Thoroughbreds

Thoroughbreds (2018)

Starring Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Paul Sparks, and Anton Yelchin

Directed by Cory Finley

Written by Cory Finley

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Movie Review - Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoë Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yeltsin, Sofia Boutella, and Idris Elba

Directed by Justin Lin

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

I have admiration for the new incarnation of the Star Trek film series and I think it's been quite successful thus far thanks to its ability to balance an homage to the past with an updated aesthetic.  Star Trek Beyond, the third film in this modern reboot, still maintains this equity, but it's the least engaging of the three films thus far, failing to really create a story that feels cinematic and instead seemingly could've taken place over a 45-minute episode of one of the Star Trek tv series.

The cast remains rock solid in this third film, but the direction shifts hands from J.J. Abrams to Justin Lin and the screenplay also moves to co-writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung and unfortunately both aspects end up being quite lacking when compared to their predecessors.  While Star Trek Beyond adds a little more comedic and emotional rapport between its characters, it comes as a bit of a disappointment after what is likely the best Star Trek film to date in Star Trek Into Darkness.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Green Room

Green Room (2016)

Starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein, Macon Blair, Kai Lennox, and Patrick Stewart

Directed by Jeremy Saulnier

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Through a friend of a friend, a punk rock band gets a gig at a slummy Neo-Nazi bar in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Northwest.  Following the show, Pat (Anton Yelchin) returns to the green room to get a phone left behind only to discover a stabbed dead body on the floor.  Privy to this murder, the leaders of the Neo-Nazi group refuse to let Pat and his bandmates (Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner) leave and the quartet is forced to figure out a way to try and save themselves before they end up with the same murdered fate.

Writer-director Jeremy Saulnier has crafted an incredibly tense and utterly frightening film in Green Room, a fantastic follow-up and improvement upon his successful prior film Blue Ruin.  In his two films I've seen thus far, Saulnier is admirably successful in creating a gritty atmosphere and then adding some less-than-kind characters to the mix.  Fully realized and feeling quite lived in, Green Room pulls the viewer into the claustrophobic atmosphere from which we beg to escape much like the trapped bandmates.

The cast -- including the late Anton Yelchin as a band member and a terrifyingly calm Patrick Stewart as the Neo-Nazi leader -- gamely accepts the roles of either the terrorizers or the terrorized, helping to strengthen the intensity of the horrific situation unfolding on the screen.  Green Room isn't an easy sit -- it's quite violent and things don't always turn out well for the protagonists.  However, auteur Jeremy Saulnier has proven once again that he is quite adept and capable of making a film that puts uneasiness and intensity on the front burner.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Cymbeline

Cymbeline (2015)

Starring Ethan Hawke, Ed Harris, Milla Jovovich, John Leguizamo, Penn Badgley, Dakota Johnson, and Anton Yelchin

Directed by Michael Almereyda

Text from the opening moments of Cymbeline tells us the following about one of Shakespeare's lesser-known tales:  For years Cymbeline (Ed Harris), King of the Briton Motorcycle Club, has maintained an uneasy peace with the Roman Police Force.  The Queen (Milla Jovovich), Cymbeline's second wife, has her own agenda.  But she's losing hope that her son Cloten (Anton Yelchin) will pair up with the King's only daughter, Imogen (Dakota Johnson).  Without consulting her royal parents, Imogen decides to marry Posthumus (Penn Badgley), Cymbeline's penniless protégé.  The marriage triggers the King's rage, setting in motion a series of disastrous events.  But fortune brings in some boats that aren't steered...  I presume that the unsteered boat is Iachimo (Ethan Hawke), an acquaintance of Posthumus who sets up a wager that if he can prove to have taken Imogen's virginity he'll win a coveted ring of Posthumus's, but if he doesn't succeed, he'll have to give Posthumus money and a sword.

Quite frankly, Cymbeline feels like an amalgamation of many of Shakespeare's other works and the placement of this particular film adaptation into modern times as is written and directed by Michael Almereyda simply adds to the confusion in tone.  After we grow accustomed to the Shakespearean language (which always takes a little bit of time), the general plot of the play/film lays itself out somewhat clearly.  However, the ultimate problem with the flick is that the character of Iachimo seems sorely out of place and, seeing as how his bet with Posthumus is the integral cog to setting the plot in motion, this causes issues.  Attempting to steal a woman's virginity may have been radical in 1600s England, but by placing this story in a modern setting, this key plot point seems ludicrously childish and silly.

