Author: T_Dot_Lane

2 Guns

What do movies and sports have in common?  Match-ups.  It’s all about the match-ups baby.  Some cinematic pairings just get us excited, like the prospect of Mark Wahlberg (Pain & Gain) and Denzel Washington (Flight).  Washington is a living legend, and Wahlberg has cemented his place in modern cinema with critically acclaimed turns in films such as The Fighter and The Departed, for which he received Oscar nominations.  The action comedy is on the rise lately, and 2 Guns tantalized moviegoers with the rare opportunity to see Washington bring levity to a performance.  Unfortunately, even charismatic leading men can’t save a goofy script.

Washington and Wahlberg are Bobby Trench and Michael Stigman (Stig), respectively.  When we meet the pair, they are hatching a plot to rob a small bank to swindle a drug lord named Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos) out of his holdings.  They each have distinct reasons for wanting to pull this caper, but each is keeping the real reason a secret.  At first blush we think these two are criminals, after all who else would be robbing a bank?  In actuality they are both “undercover” in their own way, with Bobby being a DEA agent and Stig having firsthand experience with naval intelligence, despite the appearance of being a career criminal.

As each plays fast and loose with the law, the viewer is left wondering if our protagonists are corrupt or just deep undercover.  Bobby tries to convince fellow agent Deb (Paula Patton, Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol) that the robbery will serve as a way to nab Papi, while Stig is beholden to corrupt superior officers (James Marsden, Straw Dogs) within the Navy.  Their plan goes awry when they find out Papi’s bank vault yields a much larger heist than expected.  Not only do they need to ascertain the origin of the surplus money, they must ward off several factions who will stop at nothing to retrieve it.  Complicating matters is the fact that Bobby and Stig can’t really trust each other after having lied about their true identities.

I’ll start with the positive.  Washington and Wahlberg have tons of chemistry and good comedic timing.  I don’t have an issue with their performances at all; my issue is with the source material.  The storyline was simply foolish and muddled, and much of the characters behavior was far-fetched.  The screenplay marks the big screen debut for writer Blake Masters, who has previously worked in television.  Maybe his next effort will be more successful, although 2 Guns appears poised to have a solid opening weekend.  Nevertheless, it takes more than two talented leading men to make a successful movie, even if the pairing looks like a “slam dunk.”  Even a dynamic duo like Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro aren’t a sure-fire success if the script is wanting (see Righteous Kill).  If those two legends can team up for a dud, no tandem is above reproach.  The rest of the cast did little to bolster the movie, and it will not be remembered as a summer standout.  I’m not saying it was horrible, just very mediocre – in spite of its two stars.  Grade: C

This article first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission

 

Fruitvale Station

Wow.  I don’t even know where to begin.  Nothing could have stopped me from seeing Fruitvale Station, for several reasons.  First, I adore Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle).  Secondly, I support young emerging Black talent.  I admire people who follow their dreams and aspire to greatness, particularly in filmmaking.  The director of this film, Ryan Coogler, is a young man on the rise and I support that.  Lastly, the events that gave rise to this film were a tragedy, and I’m tired of it being ‘open season’ on young Black men in America.  I don’t have a brother, but if I did he might look like Oscar Grant. Or Sean Bell. Or Emmett Till. Or Trayvon Martin.  The list goes on and on, and I’m fucking sick of it.  My soul weeps, and that’s not hyperbole.

In the wee hours of New Year’s Day 2009, a young man named Oscar Grant was a passenger on a BART train heading into Oakland, California.  He had been celebrating the holiday with friends, and they were returning home.  While aboard the train, a fight broke out, prompting a response from transit police.  They detained several passengers, including Grant and his friends.  In the course of this detainment, Grant was shot in the back by one of the officers.  Oscar was unarmed.  The bullet entered through his back and ricocheted back into his body, piercing his lung.  By 10:00 AM on New Year’s Day, Oscar Grant was dead.  The movie begins with the actual footage of this crime, a chilling moment that is not dramatized until the movie’s final act.  Fruitvale Station, so named for that fateful transit stop, examines the last day of Oscar’s life.

