Star Trek 2009 5*

Star Trek 2009 Preview
"In the first ten minutes, your heart breaks and then soars". Unexpected shocks bring fear or laughter, right after one another. Recognition of old friends, now young again. Fantasy feels real. (After this, old re-runs - (edited or full clips) cheesy out-dated theatrical over-acting, straining to life styrofoam rocks on likewise sets, rubber costumes - are funnier now.) What if your past were changed?

Star Trek: Into Darkness 2013 is coming. Preview. Recent TV rerun was cut for ads, of course. I forgot how stunning was Star Trek 2009. DVD can be paused, replayed, enjoyed, rediscovered via Extras, commentary. Every time this shows on TV, I watch again, always thrilled.

Original evocative horn solo rises triumphantly to eerie spaceship broadcast inside U.S.S. Kelvin. A lightning storm the day of our hero's birth is really an enemy attack by one massive vessel. Throughout, orchestrations, thrumming drums, and perfect sound effects add immensely. Everything is real - wide western Earth plains, volcanic planet Vulcan, high tech building yard, space station, atop an atmosphere high giant drill - and majorly funny, "cupcake". Lt Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) claims hand-to-hand combat expertise - fencing - we get swords clashing.

Gorgeous guys and girls? Our gung-ho jump-in hero may not be much of a team player, but stellar cast leads as a whole. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban) has a down-home Kentucky drawl to melt your "Bones". . He likes "the pointy-eared b-d" Virile joking Scotty admires the Enterprise "She's one well-endowed lady. I'd like to get my hands on her ample nacelles, if you'll pardon the engineering parlance." Onboard, "I like this ship! It's exciting!"

"If only .. ", the eternal cry of human distress. What if a better brighter future universe were threatened? If the present were wrong, painful? "Whatever our lives might have been .. our destinies have changed." Everything changes.
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Spoiling

Vengeful Nero (Eric Bana) intends to destroy all Federation planets, begins with the ship captained by the father of James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine). 25 years later, he demolishes the Vulcan home world of Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy). 129 years before, Spock arrived too late with red (color of danger and blood) matter "black hole device" (star bomber) to save Romulus.

Quibbles
1 Nero (Eric Bana) at 39 spent 25 years waiting for Spock minus 4 years in black hole (Spock mind-melds Kirk to "129 years ago") = working miner, impregnated wife @ age 10. If he was, say 20, he should now look 49, not 39. Maybe Romulans are long-lived, like Vulcans, and look younger? If young Spock is 22 (2009 Zachary Quinto b.1977), old Spock is 131 (78 Leonard Nimoy b.1931 - old looks old).
2 Why does Kirk hang around, fire everything at Nero, when the villain is already doomed by the singularity, thus endangering the Enterprise? Just so Spock can say "Not this time" to Kirk's "logic" and "compassion"?

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Spoilers

Whatever is bad can be worse. Laugh amid disaster. Everything can turn upside-down in a blink.

Triumphal music rises (again), the armada warps out. Except U.S.S. Enterprise stalls short .. saved by the delay. Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Anton Yelchin deliberately fakes) fails voice activation code on Russian accent "nine-five-Wictor-Wictor-two", but at 17, he can transport like Scotty. (Helen Mirren RED, who knew?). Interview transcript.
Spanish Wictor Wictor. Checkove is whiz with transporter.
Trying to save the Enterprise, Kirk fumbles with swollen sausage fingers and unintelligible numb-tongue. Captured, choking, Kirk is released just enough to gasp "I've got your gun". All is way funnier on screen.

Kirk, kid, takes fast right in step-dad's stolen car to avoid pursuing motorcycle cop .. who aerially cuts corner; car goes over cliff, kid rolls free. Meanwhile kid Spock beats down bully who calls human mother whore. He chooses to supress emotions, but discriminatory Science Academy panel during acceptance provokes new Spock to decline their admission for Starfleet, and girlfriend.

Snow blizzard hides a galloping animal, possibly rescue, that grows closer bigger, angrier, louder, hungrier. Kirk flees, but an even bigger beast attacks both. Kirk tumbles off a cliff, but the monster falls after, busts through cavern opening, ever pursuing. Scene.

Enjoying free fall, Olson delays pulling his chute, and dies, with all demolition charges to stop the invaders. Choking in hold of derisive Romulan, Kirk gasps out "I've got your gun". Icy calm Spock explodes into murderous rage when Kirk has to bait him to assume command, stopped only by Spock's father Sarek (Ben Cross, I never recognize his permutations).

