Tag: Star Trek (Page 5 of 6)

Buffy, We’ll Hardly Know Ye (Updated)

May 26, 2009 /

A veritable geek storm has erupted over an item at the Hollywood Reporter reporting a Star Trek and Twilight inspired reboot, or something, of the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer franchise, only without Buffy creator Joss Whedon, sans Buffy’s erstwhile “scooby” friends (no Willow!!!! Aaaagh!!!!!!), and, if I read it right, without Buffy.

A bit of backstory: Fran Rubel Kuzui, director of the original, pleasantly mediocre, movie version of the franchise once upon a time fashioned a perfectly respectable, pleasantly lightweight autobiographical indie romantic comedy, Tokyo Pop (or that’s how I remember it…I haven’t seen it since it’s 1988 release, when I was but a highly precocious toddler). In typical Hollywood fashion, on her second (and, so far, final) feature as a director, most accounts hold that Rubel and company seriously refashioned Whedon’s original screenplay from a serio-comic actioner to an out and out teen comedy with random changes made to the screenplay from a number of sources, including, according to Whedon, co-star Donald Sutherland (who you will never see in any other Whedon project, it’s safe to say).

Since then, Rubel Kazui has held on to some of the rights, and fans of the Buffy TV show saw her name at the front of every episode…and heard nothing else from her, ever.  It’s safe to assume that she had zero input on the television show and received the credit as part of her compensation for the rights. Now, as most of you probably know, a major plot thread of the TV show was Buffy’s trouble-plagued romance with a (mostly) good guy vampire named Angel, setting the hearts of fans of Sarah Michelle Geller and David Boreanaz seriously aflutter. Hence, the Twilight connection — though lips that touched blood never touched those belonging to movie-Buffy Kristy Swanson.

So, with those Trek and Twilight grosses pointing the way, Kuzui and Vertigo Entertainment, which usually specializes in remaking Asian films for the American market, are trying to restart the franchise, apparently using a loophole from the original concept of there being a new slayer in every generation. As a fan of the show, trust me when I say this is nowhere near as clever as the loophole J.J. Abrams and company came up with to stay on (most) Trekkies’ good sides. Overall, this idea strikes me as if the Coca-Cola company had put out New Coke as a non-carbonated non-cola. Buffy without Buffy Summers, and the Whedonverse, without Whedon = box office gold?!? Nah.

Assuming it ever happens, of course. Whedon is an extremely savvy third-generation show biz writer who has already pulled off the unheard of feats of retrieving a lost screenplay concept and remaking it as his own TV show, and then turning another quickly-canceled television show into a major, if not immediately profitable, Hollywood film (Serenity). He is usually protective of his properties, to the extent that he has any control. I’m guessing that this one is almost certain to generate very interesting behind-the-scenes maneuvers.

As always, on Whedon-related matters Whedonesque is very much on top of the story.

UPDATE: Michael Ausiello has managed to elicit a four word response from Joss Whedon, whose currently working on his horror film collaboration with Drew Goddard, “The Cabin in the Woods.” Those four words are:

I hope it’s cool.

H/t Whedonesque.

Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Horror Movies, Movie Comedies, News, TV Action

Weekend at the Multiplex (Updated)

May 21, 2009 /

Christian Bale contemplates his eyelineHey folks. Now, if anyone out there remembers the series of “Multiplex Mayhem” posts I was writing back in the dark days of the late, late Bush Administration, I’m returning in a different, and briefer form. For this week and next, I’ll be covering the weekend box office, and then, starting next month, there will be more from me on movies in general here, and that’s all I’m saying for the time being.

This big movie Memorial Day weekend, though no longer the official start of summer movie season, brings us too major tentpole releases from the big studios: Warner’s “Terminator Salvation” and Fox’s “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.” The PG-13 Terminator reboot attempt is directed by McG, who Bullz-Eye’s Jason Zingale (who kinda sorta liked the movie) terms a “poor man’s Michael Bay.” Other critics were less charitable, and the film is getting easily the worst reviews in the entire history of the “Terminator” franchise, with the Rotten Tomatoes crowd giving it an underwhelming 35% “fresh” and generally seeming a little angry with star Christian Bale for walking into their collective eyeline. Not that any of that will matter to weekend grosses — and I do expect this to be the big winner of the long holiday weekend. However, if audiences agree that it really is inferior to prior “Terminator” flicks, it’s possible there will be a bigger drop-off later than expected. Still, at last night’s midnight’s screenings, it raked in a cool $3 million from the Red Bull drinking legions.