You cannot divorce the movie from its larger societal context, particularly in light of George Zimmerman’s recent acquittal.  Other than their skin color, the similarity between Trayvon Martin and Oscar Grant is that they embody the frustration and futility that engulfs so many young Black men in America.  Over the course of the film we see that Oscar is an average young man.  He loves his daughter immensely.  He argues with his girlfriend, and they make up.  He loves his mother and his family, but like many young Black men, he is frustrated with his circumstances.  He has made some mistakes in the past, but he is hopeful and earnest in his desire to change for the better.  Desiring a new start for a new year, he wants to stop selling weed, and we see him make incremental changes in his life to that effect.  It is this flawed ‘everyman’ quality that makes him so relatable.  We are all playing the hand we were dealt, and we’re all trying to get better.

It is particularly poignant to watch his life unfold, only to know that it will be cut short very soon.  There’s an air of dread and foreboding that hangs over the movie, and even the joyful moments are painful, because we know that these moments are fleeting.  His tasks are mundane, but there is something refreshingly authentic about the way Coogler and Jordan brought Oscar to life.  He was immediately humanized, and we see that despite his shortcomings (previous brush with the law, moments of angry frustration), he was a beautiful spirit.  I always say that people are complex.  Good people do bad things, and bad people do good things.  The haunting thing about the movie and about Oscar Grant’s life in general, is that it is a story of promise unfulfilled.

Fruitvale Station won prizes at both the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, and it’s easy to see why.  Jordan is a revelation, and continues to impress with both his versatility and a rare ability to endear himself to audiences.  Octavia Spencer (The Help) is featured as Oscar’s mother, and you know this woman.  Either she is your mother, or your aunt or your friend’s mother – but you know this woman.  She carries a quiet and loving demeanor, a firm but gentle hand.  Black women are tasked with raising sons in a world that is at once fascinated by and fearful of that which they don’t understand.  As we see Oscar interact with children, his peers, strangers of different races (some of whom are White), and even a stray animal – we see that his humanity shone through.  It is this same sense of humanity that unites us all, if we could just cut through the bullshit and get to it.

I think Fruitvale Station will prove to be a seminal movie that very much captures a time in American history where we are at a proverbial crossroads.  It’s 2013 now, and the officer that murdered Oscar Grant has been tried, convicted and released, all within a four-year span.  I don’t know whether to laugh mirthlessly at that absurdity or cry about it.  As human beings, we need to figure out what unites us rather than what divides us, and we have to cling to that with every ounce of strength we have left.  What is about young and Black and male that threatens us?  Examination of this question is the difference between life and death for so many people, and the answer has to start to matter to more than just Black people.  It has to matter to all of us.  Grade: A+

The Wolverine

The cream always rises to the top.  The star always gets the spin-off, or leaves the group to go solo.  Movie franchises are no different.  The X-Men are a captivating ensemble, but there are only a couple of them who you’d want to see alone.  I think Wolverine is such a character, and he’s the only one has his own franchise.  As I’ve stated before, I didn’t read the X-Men comic books, but I used to watch the cartoon – and Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) is the embodiment of the Wolverine.

When we find our long-lost Logan, he’s literally holed away in an isolated mountain cave on the outskirts of a small town.  He’s plagued by nightmares of Jean (Famke Janssen, Taken 2) and flashbacks to the World War II nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.  It was there that Logan saved the life of a Japanese soldier named Yashida, and the two men have never forgotten that fateful day.  Of course Logan hasn’t aged since then, but Yashida is now the elderly CEO of a profitable Japanese company.  Logan’s connection to Yashida is brought to the forefront even more when he encounters a young woman named Yukio (Rila Fukushima).  She intervenes to help Logan in an altercation, but has been dispatched to summon him to Japan.  Yashida is on his deathbed and would like to see his old friend one last time.

Logan reluctantly travels to Japan, where he finds Yashida on death’s door.  He meets Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Yashida’s granddaughter and Yukio’s adopted sister.  She is betrothed to a young Japanese man in a marriage arranged by her father, but everything is turned upside down when it’s revealed that Mariko will inherit her grandfather’s company instead of her father.  Later, she is nearly kidnapped by the Japanese Yakuza, but Logan intervenes and saves her.  Complicating matters is Yashida’s sinister doctor, who seems to have a hidden agenda.

The movie follows Logan and Mariko as they flee her would-be captors and Logan tries to figure out why his healing abilities are unexpectedly diminished.  Yukio has a premonition that Logan will die, and although he is dismissive of her concerns, it certainly seems like a possibility given his suddenly more human condition.  He and Mariko grow closer, especially when he uncovers betrayal within her family.  In the first act of the movie we are shown Logan’s tortured, solitary existence; in the second act he returns to Japan and we are introduced to the movie’s principal conflict; and in the third and final act we see the resolution of that conflict.  I appreciated the straightforward storytelling and found it largely effective.

