INASCIFI BLOG

J.J. Abram’s Star Trek is the one of the biggest buzz in the entertainment industry. Attempting to bring Star Trek back to its original roots, the next film will center on the original Federation starship U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701, with no bloody A, B, C, D or E and J) and how the core crew of the original series came by together.

Having the crew recast was the only option, since two original actors have long since passed away.

DeForest Kelley, who played ship’s doctor Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy was the first member of the original cast to pass away, and the second was James Doohan, who played the Scottish engineer Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott.

Nevertheless, the rest of the original actors were way too old to portray their roles, with the exception of Leonard Nimoy who is famous worldwide for playing Mister Spock, the U.S.S. Enterprise’s half-human half Vulcan first officer. Unlike us humans, the Vulcans of the planet Vulcan have an average life expectancy of over 200 years, so having Mr. Spock appear in the 24th century, still alive although very old, is very plausible.

Of course, having the premise ‘how the core crew of the original series (recast by younger better looking actors) came together’ sends the impression “Oh great, just another prequel story. Been there, done that.” Heck, even George Lucas started this whole prequel thing with his Star Wars episodes I-II-III, then apparently it became a trend… there’s Smallville, then there’s Hannibal Rising (origin story of Silence Of The Lambs), Fast and Furious (fourth film of the series, which is actually a midquel = sequel to The Fast And The Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious, but a prequel to The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift). Oh, don’t forget the re-imagination of Battlestar Galactica.

Yep, even back in 2001 there was a prequel series titled Enterprise (named such way so the viewers can associate the series with Star Trek without using the word Star Trek) which was renamed into Star Trek: Enterprise (which beats the whole purpose of the naming it Enterprise in the first place). Set in 2151-2155, the series takes place 90 years after mankind’s first official contact with the alien Vulcans and before the founding of United Federation of Planets.

Still with the theme of exploring the stars and putting humanity’s mark among the stars, Enterprise (later renamed into Star Trek: Enterprise) was challenged with scrutiny by many hard core fans (and some considered in direct violation with established continuity). Because of low ratings, the show was eventually canceled in the fourth season. In fact, the last episode of the series titled These are the voyages… was considered by many fans and cast members alone the worst episode ever written as a series finale.

Okay, so back Abram’s Star Trek.
Things you really need to know:
1. It is set around the 23rd century, some time before Captain Kirk’s famous five year mission.
2. While some sources stated it as a remake or reboot, writers Alex Kuzman and Robert Orzi of Transformers (2007) fame, went to considerable effort to honor the established timeline and essense. If you want me to spoil things for you, let’s just say that the story does involves Leonard Nimoy back as (a much, much older Mr. Spock).
3. The U.S.S. Enterprise will be very different from the one seen in the original series or movies. One reason of this more-than-cosmetic differences would perhaps be explained in the opening act.
4. Star Trek’s message of a hope for a bright future and peaceful exploration among the stars will still be the core theme.

As a Star Trek fan who lives in Indonesia I can’t help being a bit worried. In fact, very worried. I’m worried because of the assumption Star Trek isn’t as popular here as it is in other countries.
Also, our film distributor companies have a reputation of not showing films that have low market potential (example: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek Nemesis). Worst cast scenario, they won’t show it at all. But it might not come to this as I saw the movie poster in Blitz Megaplex last month.

Arvin at Blitz Megaplex, Mall of Indonesia. Jan 26 2009.

Still, it would be the best interest if the subtitling guy do not screw up the film’s translation into Bahasa Indonesia.

Heck, I’ll volunteer myself to make that translation/subtitling if the person involved is inexperienced with Star Trek.

-Arvin N. Chandra

Okay…

I’ve written about five (hopefully) good (if not great) films that will be coming this year.

Here’s some thoughts I have regarding those titles:

1. Star Trek.

After four years disappearing from the airwaves and six years from the big screen, Star Trek is back. But a good question would be, which Star Trek is this? From the sources I’ve gathered around, I can say a few things. First, this new Star Trek is not a simple remake… starting a new Trek franchise from scratch. The guys behind this film are putting good effort in respecting 40 years of established Star Trek lore. Although it risks a lot of alienating old fans, in many ways I can imagine it will bring new fans as well. Second, this coming summer will be a real competition. Noticed that these next four titles are all releasing within 3 months? Right during holiday season. So to be honest, I hope that Star Trek really tops them all.