Although Dakota Johnson and Penn Badgley are actually quite good (and given the cast they may not seem at first glance to be the members who would really shine), nearly everyone else feels as if they're overacting, upping the dramatics in order to make us feel like we're watching "SHAKESPEARE" in ALL CAPITALS!  While I'll always appreciate a Shakespearean cinematic adaptation for simply existing, this one just doesn't work.  Being unfamiliar with the play itself, the fault may lie moreso with the original work than the film, but as it stands, there are cinematic problems running rampant here as well.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+

Movie Review - Only Lovers Left Alive

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014)

Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi, and John Hurt

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

My only other experience with director-writer Jim Jarmusch was an absolutely awful flick called The Limits of Control, so when I checked out Only Lovers Left Alive from the library and saw that it was penned and helmed by him, the dvd sat atop my tv for nearly two-and-a-half weeks before I decided to give it a shot.  I must admit that I found myself pleasantly surprised.  The slow pace apparent in The Limits of Control was certainly still present, but Only Lovers Left Alive at least contains a story to latch onto that is surprisingly compelling.

In the simplest of terms, Only Lovers Left Alive revolves around Adam and Eve (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton), two centuries-old married vampires who have evolved into creatures of the night who don't seek out living, breathing humans for their blood sustenance, but instead get their "fix" by other less brutal means.  When Eve's sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) comes to town, things get shaken up a bit and Adam and Eve's mellow life becomes a bit more chaotic than they hoped.

Certainly uncomplicated, that's just about the entire summary of Jarmusch's film.  What keeps you interested are Swinton and Hiddleston, both of whom are surprisingly captivating considering that the first hour of the film is about as slow-paced a film you'll have seen from 2014.  Somehow, though, the two actors are compelling with Hiddleston's mopey and depressed Adam being countered by Swinton's more hopeful and pleasant Eve.  Swinton really is one of the best actresses working today and I continue to be impressed with nearly everything she chooses to take part in, and Hiddleston proves here that there's more to him than the egomaniacal Loki from the Marvel Universe.  In addition, Wasikowska really shines in a small role, popping in at about the one hour mark as the childish Ava to give the flick some much needed verve and pizzazz.

This is one of those flicks that you absolutely have to be in the "mood" to watch and it undoubtedly will not suit everyone's tastes.  However, I found Only Lovers Left Alive to be an intriguing piece of cinema -- one that I assume is much deeper upon subsequent viewings (the Adam/Eve symbolism alone would probably give you enough material to write a research paper), but works quite well on its initial watch as well.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch

Directd by J.J. Abrams

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

With the origin story of 2009's Star Trek reboot behind us, I was looking forward to seeing what J.J. Abrams was going to bring to the table in Star Trek Into Darkness.  I should preface things by saying that while I like Star Trek, I'm no über-fan.  I haven't really seen any of the original movies and essentially was a ST:Next Generation guy and that was it.  So, if this movie resembles another (which I heard it did upon its release last year), it's news to me.  So, with that caveat out of the way, I'll say that I found Into Darkness to be a truly fun ride that nicely paces its action sequences and never once feels like the typical non-stop in-your-face special effects spectacle that most summer action movies are -- and I mean that in a good way.

Into Darkness places an emphasis on story and that's a welcome treat.  As far as the story goes, however, I'm not going to delve greatly into it as there are a few surprises in terms of Star Trek lore that are best to be left unsaid.  Needless to say that the way director Abrams and his long-time collaborator screenwriter Damon Lindelof (along with writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman) are able to weave the old Star Trek with this new reboot are inventive and enjoyable.  I'll also add that even if you've never seen another Star Trek film, you can start with Star Trek Into Darkness and not be lost.  Although it's a continuation of the 2009 film in terms of character development, there's nothing presented here that will make you feel lost if you start your Star Trek journey here.