I almost wish I were a real Trekkie, to see buried "canon" trivia. Spock seeks his parents in the Katric ark. Even today's culture has embedded references, especially hilarious TV Big Bang Theory, core four stars still expanding. Penultimate nerd Sheldon Cooper yells name of nemesis "Wheaton" like Kirk shouted "Khan!" Sheldon has nightmares of Gorn.

Every time Scotty beams warp-speed into Enterprise giant tubes, I hold my breath. Nope. Our gang is tough. Who knew Captain of pilot episode "The Cage" was a girl?

In my first year, my own pilot dad crashed his jet, so I have a special weakness for this back story of the Captain for 12 minutes who saved 800 lives. Star Trek 2009 has heart, body and soul.

Commentary

"In the first ten minutes, your heart breaks and then soars"
Kelvin, as in U.S.S., was JJ's grandfather, inspiration to make movies, # on ship his birthday
handrails on space-ship not on others, seems obvious now
Kirk's dad actor cast deliberately to resemble Kirk (Pine)
first day broke out in sweat, surrounded by big bald tattooed guys with swords
pregnant mom (Jennifer Morrison - Once upon a Time)
such a pity men deliberately included mom for their wives
I missed that uncle became step-father

in last 2 weeks made huge changes for better
Spock meets mom before Science Acadamy in real church
scripted speech pattern show "what Vulcan is"

Kirk's motorbike spokes removed, who noticed?
head bangs on low clearance first day added, echoes later when he ducks below
Star Trek Academy is Northridge Library http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/s/StarTrek2009.html

reveal of green-skin is hark-back to original
I did not recognize green-skin Gaila (Rachel Nichols) as Keira in Continuum and Scarlett in G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra = sign of better actors
all 3 in underwear for fun, bigger surprise when Spock already has girl
deleted Kirk sleeping with green girl to implant virus in test
Kobayashi Maru - Kirk eats apple to appear more cocky
listened to 40 years before for sound design

first sight of Enterprise - homage to other previous reveal
Uhura is peon in bowels until Kirk brings her to bridge
"Prod Nero" is supposed to be Praetor
every Trek team member needed critical role to win war & support others
Romulans speak English, huh.
red matter stays mystery till later

Spock: puzzled by "the complexity of human pranks"
Olson = red shirt #1
falling onto drill face close-ups falls = improv stand on mirror in parking lot
Falls out upside down, shake camera
sunlight outside is more realistic on film

problems mount, never rest,
like Raider's of the Lost Ark, Marion in spinning plane,
Sulu stabs both Romulans "swash-buckling vibe" stabs
minimize budget? shoot drill shoots

surprise when parachute breaks Nomayo real Soviet expression "Good borscht!"
Chekov's save beam is homage to beloved 1999 Galaxy Quest (me too! one of my few purchases)
"Never give up! Never surrender!"
Preview

slow motion only used twice, more effective: Spock leaves bridge, Spock lost planet
moving when Uhura kisses Spock "okay" because actress recalled own loss
comic book explains Nero losing planet? (removed 25 years in prison, whew)? what accent?

no deleted scenes (also whew)
Comics for Into Darkness
greatest compliment for actor is "unrecognizable" .. "not make-up, performance"

Spock boots Kirk "out of the chair" was improv on day
finally everyone all together for 40 years of fans and newbies?
true to canon and new
both Kirk and Spock right, same goal, different approach (Lennon & McCartney both lost parents young?)

Alaska 2nd unit plus paper snow in Dodger stadium
set up drill sequence at same time sent flakes over desert Vulcan
judicious cuss, one "Bullshit" to old Spock like Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom, single "Shit" at trouble
mind-meld bizarre vs lecture, "intentionally obtuse .. more impactful", balance exposition, too far confuses, just right elucidates
Spock: "Millions of lives lost because I failed", I disagree, chance and Nero killed, not Spock who tried his best
"Good luck" feels real "thrusters on full" Nimoy's own line

destiny, fate = removed Spock's line about coincidences "time-stream's way of mending itself"
real steam gushes in Budweiser plant location for underground substation tunnel
transwarped beagle shows up in novelizations?
had to fight budget for Scotty in pipes
Enterprise innards = Budweiser
Scott: "I like this ship! It's exciting!"

