In my previous post Four Movies, I had stated that after having seen MI:3, I was confident that JJ Abrams was going to deliver a solid Star Trek movie that will satisfy all movie-goers out there. Whether be it fans or non-fans.

After having seeing the new movie, I guess I can say that I was half correct on my prediction. Star Trek IX was a wildly entertaining movie with a fast-paced story and action-packed scenes. The characters were pretty spot on where they needed to be, and adding backgrounds to some of the minor characters was definitely appreciated. The story itself did have a few holes here and there, but it did eventually work at the end. But was it really a Star Trek movie? Debatable.

Warning… spoilers ahead:

I’m not sure why time-traveling is currently all the rage right now (e.g. Lost, Fringe, Heroes), but I believe that this Star Trek movie could have definitely gone without it, and gone without splintering the storyline into an alternate universe. Star Trek IX in essence was supposed to be a chapter explaining the “origins” of the classic Star Trek characters. By creating the alternate universe, we can safely assume that everything that happens in the new movie does not really relate to any of the original canon of the Star Trek universe. None of the events that happen in the new movie really matters at all since the new movie is describing an alternate universe. Of course, as a business man, JJ Abrams realizes that he now has complete control of this alternate universe and can create a series of new movies without being constrained to the original storyline. Great for business, crappy for fans.

In the end, I’m happy with the movie… but I am a strong believer that it takes more talent to create a film that would have fit with the original Star Trek storyline, than to create a completely new alternate reality for the sake of having an clean slate. But that’s just one man’s opinion.

After seeing the movie however, I do wonder… what if JJ Abrams rewrote other storylines that are held dear to geeks everywhere? Just for shits… what if JJ Abrams rewrote Star Wars?

If only there were a place to hypothesize some craziness!

I proudly present to you: If JJ Abrams =)

Got a chance to catch up with four movies this weekend, one on the big screen, one on dvd, then two on tivo.

Here is how I grade the movies from best to worst:

1. The Big Lebowski – Best of the Four

2. Mission Impossible 3 – 2nd Best

3. Quantum of Solace – Tied with #4 for Craptacular Award

4. Aeon Flux – Craptacular

I know… random right?  But each movie poster has someone holding a gun, and suddenly it all makes sense!  Anyway, it’s easy to say that The Big Lebowski is the best of the bunch, but the real surprises here are MI3 and Quantum of Solace.  While MI3 was surprisingly good, the same can’t be said for Quantum of Solace, which was a complete waste of time.  The 007 story this time was so ridiculous and choppy that I would venture out as far as to say that Aeon Flux provided the better story of the two craptacular movies.  I am pretty biased though, as I have always liked Peter Chung’s Aeon Flux anime series that premiered on MTV back in the early 90’s, but the live-action movie just doesn’t compare at all.  But in all seriousness… 007’s plot needed some serious work.

Somewhere inbetween the scriptwriters creating a convoluted plot of having an ultra-secret, ultra-powerful, ultra-rich organization scam money from the who-cares government of Bolivia… and the bad attempt of providing political commentary of the United States’ addiction to oil (which apparently wasn’t even part of the plot)… I realized that I shouldn’t have paid the $9.50 to watch the movie.  Hey, at least I didn’t pay the $12.75 that my friends did who didn’t use their student IDs!

Onto the topic of MI3, I was surprised to find out that the movie had been directed by JJ Abrams.  I never found Abrams to be that impressive.  Even though Lost is a pretty damn popular series, the constant redirections and huge plot-holes get a bit old.  MI3 on the other hand had its share of redirections, but it did keep me thoroughly entertained and engaged all along the way.  This actually gives me great hope as Star Trek is coming soon, and I think with Abrams at the helm, it will hopefully steer the franchise in the right direction after the abysmal Star Trek – Nemesis.

Oh, and to the guy who responded to my previous post: Whale Wars is CRAZY, there are a many number of things that don’t make sense with your comment.  But the fact you used the word “Japs”?… tisk tisk.

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Everyone likes to watch a train wreck”? Well I don’t know how many people have heard of this new show on Animal Planet, but I do recommend it to everyone. The new show, Whale Wars, follows a group of sea conversationalists known as the “Sea Shepherds” on their quest in protecting whales from being hunted in Antarctic waters. The documentary style drama captures what these eco-warriors do best – doing everything in their power to try and stop Japanese whaling ships… and when I say “everything in their power”, I really do mean EVERYTHING.

Now normally I would whole-heartedly commend these noble deeds (who can say no to whales??), but after watching the first few episodes I’ve come to a realization that the whole Sea Shepherd crew is probably more borderline insane than actually doing any good.

The actual Sea Shepherd flag... I kid you not.

Couple of the normal tactics that they use to distract the whaling ships include throwing stink bombs and Methocel packets (substance that makes the ship deck very slippery), which are laughable at best. But other more dangerous and risky escapades include throwing long lengths of thick rope underneath the whaling ship in hopes that the rope will become entangled in the propellers, navigating precariously close to a massive whaling vessel in a small inflatable zodiac, and setting out on attack missions in the middle of the night without really any solid plans – only to get lost for hours in the dark and endless ocean. Every step of the way, the seemingly inexperienced crew are constantly putting themselves and others in harms way, and it’s only a matter of time until someone really gets hurt. And although it may seem wrong, I am secretly waiting for that instant to happen (they kind of deserve it).

I mean really, when the captain asks two members of his crew to take a zodiac, get close to a whaling ship, and then throw themselves overboard onto the whaling ship in an attempt to become whale war hostages??? That’s just the most winning combination of lunacy and retardation I’ve ever seen. Oh, and when they decide that it was a good idea to board a Japanese “spy” vessel to destroy their communication equipment? Pure Homer Simpson-esque S.M.R.T.s there, not to mention that all of their more-than-likely illegal actions are documented on film for the world to watch.

I guess the thing to remember here that these people are not highly trained special ops personnel equipped to overtake illegal whaling ships… these people are not even the coast guard for crying out loud. They are pretty much the craziest of the environmentalists out there, whom are already pretty crazy themselves in my book. Case in point: living in a tree for 10 months in UC Berkeley. Add a couple of inflatable rafts, a helicopter, and some complicated hydraulic machinery just for kicks and you got yourself a TV show!

Animal Planet - Whale Wars Preview

The only thing that I do find sad is that despite all of the media attention this attracts to illegal whaling operations, it sets back any real anti-whaling negotiations by years on the pure fact that nations view the Sea Shepherd tactics as more acts of piracy than anything meaningful. In fact, even Animal Planet has recently inserted disclaimers between each of its commercial breaks, distancing themselves from actions of the Sea Shepherd group… so you know it has to be good!