As I mentioned, I appreciated that those involved creatively didn't feel the need to place action scenes directly after one another in a whiz-bang fashion.  However -- and this is the film's one true detriment -- because of the lack of action sequences, much of the cast wasn't showcased to its fullest potential. Whereas in the first film, I felt that actors like John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, and Anton Yelchin all got their moments in the sun that doesn't necessarily happen here.  In some ways, that's better -- the film's focus on Kirk, Spock (Zachary Quinto), and the villainous renegade Star Fleet member John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) streamlines things a bit more and eschews the need for "action moments" simply to place characters in scenes.  However, with a cast this good, I missed seeing them at times.  That said, Chris Pine has taken the character of Captain Kirk and imbued him with just the right amount of the suavely chauvinistic vibe William Shatner brought to the character without taking things overboard that he's quite enjoyable to watch.  Actors in movies like this don't get a lot of credit, but I think what Pine is doing with Kirk -- making him a cocky guy with a lot of heart -- is great stuff.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - The Pirates! Band of Misfits

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)

Featuring the voice talents of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Anton Yelchin, Brendon Gleeson, and Salma Hayek

Directed by Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt

The Pirates! Band of Misfits feels distinctly Aardman, the same animation studio that brought us Flushed Away, Chicken Run, and the Wallace and Gromit shorts and film.  There's no mistaking the company's wry British sense of humo(u)r and the Claymation-style stop motion animation.  However, while the animation proves to be fantastic (I honestly thought it was computer-animated until I did a bit of research), the story about a band of misfit pirates (hence the title) doesn't quite have enough oomph to satisfy.

All Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) wants is to be named Pirate of the Year.  For years, he's never been able to get the coveted award and he's clamored to be anything other than a laughing stock amongst his fellow pirates (some voiced by Jeremy Piven and Salma Hayek).  However, Pirate Captain's biggest problem is that he's simply not very good at his chosen profession.  He always seem to fail when it comes to one of the key factors in gauging a pirate's success -- stealing booty.  Determined to find his place at the top of the Pirate of the Year ballot, Pirate Captain sets off on a mission to steal as much booty as he can find and ends up raiding the ship of Charles Darwin (David Tennant).  Darwin has nothing worth stealing, but discovers that Pirate Captain's parrot is actually the last remaining dodo on the planet.  Seeing dollar signs before his eyes and with the prospect of earning much admiration from Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton), Darwin convinces the Pirate Captain to travel to London with him to present the dodo at a huge science convention.  The Pirate Captain, lured by the prospect of a "giant prize" at the affair, obliges despite the fact that the Queen absolutely despises pirates and does all that she can to see they are executed.

All of that plot is certainly amusing and it had me convinced that I was in for a nice and unexpected treat.  However, that all takes place in the film's first thirty minutes and the remaining fifty minutes simply wanders about rather aimlessly, losing the momentum of the strong first act.  As I mentioned above, the animation is rather stunning.  I've always been a fan of Aardman's unique stop-motion style and it doesn't disappoint here.  In fact, the fluidity of movement in Pirates is the best I've seen from them, but it still maintains the uniqueness that is stop-motion animation.  Couple the beautiful animation with some nice voice acting particularly from an unrecognizable Hugh Grant as Pirate Captain and Martin Freeman as his trusty partner Pirate with a Scarf and you have all the makings of a nice film.

Which is why it's all the more unfortunate that the story didn't have a little more to offer.  The Pirates! Band of Misfits isn't a bad film and it's not even something I'd consider a disappointment.  It's disheartening, however, that there appeared to be so much potential here that wasn't quite fully realized.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Like Crazy

Like Crazy (2011)

Starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by Drake Doremus

It feels like these indie twenty-something romance flicks are a dime a dozen these days, but maybe it's just that they all kind of feel the same and manage to have the same sort of trajectory.  Guy and girl fall in love, they break up, they get back together, and on and on.  Sure, essentially that's a plot that pretty much describes any romantic film, but with the added "indie" descriptor, it usually means we get some type of quirkiness thrown into the mix.