Spock hero too, embraces humanity when dad admits loved wife Amanda (Winona Ryder), and friendship with Kirk
first double profile shot of Spock and Kirks heads facing shows partnership
Nyota's first name not in canon
first Romulan on "squid ship" Norada is really brother of actor Zach
modulated voice of Will Wheaton
set like Lego, movable parts, one level felt like many

villain not super, blue-collar worker, no desire to kill big stars (or lesser)
everyone on film "best in the business .. top of the game"
courage theme cuts to Checkov's smile
silence judicious
only choir, singing nonsense
"money moment" = relief, not triumph, ball thrown ball around bases to everyone
Pike: "I am relieved" double entendre

big smile end
Nimoy asked to say line, chose "Thrusters on full"
given closing "Boldly go" motto

by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci
good fast constant input though I cannot tell voices apart,
till end, dwindles to blue balls, nada,
thanks to all "genius wizard .. best in the world",
"can't believe it worked" " they see more than once" "mission to get our wives" Gene Roddenberry's wife visited, supportive, voice of Starfleet computer, passed away before release, son phoned praise
"we should do a sequel"

Special Features

A New Vision:
most praise to JJ from others, fun to see faces, hear voices behind scenes
shows original Trek ep14 "Balance of Terror", slower paced Clip
faces of (so young), all guys but Zoë
Alex Kurtzman: add "rock and roll" to original classical

key "how do we make the spectacle feel real?" "root in reality" "old school" "40% location"
shoot widescreen, not digital, imperfections, grittiness, helate flares add life, miniatures
classic crew side lurch to "3-2-1 Boom"
physical shaking random rhythm always J.J. "black belt"
costume kids to make set look bigger on ice planet cave, sub-station corridor
last shot of Spock 14x, JJ has talent for big scope and intimate moments both

Gag Reel I laughed
Chris Pine voices over "boldly" motto, funny faces as credits,
bloopers, bleepers, clowning accidental and on purpose,
thrum dance beat on mikes
spill-your-guts insect misses Pike's mouth
Spock smashes Kirk into chair, Uhura smashes door
Fun real dancing

Previews:
1 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Optimus Prime "fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing"
2 GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra
Baroness: "this has only just begun"
3 TV Fringe
4 Star Trek DAC? multi-player game
Kirk: "Either we're going down, or they are"

Cast: / Enterprise crew
Cadet (First Officer, Captain) James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine)
Ambassador Old Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy)
Cmdr New Spock (Zachary Quinto)
Crew (member?) Ntoya Uhura (Zoë Saldana)
Dr Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban)
Lt Hikaru Sulu (John Cho)
Engineer Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg)
Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov (Anton Yelchin)
Capt Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood)
Nero (Eric Bana)

Setup
Languages: English, Francais, Espanol
Captions: English, Francais, Espanol

Previews
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
G.I Goe: Rise of the Cobra "this has only just begun"
Mashup 10 tense, explosive, scary clips

Columbiana

dvd "Columbiana" 3-4* not "like"-able, but does the job. Tough girl action hero expectation delivered in high revenge ferocity (though wary after horror previews). Cataleya ~10 (Amandla Stenberg) grows beliveably to 25 (Zoe Saldana). Child actor rarely matches adult so well. Suspense - when people relax, bored, chat without care, trouble is certain to explode. Trailer

X-rated, (F-rated?) for some curses, some blood, pain, crying, much threats - blinking red light with rising note represents bomb timer. Blood feud costs are older than Romeo and Juliet. Tad overly political correctness when heroine and FBI are darker skinned than nasty white CIA villain protector. Why does FBI want our hero(ine) when she eliminated the big and bad? CIA protects Luis Sandoval (Beto Benites), her clues were for the government to take him down. Niggles, oopsies. She's model skinny, don't see muscles she'd need, call her "lithe", overly exposed while men overdressed. Cuts and bruises would be more realistic, but that is not the purpose of this entertainment. Bit of brains to short out prison ventilators, but guns (and soft skin) are the focus(foci?).

The finale tinkle of shells on the ground sounded as if in my own room, from regular eensy TV. I wondered why Marco took off his glasses; fight scenes are rough and fast. (Ponytails always do seem a liability then.) "She's like mist under a door, like a mouse in the wall. She will never attack straight on, and you will not see her until it's too late." - Marco

Yellow urban highrise background make opening credits unreadable. Colombia 1962 goodbye drinks to "Ave Maria" song expect double-cross. Papa Fabio (Jesse Borrego) gives schoolgirl-tunic lollipop-licking Catelaya 9 small thing "your passport", address on note, and necklace with cattleya orchid; she sits at table wide teary eyes as multi-punctured parents gasp last. Marco (Jordi Molla) "good friend of your father" asks her for "that little thing that belongs to Don Luis". She knifes his hand onto table, runs, jumps, (gotta be doubles already) - big chase off and across roofs, down, through rooms, alleys, gardens, market, motocycle down stairs. Not your standard postcard scenery.

