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Current Music: "Zydrate Anatomy," Repo! The Genetic Opera

Do they still have sandwiches there?

Man. You adapt one gesture from the Kohanim and the next thing you know, six billion of your people are dead and the rest in galactic diaspora. But why did you have to pick on us?

. . . by which you may understand that I just got back from Star Trek (2009) and I have an extraordinarily bad heachache, so this is not going to be a review. On the whole, my reaction is positive. Simon Pegg as Scotty: awesome. John Cho as Sulu: very awesome. Anton Yelchin as Chekov: adorable. It is quite likely I prefer Chris Pine to William Shatner. I do not prefer Zachary Quinto to Leonard Nimoy, but I did not expect to. And I really do not prefer Karl Urban to DeForest Kelley, which is unfortunate—McCoy is traditionally my favorite of the three principals, as problematic as he is, but there were places in this film he actively annoyed me. I would have liked more for Zoe Saldaña to do, because xenolinguistics: awesome. I have a wholly unwarranted fondness for Bruce Greenwood based on I'm Not There and having seen Chariots of Fire last summer, I am pleased to find Ben Cross still working; I can't explain anything to do with Spock's mother, at all. Any further discussion should probably go in the comments, if there's anyone left who hasn't talked the movie out weeks ago. It did make me want to rewatch the original series.

I wish the Omni theater at the Museum of Science still had Leonard Nimoy's voice.

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I need to get to this film.

I'm glad that your reaction's positive. I'm very sorry that you've a headache, and I hope you're feeling much better very soon.

Still have not seen.

Also, I hope rest comes for you and takes your headache away.

Still have not seen.

I did not think it was the second coming of the modern film industry, but it was worth my time and ten dollars; it's the kind of movie you want to talk about afterward; if anyone I know wound up with the DVD, I would gladly watch it again. I think a slightly different script could have been a truly stunning film, but I also acknowledge that my ideas of stunning differ from many other people's (I'm still thinking about Repo! The Genetic Opera) and considering how ridiculous even the idea of a recast and rejiggered Star Trek first sounded, I'm impressed. I don't need to see an epidemic of reboots, though. I have enough trouble with the frenzy of remakes Hollywood seems to be suffering at the minute.

Also, I approve of your icon.

Also, I hope rest comes for you and takes your headache away.

Thank you. If you have any hotlines to Morpheus, I would not mind knowing about them.

I need to get to this film.

I don't think I'm going to be proselytizing for it in the street, but I would recommend you see it. Among other things, it really is a big-screen picture. The subwoofers were a little hard, though; I'm not sure my cochleae are still speaking to me. And I had earplugs.

I'm very sorry that you've a headache, and I hope you're feeling much better very soon.

Thanks.

Yeah, I didn't bring earplugs, and spent the whole time with my hands pressed against the side of my head. My reaction was pretty similar to yours otherwise. I thought it was entertaining, but not the OMGbestmovieevar!!1! Was disappointed at Uhura's non-role, thought it was a bit weird how many up-nostril shots we got of young Spock, was charmed by Leonard Nimoy's dry delivery of a few choice lines, and am hopeful for a sequel that will be at least as entertaining, if not more substantial.

The Omni theater doesn't have his voice anymore?

Why do things like that have to change? It should always have his voice.

You prefer Chris Pine to William Shatner, eh? I... did not have that reaction!

I love Leonard Nemoy, especially old Leonard Nemoy. He's stored in the same space in my brain as Carl Sagan, Leonard Cohen, and Lloyd Alexander (Old Wise Guys who think/thought about Life, the Universe, and Everything). So, I loved his presence in the movie.

Yeah, it was definitely a movie that leaves your ears ringing.

I feel like the only person who hasn't seen it. And I know I won't be making it to the theater ( will it work in the smaller house setting, rather than big screen? I hope so).

the next thing you know, six billion of your people are dead and the rest in galactic diaspora.

I think this is an underdiscussed aspect of the film: just as Sulu slowly became Japanese American rather than random-Asian American, it's very much the case that Jews have tended to portray Vulcans across several decades. And then, um, byeeee! which is weird in light of historical resonances--I mean the cultural importance of maintaining one's own history, perhaps more than from-desert-to-diaspora, since diaspora has been/become one defining aspect of other culture-clusters as well.