Director James Mangold (Knight and Day, 3:10 to Yuma) created a dark landscape for Jackman, who is very good as Wolverine.  The role has never been played by anyone else on the big screen, nor should it.  The movie assumes that the viewer is familiar with X-Men and/or has seen the first Wolverine movie, and I won’t quibble with this.  I doubt anyone would go see this movie if they hadn’t seen either of those previous works.  I’ve seen a few tweets criticizing this movie – so I’m not sure what demographic to which it appeals, but I liked it.  Some decried the lack of action; others thought it seemed like a “kiddie” movie.  Bear this in mind, but I wasn’t disappointed at all.  Grade: B.

Red 2

The sequel is a cinematic curiosity.  A good sequel is a logical and relevant continuation of the original movie.  It may flesh out previously established characters or begin a new chapter in the series or franchise.  I think The Godfather II is the best sequel ever made, because it provided a rich backstory while juxtaposing one storyline with another.   I don’t expect the average sequel to come anywhere close to that lofty standard, especially in this age of Hollywood machinery.  Most sequels nowadays are made simply because the studio wants to capitalize off the success of the original movie with a lucrative follow up.  I’m sure that’s what the makers of Red 2 were thinking, but with a cast this impressive – you almost can’t go wrong.

Bruce Willis (Looper) returns as Frank, a retired CIA operative trying to live a quiet life with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary Louise Parker, Weeds).  His peacefulness is short-lived when an old friend and former colleague Marvin (John Malkovich, Transformers: Dark of the Moon), approaches him urgently.  Marvin thinks people are after him and that he and Frank should get out of Dodge, with Sarah in tow.  Sarah is game for a little excitement, but Frank thinks Marvin is being paranoid and brushes him off.  When Marvin turns up dead shortly after, things take an interesting turn.  It turns out the two are suspected of being involved in an old covert mission called “Nightshade,” and some very dangerous people are upset about that supposed involvement.  Frank is taken into custody after Marvin’s funeral, where agents detain and interrogate him.  Inexplicably, another operative breaks into the facility to extract him, killing any agent that gets in his way.

It turns out that Marvin is alive after all, and he and Frank are now on the run.  Nightshade has a lot of people up in arms, and there is a hit out on the pair.  They must find out who’s trying to kill them and why, before it’s too late.  Helen Mirren (Hitchock) returns as Victoria, and she too has been approached to eliminate Frank and Marvin.  Fortunately, her loyalty is true and she forewarns her old friends that the heat is on.  Their escapades take them to Europe, where Frank is reunited with an old flame Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Side Effects), much to Sarah’s chagrin.  Also joining the fray is Han (Byung-hun Lee, GI Joe: Retaliation) another contracted assassin with an impressive skillset – but what side is he really on?

I’ve tried not to reveal too much about the plot, but any further exposition is inconsequential to this review.  The movie basically consists of a lot of spy vs. spy shenanigans, and it’s a fun ride.  Although the plot was very different, Red 2 reminded me of Mr. & Mrs. Smith with its hijinks and effective blend of action and comedy.  John Malkovich, Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren are veteran Oscar winning thespians, and it’s good to see them assembled in a light-hearted movie such as this.  Bruce Willis is an ageless wonder, as I’ve stated before.  Most of the cast is eligible for an AARP card, and it’s pretty entertaining to see the old guard still kicking ass.  This made for an enjoyable day at the movies.  Grade: B+

 

 

 

World War Z

The heartthrobs of yesteryear have still got it.  I said it last year about Denzel Washington in Safe House, and I’ll reiterate the point here with Brad Pitt (Killing Them Softly), who scores the highest grossing debut weekend of his career with World War Z.  Although Pitt has aged nicely since he first came on the scene in Thelma & Louise, it’s not really about his looks here.  He’s our leading man, but I think he’s shying away from the types of roles that characterized his earlier career.  The  zombie storyline of World War Z is a familiar one, as television shows like The Walking Dead have become increasingly popular. The movie’s action was immediate and relentless, and I found myself quite literally on the edge of my seat.