From first big brown eyed innocence, she demonstrates quick response, resources, gets herself across country to uncle Emilio ( Māori Cliff Curtis, Collateral Damage, Missing, Whale Rider), torturer, but music behind her tears confirms his "You're safe". To sounds of sirens and subways, her new life starts. Before she wanted to be Xena Warrior Princess, now "I want to be a killer. Can you help?" "Sure". She knows power of cash - gets ticket to Chicago, into school mid-year, but after that, irrelevant, only the size of her armory, fancy apartment security, and ease of travel and IDs hint at income.

In ending, she doesn't stop to open the gate for her truck; she doesn't expect to return. The glance to the dogs suggests they go too. Finally she's fully clothed. The image of her driving the giant truck impresses; doubt she really drove. As soon as she picked up two toothbrushes, my eyes scrinched tight, death bad enough mis-guessed. Dogs forgotten in fight for life. Surprise.

(Spoilers:
Bogata sewer first escape. In American agency, she vomits teensy tiny video "my passport". In Miami, she flees by loo window, pays to Chicago. California 15 years later, cop car crashed by girl wearing next to nothing showing bra, necklace gives away our girl, library card Valerie Phillips into cell. See vicious typecast thug Rizzo (Afif Ben Badra), guess assassination or jailbreak. She draws lipstick on victim's chest. CIA wants Rizzo to find who put his former wet-work partner Fabio's signature on 22 "bad-apple" murders in the last 4 years, uncle calls unprofessional "tag killings" endangering her and whole family. Next assignment, Ponzi embezzler fled to tropics, means swimsuits, skin .. and scary CGI shadows for sharks. All the MEN pursuing are overclothed, vests, helmets, she's almost naked, bare feet over everything.

Adult tiny figure, fingers in food, dancing around, lollipop - all deliberately say "kid". Front door ajar, dark apartment, man enters - "danger danger" - Cat is all grown up now, smoochy with tattooed artist hunk Danny (Michael Vartan) "You never finish a painting. You just stop working on it." "I know something you're good at finishing." (captions read: "you finish") She wants to be dessert; he wants more, feelings.

As soon as he shows pal phone photo while "Jen" slept, matchmaker pal sends to precint, SWAT easy prediction. Chance passerby recognizes flower drawn on victims is orchid for FBI James Ross (Lennie James). Marco lands in America. Dominoes are set to fall. I know how this goes - she loses everyone - they Suffer - but she gets her parents' killer with her last breath. Sweet end. "Will my little bird come back one day?" "Leave your window open and you'll see."

Niggles:
Why is her uncle not arrested after shooting up street? How does skin tight overall leotard fit under skin tight micro? Why does outfit not extend over fingerprints? Wouldn't security guard have bruise(s) from knockout? Hanging from pipe, her arms are bent, without muscle tension, should be straight, gives away wires holding. Leaving cop station, she pulls off transparent gloves that would have been visible on bare arms. In library (book store?), kicking books and sobbing would draw attention. Job2 Cat rolls onto ground, barefoots everywhere - unlikely. Why doesn't embezzler phone backup? Atop glass separating from sharks, no guess who is going down. Again, bailing her apartment, her feet are bare. Her resources and sources (uncle, apartment, tech) are gone, does she find FBI home and CIA office on regular coffee-shop internet? (A good editor would delete such scenes for slowing plot momentum.)

Finale. Shouldn't gloves cover (her) fragile knuckles? How did dogs get from truck to van? Why does Danny call Cat "bird", a flower; could be after a bird native to Columbia for this line to make sense, one that migrates? She carries nothing to the bus, gauzy shirt shows no gun at her back, tight pants hold maybe one credit card, traceable, no bulky cash. Signs and bus are in English; license plate is unreadable; color is orange like Columbia; where is she leaving from?)

Oopsies:
Glimpse of belt on Marco after Cat took it off in fight. Freeze frame proves goof, many times. Stunt double?
Dogs could not hear Cat over phone. How does "eat human" command work without practice? dummy? If any of 23, drawing devoured.
Cat says she was 9 when parents shot; credits say 10; director says 11 (actor or script?)

Aside: Filiming units in New Orleans and France, besides Chicago, Miami, Mexico, that is why "In Memoriam" to French sound guy, Francois Groult.

Extras:
1 Le Making of
Much translated from French. Triple goof - girl 11. Cat trained with LAPD SWAT cop, shot guns 8 hours in dungeon. Result shows, gun away from face. Weapon. explosions, choreography. Bang, boom, pow.
2 Catelaya's Journey
Again, director Olivier Megaton says girl is 11. Make up the mind boys. Brit accented Lennie James, four year chase, thought target man. Zoe, "she's a little terminator". American accented Amandla had fun; stabbed hand too hard with retractable knife; trained a week for running chase so not too sore.

Previews: ads for blue-ray discs Horror films Straw Dogs, The Rum Diary, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Retreat, Drive.