I fear I'm making no sense, right after waking up. :( Off to the farmers' market. I hope your headache has subsided!

I wish I could share my suddenly acquired hypersomnia, without the causal depression, I just slept 10 hours and dreamed of gunslingers.

I don't need to see an epidemic of reboots, though. I have enough trouble with the frenzy of remakes Hollywood seems to be suffering at the minute.

Amen. But alas, I don't think it is to be; risk aversion is the zeitgeist, and the only new work in Hollywood seems to be based on proven properties in other media. That said, it was cool for comic book fans for a while, but, not being much of one, I have some serious super hero fatigue.

I will grant Chris Pine over young Will Shatner, but I have a soft spot in my heart for vainglory that the older Shatner seems to embody, own, and truly dig.

I will grant Chris Pine over young Will Shatner, but I have a soft spot in my heart for vainglory that the older Shatner seems to embody, own, and truly dig.

If I think about it, that may be where I stand. Chris Pine is playing a role rather than a captain-shaped space in the plot and it's one I find interesting, where I never felt much of anything about Shatner's Kirk, but I can't imagine him screaming at Ricardo Montalbán or telling a taxi driver, "Well, double dumbass on you!"

The Omni theater doesn't have his voice anymore?

No! It's some woman who sounds like the Amtrak automated phone system! I noticed this maybe a year or two ago; it upsets me every time I think about it. There was nothing quite like Leonard Nimoy reciting "Who Put the Bomp?" in tectonic surroundsound. Besides, as the pre-show used to tell visitors, "He grew up just a few blocks from here." I have no idea where the new voice came from, but unless she turns out to be a famous astrophysicist at MIT who just sounds unfortunately like a speech synthesizer, I doubt she could be as appropriate to the Museum of Science as Nimoy.

You prefer Chris Pine to William Shatner, eh? I... did not have that reaction!

See response to

cucumberseed. What do you prefer about Shatner?

So, I loved his presence in the movie.

Agreed. He's a cultural institution.

And I know I won't be making it to the theater ( will it work in the smaller house setting, rather than big screen? I hope so).

I think it should transfer fine; there's just something about space which benefits from a big screen, even if it's mostly full of explosions. The good news is, at home you won't have to worry about the pulverizing bass lines on the soundtrack.

Tangential--but you reminded me by mentioning screaming at Ricardo Montalbán--but what was the point in this current movie when someone screamed someone's name? Because

wakanomori, I, and all four of the forest creatures were whisper-shouting KHAAAAAAANNNNN! at that point.

I bet the people behind us hated us.

You're right of course about young Shatner-he was just a captain-shaped space--I had to smile reading that.

I guess I just found this guy kind of obnoxious unpleasant. I didn't like him eating an apple during the Kobayashi Maru bit. It may be a more frivolous thing: He swaggered, and for me to like a guy who swaggers, I have to find the guy physically attractive... and I didn't find this one physically attractive. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could find any swaggerers attractive, but I do now, sometimes. But not that guy.

Within the confines of the movie story, he definitely improved after his conversation with Old!Spock.

(answered above)

Thanks.

Welks.

Thank you for the warning about the sound. I'll bring earplugs when I go.

Was disappointed at Uhura's non-role,

I liked that she was not a love triangle between Kirk and Spock; Kirk is interested in her, but that doesn't get him anywhere and there's not even an implication it will. But especially if she's a brilliant linguist, I want some alien language work!

thought it was a bit weird how many up-nostril shots we got of young Spock,

I think I was too distracted by his actual nose. The physicality of most of the other characters was never an issue for me, but I kept sticking on Zachary Quinto; he is not aquiline, and Nimoy most certainly is.

was charmed by Leonard Nimoy's dry delivery of a few choice lines,

"As my customary farewell would seem oddly self-serving . . ."

and am hopeful for a sequel that will be at least as entertaining, if not more substantial.

Agreed.

but what was the point in this current movie when someone screamed someone's name?

