Star Trek, 2009, School’s Out!

Now that school is out and finals are over I can continue to devote time to adding things to the good ole movie review blog. I’d also like to encourage all of the people who read this who feel like they have opinions about the goodness of movies they watch to start or restart or get working on their own blogs because movie reviews should be a community thing. With that said, The Dark Knight was a bad movie.

I would also like to take this time to hawk The Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion which is an amazing record that just came out, you should check it out, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Yet its still recognizeably comforting. Check it out here.

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I had the amazing opportunity to eat lunch with Ang Lee and producer James Schamus this semester. No, it’s not because I have a movie review blog, it was a raffle that I somehow won. In retrospect it was a good lunch, but I certainly regret not ordering more, as it was all paid for by the College of Letters and Sciences. I should’ve just ordered every entree. Or maybe see if they’d get me wine? Whatever, having free steak for lunch was pretty good. It was in the swank faculty club too, for all I know Robert Oppenheimer used to dine in the seat I sat in. Actually for all I know they just bought that chair. Whatever.

Yeahhhh!! Free food and Ang Lee and some other people. He had tandoori chicken for lunch, with tea, and cherry pie for dessert. I never figured Tiawanese movie directors would be into something as American as Cherry Pie…

And now some reviews

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– STAR TREK – (2009)

Dir: JJ Abrams; Star:Chris Pines, Zachary Quinto
JJ Abrams takes control over the long running series, steering it in a new direction with old characters, but with a new outlook. It’s as if the characters we’ve known and loved are simply re-realized with modern sensibilities. The story is clever and sets up an entire new series of films that are separate.. yet similar.. to those of the original series, so really the possibilities are endless. It essentially has to do with Romulans, and the rise of young James Kirk as he meets his friends who we should all recognize. Abrams and the cast really pull through and build off the characters who have already been developed to really build sympathy right from the start. The special effects are outstanding as expected, and Abrams actually tries to simulate the soundless-ness of space, for the first time in a Star Trek movie, although he folds to mainstream appeal and slowly has sound creep in. There’s a surprising amount of humor hear, which works well with the vivid, buoyant characterization and slam-bang action, all with enough back story and reintroduction of past elements that forshadow other episodes of the series. A high caliber entertainment and a great entry to the Star Trek Saga.

– MY WINNIPEG- (2007)

Dir:  Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin’s autobiographical self proclaimed docu-fantasia is really a look at his hometown (Winnipeg) and his childhood which he populates with myth and fantasy creating a sense of nostalgia akin to anyone’s nostalgic affection for their childhood home. Except Maddin’s nostalgia is dark, mystical, and vividly cinematic. A post-modern tour-de-force that blends archival footage, recreation, poetry, and a metaphorical train ride. Maddin tries to film his way out of the town where sleepwalkers walk and horses freeze in the river only to become the destination for star crossed lovers. He utilizes a slew of techniques from a variety of genres to make a film that’s equal parts film noir and surreal, all within the frame of documentary. In doing so Maddin has evoked emotion and mood as never before realized in film, where interesting embellishments are more fascinating than truth and the psyche is blurred with reality. My Winnipeg is a film like none other, one that astounds the mind with its persistent barrage of artistic imagery and determined narration, and one that provokes a mood of mysterious nostalgia that is strangely comforting. A genreless, timeless masterwork by a filmmaker at the top of his creative game.

– FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL – (2008)

Dir: Nicholas Stoller; Star:Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
Oh Judd Apatow, why are your movies soo good? This is of course no exception, with a perfect blend of comedy and sentimentality that is as fresh as writer/star Jason Segel’s presence here. Segel plays a guy whose girlfriend breaks up with him, so he goe sto Hawaii to recover only to find out that his ex is staying at the same hotel! Brand is fantastic as the ex’s new boyfriend, a silly charicature of British pop stars caught up in their ridiculous extravagance (dats terribOW!). Hits all the right notes, an undeniably funny movie.

– SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK – (2008)

Dir: Charlie Kaufman; Star:Phillip Seymour Hoffman

** This review was updated 7/22/10

Hoffman is a genius playwright who cannot come to peace with his existence.

We spend our whole lives searching for meaning within ourselves, motivated by and motivating those around us, but never to get anywhere at all, and really we are all alone with ourselves, our thoughts, our beings. Except this is the same for everyone, everywhere, no matter how small or how important they are. We are all alone. Together.

This movie is much, much, much, much better the second time. It is an astounding work.

– NICK AND NORA’s INFINITE PLAYLIST- (2008)

Dir:  Peter Sollett; Star:Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
I’m not quite sure why this movie was made.. It’s essentially about a teenager in New York City who breaks up with his girlfriend and finds a new one in one night while trying to find some band named “Fluffy” which is playing somewhere in the city (A band with that name would never be popular..). Sound like a good plot? No? Well, that’s because it isn’t, if you could even call it that. The characters are underdeveloped, shallow, and predictable, thanks mostly to the terrible screenplay. For all I can tell the film climaxes with a hand job, literally, no pun intended. That’s some good writing, guys.  Gooood writing. The best character here is probably New York City, whose vibrance is somewhat decently captured in this short night. It also features this -faux indie rock soundtrack that plays throughout, yes even over conversations, that makes it all feel like some sort of disgusting prolonged introduction. You can tell the producers were trying to tap into that “Indie”-core audience that Juno snagged last year, and this isn’t one twelfth the movie that was. A waste of time.

– TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE- (2007)

Dir:  Alex Gibney
Oscar winning documentary about the torture of prisoners in US detention camps during the War on Terror, revolving around an innocent taxi driver who was tortured to death in Afghanistan, although grand in its scope covering torture of all kinds and the abuse of human rights by US leadership. Supported by a slew of testimonials and cases that are relentlessly shocking. A frighteningly difficult film to watch that seems all the more so important because it is.

– RELIGULOUS- (2008)
Bill Maher’s documentary against religion attacks the issue by depicting an endless series of various religions at their most ridiculous, allowing his comedic wit to come through all in the effort to promote reason instead of blind faith. Pointed and well conceived, albeit a relatively standard treatment. Maher is equal parts funny and annoying, and the film itself may seem a little lax at times due to his style, but the message is sharp.

– AMERICAN TEEN – (2008)

Nanette Burnstein’s “documentary” following a few stereotypical kids (the jock, the nerd, the artsy girl etc) through their senior year in high school. There’s a certain level of contrivance and manipulation at play, but the emotions feel uniquely real, and the whole thing is compulsively watcheable. Their personalities are so varied but it’s the common bonds between the players  that hits the strongest. If you don’t go into this expecting a hardcore documentary, you’ll probably find it to be a rewardingly different experience.