Year of 100 Films: 26 Star Trek

It will come as NO surprise to anyone who reads this, that I’m a trekkie. (I don’t do the whole trekkie/trekker debate, I am what I am) Since I saw the pilot to Star Trek the Next Generation back in 1988. I love the utopian vision of a humanity that has got it’s shit together. I love the tech, the stories and the scope of what tales can be done. But it’s not 1966 any more and sometimes people want to update some things, hence 2009’s Star Trek by J.J. Abrams. This film recast the characters from the original series with current/younger actors including Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike, Chris Pine as James T Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Zoe Saldana as Nyota Uhura, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg as Montgomry Scott and the late Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. There was also non-crew casting of Ben Cross as Sarek, Winona Ryder as Amanda Grayson, Eric Bana as Nero, Rachel Nicholas as Gaila, Jennifer Morrison and Chris Hemsworth as Kirk’s parents and Leonard Nimoy as an older Spock.

Plot: In the 23rd Century, Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, exploration and peacekeeping are handled by Star Fleet. One ship, the USS Kelvin encounters a huge Romulan ship, captained by a man calling himself Nero. Nero disables the Kelvin and demands it’s captain come across in surrender. Nero is looking for a man called Ambassador Spock, when the captain admits he doesn’t know, he is killed, leaving Lt. Kirk in command. Kirk orders an evacuation, including his wife who is in the midst of labour. Lt. Kirk then flies a suicide run to disable the other ship, long enough to cover the evacuation, born on one of the shuttles is Kirk’s son, who he lives long enough to name, James. Years later, on Vulcan, we see a half human/half vulcan called Spock, struggling to assimilate both sides of himself and eventually decides to leave his home and join Starfleet, rather than deal with the near-racist sneers from his father’s people.

We then meet James later, a smart, but angry child who grows into an angry adult, who’s met by Christopher Pike, a captain in Starfleet, who points out that Kirk’s father was captain of a ship for only minutes and saved hundreds of lives, he dares Kirk to do better. So, on a dare an angry James T Kirk joins Starfleet along with a friend he makes on the shuttle there, Dr Leonard McCoy.

3 Years later and over 20 years since the Kelvin incident and Kirk is in his final days at Starfleet Academy, when he takes the unbeatable Kobiashi Maru test, when he beats it, he has to face it’s designer when accused of cheating, that’s when he meets Spock. Then Vulcan is calling for help. The graduating class are all put into service, being assigned to ships, except Kirk, but he’s sneaked onto the flagship ,the USS Enterprise (where Uhura, Chekov and Sulu are already serving) by Bones. When he wakes he tries to warn the ship that they’re heading into a trap, since the reports are identical from the day he was born. Nero has come to Vulcan. By being late in leaving, the Enterprise is spared the massacre committed on the rest of the fleet and Nero again calls the captain to negotiate a surrender. Pike gets Spock to take command and puts Kirk in the number 2 spot. The mission goes badly and using some illdefined tech, Nero destroys Vulcan. Spock saves as many as he can, but while he saves his father and many of the elders, he loses his mother. Things fall apart further as Nero leaves and Kirk wants to go after him, knowing that Earth may be his next stop. Spock removes Kirk and abandons him on a nearby planet. On this nearby planet, Kirk meets the older Spock, who explains the plot. Near the end of the 24th Century, Romulus’ sun explodes, Vulcan sent their fastest ship along with the gravity altering red-matter (the same stuff that just destroyed Vulcan) to save the planet, but get there too late. The attempt opens up a black hole, dropping Nero and Spock in the past, about 20 something years apart. Spock takes Kirk to a nearby outpost, where they find Montgomery Scott. Spock (the older) shows Scott the formula for transwarp beaming that he won’t invent for 20 years and they use it to get back onto the Enterprise to usurp Spock’s command and take the Enterprise to try to save Earth, now with everyone aware that this is new timeline, with different histories over the last quarter century. In the end, this younger crew find a way to save the day and work as a team doing it. With Pike saved, then promoted, James T Kirk is promoted to Captain and brings on Scotty and Spock, after the younger Spock meets his elder/alternate self. The film ends at the start of a five year mission.

