Realized I have some left over posts from my Tumbler that never made the journey here to blogger...
WEEDS
Finally making my way through the fourth season of Weeds (trying to catch up before the new season begins this week), and I’m thoroughly disappointed with the quality of the show these days.
Season Three started to go downhill towards the end, but I never expected it to get this bad. The writing and dialogue are still up to par, and the acting is always fantastic, but it seems the writers are reaching for plot points and story lines. Everything is over the top and exaggerated, and the characters are becoming caricatures of their former selves. Nancy’s wide eyed play at innocence is getting old, but her attempts at dominance are growing more pathetic. And poor, poor Silas, always failing with the women in his life, getting stuck in reckless and uncomfortable situations. Shane’s smart/eccentric little boy phase is also becoming overwhelming. Taking control of security in the house… awesome. The whole talking to his dead father thing… weird. Masturbating to old pictures of Nancy… awwwwwkwarrrrdddd. And don’t even get me started on Celia.
As far as this viewer is concerned, the only ray of light in the show anymore is Guillermo. I’m a huge fan of Diaz’s work (particularly in the masterpiece “Half Baked”), and I’m really glad that they’ve kept him around… I was hoping that he’d become a more regular character after his first appearance.
I’m desperately hoping that Season Five has more to offer.
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STAR TRECK
Monday evening I went to see STAR TRECK with my uncle - a fan since childood - and I actually thoroughly enjoyed the film! I was really shocked, though, to find that my uncle loved it too. I was convinced he would take issue with inaccuracies, or simply with the fact that it was a remake of one of his childhood favorites... But no. He had just as much fun as I did.
The special effects are surprisingly well done. Nothing is over the top, and the film’s visual style is able to stand on its own, while remaining somewhat reminiscent of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy. There is no reason to question the blending of environments - Vulcan cities, schools, and topography are equally as realistic as Earths dry Iowa. The futuristic elements do not overshadow the realistic settings, nor do they take away from the very human interactions throughout the film. In terms of effects and style, the only problem I encountered while watching the film was Kirk’s green love interest - she brought up images of Idina Menzel in “Wicked” on Broadway.
One confusing element of the film is the time travel and existence of a present and future Spock. Obviously this is one circumstance where reason and believability is overcome by story (We are talking about a science fiction film, after all!). However, as I left the theater I felt as if there were some significant plot holes. I simply might not have been paying close enough attention to the explanation of this anomaly… But as such a significant portion of the film revolved around time travel, especially changes in the course of history, I was left feeling that the overall issue was unresolved.
Finally, the acting is impeccable. Zachary Quinto’s performance as Spock has been surprisingly praised by old-school Treckies and new fans alike (even by Leonard Nimoy himself!). He is able to master his character’s emotionlessness, providing a dramatic and serious performance, while also adding hints of coy and knowing sarcasm that only Quinto can deliver. Performances aside though, the real beauty of the film lies in the casting choices made by the filmmakers. Unexpected but fitting picks such as John Cho, Simon Pegg and even the young Jimmy Bennett bring the characters to life, turing them into dynamic and relatable individuals - not caricatures of the original cast. One unusual choice, though, is the casting of Winona Ryder as Spock’s human mother. Not believable. Not good. Simply… odd.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It was exciting, entertaining, but also well made. All the elements (cinematography, direction, writing, etc) came together cohesively and effectively to produce a great summer blockbuster.
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