(no subject)

[verity83]

So,

So it finally came to the Kuhn here in Lebanon so we went and saw it last night. Sat through four previews that made me groan, starting with Terminator and Transformers and ending with Harry Potter. So not in a hurry to see any of those.

Anyway, the movie was so over-the-top but enjoyable for the simple fact that the actors did a really good job impersonating the TOS cast without making a huge joke out of the whole thing. I felt that I could believe each of them would be the characters they ended up being later on. I think young Kirk had a big attitude problem, but to be honest I think his acting was way more convincing than William Shatner's. He was a bit of a jerk, but he acted the part really well and of course in the end managed to redeem himself by Saving the Day.

The alternate time stuff always confuses me, though, when it's all said and done.

Comments

[ruthette.livejournal.com]

It was a lot funnier than I expected. The whole "hamburger hands" scene where the doctor keeps giving Kirk shots in the neck about did me in.

And Terminator Salvation was really excellent (if you like that sort of thing, which I do).

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

ROFL... that part got me, too. I loved McCoy all around - I don't like him in the old TV shows, but he was HILARIOUS here!

[ruthette.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen episodes of Start Trek since I was a little kid staying at my grandpa's house over the summer, so I had no expectations whatsoever.

I can't tell if that heightened or lessened my possibilities for enjoyment.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I find that the old shows are delightfully hokey, but in a lot of ways really couldn't be compared to this movie just because they're made in different eras and ways of doing things have so drastically changed, especially in the action/special effects department. The movie was definitely more polished and flashy...

[ruthette.livejournal.com]

bojojoti said it was like the producers of Who Pimped My Ride got ahold of it -- ha ha ha!

[ruthette.livejournal.com]

...or possibly Pimp My Ride. I can't actually remember the name of the show.

But it was awesome.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I've never watched more than clips of that show, so I don't remember the exact title, but yeah. I can see the connection.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

*cackle*

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

Yeah! You saw the movie:)

I think it was well done, and even if Kirk was a little bit more of a jerk (So was Spock) I think it fits. HE's only 25, and hasn't had the same life growing up, which is both unfortunate and fortunate at the same time as he never had to witness the massacure on Talarous IV or whatever that planet was. But he did have to loose his father at an early age, and I don't think his step-dad was a glowing father-figure.

McCoy rocked. TO be honest, I liked all the characters very well, although I wish we had seen more of Uhura being the intelligent comminucations expert and less of Uhura being the Commander's girl-friend.

And I would have loved to actually have seen Christine Chapel.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I loved McCoy. And Spock was a jerk, too... I guess that actor didn't impress me that much one way or another. He wasn't a bad actor, but neither did I feel much connection to Spock the way I do when Nimoy plays him.

I did think the subplot of Uhura/Spock was weird. It seemed to come out of nowhere almost...

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

Well, Spock in the movie is supposed to be younger then the Spock of the show. He's more confused on where he stands emotionally/logically.

As for U/S, there were hints at it on the show, but it was never anything major. Poor Uhura has had a shippy-ish scene which pretty much everyone except McCoy and Chekov.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen enough of TOS to be super-familiar with all that happens, although every once in a while we watch them on YouTube.

I always did find it sad that in the show Uhura really didn't have anything solid to do with her role except sit there and be pretty and capable in her job. That's one thing I like about TNG - they developed the female characters sooooooo much more.

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

I think she was more devolped in the movies and books. The problem with TOS the show is that other then Spock, Kirk and McCoy they really didn't go majorly into the characters' skills. The movies got better character depth.

But then the only season I know I've seen the majority of is Season 1. The other two I might have missed major episodes for the other characters.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Yay, I'm glad you saw it! I saw it about 10 days ago and I *loved* it. Even my mother loved it. I am bound and determined to see it at least twice more before it's out of the theaters. And the soundtrack? Really made of awesome, and I'm a lifelong soundtrack conosseiur.

the actors did a really good job impersonating the TOS cast without making a huge joke out of the whole thing.

I know, it's really incredible. My mother was pointing out things I hadn't noticed, too.

And McCoy, by the way? LOVE.

The more I think about it, the more I really, really love the alternate timeline thing. Besides being fascinating in and of itself (at least to me), it allows the franchise to have a whole 'nother direction to take off in, no limits. And because the alternate time took off 25 years earlier, what would be seen as discontinuities or inconsistencies with what's already "canon" aren't an issue. From technology to characters, it's not the same because they aren't supposed to be the same, they couldn't be the same. This Kirk isn't supposed to be that Kirk, this Spock isn't supposed to be the that Spock. They're reinvented, yes, but with complete legitimacy. Man, I like it so much. Major, major props for excellent storywriting. It's not just a clever trick; it holds the whole thing together and winds it up for another life.

Edit: I forgot to add that the part in the cave when the guy turns around and it's Spock? Goosebumps. Again with the time thing, it's not just a nice cameo; it's really him! \o/

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

The alternate time - yes, it does open up a whole new door. It seems like there was a TNG movie where they did something similar, but I can't remember which one or how exactly it worked. It's a grand concept, but one I have difficulty wrapping my head around until I've seen the film enough times.

At first I thought the guy in the cave was Spock's father - I was thinking, "Oh, maybe (young) Spock dropped Kirk on this planet on purpose" - though why he'd also send his father there I wasn't clear or what he was intending they'd accomplish.