The sequel to 2006’s entirely unacclaimed “Night at the Museum” should also do well regardless of notices because it combines the only sure formula for box office success — a kid-friendly production that offers something, anything, to parents as well. In this case, Ben Stiller and a very strong supporting cast, even if the result had Roger Ebert squirming in boredom and remembering one of the truer critical refrains of all time:

I found myself yet once again echoing the frequent cry of Gene Siskel: Why not just give us a documentary of the same actors having lunch?

Still, the parents I know are mostly grateful for any movie that doesn’t involve CGI rodents eating their own feces, and at least this one encourages kids to go to museums.

And there is another option, that is the latest, at this point entirely unreviewed Wayans Brother’s spoof film from Paramount and MTV, “Dance Flick,” which at least has a reasonably funny trailer and Amy Sedaris (sister of writer/public radio superstar David Sedaris, frequent comedy companion of Stephen Colbert, before he was having portions of space stations named after him). Carl DiOrio says it will do well if can break out of the euphemistic “urban market”? Young folks looking for a comedy will likely go if they can’t get into something else, but something tells me that both “urban” people and their paler “suburban” friends will have other films to watch considering that, new releases aside, “Star Trek” and “Angels and Demons” are still very strong at the multiplex.

In limited release, we have Steve Soderbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience” starring thinking man’s porn star Sasha Grey in a sexy but non-porn role which makes it something of a must for cinephile horndogs the world over. And because I’m the retro-guy who occasionally likes the same movies your grandma does, I feel compelled to mention both “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story,” about the guys responsible for the vast bulk of the pre-“Little Mermaid” Disney songs, and the Noel Coward adaptation “Easy Virtue,” which looks like it would go down very well with a nice dry martini made with a good, dry English gin. But you’ll want to see Sasha, won’t you?

UPDATE: Apparently some disagree with what I thought was a conventional-wisdom friendly guess about the weekend’s winner, since “Terminator” is such a time-tested franchise. Nikki Finke says it will be neck and neck but those famed “insiders” are predicting immense numbers for “Museum.” We’ll see.

Action Movies, External Movies, Movie Comedies, Movies, News, Reviews, Sci-Fi Movies, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series / The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation

May 13, 2009 /

As my colleague Will Harris pointed out, these two discs are nothing more than a shameless attempt to “wring a few more bucks off the old series in the wake of the new movie.” Well, of course they are, and Paramount has never been above repackaging this series ad infinitum. But it’s worth mentioning that, for some people, a little “Trek” can go a long way, and if you fall into such a category, then you’re the consumer Paramount is reaching for. With only 4 episodes per disc, these are an affordably-priced and time efficient alternative to the rather expensive and lengthy season box sets.

Further, perhaps you’re new to the “Trek” fold thanks to J.J. Abrams’ movie? If so, two of the episodes featured here were supposed inspirations for the new flick: “Balance of Terror” from the Original Series disc, which introduced the Romulans, and “Yesterday’s Enterprise” from the Next Generation disc, which features an alternate timeline scenario. Both are fine examples of great “Trek.” Of course they’d better be, given the “Best of” label.

Rounding things out on the TOS disc are “The City on the Edge of Forever,” a time travel story long considered a sparkling jewel in the “Trek” crown; the humorous classic “The Trouble with Tribbles”; and “Amok Time,” which sees Kirk and Spock beating the crap out of one another. Also on the TNG disc are “The Best of Both Worlds (Part 1 & 2),” which features a dazzlingly intense encounter with the creepy Borg, and “The Measure of a Man,” a Data-centric story that wouldn’t have been my first choice to represent the TNG series in this context.

Click to buy “The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series”

Click to buy “The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation”

External Entertainment, External TV, Reviews, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV DVD Quicktakes, TV DVDs, TV Sci-Fi

Star Trek: The Motion Pictures – The Cinematic Voyages of the Starship Enterprise

May 5, 2009 /

The new “Star Trek” movie is almost here, my friends, and the excitement is palpable. What has J.J. Abrams done to Kirk and company, and will his efforts live up to the high expectations of the notoriously-picky “Trek” fans? We’ll all know the answer on May 8th, but in the meantime, the anticipation has led many to take a step back and revisit the previous films in the franchise…which, as it happens, is exactly what yours truly has done. In addition to the motion pictures, your trusty Bullz-Eye contributor has also gone back and re-read the novelizations for each film, and you might be surprised to find just how much good stuff never actually made it past the printed page…even if it probably should have.

