May Movies: Star Trek, Iron Man, After Earth, & Great Gatsby....

[Mark Vader]

The iceman looks like a good pick.

Yeah, Michael Shannon getting a lead role with an impressive cast in a movie that is based on a true story. Looks good to me.

 

And all of this before Shannon becomes a household name when "Man of Steel" is released.

[Mark Vader]

I was roped into seeing it tonight (not in 3D though). It was really bad. I have no idea what they were thinking with this one. The combination of over the top visuals and modern music was mind numbingly stupid. I found the party scenes to be nauseating.

Yikes!

 

On the bright side, "Star Trek Into Darkness" opens next week.

[Wayne Cubed]

Got to see Star Trek Into The Darkness last night and came away very impressed. The story line is great and the film moves along at a really good pace. I didn't think there were any slow points in the movie. With this new time line, Abrams does a great job introducing characters and playing along with the older time line. The visuals were superb.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Wayne Cubed

[Mark Vader]

Got to see Star Trek Into The Darkness last night and came away very impressed. The story line is great and the film moves along at a really good pace. I didn't think there were any slow points in the movie. With this new time line, Abrams does a great job introducing characters and playing along with the older time line. The visuals were superb.

Excellent! Can't wait to see it.

 

It's score on Rotten Tomatoes is at 89%.

[Mark Vader]

Got to see Star Trek Into The Darkness last night and came away very impressed. The story line is great and the film moves along at a really good pace. I didn't think there were any slow points in the movie. With this new time line, Abrams does a great job introducing characters and playing along with the older time line. The visuals were superb.

I agree with everything you said.

 

"Star Trek Into Darkness" was outstanding. All I can say is, go see it. You will not be disappointed.

 

I can not wait to see what J.J. Abrams will do with Star Wars.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

I agree with everything you said.

 

"Star Trek Into Darkness" was outstanding. All I can say is, go see it. You will not be disappointed.

 

I can not wait to see what J.J. Abrams will do with Star Wars.

Hope to get to it this evening

[shrader]

IMAX showing today at 2:30!

[Wayne Cubed]

I can not wait to see what J.J. Abrams will do with Star Wars.

 

He did a great job not revealing that it was Kahn until about half way through the movie. I think I knew it was Kahn, even before I saw the movie, but for fans new to the series, it was a great reveal.

 

After seeing what he's done with both Star Treks, I have a good feeling he can return Star Wars to its former glory. I'll be interested in seeing who he casts for main roles(have heard he wants to bring back the old cast for cameos).

Edited May 18, 2013 by Wayne Cubed

[Doc]

After seeing what he's done with both Star Treks, I have a good feeling he can return Star Wars to its former glory. I'll be interested in seeing who he casts for main roles(have heard he wants to bring back the old cast for cameos).

I'm not so sure. Didn't care for ST: ID much in the same way I didn't care for the first reboot. And it looks like he's going alien lifeform crazy, a la Lucas after Empire.

[Wayne Cubed]

I'm not so sure. Didn't care for ST: ID much in the same way I didn't care for the first reboot. And it looks like he's going alien lifeform crazy, a la Lucas after Empire.

 

Were you a fan of the original Star Treks?

[Doc]

Were you a fan of the original Star Treks?

A big fan of the series and man of the prior movies (Khan was far and away the best of the entire movie series, much like Superman 2 was).

 

I will say that it doesn't appear that SW will be as cartoonish-looking as episodes 1-3 were.

[Wayne Cubed]

A big fan of the series and man of the prior movies (Khan was far and away the best of the entire movie series, much like Superman 2 was).

 

I will say that it doesn't appear that SW will be as cartoonish-looking as episodes 1-3 were.

 

I can see where big fans of the older movies/series could get hung up on the new ones. What I appreciate about it is how he's written it. Abrams wrote it so that it was a new set of movies, instead of just trying to reboot the older series. He's as good as a sci-fi screen writer as they come and IMO thats what Star Wars needs. The last 3 movies, the story and script were just horrible (and the acting, to an extent). Yea Lucas went overboard with the CGI, but where he really fell short was story, which is what made the originals so good.

 

I'm hoping he writes a really go script and I think he can get the most out of the actors he chooses.

[Doc]

I can see where big fans of the older movies/series could get hung up on the new ones. What I appreciate about it is how he's written it. Abrams wrote it so that it was a new set of movies, instead of just trying to reboot the older series. He's as good as a sci-fi screen writer as they come and IMO thats what Star Wars needs. The last 3 movies, the story and script were just horrible (and the acting, to an extent). Yea Lucas went overboard with the CGI, but where he really fell short was story, which is what made the originals so good.

 

I'm hoping he writes a really go script and I think he can get the most out of the actors he chooses.

I agree about the story and CGI being weak in the last installments of SW. But I'll discuss this latest ST movie further after people have had a chance to see it.

[Mark Vader]

I can see where big fans of the older movies/series could get hung up on the new ones. What I appreciate about it is how he's written it. Abrams wrote it so that it was a new set of movies, instead of just trying to reboot the older series. He's as good as a sci-fi screen writer as they come and IMO thats what Star Wars needs. The last 3 movies, the story and script were just horrible (and the acting, to an extent). Yea Lucas went overboard with the CGI, but where he really fell short was story, which is what made the originals so good.