But then he turned around.

Gotta admit I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the soundtrack, which is probably saying a lot in its favour - because if the music is bad or jarring, I generally notice that.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any TNG movies, but I think I heard rumblings about a time change thing in one. It is indeed a grand concept, and I didn't get the full impact until I'd been thinking about it for a while.

Ha, me too! It wasn't logical, and that's as far as I got. ;)

I didn't notice the soundtrack much, either, except a couple times like when it was building for the opening title, or at the end when we got the old theme. Byron bought it a week ago, though, and I've been listening a lot since. There's some pretty amazingly-written stuff in there, a lot of chords going in and out of resolution, and extremely well-done choral bits. I wish I knew how to better describe it. I've long listening to John Williams' stuff, among others, and in the last few years I've come to think they sound a lot the same. But this one is good.

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

I think you two are thinking about First Contact, where-in the Borg change time and the Enterprise crew has to go back and make sure time goes the way it should. And they suceeded, but not without some change (ie Cochrine telling stories about the borg at a commencement speech and leaving an empression on Archer).

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I have seen "First Contact", but it was LONG time ago! One of these days I'll have to see it again.

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

You should. Its one of my favorites. Its especially a good one for Picard and Data fans. And even includes The Doctor from Voyager (or Mr. Woolsey as I know him better as).

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I just looked up all the TNG movies... "Generations" had a bit of time alteration, too... That could be what I'm thinking of since I saw that one more recently...

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

Not really. Time wasn't changed at all. Kirk was stuck in a nexus which had him in some kind of dream world where time went by very slowly, but other then that, the timeline remained the same.

The Voyage Home had time travel, Where they altered time by bringing the whales home.

*thinks* There was a couple episodes of TNG involving Time alternation.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. Like I said, I've only seen them each once and they're all kind of fuzzy and mixed up in my head! :-)

I love "Voyage Home".

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

I think the Voyage HOme is everyone's favorite of the TOS movies. That or The Wrath of Khan.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot of people say Wrath of Khan is good, but I haven't seen it yet. I think Dan has it, though.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Now, that I *have* seen. My mother maintains it's the best. (Of the original movies, I guess.) I sure liked it a lot. (I have to confess we think Voyage Home is rather on the silly side!)

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I think that's part of why I like it - because it is lightweight and just... fun. But yeah, it's hard to take it seriously if thinking too deeply about it.

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

Well, most people say the best movies are the even numbered ones, but I don't think it really makes a difference. but then I was always more likely to rewatch TNG films.

They have the ST Trilogy set out (The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock, and The Voyage Home) in a set.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

That does ring a bell. Thanks!

[ladybeth.livejournal.com]

It was my favorite of The TNG films:)

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

I think it always helps to listen to a soundtrack isolated from the film. You pick up on nuances you don't always hear when you're distracted by the motion...

I think my favourite TNG movie is "Insurrection". It's not so much an action movie, but it's a really good story. I've really liked all of them, though (except the ending of "Nemesis" had me bawling my EYES out).

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

That is very true, and it's a big reason why I want to see it again so badly now. Listening to the soundtrack for a week did it. And then when you know the music, you can anticipate what's coming - or remember it just as it happens - and get that much more flavour out of it.

The first soundtrack I really got to know was Raiders of the Lost Ark. My father has always been a soundtrack fan, so he has a lot of 1970s LPs; but Raiders was one of the cassettes he had. I memorized that thing. It must have been at least a decade until I even saw the movie, although I saw The Last Crusade a few years earlier. I can't describe how thoroughly awesome it was to watch Raiders and recognize piece after piece. *happy sigh*

Thanks for the rec on Insurrection! How much do the movies depend on each other? The boys just re-rented Search for Spock and I was glad I remembered what happened before it.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

They don't really depend on each other the way the TOS-character movies seem to overlap and such. The TNG ones pretty much stand alone - I haven't had trouble following them not having watched in order... as long as you know the characters, you're fine.

BUT... "Nemesis" is the last one and I think should be watched last...

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Ah, very good to know. Thanks!

[laughingmagpie.livejournal.com]

I've seen this movie and kinda sort liked it too ;-)

I noticed and loved the score from first viewing. One thing I noticed and really liked was how the original TOS theme never got going until the end, but there were moments that it almost happened. I especially noticed that just after Kirk and McCoy's shuttle takes off, just after they meet. I think they used an incomplete tease of the theme a couple times to mark points along the way to the crew being together - and, like the crew, the theme never comes to completion until the final scene.

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting point! I guess I didn't really notice that... probably because at the end it jarred me to realise, "Oh, yeah, duh - of course the closing credits aren't going to have the TNG theme."

The original theme has been running through my head all day, though. It's craaaazy.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

BTW, the new theme is extremely catchy. It was in my head after hearing it maybe three times. It rapidly drove my mother nuts, too. (She's not a music fan, but she endures it for the rest of us.) Even Byron commented on it. We had a Music Man rehearsal on Sunday evening, and it was running in our heads up to the minute we started singing. And within minutes of leaving? It was back!

[butterbobbin.livejournal.com]

:-p The story of my life...

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

Yes yes YES to all the soundtrack comments. It builds and almost gets there, but it isn't; and yet it's not a disappointment. And then when it actually does happen, it's Yay! We're home! This is how it's supposed to be! I love it.