When Spock escapes from Nero's ship with the little craft original-Spock was piloting to Romulus when its sun went nova and the plot kicked off, Nero screams after him in time-honored fashion: "SPOCK! SPOOOOOOOCK!" It was endearing.

It may be a more frivolous thing: He swaggered, and for me to like a guy who swaggers, I have to find the guy physically attractive... and I didn't find this one physically attractive.

I don't argue that he's cocky. I don't want to go to bed with Chris Pine's Kirk; I just find him a more complex character than Shatner's.

Within the confines of the movie story, he definitely improved after his conversation with Old!Spock.

Yeah. Leonard Nimoy does that to people.

I just find him a more complex character than Shatner's.

I agree with you there--he is shown to be more complex. And he develops during the course of the movie, which is something that Shatner-Kirk didn't do much--not in the series ever, and in the movies hardly.

I think this is an underdiscussed aspect of the film:

It kind of jumped out at me. I'm also not sure how I feel about nearly an entire species becoming the woman in the refrigerator. (Or if that has to happen, why are both of Spock's parents not allowed to live? What if we had lost Sarek and Amanda was the parent left alive, Vulcan-assimilated human in a refugee society that barely seems to have tolerated an interspecies marriage in the first place? Where would she have fit? Spock refers to himself as "a member of an endangered species" and yet calls Earth the only home he has left. I think I am not the right audience for this movie; I want to talk about cultural identities, not stuff blowing up.)

it's very much the case that Jews have tended to portray Vulcans across several decades.

. . . and while I cannot speak to Ben Cross' genes or religion, my first reaction to his appearance as Sarek was, "Wait, Spock's father is Harry Abrahams?"

which is weird in light of historical resonances--I mean the cultural importance of maintaining one's own history, perhaps more than from-desert-to-diaspora, since diaspora has been/become one defining aspect of other culture-clusters as well.

I think I need an explication of this sentence, if you're awake. I'm sorry; I am probably the brain-dead one here. I can't tell if you mean Jewish history, Vulcan, the show's own historical allusions as they evolved . . . ?

I hope your headache has subsided!

Thank you! It's better. I hope the farmer's market was good.

I preferred Shatner, also. Pine just didn't feel like Kirk- he felt like a teenager trying to pretend to be Kirk, and turning up the "I can buck authority" dial a bit too high- that always seemed to be a second choice for the original character- an easy second, but he had an understanding of authority that Pine seemed to lack. This guy, I just couldn't see becoming a leader in that same way. I thought most of the other characters were much more plausible. Some of them took a while for me to buy, but eventually I did (but not Amanda- that one mystified me, the woman in the movie seemed nothing like the original character, any of the times she shows up. Sarek was a hard sell, too).

This guy, I just couldn't see becoming a leader in that same way.

I was surprised he got a ship out of a field promotion. I could have seen him proving his competence in this crisis and then, I don't know, working his way up the chain of command from an ensign or second lieutenant or whatever a battlefield commission gets you in Starfleet. Jumping from suspension for cheating to captaincy made me blink a little.

Some of them took a while for me to buy, but eventually I did

Truly, I think I had the most trouble with Spock. Even putting aside the physical differences or the greater emphasis on his emotions, it didn't help that the timbre of Quinto's voice is much lighter than Nimoy's; he had the right precision of speaking, but not the resonance. My issues with McCoy are mostly script-based.

(but not Amanda- that one mystified me, the woman in the movie seemed nothing like the original character, any of the times she shows up. Sarek was a hard sell, too).

As I said, I can explain nothing about Spock's mother—not why she was played by Winona Ryder, not why she died; it's a mystery. With Sarek, I missed Mark Lenard, but I had the advantage of already liking the actor who replaced him; the characterization didn't trouble me.

Aside from the film's predilection for hiding mothers once their "use" has expired: I suppose we keep Sarek due to his sporadic appearances on TNG, but really, since we're to have a separate timeline, there should be no claim. It would've been much cooler to keep them both or to have just Amanda, even on the obvious level of having a point of difference to the Prime timeline. And yes, I wanted much, much more about identities from this film, alas. (Why can't Kirk have said at the end that his mother is proud of him? I assume she was absent during his childhood because she was in space.)