The film begins with an introduction to Gerry Lane, a former UN employee who left the organization to spend more time with his wife (Mireille Enos, The Killing, Gangster Squad) and daughters.  Within five minutes of meeting the family, the horror begins on a routine drive to school through downtown Philadelphia.  While sitting in an unusual traffic jam, Gerry and his family notice that there is an unseen commotion swelling behind them.  Something weird is going on.  In this age of terror attacks, one can never be too careful, and this early scene was authentically unsettling.

A passing police officer gives Gerry an ominous warning to remain in his vehicle, and no sooner than he turns to leave, an out of control truck flattens him instantly.  Gerry barely has time to process what has happened before nearby pedestrians begin to run from an unknown horror.  As they flee, he turns to see a man convulsing and contorting his body in ungodly positions.  He has a wild, diseased look in his eyes, and it is clear that this “person” is not of this world.  It’s the zombie apocalypse!

The movie chronicles the zombie outbreak as it affects the entire planet, with each continent facing population extinction.  Torn between remaining with his family and returning to his old job to help figure everything out, Gerry eventually decides that if he wants to help his family, he must resolve to help humanity first.  Apocalyptic tales fascinate me, as they reveal much about the human psyche.  When the constraints of traditional society and civilization are stripped, we see man return to his most base instincts of survival, with Darwinism prevailing.  The immediacy of the zombie threat and the prospect of death created an especially terrifying climate, and the panic and fear were palpable.  Pitt was an ideal protagonist: brave, resourceful and facing some tough odds – everything you’d want in a hero.

If there were any criticism to be had, it would be that things just sort of happened.  There wasn’t a lot of character development, because it simply wasn’t that type of movie.  There is a singular catastrophic event central to the plot, and everything else happens in furtherance of that plot.  I didn’t read the book, so if the movie fell short in its interpretation; I wouldn’t know.  Overall it was very good, and if you’re one of those folks who occasionally doze off during movies, rest assured – it won’t happen here.  Grade: A –

Man of Steel

As other superhero franchises have recently established themselves as powerhouses (Batman, Iron Man), the venerable Superman franchise seemed like an afterthought.  Brandon Routh is somewhere salty as hell.  You’re probably like, who the hell is that?  Exactly.  Routh wore those famous blue tights only once in 2006’s Superman Returns, and now he’s a distant memory.  It seemed like Superman was lost in the iconic days of Christopher Reeve…until now.

Once Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises) was attached to the project, I think people were amenable to giving it a chance.  Just conjuring images of The Dark Knight franchise gets me excited, and Nolan brought instant credibility to the film.  The addition of director Zac Snyder (300, Sucker Punch) also ensured a fresh departure from the last Superman attempt.  The movie begins on Krypton, with a frantic Lara and Jor-El (Russell Crowe, Broken City) facing the destruction of their planet.  General Zod (Michael Shannon, Mud) has attempted an unsuccessful coup and been subsequently banished to an intergalactic prison.  Krypton and its inhabitants will become extinct as the planet comes to a tumultuous, destructive end.  Anticipating such an apocalypse, Jor-El and Lara planned to send their newborn Kal-El to another planet where he will thrive and ensure the survival of his race.

As the familiar story goes, Kal is given the name Clark and raised by the Kents – the couple who discovered him (and the vessel that brought him) on their farm.  However, after leaving Krypton the movie shifts to Clark’s adult life, as he grapples with finding his place on Earth, given his otherworldly abilities.  Nolan’s influence was apparent, as he offered a non-linear approach to Clark’s story.  Instead of following his upbringing chronologically, the movie flashes back to key events in Clark’s childhood that shaped his current existence.  We’re introduced to him as an adult, a nomadic laborer of sorts who lives in relative obscurity.  Clark consistently struggled with the two distinct messages given to him by both fathers.  Jor-El believed that he was special and could be a symbol of hope to many people.  Conversely Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner, The Company Men) cautioned his son that people will fear what they don’t understand, and that mankind would reject him.