Sure enough in Like Crazy, the quirks come from the direction which, right of the bat from the very first shot, had me rolling my eyes and cringing in disgust.  Director and co-writer Drake Doremus adopts a voyeuristic approach to the flick and from the very opening scene, I knew it was going to be utterly pretentious...and I wasn't wrong.  Throughout the film which follows the budding relationship of American Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Brit Anna (Felicity Jones), Doremus utilizes a light shaky cam coupled with odd, rather obnoxious framing.  He's a fan of those odd cuts that are becoming more and more prevalent nowadays -- a shot where, as an example, we see someone sitting at a desk, then they cut like ten seconds out and the person's slightly moved, then another 30 seconds maybe, and so and so on to show the (monotonous) passage of time.  Drawing attention to the direction is something I don't always hate, but in a simple movie like this, it's incredibly distracting.  Doremus is able to capture some little moments -- like a kiss here or a glance there -- that are simple, lovely, and heartfelt, but overall, his direction was the film's biggest fault.

As far as the story itself -- which is a rather basic love story about a long distance relationship of the two aforementioned characters -- it works okay (not quite a ringing endorsement, I'm aware) even though it manages to somehow feel much longer than its short 85 minutes (another fault of the director).  Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones are fine and there's a chemistry between the two that works.  However, neither of the characters are really captivating enough to craft a movie around which proves to be a bit of a problem.

Like Crazy ends much like the underseen 2011 sleeper Last Night (which is available instantly streaming on Netflix and comes RyMickey Recommended) and both endings work immensely well, lifting the movie up probably moreso than they respectively deserve to be lifted up.  However, I can't let the enjoyable "cliff-hangerish" ending spoil what ultimately is a disappointment here.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Fright Night

Fright Night (2011)

Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Fright Night (a remake of a 1985 vampire film I've never seen) starts off much too self-referential and "hip" for its own good.  Eventually, the film takes a very positive turn down an exciting and genuinely tense road, but even then it has a few pacing problems here and there.  Still, in the end, it's a decent horror movie that's certainly better than a lot of stuff out there.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Fright Night is that the opening forty-five minutes feels like a rehash of a variety of other vampire flicks that have come before it.  Adding to that sense of tedium is a horrible turn from Christopher Mintz-Plasse as an obnoxious vampire-obsessed geek who makes the flick almost unbearable to watch.  Fortunately, his character falls to the wayside for a bit allowing the main story -- concerning a teen named Charley (Anton Yelchin) who believes his next door neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire -- to come to the forefront.

Once the film sidelines the pop culture-y references and focuses squarely on Charley, his mom (Toni Collette), his girlfriend (Imogen Poots), and his growing obsession over Jerry's apparent vampiric tendencies, the flick kicks into high gear.  There are several pulse-pounding scenes and I found the ending to be rather clever and somewhat fresh in the overarching subgenre of vampire flicks (of course, I'm not an expert in the genre, so maybe it's just a rehashing of something else that I haven't seen yet).

With the exception of Superbad's Christopher Mintz-Plasse whom casting agents can feel free to never hire again, Fright Night contains acting that's well above what is usually expected in a genre pic such as this.  Granted, their characters aren't given a whole lot to do, but everyone gives it their all despite the limitations of such a flick.

There are certainly problems to be had with Fright Night -- it was nearly so awful in the first twenty minutes that I was going to stop watching it -- but it definitely ends up being a flick that's worth watching if it ends up popping up on Netflix Instant or one of your pay cable stations.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - The Beaver

The Beaver (2011)

Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Cherry Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence

Directed by Jodie Foster

I've said this before in a previous review of one of his films, but what Mel Gibson does outside of a cinematic setting is one thing...I still like him greatly as an actor (and director, for that matter).  In The Beaver, Gibson's first foray into acting since his most recent meltdown in which he berated his girlfriend, the actor takes on a role that seems rather suited for him in his current situation -- a depressed guy wanting to hide away from the world.  Although married to a seemingly lovely wife (Jodie Foster) with whom he has two sons and despite being the top exec at a promising toy company, Walter Black is in a funk.  Seriously forlorn, his wife Meredith kicks him out of the house, unable to deal with his lack of attention to his family.  While throwing away some of his belongings in a dumpster, he comes across a beaver hand puppet, which, after he places it on his hand, becomes Walter's sole way of communicating with other people.

Right off the bat, The Beaver has an incredibly odd premise that seemingly would lend itself to comedy (or dark comedy at the very least).  However, this is where the Jodie Foster-directed film ends up faltering the greatest.  It's obvious that the ultimate goal of the flick was to find a balance between drama and humor, but the comedy never really made itself known.  Foster simply can't foster the humor and it creates an uneven tone that never works itself out.