Notes: The last Trek film was Nemesis, which was bad. It had the usual cast of the Next Generation as well as Tom Hardy and Ron Perlman and yet, was bad. So we needed something to be done differently. The cast do well and we get new and interesting interpretations of these classic characters. Everything looks fine, it’s all cool and shiny (we’re going to ignore the lens flares) and the action is amazing and one that level, this is a fun, action oriented sci-fi film with familiar characters. But the problem is, it is called Star Trek and this film is not Star Trek.

Star Trek is thinking sci-fi that looks at universal ideas, or contemporary ideas through a future lens and speaks to the highest ideals of humanity. This doesn’t. That’s not to say it’s a bad film, but it is bad Trek. Where is the intelligent solution, where is the analogue for something we recognise? Where’s the message, where’s the hope? As Trek it’s a 4/10, but outside of that it’s a fun couple of hours that anyone can enjoy. 8/10

5 for Friday 24: Warmer nights ahead

Hi there internet people, it’s been a hell of a couple of months and have struggled to find my five, but I have to, because we all need to feel that better things are ahead.

1: Walking the dog in shorts.

By that I mean I was wearing shorts, the dog was just in her harness. Last night, I took the dog on a nightly walk. She’s struggled with it since last summer and the later evenings have helped get her back to a routine of walking, without her anxiety going ape, going from shirt, jacket and jeans on a walk to t-shirt and shorts, that’s been a nice and more comfortable walk.

2: Games

My son has become obsessed with the game Fortnite. Which as far as I could see was a sandbox based shooter, but thanks to him I see as a platform for many types of games sort of stitched together. There are puzzley stuff, a lego sandbox game and there’s also a futuristic racing game. My boy is good at the shooty stuff, his mother at the lego things, but the racing, that’s me. It’s nice to be good at something and enjoying it as a group.

3: Remember it!

By and large, I am sceptical of reboots and revivals, so when the house of mouse announced a revival of their 90’s X-Men animated series, I was……less than enthused. But me and my boy did a re-watch of the first 5 seasons and from their watched the first few episodes and we’re up to date as of Wednesday night. Quick capsule review…. it’s good! High class animation, sharp writing and original and new voices for the cast and it was a massive step up for the series, now renamed as X-Men’97. Somewhere around episode 6 an event happens and characters are killed. My son, now 13 was genuinely moved and upset. Having to wait a week for an episode is a positive, when they are worth waiting for.

4: Work as been ….. less awful

It’s been rough, tax year end done with a severe cold and the first month of the year short-handed, it’s been rough and I’ve had to will myself to go to work every day. But after a good few rough days, I feel like I’ve turned a corner. Things have been better the last day or so and that’s worth noting.

5: I feel okay.

It’s not much, but I’ve felt so under it recently, anxious and defensive and feeling like my life is just about to spin out of control. But is it though? Couple of decent nights sleep, some sitting off at the weekend and I’m realising that the positives are just as easy to see. My son is being recognised for his efforts in school, he shows me all the time how good a person he is and how lucky I am to be in his life. Life is always a little bit better than you think it is and that can inspire you to move forward.

So that’s my five and I walk into the weekend with a smile. Whatever you do internet people, find your five, they’re easier to find than you think and more needed than you know. My love to you all.

Year of 100 Films: 27 – The Equaliser 2

This 2018 sequel was directed by the same director and had the same lead in Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington. It also had a returning Melissa Leo and Bill Pullman with new additions Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders and Johnathan Scarfe.