Check out the piece by clicking right here…or, of course, you could click on the big ol’ graphic directly below.

Just in case you’re still on the fence about clicking over, here’s an excerpt from the feature to give you an idea what to expect…

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Storyline: When an alien force of inconceivable power sets its sights on Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk emerges from retirement, swipes the refurbished U.S.S. Enterprise from its new commander, Willard Decker, and sets off to save the planet. Spock, who had left Starfleet in favor of purging his emotions on his home planet of Vulcan, decides that the answers to his spiritual quest may be found with this alien and rejoins his former crewmates. Oh, and there’s also this bald chick…
Villain: V’ger. That’s short for Voyager 6, a space probe launched from Earth way back yonder in the 20th century. The probe was found by an alien race of living machines that interpreted its programming as instructions to learn all that can be learned, and return that information to its creator. Unfortunately, it can’t imagine that its creator can possibly be a “carbon unit,” a skepticism which proves highly problematic for the human race.
What’s good: At the time of its release, the best part was simply seeing the cast together again for the first time since the series’ cancellation, and having a noticeably bigger budget to work with. Nowadays, however, the film is driven by the interaction between the eternal trifecta of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, whether it’s Spock’s pure logic battling against McCoy’s emotions or Kirk’s inability to accept that Decker might actually know something that he doesn’t.
What’s bad: ven Robert Wise’s Director’s Cut of the film still contains some seriously interminable shots, most notably as Admiral Kirk sees the refurbished Enterprise for the first time. There’s a reason my friend Donnie found it more interesting to count the tiles on the movie theater ceiling than watch the film…but, then, he always was more of a “Star Wars” guy. “Trek” fans, meanwhile, have long groused – and rightfully so – that the first big-screen adventure for Kirk and company was, at its heart, little more than an expanded version of an original episode, “The Changeling.”

Most surprising cast member: Stephen Collins as Commander Willard Decker. Collins went on to starring roles in “Tales of the Gold Monkey” and “Tattinger’s,” then followed it up with a recurring role on “Sisters,” but his most memorable role is almost certainly that of Rev. Eric Camden, the patriarch on “7th Heaven.”
“Yeah, but the book was better.” – The novelization of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was actually written by “Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, and it provides several details which, though they aren’t actually in the movie itself, have nonetheless become accepted as fact throughout the “Trek” universe. Most notable is that the character of Willard Decker is actually the son of the late Captain Matt Decker, from “The Doomsday Machine,” an episode of the original series. One that hasn’t taken off, however, is the suggestion that Kirk had a significant romantic relationship with a woman named Lori Ciani during the so-called “lost years” between the series and the movie. Oh, and you really need to read the book’s footnotes. Roddenberry treats the novel like it’s a historical record, and when Spock refers to Kirk as his “t’hy’la,” a Vulcan word which apparently can mean either “brother” or “lover,” it results in a response from Kirk that has spawned one hell of a website.

Now are you tempted? C’mon, just click right here. Go on, you know you want to…

Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Movie Dramas, Movies, Sci-Fi Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

Gee, your Trekkie smells terrific!

February 10, 2009 /

Those pop culture geeks among us who don’t mind dropping a little bit of coin to score unique trinkets inspired by our favorite shows may already be familiar with GenkiWear, a company which has earned a name for itself by producing “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” jewelry, including reproductions of Anyanka’s Power Center Amulet and Necklace and The Slayer’s Cross and Necklace.

Now, however, they’ve set their sights…and their scents…on “Star Trek” fans by developing a trio of fragrances celebrating the classic TV series. Get your olfactory organs ready for “Tiberius” (destined to be referred to as “Smells Like Shatner”), “Pon Farr” (great news for those of us who are looking to score with a Vulcan but can live with only getting laid once every seven years), and “Red Shirt,” which we can only presume allows its wearer to bear the stench of death…but for God’s sake, don’t wear “Tiberius” and “Pon Farr” together unless this floats your boat. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) All three of these colognes are scheduled to be available in stores in the spring…a date which is no way coincidental to the release of the new “Star Trek” movie.

Want a piece of this? Wear “Pon Farr,” from GenkiWear.

(WARNING: The wearing of “Pon Farr” does not, in fact, guarantee that you will get said piece.)

Actors, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Movie Dramas, Movies, News, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi, Video

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