It's unfortunate, really, because Mel Gibson is actually pretty darn good here.  Perhaps by studying the accent of his Edge of Darkness co-star Ray Winstone, Gibson's rough-around-the-edges British accent that he spouts whenever speaking as the puppet is spot on.  But there's certainly more to his performance than an accent.  This'll sound corny, but there was something in Gibson's eyes in this movie that just said all that needed to be said.  While Gibson was spouting the Beaver's lines, the eyes of Walter were displaying what the character truly felt -- a man struggling with trying to find who he once was and how he possibly could have sunk so low.

While I placed a bit of the blame on Foster above, I think the film's biggest problem is a script that just doesn't quite know where it wants to go.  To me, this thing would've worked infinitely better as a clever short 30-minute flick, but when the movie tries to expand its landscape by delving into the life of Walter and Meredith's eldest son Porter and his burgeoning relationship with the school valedictorian (Jennifer Lawrence) who has troubles of her own, the whole thing falls flat.

There's part of me that wants to tell you to rent The Beaver simply because Gibson's performance is worthy of viewing.  However, heed the warning that you won't really be seeing a quality film to go along with it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - New York, I Love You (2009)

Starring Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Julie Christie, Bradley Cooper, Chris Cooper, Drea de Matteo, Andy Garcia, Ethan Hawke, Shia LaBeouf, Cloris Leachman, Robin Wright Penn, Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, Qi Shu, Eli Wallach, and Anton Yelchin
Directed by 11 Directors of Varying Talent

I certainly haven't seen many short film collections, but it seems a difficult, unenviable task to assemble an anthology such as this. There's bound to be some works that are better than others and, when placed next to these intriguing shorts, all the other shorts pale in comparison. That's the case in New York, I Love You where you'll find three really good short films, but the other seven or so fall flat (or, at the very best, are simply adequate) and bog the film down.

Let's start with the good:

• My favorite segment was by director Allen Hughes starring Bradley Cooper and Drea de Matteo as two lovers who are contemplating the ramifications of their one-night stand. The short jumps back and forth between the two actors as the story is told through a voiceover depicting their thoughts and flashbacks to their sensual night before.
• Another winner was a segment starring Ethan Hawke and Qi Shu, directed by Yvan Attel. Hawke spends five minutes trying to bed married gal Shu whom he meets smoking on an NYC sidewalk. Little does he know that she's able to one-up him in the end. Later in the film, there's a segment starring Robin Wright Penn and Chris Cooper that appears to be very much the same story with the woman, Wright Penn, taking over Hawke's role. As I was watching it, I couldn't help but notice the similarity and I wondered to myself, why would they allow two shorts in this film to have such a similar storyline? Little did I know that they were directed by the same guy.
• The only other segment that I really enjoyed was directed by Joshua Marston and stars Cloris Leachman and Eli Wallach as an elderly couple celebrating their anniversary by returning to a memorable NYC landmark for them. Quite funny and beautifully acted by the two folks.

Unfortunately, after that, everything starts to go downhill. The segment Natalie Portman directed about a young girl and her father was alright (and starred one of my first crushes, Jacinda Barrett -- "Real World"er turned actress), but it wasn't anything special. And the segment that Portman starred in about some odd relationship between a Yiddish woman and an Indian man was awful.

In fact, the first three segments of this movie (of which Portman's starring role occurred in the middle) were awful. Starting the movie with the reteaming of Jumper stars Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson was a huge mistake. Bilson's a beauty to look at, but she can't act and Christensen was horrendous. And short #3 about Orlando Bloom as a composer was not good, either.

I haven't even discussed the obnoxiously pretentious segment about remembering one's youth starring Julie Christie and Shia LaBouef. The way it was filmed, it felt like I was watching some really expensive perfume commercial. Ugh.

The acting was all over the place -- some good performances (both Coopers, Hawke, Leachman, and Wallach) and some awful ones (Christensen, Bilson, Andy Garcia, Anton Yelchin) -- as was the direction.

Despite the fact that there were some good segments here, it just didn't work for me. And it certainly didn't seem to showcase New York City to me at all. In fact, the city came off as kind of drab.