Plot: After the events of the previous film, Robert McCall is living two lives, one is a lyft/uber driver being part of people’s lives and being the reliable stand-up guy he was before. He also helps out in other ways, helping reunite a mother and daughter, avenging a rape victim and keeping local artist Miles from getting involved in gang violence. He’s happier, helping people and also living the quiet life he sought. Then when his last friend from the old days is killed, McCall has to find her killer amongst old friends who thought he was dead and now seek to put him in the ground personally in a third act taking place at the home Robert shared with his departed wife.

Notes: So here’s the thing, there is nothing at all wrong with this film. The story starting with our protagonist rescuing a child from her kidnapper on a train, to his new life in a new building is all well and good. There are a couple of action set pieces where he gets to dispense justice and the main plot is interesting as past and present collide. But, the first one is better. This isn’t bad, but it isn’t as good as the last one. The action scenes are very good, the third act takes place during a hurricane and it all works really well, but the last one was better and it’s hard to avoid the comparison. If I ever watch these films again (they made a third one, so that’s a maybe) I’ll watch something else between the two. All in all, if you like the last one, you’ll like this one and not being as good, still makes it 8/10

Year of 100 Films: 28 – The Equaliser

Another recommendation from the MIGHTY Rosie was this 2014 adaptation of the TV show The Equaliser.

This film had strong cast centred around Denzel Washington (as former covert operative Robert McCall) and included Chloe Grace Moritz, Marton Csokas, David Harbour, David Meunier, Johnny Skourtis, Vladimir Kulich, Melissa Leo and briefly Bill Pullman.

Plot: Widower Robert McCall has left his former life behind and is living a small life, working in a US version of B&Q in Chicago. He’s kind to his neighbours, helpful with his colleagues in work and since he can’t sleep is a regular at an open all hours cafe near his home, where he often is found reading a book. One of the other regulars is call girl called ‘Teri’ who is working for the russian mob, when she is badly beat up, Robert wants to help and offers to buy her contract for just under $10,000. This amount seems to be all of the money he has, when that negotiation descends into the threat of immediate violence, we learn what Robert used to do. In under a minute all of the people in the room with him (about 4 or 5) are dead. When the russian syndicate they worked for investigate it starts a chain of events that leads to a war between a criminal gang and a guy who sells tools and lumber, when the criminals start targeting people close to Robert, it’s kill, or be killed.

Notes: I always enjoy the sub-genre of action films that boil down to “you don’t know who you just messed with”. They are often fast paced and get going almost immediately and this film ….. didn’t. There’s tons of set up as we see a grieving man battling OCD trying to live a life without the person who made that worthwhile for him. He’s reading the books that she wanted to read and tries to be a good man. The build up to the action scenes are paced incredible well and nothing feels rushed. When the film turns, it seems to happen just at the right time and as a result the impact of the visceral fight scenes is greater. It plays with ideas of redemption, or second chances and also with our own natures. It’s an understated performance added to decent enough action and this was overall a very satisfying action film that came as a wonderful surprise. 9/10

Year of 100 Films: 29 – Top Gun: Maverick

It’s hard to imagine that watching Top Gun, just days before wasn’t building towards watching this, a sequel to a film, seemingly made for nostalgic reasons. Knowing a few people who had seen it, I asked for opinions and the one I got most often was “it’s actually good”. This wasn’t encouraging, but all three of us wanted to give it a go, so we sought it out. It was released in 2022, directed by Joseph Kosinki and had a cast of Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Bashir Salahuddin, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Glen Powell and reprising their roles Val Kilmer as Admiral Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazinsky and Tom Cruise as Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.

Plot: Many years after the events of the movie and his heyday, Pete Mitchell is a test pilot, never really promoted above Captain, he is a pilot who refuses to be anything other than a pilot, when his test plane project is shut down in favour of drones, he steals the plane and does the test successfully, only to crash the bird once he as always pushes to hard. Rather than be kicked out as he probably should be, he’s brought in to teach a new generation of combat pilots how to pull of a mission to prevent a airbase being completed and destabilising Europe. It doesn’t go well as Maverick isn’t a teacher and the pilots are as full of themselves as he was. Back at the old airbase, he finds himself at a local bar with an old flame running it and she doesn’t have time for him, nor do his COs at the base. On top of all that is one of the pilots, Rooster, being the son of Goose who blames him not only for his father’s death, but tanking his chances to join the Navy years earlier.

