Newest Star Trek Trailer
Wed, November 19, 2008 
With Quantum of Solace's premiere, there was also the newest trailer of the reimagining of the Star Trek universe. My thoughts on the teaser and the state of the current affairs are here, however the first real clips to give us any idea came this past Friday with the new trailer. Wow. It is still early, but when my girlfriend of all people says, "That actually looks good. I'll watch it with you", it speaks volumes. Let me explain that just a little. This is the same girl that gets mad at me when I am watching The Next Generation reruns, saying, "Haven't you already seen those? Don't you have those episodes on DVD? Can we watch something else?" When she said that it looked good, I couldn't believe it. J.J. Abrams was trying to reboot the series to appeal to current fans and non-fans. He did both with the trailer release. Hopefully, the movie will continue to impress.
If you didn't get a chance to check it out, I have it for your viewing pleasure.
Quantum of Solace(2008)
Tue, November 18, 2008 
Bond is back. A good Bond has been back for a little while now, with 2006's Casino Royale. After going through the "Brosnan Years", the franchise deserved more. Daniel Craig successfully has given Bond fans what they deserve: a non-cheesy action hero, a man's man if you will.
Quantum of Solace, the 22nd Bond film, picks up right where Casino Royale left off. When I say right where it left off, I mean that literally. If I can convince anyone reading this of one thing, it would be this: You need to see Casino Royale before going to see Quantum of Solace. If you've already seen it, you might want to watch it again as a refresher. There are no flashbacks, no detailed explanations of what is transpiring, and therefore the film wastes no time in these aspects. In many serialized films, enthusiasts cite this as a problem: too much information that is already understood by the fanbase. This film does not make that mistake.
Quantum is action-packed from the beginning to the end, in typical Bond fashion. The sets are epic, the fight scenes push the envelope accordingly, and once again Daniel Craig is a perfect Bond. This one is a good bit shorter than Casino Royale, clocking in at about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It doesn't feel short, and nothing is sacrificed that should have been included in the movie. There is a hint of Bourne-influence in this film, which is really too bad in my opinion. I guess with Hollywood evolving the way in which it does that kind of thing is natural, but Bond was built on Bond already, that orchestrated type of fighting isn't really necessary in this kind of film. With that being said, it doesn't really distract or take away from anything in the film, just an observation.
As with any Bond movie, the female lead is always one of the most compelling aspects of the movies. This particular Bond girl is just ok to me. There is nothing really spectacular about her character as far as development goes and is forgettable with the majority of them. There is a cross section that delves into her past, but comes across forced and unnecessary to the plot of the story.
The most negative thing about this movie is the song. There have been some great ones in the past,(Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, You Know My Name) but not here. I tried to like it, but I couldn't; it's really that bad. To explain it without hearing it sounds like a mix of offpitch rock mixed with R and B. Alicia Keys and Jack White together for undeniably the last time. Terrible.
There are some great Bond films and some not so great ones. 2006's Casino Royale was probably one of the top 5 Bond movies of all time. Quantum of Solace makes a great sequel to it, but lacks a few things to make it one of the greatest in the series. It is still better than average, but doesn't quite equal the intensity, the character development, and the overall plot of its predessor.
Reel Review: 3.5 out of 5 Reels
Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig, James Bond, 007, Casino Royale in Action/Adventure Michael Crichton: 1942-2008
Fri, November 7, 2008 
As a big fan of Crichton's work, I feel that I must pay homage to the man that has inspired countless movies, television shows, and books. As an author, Crichton will be remembered as one of the very best of the century. This man was a genius on many levels, and is evident throughout his works. I can't think of a bad novel of his that I have read, and I've read virtually all of his stuff. Some highlights include: Sphere, The Terminal Man, Jurassic Park, Next, State of Fear, and The Great Train Robbery. As with movies you can watch many times and not get tired of, these novels never get tiresome to me, no matter how many times I've read them. His creative mind will be missed.
