the latter half of the 20th century, and they both had drug habits that they managed to kick. The difference being that Charles’ wife stuck by him, and vice versa, whereas of course the big thing in Walk the Line is the love affair with June Carter. J thought they spent an awful lot of time on the heroin issue, and then it just ends – fft. I don’t think it spend too long on the drugs, although it was a significant portion of the movie – I think it jut reflects the reality of the situation – but, again like Walk the Line – it does end abruptly, too abruptly for me. Having seen him be a bastard to his family and lots of other people, I would have liked to see him in middle and later life: did he make it up to his family, or did he continue womanising? (He had 12 children, apparently, so….) I was left feeling like he was a great singer, and not that great a person, and I’m not sure how that’s how the director and producer wanted it. I did like, though, that it showed how the drug habit affected those around him, and how people reacted, rather than solely looking at its effect on him.
The other thing that I appreciated about this film was how they did the flashbacks. I thought it was very clever – and a lot more interesting than having a whole section on his childhood would have been.
Absolutely recommended if you like his music!
Movies I am looking forward to
Ocean’s Thirteen. woohoo!! I loved Eleven, thought Twelve was a bit average although it had a brilliant soundtrack – it let itself down – and, from the ad I just saw, it looks like Thirteen is going to go back to being smart-ass, sassy and very clever. I really hope so.
Die Hard 4.0. Oh. My. Goodness. A fourth?! Is Bruce Willis out of money? Hopefully, this will learn the lesson of Lethal Weapon 4, and be aware of the fact that its protagonist is too old for this sort of shit, and make jokes about that. But, seriously – more Die Hard?! It can only be good!!
Transformers. Hurry up already.
Shrek the Third. J hasn’t even seen the first yet. Bad; very bad. I really, really hope it’s as good as the first two… this is the sort of series that could very easily do a belly flop, though.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Looks very dark and very good. And I can’t wait for the last one to get published, so I can hurry up and read them….
Not Bridge to Terebithia. Boo hiss. Travesty of a marvellous book. More boos and hisses.
Not Nancy Drew, either. Gosh they were bad – although I loved them as a teenager (although Trixie Belden was better…). I read one at age 19 or so and just laughed myself silly. And then just recently I found out that they were syndicated – not written by the same person! (And same deal for Babysitters’ Club!). Oh the shock, the horror.
Pirates Mk 3
I enjoyed it. I really, really did. Despite the high school kids in front of us who thought it was a good idea to send texts in the middle of a film… texting I don’t mind, but the bright screen in the corner of my eye really bugged me.
It’s very different from the first. While the first was a jolly romp aimed at kids, with some funny lines and so on thrown in for their parents, this one is aimed much more at adults, I think. It’s still a jolly romp, but there’s not going to be that many 12 year olds who will be entirely happy at sitting through 3 hours, I would have thought. And Jack Sparrow in Davy Jones’ locker was pretty wacky even for me; I think someone in their early teens would probably just be bored by it.
All that said, it is still a jolly romp. Geoffrey Rush is magnificent – Barbossa just keeps getting more interesting (and we find out his first name!). Orlanda Bloom – well, Will gets more complex and devious, and a bit more angsty (and I don’t usually much like PrettyBoys, but gosh he’s pretty). Keira Knightley continued to mostly annoy me, but Elizabeth did have some interesting lines – and nicely choreographed fight scenes, too. Yun Fat-Chow was brilliant as Sao Feng; a bit stereotyped as Bad Chinese Dude, but then I guess many of the other characters are ‘typed, too. Finally, finally, after all the promises and rumours, Keith Richards does indeed make an appearance – complete with guitar – and very cool he is too. And Johnny Depp… well, mostly he was brilliant, as you’d expect. Sadly, though, there were times where I was just a little bored by him. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m just used to Jack Sparrow now, so it’s not new and outrageous, or if they really have toned him down a bit. Of course, he was still entertaining and fun, but I felt it lacked a little something. Maybe I can put it down to the exigencies of having been in DJ’s Locker.
As for the plot… sometimes it really annoys me when stories have that “Ta da! Something we never mentioned nor even hinted at before is now going to be crucial!” moment. And Pirates 3 has that. (Don’t worry, I don’t intend to spoil it… I haven’t seen any ads for the movie, so I have no idea what’s been revealed or hinted at there.) But I do understand that sometimes a big revelation is the easiest way to add drama and interest etc to a story, so people take that option. I quite liked the bizarro thing they added to the movie – not sure it entirely fit, but it was entertaining. And the conclusion… well. Completely unexpected, which in itself was completely unexpected.
Go see it. It’s good.
Dr Zhivago
I am watching this tonight, in bits and pieces, trying to find appropriate bits to show the kiddies tomorrow – preferably the parts about the Civil War, and the privations suffered under War Communism and the Bolsheviks. I would quite like to watch the whole thing – I think the only time I have was about a decade ago, and I remember liking it then… but it’s just so long! I simply can’t watch the whole thing tonight, and the thought of watching a 3-hour movie just seems too difficult these days.
Omar was quite devilishly handsome in his day. I’ve just got to the part where Zhivago is about to meet Lara… terribly exciting. Truly, it is a grand narrative.
Bride and Prejudice
Of all ridiculous things… this movie!
J is out for the weekend, so I got some girls over to eat and catch up, which was great, and we ended up watching Bride and Prejudice. It was hilarious… I generally find musicals very uncomfortable, for whatever reason, and I did a bit this one too, but it’s just so over the top and ridiculous and beautiful to look at that you can’t help but laugh and enjoy it.
Dr No
I read this for Popular Fiction when I was at uni, but I’d never seen the movie until last night.
I was really pleased to see that the standard Bond features of the opening sequence – the shot through the gun barrel, the silhouetted figures, etc – all started right back here; really does bring a lovely sense of continuity to the franchise.
As for the story… it was a bit different from how I remember the book. Ursula Andress (what a beautiful woman) has a perfect nose, unlike Honeychile in the book, which certainly changed her and Bond’s relationship. The action was a bit laughable, and the car chases were cringe-worthy. And if this was all the anthropology you were given, you would only ‘know’ that black people are always stupid, exist to obey White Man orders, and can be either good or bad; and Asians are always devious, cunning, and bad. And played by white people with bad make-up. Ouch.
Dr No himself is an interesting character. The reason I remember reading the book is because of an essay I wrote talking about how the villains are physically malformed somehow (No’s hands, and Lecter’s eyes in Silence of the Lambs), while the heroes are physically perfect. And really, No was always going to be a villain: a product of miscegenation (German and Chinese) and sin (a German missionary and a Chinese girl!). Poor lad never had a chance.
Overall… I did mostly enjoy it, if only for its historical value, but it really makes me doubt J’s occasional, continued push to buy the entire bck catalogue. The early Bonds just aren’t that good.
Randomly Yours, Alex 