Now he has to prove himself as a pilot, as a teacher and a man and he’s not doing well at any of them. The final problem is that he looks like he’s the best person to lead this mission, which does not have good odds of survival for the pilots. Now looking like the last of an old breed of pilots, can he win the girl, make peace with the son of Goose and mourn the loss of his friend and often saviour, Iceman.

Notes: I don’t know who was asking for this film. It looks entirely set up as a nostalgia-fest, much like the Ghostbusters film from a couple of years ago. But honestly it did seem to have something to say. Maverick was the hot shot up and comer, but now a generation has gone by and he’s the old guard. He still has the stuff, but he’s out of place in a Navy that’s relying less on people and more on tech and he’s an analogue hero in a digital world. He has to deal with all the mistakes he has made and all the missed opportunities. Whilst we do have a whole bunch of new pilots and co-pilots (Phoenix, Fanboy, Bob and Hangman along with others) really this is about Pete Mitchell’s midlife crisis and quest for relevance. Of course he’s the only man who can do the mission, or course he’s going to go back for the man he left behind and of course he’ll win the day because of who he is and despite it, but this film does showcase that there’s a cost to this. Maverick has been the hotshot rebel\ who plays by his own rules, but that’s cost him advancement, kept at the rank of captain, whilst his top gun rival was a fleet admiral. He’s given his life to the Navy, costing him more than one chance to be happy. He tried to spare his best friend’s son from dying like his father, only to create resentment between them.

This film raises questions, but doesn’t really go out of it’s way to answer any of them, it raises them around the plot and lets you carry them on. In a world that’s become more mechanised and digitalised, is there still a place for a more old fashioned and seat of their pants hero? If not, should we make one? Do we need heroes like that still?

I was not keen to watch this, feeling that Cruise is somewhat over-rated and many of his films are formulaic and lack substance, this is a sequel to one of those, but it is deeper than that and overall a really satisfying watch. It’s worth checking out and my saying that was quite a surprise. 8/10

Year of 100 Films: 30 – Jason and the Argonauts

This 1963 bank holiday perennial was directed by Don Chaffey and had a cast which included Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, Laurence Naismith, Niall McGinnis, Honor Blackman, Jack Gwillim, Douglas Wilmer, Nigel Green, Bill Gudgeon and a pre-Doctor Who Patrick Troughton.

Plot: After his family is murdered by a treasonous usurper, Jason lives in exile, but returns to take his kingdom back from King Pelias. Jason is convinced by Pelias (without knowing that’s who he is) to go and retrieve the Golden Fleece, on an island at the end of the known world. He helps him get a ship builder to build him a ship as well as a crew of the greatest heroes of the time (including Heracles, going by the roman name of Hercules) and they set off with Acastus working as a double agent.

On Olympus, Hera takes interest in Jason’s plight and wants to help, Zeus plays against her and they each take turns putting aid and obstacles in their way. They travel to an island guarded by the metal man Talos, then another where harpies torment a starving man. They travel through treacherous rocks and recover Medea, the last survivor of a ship from the island they are heading too. There are betrayals and violence as Jason and his men face the Hydra to get the fleece and then an army of skeleton warriors to escape the island and return to claim his throne.