Oh yeah, Indonesia also have its own Indo-Star Trek chapter. They’re located on http://www.indo-startrek.org/

In respect for the other titles:
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Wolverine is awesome. No doubt. Hugh Jackman is the perfect cast for Logan. And after the rather disappointing third flick (X-Men: The Last Stand), the guys decide to bring it a bit back behind. We get to see an origin story of Wolverine. Please know that in the comic universe itself, Wolverine’s origin has been rather recently fleshed out… and the way film media treat the source material tend to be… either good, or really really… ugh. Good example: Batman Begins (2005), Spider-Man (2002), Iron Man (2008). Bad examples: Batman Forever (1995), The Spirit (2008) the Smallville series (2001-present, although it’s a TV series instead of a film). From the trailer I’ve seen… Wolverine has potential to be a real action pack and violent movie. But hey, so was Punisher: War Zone (2008). (I still don’t get why many don’t like 2003’s The Punisher).

3. Terminator Salvation. I’ve got mixed feelings for this one. The premise is quite simple… man vs machine in a post apocalyptic future. We got a man destined as mankind’s savior. We got killing machines. There’s probably no Schwarzenegger on this one, but hey… at least there’s no Keannu Reeve (Neo) or Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith.. or Megatron), but what? We got Christian Bale as JOHN CONNOR? Isn’t this a bit… a.. hmm… overcast? Bale is so successful in the Batman franchise! Why is he into the Terminator franchise? As the sixth (or is it seventh) person to play John Connor?
Note: The first John Connor to appear is the future scarred Connor in the opening segment of T2:Judgment Day. Then there’s also the teenage John Connor played by Edward Furlong. Then there’s the young adult 20-some John Connor played by Nick Stahl in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Then there’s the teenager John Connor played Thomas Derek in the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which conveniently disregard the continuity of T3)… as well one or two child actors playing John in flashbacks. Okay… brief rundown: “This is not the future my mother warned me about. In this future, I’m not sure we can win.” The future has changed… can John Connor follow his destiny to save mankind from Skynet?
This is my second most anticipated movie of this year.

4. G.I.JOE: The Rise of Cobra. An action film based on an old cartoon serial, of an elite American task force fighting the global terrorist group Cobra… where no blood has never been spilled, nobody ever apparently die… and … goodness, the animations and morality back then was so simplistic. But hey, it was the 1980’s. Now, Step Up’s actor Channing Tatum is playing Duke? Funnily, I sort of accidentally read the movie script… and it was awesome! Hope this movie rocks!

5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Hmm… the plot for this movie is very tightly sealed. I couldn’t find much about this, except we’ll have more Autobots and a lot more Decepticons… and humans. Shia and Megan are back… which should be a good thing. Cool vehicles-transforming-into-robots… check. Exploding buildings with cool visual effects… check. Big Bad Villain making a Huge Comeback…. errr W.H.A.T.?

The 2008 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is a very touching movie.

Theatrical poster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Copyright © 2008 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

What if a person is born in physically old, and grows younger in each passing day?
This touching story is based on the short story (that can be read online here or in Project Guttenberg.

Having read the short story first before watching the film, I was quite surprised at the ‘creative liberty’ that the filmmakers have taken that elevated the main character (from someone in my opinion is selfish in the original short story) to a person of genuine care and sincerity to those around him in the film version.

Brad Pitt plays wonderfully (and for which he deserves an Academy nomination for Best Actor) as the reverse-aging Benjamin. Abandoned by his father as an infant with the infirmities of an old man, Benjamin grew up under the care of Afro-American woman in a retirement home.
As he noticed himself growing younger and stronger each day, he began to explore life, the world, and eventually love and sacrifice.
Being a drama film, the story pace is rather slow and only gets exciting in a few scenes, but the message for us to appreciate what we have, the time we can spend and who we can spend them with is always relevant for many people.

My rating:
Story: A-
Visual: A (you’ve got to love the scenery and make up effects they made for the aging characters)
Cast: A

overall: A

Edit:

Here are some trailer links.

Hi res download: http://movies.apple.com/movies/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/benbutton-tlr2a_h480p.mov

And unfortunately, the reviews I’m hearing is not very good.

You can check the trailer.

Now I’m having doubts, whether I’m going to watch this or not.