When General Zod is released from his interstellar prison, he locates Kal on Earth and pursues him there, spelling dire consequences for humanity.  This new development is what forces Clark into action, causing him to confront his obligation, if he even has one.  I’ve purposefully omitted a lot of plot details, because I don’t want to spoil the movie for you, plus I think they are inconsequential to my discussion of the film.  There was an earnest quality to the film, though not quite as dark as the Batman movies for which Nolan is known.  This subtle restraint in storytelling made the interpretation unique, and I can say that Man of Steel was not like The Dark Knight or any of the Iron Man movies.  Whereas Batman seems affected by external forces, Superman’s struggle is largely an internal one – at least in this first edition of the reboot.  The structure of the movie was flawless, and the viewer feels as if he or she really understands Clark’s conflicting duality – revelation vs. obscurity.  Couple that with a lifelong feeling of being the only one of your kind, and it’s easy to see why Clark felt confused and alone.

In addition to the storyline and character development, I thought the casting was also effective.  Henry Cavill (Immortals) is perfect as the new Superman.  He looks the part and he is believable.  Those are big tights to fill, and I’m sure the role is his for a while to come, especially since Man of Steel 2 has already been announced.  The casting of Amy Adams (Trouble With the Curve) as a more intrepid Lois Lane was also successful.  Russell Crowe is incomparable; you already know this.  What more can I say?  The movie was nearly flawless.  In fact, the only criticism I have is minor and probably misplaced.  I’m no expert, but I had a small quibble with the editing.  I thought a few scene transitions were not seamless – but again, what do I know?  The special effects were incredible, and no self-respecting movie buff would go more than a week or two without seeing this movie.  What are you waiting for? Grade: A

 

The Internship

Movies make us laugh, they make us cry, and they make us angry.  But every now and then a movie surprises us by inspiring an unexpected emotion. We expect to laugh at comedies, but occasionally one touches us in a special way.  It may sound odd, but that’s exactly how I felt about The Internship, a comedy that was both hilarious and heart-warming.

Vince Vaughn (The Watch) and Owen Wilson (The Big Year) team up for the first time since 2005’s Wedding Crashers, starring as Billy and Nick, two best friends and salesmen whose time has passed.  When they attempt to close a big account, they learn they their company is folding.  Their boss (John Goodman, Flight) tells them that they have been rendered obsolete in a changing work environment.  Faced with the limitations of their age, Billy and Nick are left reeling at the prospect of unemployment.

Nick thinks he’ll be stuck selling mattresses for his sister’s boyfriend (Will Ferrell, The Campaign) until Billy comes up with the idea for their next gig.  How often do you Google something?  It’s second nature for me, as it is for many people.  While Googling job possibilities, Billy found himself staring at the computer screen until it hits him.  Why not work at Google?  After fudging a few details on their resumes, Billy lands the pair an interview.  Their lack of traditional IT knowledge is painfully obvious, but the two manage to impress the hiring panel with their unconventional approach.

After beating the odds and landing the internship, the guys arrive in Silicon Valley.  Google’s campus looks like an adult theme park, and the employees are positively delighted to be working there.  Quirky inventions abound, and it looks like the place where creative ideas are birthed.  Billy and Nick are out of their depth, surrounded by college students with high IQs and low social skills.  The interns are divided into teams, and only one team will be announced as winner at the program’s conclusion.  Cementing their ‘reject’ status, Billy and Nick are left with the other undesirables to form a team comprised of the leftovers who weren’t chosen.

Despite their shortcomings, Billy and Nick are natural leaders and bring a sense of realness to their privileged, awkward teammates.  Neha (Tiya Sircar) is surprisingly sassy and outgoing, Yo-Yo is tightly wound thanks to a domineering mother, and Stuart keeps his eyes glued to a smartphone.  Their fearless leader is Lyle, a baby-faced twenty-something whose faux ‘cool guy’ posturing makes him about as hot as a pair of footie pajamas.  The teams must compete in a series of challenges, from creating an app to manning phones in Google’s call center.  In addition to impressing the bosses, the team has to contend with Graham (Max Minghella, The Ides of March), a pretentious douchebag and rival intern.  Every movie needs a villain, and Graham is the fly in the ointment.  Can Billy and Nick rise to the top amidst younger, stiffer competition, or are they severely out of their league?

The Internship was a very enjoyable movie, because it was a story most of us can relate to.  Anyone who’s ever felt stuck in the “rat-race” of life or been unhappy at a BS job will understand Billy and Nick’s frustration.  The movie was funny throughout, and the cameo appearances (Ferrell and Goodman) were well timed and didn’t feel forced.  Besides the laughs there were tender moments as well, particularly as Vince Vaughn’s character played concerned big brother and bonded with the younger interns.  I didn’t expect any heart-warming moments, but surprisingly it all blended perfectly.  The corporate sponsorship of the movie is obvious, but that was unavoidable given the plot.  June looks to be a funny month at the box office, and The Internship is a nice way to get things started.  Grade: A.