Notes: This is another bank holiday film, weirdly not one we watched on a bank holiday. This was a sort of companion piece to Clash of the Titans, despite the only thing they both had in common was that both of them had a special effects department that was one guy called Ray. The actors aren’t the stars, the story isn’t the star, the star is the effects by Ray Harryhausen. From the Hydra, to Talos and the skeleton warriors, these effects while dated, had an abundance of charm. It added value to a film that would have little to recommend it. With my son being currently obsessed with Greek Myth, it was an easy win and am glad he enjoyed it. Overall it’s a bank holiday classic for a reason and it’ll come out again am sure. 6/10

Year of 100 Films: 31 – Top Gun

Though not his first film, this 1986 Tony Scott film can be considered the film that turned Tom Cruise into a superstar. It has an iconic status in 1980’s films and has been joked about and lampooned so often, but I don’t actually remember the film itself, so I fixed that. The cast is quite a murderer’s row with Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt, Tim Robbins, Michael Ironside, James Tolkan, Kelly McGillis and Val Kilmer.

Plot: After a crisis in a plane costs a pilot his career, second place pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and his co-pilot Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw are given the chance to join the US Navy’s advanced training course, known colloquially as Top Gun. Cocky and abrasive, Maverick doesn’t fit in around the rest of the pilots, especially his main rival ‘Iceman’. Maverick meets Charlie, a government specialist working with the Navy and the two begin an affair. There’s then a visit from Goose’s wife and son. Part way through the training there is an accident, Maverick is able to get out of the cockpit, but Goose hits the canopy and dies before he hits the water. This takes Maverick out of the game for a while, losing the race to be #1 at Top Gun. This takes a back seat in importance as a mission comes up, this class must work together and get the job done.

Notes: There’s a routine by the comedian Rich Hall about the plot of many Tom Cruise films and the formulaic nature of them. This is kind of the start of that. We get the talented hero, the fall from grace, the love of a good woman and the return to greatness and victory. But that said, this isn’t bad. Is it a bit jingoistic? Yes. Is it a bit homoerotic? Just a touch, but this is better than you expected it is. The film hinges on the relationship between Mav & Goose and in that, it works wonderfully. Edwards and Cruise sell the idea of best friends, despite being in very different points in their lives. When Goose dies, the film finds it’s pathos and you’re in it for the rest of the film. The film is beautifully shot, the aerial sequences are gorgeous and it has a blockbuster feel to it, it’s a film that’s so known, it gets overlooked and I’m glad that I finally got to it and would recommend it to everyone.

Is it a bit thin plot wise? Yes. Characterisation is very low level, but it fits with the time it was made, its gung-ho action and well made gung-ho action and despite it’s flaws, it is worth trying. 7/10

Year of 100 Films: 32 – The Princess Bride

This 1987 bank holiday classic, directed by Rob Reiner was released in 1987 and had a massive cast which included (deep breath) Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Mel Smith, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal and in the framing sequence Peter Falk and Fred Savage and a fantastic scene with Peter Cook.

Plot: A boy is sick, his grandfather arrives to read a book to the boy that has become a family tradition when someone is sick. The story is a medieval tale of a woman called Buttercup, who having fallen in love with a stable boy, watches him leave so he can earn his fortune and come back and marry her. He is killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts and so years later, she finds herself betrothed to Prince Humperdink. Days before her wedding, she is kidnapped by a trio of criminals, scheming Vizzini, the gigantic Fessick and vengeful swordsman Inigo Montoya. They are followed by a masked man, later identified as the Dread Pirate Roberts, who bests each of them, killing Vizzini, in order to save the princess. She then learns that Roberts is actually her stable boy Wesley. We then have betrayals, kidnappings, giant rats, torture, wizards and long awaited revenge as we head for a happy ever after.

Notes: This is a perfect film. Action sequences are fun and exciting, enough romance to make it a love story, but still poking fun at it and dialogue that’s equally funny and quotable. “Mawwidge”, “Have fun storming the castle.” “I’m not a witch, I’m your wife!” and obviously “Hallo! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die!” If you know this film, no more than that needs saying, if you haven’t, you need to, it’s a film that feels like a bank holiday Monday when you were a kid and that’s always worth a try. I genuinely love this film and watch it at least once per year. 10/10

Year of 100 Films: 33 – We’re the Millers

This was a recommendation by the MIGHTY Rosie based on her watching it on a weekend away.