 

I'm hoping he writes a really go script and I think he can get the most out of the actors he chooses.

I agree about the story and CGI being weak in the last installments of SW. But I'll discuss this latest ST movie further after people have had a chance to see it.

I somewhat agree with both of you about the SW prequels. Episodes I & II have problems, but they also have good stuff as well.

 

Personally I think Episode III is outstanding from start to finish. Which is why I am puzzled at how tedious I & II were.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Mark Vader

[shrader]

I've never had an experience where a person sitting next to me completely ruined a movie for me, but that happened today. This woman laughed at everything. Villain reveal? Laugh. Crazy action scene? Laugh. Dramatic scenes full of deaths? Laugh. I'm pretty sure this woman laughed when she watched Schindler's List. It was beyond obnoxious.

 

I wish I had more to say about the movie. I enjoyed it, but I would have soaked in so much more if I had been able to peacefully watch it. Other than that woman, I wasn't crazy about the ending, but the rest I liked.

[Fan in Chicago]

Saw Star Trek on Friday but wanted to wait a day before I posted a reaction.I loved Star Trek, the TV series and think Wrath of Khan was one of the best. Also really enjoyed the 2009 re-boot/re-imagination of the entire series. The parallel universe concept and the rest of the story was very creative and riveting. Given all this, I saw the new one and came away disappointed. I will put my thoughts in the spoiler section as I don't know what counts as spoilers or not.

 

- The acting is good throughout. Chris Pine and Weller came across as weak and not really into their roles

- Action sequences are very well shot

- Cumberbatch steals the show. I liked him in Sherlock and the understated role in Tinker, tailor. Here he really comes into his own and pretty much dominates the screen when he is in it.

- Story has a lot of holes or at least a real stretching of the story line to the point where I couldn't buy into some aspects. Why does Harrison/Khan lead the crew to the Klignon planet ? Why do the Enterprise's sensors detect no other life form ? Why do the Klignon's do nothing despite the federation's incursion ? How does a Harrison single handedly shoot so many Klignon's when utterly exposed himself ? Several other points throughout which I could ont see beyond

- So all it takes to cure any dying person is to inject that person with Khan's blood ? The Holy Grail ! Life's mystery is solved !!!

- A huge point I hated was the pussifying of Spock. Tears ? Romancing ? Showing so much emotion ? Come on, Abrams !! He is only half human and mostly Vulcan. the latter dominates. if this is the way he is re-imagined in the Abram's series, I hate it. This is not a friggin' soap opera

 

All in all, I think it was a good action movie, but not a Star Trek movie. In the effort to make it palatable to the general public, he has sold out the Trek faithful and also made a weak story for the rest. Abrams should re-watch the 2009 movie and see that he did not have to dumb down the movie to make it more broadly acceptable. The box office may prove me wrong but I think it was a poor strategy.

 

*(I tried to make it spoiler code but once the BB Code dialog box opens up, I see only part of the dialog box so cannot click on 'ok' to accept. Hence changed the color of the font instead

Edited May 19, 2013 by Fan in Chicago

[ajzepp]

I saw Star Trek last night...it's hard for me to say this because I really enjoyed the first one, and I'm also a huge fan of JJ, but he took this movie a few places he just shouldn't have. I expected something completely different given the direction he took the first one...it's almost like he abandoned the vision he set up with part one, even though it was a GREAT vision, IMO.

 

Regretfully, this one gets a big thumb's down from me.

 

(Although Im still very excited to see what he does with Star Wars!)

[Fan in Chicago]

 

Regretfully, this one gets a big thumb's down from me.

 

 

My review above yours, agrees with your sentiment. Looks like the audience is too (its shaping up to be a disappointment):

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/05/19/weekend-box-office-star-trek-into-darkness-opens-with-just-84-million/

 

"Four years ago, we all thought that Star Trek 2 was a lock for one of the bigger opening weekends on record. Today, we’re wondering if it will even top $200 million domestic."

 

This has always been my gripe against Abrams. I never know when he will turn out genius material like the 2009 Star Trek or when he will make us groan with utter underwhelming crap like Super 8.

[meazza]

The iceman looks like a good pick.

 

Though I've been wanting to watch this movie for a while, I don't know if a movie could capture the reality of this guy.

 

I suggest watching the HBO documentaries before.

[Mark Vader]

I saw Star Trek last night...it's hard for me to say this because I really enjoyed the first one, and I'm also a huge fan of JJ, but he took this movie a few places he just shouldn't have. I expected something completely different given the direction he took the first one...it's almost like he abandoned the vision he set up with part one, even though it was a GREAT vision, IMO.

 

Regretfully, this one gets a big thumb's down from me.

 

(Although Im still very excited to see what he does with Star Wars!)

I have been reading some reviews and "Star Trek Into Darkness" has become a movie that audiences either love or hate.

 

The die hard Trekkers appear to be split on this movie, but the audience Cinema Score grade was an "A", and the Rotten Tomatoes score is a strong 87%.