This article first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission.

Fast & Furious 6

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  In fact, milk it for all it’s worth.  That seems to be Universal Studios’ philosophy, considering that they have managed to spin the moderate cult success of the original The Fast and the Furious movie into a full-blown franchise.  Never forget that one of the sequels was literally called “Fast & Furious.”  They simply dropped the word ‘the.’  I couldn’t get past the absurdity of the title and didn’t see that one; but I’d seen all the other editions before this latest one.

Fast & Furious 6 picks up right where Fast 5 left off, as we find our merry misfits enjoying the spoils of their last heist in various exotic locales around the globe.  While Roman (Tyrese Gibson, Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Tej (Ludacris, New Year’s Eve) live flashy lives, Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker, Takers) prefer more humble existences.  Dom is settled with his live-in girlfriend Elena, and Brian and Mia (Jordana Brewster, Fast Five) are expecting a baby.  Han and Giselle are doing their thing, and everyone is living the life.  A hundred million dollars is a pretty nice retirement fund; so there’s not much that would induce the gang to return to their former criminal ways.  Their hiatus comes to a screeching halt when Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Pain & Gain) approaches Dom about helping him apprehend a criminal who uses his considerable driving acumen in a new type of “vehicular warfare.”

The man is Owen Shaw (Luke Evans, The Raven), and his skills behind the wheel make him a worthy adversary for Dom and Brian.  Shaw is looking to acquire a processor, a necessary component in a device capable of disabling military communications.  He is in bed with the cartel and the CIA, and it will take a (former) crook to catch a crook.  This is where Dom, Brian, Roman, Tej, Han and Giselle come in.  Hobbs and Dom share a begrudging respect between each other, but there’s no way Dom would be helping the authorities without good reason.  We learned at the very end of Fast 5 that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez, Resident Evil: Retribution) is still alive.  When Hobbs produces a recent photo of her and tells Dom that she’s working with Shaw, that’s all the incentive he needs.

I enjoyed the movie due in large part to the immensely entertaining action sequences.  The fight scenes were plentiful, and both the guys and girls get in on the action.  Eye candy littered the screen, with beautiful people, beautiful cars, and beautiful locations in abundance.  There was never a dull moment in the entire movie, and everyone was a badass.  Unfortunately though, more than one scene was completely implausible.  I think you’re supposed to ignore the fact that there’s no way Vin Diesel can catapult himself from a moving vehicle to catch Michelle Rodriguez in mid air after she too goes hurtling through the air.  But that’s ok, because it was a fun ride.  The ending clearly sets us up for an astounding seventh movie – but I’m not sure we need another one, folks.  On the one hand, they are entertaining, but on the other hand – haven’t we exhausted the possibilities yet?  It’s kinda like making Ocean’s Fourteen.  I’m sure we could, but is that really necessary?  Nevertheless, if you want to be entertained, you can’t go wrong with Fast & Furious 6; a wild ride for sure.  Grade: B+

This article first appeared at Poptimal and was reprinted with permission.

Star Trek Into Darkness

It can be a risky move to reboot an old television franchise.  Occasionally the magic of the original show gets lost in translation when updated.  Sometimes it works (Mission: Impossible, Charlie’s Angels) and sometimes it doesn’t (Dukes of Hazzard).  2009’s Star Trek is another example of a successful TV reboot.  It was fairly entertaining and did pretty well at the box office, so of course Paramount Studios went back to the well again; it’s only right.

Star Trek Into Darkness finds the cocky young James T. Kirk (Chris Pine, This Means War) back at Starfleet as Captain of the Enterprise.  The movie opens with Kirk and company on a recon mission on a foreign planet.  The natives are “uncivilized,” and the Enterprise has a directive to keep its presence undetected.  There is a volcano on the planet, threatening to erupt and destroy everyone on it, unless Spock can set off a device to prevent it.  Spock plants the device, but is unable to escape the scorching lava.  The only way for Kirk to save Spock is to disobey the directive and save him with the Enterprise, rescuing him from the volcano’s peak.  Spock is emotionless about his impending doom, and he doesn’t mind sacrificing himself to execute the mission.  Kirk is a wild card, and he doesn’t mind breaking the rules, even if it’s a Starfleet directive.  He rescues Spock, and in doing so exposes the highly advanced interplanetary spacecraft to a people who haven’t even invented the wheel yet.