This 2013 comedy was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and had a stellar comedy cast including Jason Sudekis, Jennifer Anniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Ed Helms, Kathryn Hanh, Nick Offerman and Mollie Quinn.

Plot: David Clark is a relatively low level drug dealer. He lives near neighbours Rose (a stripper) and Kenny (a neglected teenage boy) and he is very much happy to keep them all at arm’s length. After he is robbed after trying to help homeless/couch surfing teen Casey, he is in severe debt to international drug smuggler/deal Brad Gurdlinger. To clear this debt and get a big pay day, he offers Dave a job, drive to Mexico and smuggle back some cannabis. After an interaction with tourists in an RV/Campervan, Dave comes up with the idea to pose as a family, hiring Rose as a mother and Casey and Kenny being their kids.

They have to get in and out of Mexico and back home, facing rival cartels, law enforcement and the almost familial bickering to get his payday, but lets say there are several incidents of shenanigans and fiascos between them and home.

Notes: I haven’t seen a really funny film since the Hangover trilogy. Humour in film and TV has changed and I’m not always a fan, so I had low expectations of this and… I was happily wrong. From the start I was giggling, but the mid-point I had been laughing harder than I had in weeks and by the end, it was painful how I had been laughing. It reminded me of the best way of doing comedy, be very clever, writing about dumb things. We have slapstick, bawdy french farce and lots of witty rat-a-tat dialogue. This used lots of different kinds of funny to make the whole film hang together. I often pick an actor who either excelled, or surprised me, but not here because everyone is firing on all cylinders. This is a silly film, but honestly it brightened up and afternoon. 8/10

Year of 100 Films: 34 – Highlander

This bit of 80’s nostalgia was directed by Russell Mulcahy and had an a strong cast including Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Sheila Gish, Roxanne Hart, Hugh Quarsie, Jon Piloto, Beattie Edney and Alan North.

Plot: In 1536, Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod is killed in battle with a rival clan by a strange warrior known as the Kurgan. Connor doesn’t die, he is cast out by his family and friends. By 1985 he hasn’t aged a day and battles a man with a sword under Madison Square Garden in New York. Back in the 16th century, MacLeod is met by Juan Sanchez Villa-lobos Ramirez, a metallurgist to the Spanish royal court and like MacLeod, an immortal. In a training montage, Ramirez breaks down the rules. They cannot age, or be ill, nor have children. They can be killed, by decapitation and they are doing so to gain a prize. One day, they will meet far away and battle one another for this prize. They are safe on holy ground, but in the end, there can be only one. Connor and his love Heather take Ramirez in and one day while Connor is away, the Kurgan returns, kills Ramirez and rapes Heather. Connor returns and Heather keeps this from him and they two live together, till Heather dies of old age. Then taking Ramirez’s katana, leaves Scotland and travels the world. During World War II, he meets a little girl called Rachel, who stays with him. Eventually he’s in New York and the immortals are gathering. Finally it’s between the Highlander (MacLeod) and the Kurgan to battle for the prize, just as MacLeod is falling for Brenda Wyatt, an expert in swords who learns his secret and puts herself in the middle of this final battle.

Notes: This is a great concept for a film, but it’s execution struggles with just a couple of weird things about it. Despite the basis of the film being about sword fighting, the sword fighting you see is a little basic, also in a film set in medieval scotland, the one part you get the most scottish of actors to play is a spaniard? Bold choice. Yes the accents wobble here and there and then over here again. But the thing is, it also works, Lambert’s accent wanders, but after 400 years, it would, he has a mix of world weary irritation and deep sadness. He plays this against Clancy Brown, who was relatively new to this level of film, but chews the scenery to an epic extent, clearly having all the fun in this film. Then you pour a Queen soundtrack all over it and it’s just all kinds of fun and games. Are there some missed opportunities? Yes. It is a deeply flawed film? Also yes, but it’s fun and I got to share it with my boy. This was a satisfying bit of weekend fun and was glad to watch it again 7/10.