Just watched Transformers 2, an awesome 2.5 hours of giant robot rumbles.

I also learned that if you die in the Transformer’s world, you end up going to robot heaven. No, you do not meet God at the pearly gates… but giant transforming robots. Badass.

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.