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review - Terminator Salvation (2009)

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, and Bryce Dallas Howard

Written by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris

Directed by McG

Up front, I should say that if you actually sit back and think about this movie, you're going to hate it. There's really nothing here we haven't seen before and considering that this is really a prequel to all the Terminator movies (despite the fact that it takes place in a future after those movies...confused yet?), there's not really any doubt how things are going to turn out.

That being said, I enjoyed the two hours spent watching this popcorn flick. As we know from previous Terminators, John Connor is going to save the human race from the evil Skynet robots that have seemingly taken over the world. As the head of the Resistance, John Connor (initials=J.C.=Jesus Christ?) will be the leader that will save the people and he needs to make sure that Kyle Reese is around to go back in time and sleep with Connor's mom so that Connor's mom can have Connor. Got it? If not, go watch the first three flicks prior to watching this one.

Director McG did a surprisingly decent job with the action sequences. Right off the bat there's an action shot of a helicopter lifting off and then crashing that is seemingly done with a single camera shot with no cuts (I'm sure computers played a huge role here). That kind of impressed me from the get go. McG manages to create taut action sequences without lowering himself to the nonstop Michael Bay editing or the shaky camera that's been a staple of movies of late.

Sure, the story is lacking and full of ridiculously large holes and improbablities. Towards the end, John Connor is able to infiltrate the Skynet headquarters with nary a robot in sight to take him down. And don't even get me started on the multiple opportunities to kill Kyle Reese that fall by the wayside.

And leads Christian Bale and Sam Worthington are so one-note they are laughable. Bale is just rehashing his guttural growl from Batman, and Worthington (who is this guy exactly?) seriously switched from no accent to an Australian accent halfway through the movie.

Still, despite those pretty major flaws (flaws that would ruin other flicks), I enjoyed myself due in large part to McG's taut direction of the action scenes. I actually thought they were more exciting and just as well shot as those in the admittedly better Star Trek which came out earlier this summer.

The RyMickey Rating: C

Movie Review -- Star Trek (2009)

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Winona Ryder, and Leonard Nimoy

Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

Directed by J.J. Abrams

I'm a huge J.J. Abrams fan. I love Lost, liked Alias, thought Felicity was an incredibly underrated series, thought J.J's Mission: Impossible was the best of the bunch...so I went into this expecting a lot.

In all likelihood, this will probably be my favorite action movie of the summer. The action sequences were very subdued, not non-stop in-your-face, and edited in such a way that I could actually tell what was going on (I'm talking to you, Michael Bay). So, if I liked the way they were filmed so much, why was I underwhelmed by these action sequences? There seemed to be a lack of tension in these scenes which (being an action movie) is rather unfortunate.

I'm not really going to get into the story here, except that this flick is essentially an "origin" story (albeit an infinitely better one than this recent flick I viewed), telling the tale of how James T. Kirk happened to become captain of the Enterprise. If someone has never seen anything having to do with Star Trek before, this is a perfect introduction. You don't need to know anything going into this. Everything is explained to you. While that could be tremendously boring for those that do know Star Trek (I know a little...I watched Next Generation as a kid), the way that the two screenwriters presented the information was perfect -- not the least bit boring for the Trekkies (or, apparently Trekkers, as they prefer to be called) and not the least bit confusing for the casual viewer.

The acting is across the board top-notch which is really what raised this film above your typical summer blockbuster. Chris Pine is a perfect Kirk, mirroring some of William Shatner's mannerisms, but making the character his own. Same goes for Zachary Quinto's Spock, who actually gets to spend time onscreen with the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. A stand-out was Simon Pegg's Scotty who made the absolute most of his minimal screen time. Zoe Saldana's Uhura was also quite good. The only problem with the skilled group of younger actors was Karl Urban's McCoy...he was the only one who seemed to be playing a copy of the original -- he was certainly directed to go for the "corny," but it felt a little out of place at times (there's a ridiculous scene between McCoy, Kirk, and a pair of swollen hands that is completely out of place with the rest of the film).

Overall, a good film. Certainly the best of the summer so far. Hopefully, the flick does good enough to warrant a sequel because I certainly wouldn't mind taking another voyage with this crew.

The RyMickey Rating: B