This act of defiance leads to Kirk’s demotion and his ordered return to the Academy, courtesy of his superior officer and mentor Commander Pike (Bruce Greenwood, Flight).  His exile is short-lived though, as emergencies call for reinstatement to the Enterprise.  An act of British terrorism at a Starfleet Records location implicates a treasonous officer named John Harrison.  Harrison takes it a step further with an attack on Starfleet, and now the crew must hunt him down and make him pay.  Their quest to apprehend him takes them throughout the galaxy, to the forbidden planet of Kronos – a planet they dare not visit, as tension with the Klingons is at an all-time high.  The remainder of the movie centers around the battle with Harrison, who is a much greater foe than Kirk and Company anticipated.

JJ Abrams (Super 8) has done it again.  Star Trek Into Darkness was everything you’d want in a summer blockbuster: non-stop action and entertainment, and cool special effects.  I’m starting to hate the entire concept of 3D, because 90% of the movies that are released with this “special feature” are not enhanced by it at all.  The difference is negligible, and audiences should smarten up and stop falling for the trick.  Studios are shameful with this blatant money-grab.  I digress.  Despite the useless 3D aspect, I have no real criticism of the movie.  The plot made sense and it was easy to understand.  I don’t want a plot that’s completely dumbed down, but give audiences something they can wrap their heads around.  I want the plot to make sense; I don’t just want to be entertained by stuff blowing up, although that works for me too.  Chris Pine is a likable leading man, and he’s ably shouldered the load in the few performances I’ve seen from him.  Abrams brought an emotional backstory to the movie, adding an unexpected heft to the movie’s tone.  With him at the helm, Star Trek should be a summer franchise to watch for a few years to come.  Grade: A

Iron Man 3

It’s time for the summer movies to start rolling in, the popcorn fare that entertains us during those dog days.  Iron Man 3, the third installment in Marvel’s popular franchise, kicks off what should be a promising season for super hero movies.  This time around we find Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) recuperating from the otherworldly showdown that capped off last year’s Avengers.  He is physically fine, but his shaken mental state leaves him in a reflective mood.

The movie opens with Tony thinking back to a chance encounter on New Year’s Eve 1999.  After attending a glamorous party with then girlfriend Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall, The Town), Tony runs into a scientist, a developer named Aldrich Killian, who wants to discuss some exciting new ideas for his technology company.  Aldrich (Guy Pearce, Prometheus) appears nerdy and disheveled, not the kind of person who leaves an impression.  Tony snubs the man, unwittingly setting him on a course of scornful retaliation.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Aldrich has reinvented himself.  Gone is the meek intellectual who could barely a muster a sentence. With a new hairdo and some much-needed dental work, he is confident and bold.  His intentions have grown more nefarious since Tony spurned him all those years ago.  He has created Extremis, a chemical that could restore limbs to maimed soldiers returning home from war.

Unfortunately, Extremis can have terrible side effects, including spontaneous combustion, which would sort of defeat the purpose of regenerating a lost limb, wouldn’t it?  These spontaneous explosions are related to a series of terror attacks that have been charged to a radical extremist known as “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley, Hugo).  His relationship with Aldrich isn’t immediately clear, but the pair is up to something fishy.  When Aldrich kidnaps the president in a misguided attempt to further their twisted terrorist agenda, Tony and his buddy Colonel James Rhodes (War Machine aka Iron Patriot) (Don Cheadle, Flight) come to the rescue.

Hope I didn’t give away too much; I tried to keep it simple.  Iron Man 3 was exciting and entertaining, and I understand why it opened at number 1, given its format and the time of year.  The special effects were cool; particularly the way the Iron Man suit strategically broke away from Tony and then quickly reattached itself, piece by piece.  The movie was funny, and even though he’s a billionaire, Stark is one of the more accessible superheroes because he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously.  There were lots of one-liners, and Robert Downey Jr. will be missed if it’s true that this is his last outing.  You know what though?  I was rather underwhelmed.  I actually dozed off for a quick second.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but maybe I like a darker protagonist.  This was a feel-good movie for all audiences, which is great.  I’m sure I have the minority opinion, but I just didn’t love it.  Good movie, but no big deal. Grade: B+