Sorry! "Cultural importance of maintaining one's own history" was meant to apply both to Vulcan and to what little I know of (some) Jewish practice today. I felt that diaspora is the more obvious superficial similarity, in a way, but that it doesn't hold as much importance: other human cultures have undergone significant diasporas, too, yet I find it difficult to draw relationships between those cultures and Vulcan.

And, um, sorry again, since there's no way all of that should have been smushed into a few short phrases.

Aside from the film's predilection for hiding mothers once their "use" has expired

Not to mention Nero's wife, who doesn't even get to be a mother before she dies . . .

(I also walked out thinking about the future of Romulan-Vulcan relations in this timeline. I'm not sure I was supposed to do that, either.)

And yes, I wanted much, much more about identities from this film, alas.

I suppose that's what fanfic is for. But I'd rather get it from the source material.

(Why can't Kirk have said at the end that his mother is proud of him? I assume she was absent during his childhood because she was in space.)

Yes, which I almost consider a plot hole—since she's on board the Kelvin in the first place and later offplanet for most of her son's life, I assume she's in Starfleet, so why is Kirk so messed up over his father? George Kirk may have died heroically, but his wife evidently wasn't the kind to sit at home for the rest of her life and polish her husband's memory. Even if she's, I don't know, an engineer or an advocate rather than a starship's second officer, her career should inform some of her son's ambiguity about Starfleet. Instead it's all his father's ghost and Captain Pike (and I liked Pike). She doesn't even send a card for his graduation? Can we get a deleted scene here?

"Cultural importance of maintaining one's own history" was meant to apply both to Vulcan and to what little I know of (some) Jewish practice today. felt that diaspora is the more obvious superficial similarity, in a way, but that it doesn't hold as much importance: other human cultures have undergone significant diasporas, too, yet I find it difficult to draw relationships between those cultures and Vulcan.

Gotcha! That makes sense. Thanks.

I thought killing Amanda was pretty clearly a device for hitting Spock in the emotional noggin. Also a convenient way to drill into the fans' heads that this is an alternate timeline, and that their obsession with continuity ought to be politely thrown down the incinerator chute.

No! It's some woman who sounds like the Amtrak automated phone system!

Good grief, that's horrible. How could they replace him with someone or something like that?

I have no idea where the new voice came from, but unless she turns out to be a famous astrophysicist at MIT who just sounds unfortunately like a speech synthesizer, I doubt she could be as appropriate to the Museum of Science as Nimoy.

Word.

Perhaps there should be a write-in campaign to change back to him?

I thought killing Amanda was pretty clearly a device for hitting Spock in the emotional noggin.

Losing an entire planet won't do it?

Also a convenient way to drill into the fans' heads that this is an alternate timeline, and that their obsession with continuity ought to be politely thrown down the incinerator chute.

I would like to have seen the allohistory demonstrated in a slightly less familiar way, I suppose.

Losing an entire planet won't do it?

It might for most, but Vulcans are (inconsistently) good at swallowing this stuff. Something had to hit close to home for him to beat the space chlamydia out of Kirk, in public no less.

Of course, if we follow precedent from The Immunity Sydrome then we might ask why Spock wasn't incapacitated with psychic whosits when all the Vulcans died.

Your dork looks really big in that statement. :D

Did you get to see lemurs? And the Israel Day parade? I am sorry we missed each other.

I'm so glad you saw the film. *hugs* And now I collapse, because the Javits center ate my feet.

I also walked out thinking about the future of Romulan-Vulcan relations in this timeline.

Yeah--a very small part of me wonders whether some imperfectly socialized Vulcan would find it logical to kidnap random Romulans in order to broaden the gene pool. :(

Indeed, one'd imagine that having a mother in Starfleet (which I also assumed) would be harder to live up to, in a way: she's continuing to do cool stuff, relative to an earthbound kid, even if she's not bridge or command staff, whereas George's arc, however fiery, is finite. I wanted Pike to acknowledge something--I liked him, too. heh.

And now I collapse, because the Javits center ate my feet.

Did you get books in exchange?

*hugs*

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Do they still have sandwiches there?

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