Brains!

Star Trek

Where to start? First off, I haven't been this satisfied with a science fiction movie since Serenity. That's saying a lot, Serenity would be in my top 10 list, if I had a top 10 list of favorite movies. Star Trek, was everything I wanted it to be and more. I went in with high expectations and they were all met. The movie is proof that remaking, rehashing, retelling or stories can be done without ruin. First, the story/script itself. Whoever settled on it, if it was J.J. Abrams himself then he chose right. Creating the alternate reality for the characters to exist allowed us to excuse any issues with previous Star Trek story lines. We now know, that our beloved characters are set on a new course meaning basically, 'this is what would happen, if this happened in the beginning instead'. Gotta love space and time and all that jazz for allowing such a clever circumstance. Then second, the characters themselves maintained their integrity. No one had extras thrown in for "flare". Going along with this, casting. They could not have cast a single character better. Each actor knew that the alternate reality of their personality that may not have been as highlighted by previous performances/stories can be illuminated now, BUT also played them with the true nature of the characters. I don't really want to go into it more. If you are, or even if you aren't a Star Trek fan you should see this movie. Although its definitely more fun if you know the beeps and alarms, and one liners. All you really need is seasons 1 and 2 to get the feel.

A little more for those who have seen it... about the actors specifically... Most of the cast consist of small time, minor part actors. Karl Urban, who's been in pretty crappy movies, besides LOTR 2 & 3 as Eomer pulled McCoy perfectly. I haven't seen what Chris Pine (J.T. Kirk) was in prior, but he didn't fall into the trap of just imitating William Shatner. There were certain looks and body gestures that reminded me vaguely of Mr. Shatner (especially in the closing scene, when he enters in the yellow shirt), but mostly he brought out the younger, bad boy side of Captain Kirk that you always feel is right below the surface in the show/movies. It's only becuase of this alternate reality that these traits are stronger. The most powerful, Zachary Quinto as Spock, is primarily a TV actor! He nailed it. Absolutely. His posture and single stony facial expression were perfectly Vulcan...but his eyes. He used his eyes to give away Spock's "weakness", his half human side. All of his emotion poured out through them. Proof that yes, we should give this small timers a big time shot.

So anyways, I saw it twice in 24 hours, I haven't done that since Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring. That's how much I enjoyed this movie. Pacing, consistency, no loose ends...guh I could go on and on. Just see it!

Dollhouse

So we come to episode 12, the season finale of season one of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. I have to say, I started watching it because it's Joss Whedon (Creator of Firefly, which the movie Serenity comes from), and I continued watching it, becuase I thought some things could get better over time, should give it a chance. The concept is kinda neato, the lose ends are not. The characters are interesting, the acting was at times atrocious. The script was clever, at times too cheesy to take seriously. The season kind of climaxed in the middle for me. Most of the interesting twists happened in the middle. The last part of the two part season finale was rushed, confusing and boring!

I love how Whedon brought in actors from his previous endeavors. The best, Alan Tudyk as the bad guy. Tudyk is rarely a bad guy, but he's good at being quirky, and filled this out perfectly. I liked the moral question in the episode where they implant someones who was murdered with their mind so they can figure out who their murderer is. I never thought that as a possibility that the 'Dollhouse' could offer. I liked the twists that I did not predict. I liked how the story line progressed, how the characters developed, but again the end was lame.

Overall it could be a lot worse. There are some good moments, not bad performances, funny jokes, interesting situations. Would I recommend watching this show? Probably not, unless you're really bored, you like Whedon, you saw some, but not all of the episodes. Since I started, I won't stop, kind of like my guilty obsession with Trueblood.