We do have one posthumously published novel, that will be released in May of 2009. I know that I will be one of the first to get my hands on it, and can only hope it is one of his bests.
Unfortunately, his creative vision was not translated well on screen in but a few of his works.
My top 5 Crichton Films:
Jurassic Park-Definitely his best known work and best film. Screenplay does navigate from the novel, but not in a way that destroys the effects of the film. Excellent flick thanks to Spielberg and Crichton's collaboration, and highly influential. Too bad the sequels suck. 
The Great Train Robbery-One of my favorite books as well. This is one of his first adaptations, and I love this movie. Before crime capers became popular like Ocean's 11, etc., this one was ahead of its time. It's also very loosely based on a true event. 
Eaters of the Dead(13th Warrior)-See Review here.
Twister-Although not a book before it was made into a movie, Crichton wrote this and it thoroughly entertained audiences to the tune of $241,000. Hard to watch it more than once, but I think everyone remembers the infamous "cow flying scene".
Disclosure-Changed the term sexual harrassment and its connotation in context. Very sexy film, and more appreciated after it was out of theaters. 
Body Of Lies(2008)
Fri, October 24, 2008 
Well, I actually saw this movie a few weeks ago, but never got around to actually sitting down and writing a review about it. I really have had something to do every night. Anyway, you would think that when you put 2 solid actors, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe with acclaimed director Ridley Scott that you would have something spectacular in the way of cinema. Too bad that is not the case.
Body of Lies disappointed me on a few levels. One, I like DiCaprio. I think that he is a smart and a good actor. He chooses his movies wisely and to date, it is hard to pinpoint any miss steps. Russell Crowe on the other hand chooses some that don't make any sense. The bad Proof of Life, the unnecessary A Good Year to name a few, but he generally makes good picks as well. If I could blame this movie on Crowe I would, just because of his more frequent bad choice in roles. Too bad I can't. The problem here lies within the script.
The overall premise of this movie is to show the audience the inner workings of the CIA in the Middle East. It does a good job establishing this notion, with DiCaprio's character as the main protagonist in the story. His role as a field agent is acted flawlessly and utterly believable. Crowe is also well cast as his superior in the organization, and does whatever he chooses with the information that he receives. His reports and orders are usually instinctive, not always based on intelligence from the region, and come across clearly as someone who is in charge but doesn't really understand the consequences and repercussions of his instructions. He acts(no pun intended) like he is fully aware, but it is obvious that he does not.
There are allegiances based on information exchanges and torturous interrogations that are no doubt based on real life events and situations. All these interplay nicely with the story of DiCaprio's role as an agent, yet nothing really progresses in this movie consistently. The story is nothing new, just replayed by Crowe and DiCaprio and drawn out with no climax. The love interest in this flick is introduced about halfway in, and really adds nothing to the story. I guess she helps DiCaprio pinpoint his role more, but that is a stretch and so is the rest of the film.
Overall: Good acting by good actors, but even they can't save this anticlimactic espionage film. It's really too bad, but you should skip this one. Just wish I did.
Reel Review: 2 out of 5 Reels
Russell Crowe, Body of Lies, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ridley Scott, CIA in Action/Adventure, Drama Forgetting Sarah Marshall(2008)
Thu, October 16, 2008 
Before I get into the actual review of the film, I want to explain my feelings on comedic films in general. Over the past few years, there have been many attempts at comedies, mainly in the form of spoofs that frankly don't deserve to be made. I'm talking about Scary Movie 1-134, Epic Movie, etc. These movies might have one or two laughs, but they have essentially ruined the comedic genre by overflooding the market with them. Where is There's Something About Mary, Porky's, Old School, Wedding Crashers, The Jerk, Dumb and Dumber, and Coming to America? Obviously, I prefer the latter to these new spoof/crap films. Yes, there are some good ones that come out during the year, (Tropic Thunder), but stuff like Beverly Hills Chihuahua? Come on, someone make a decent comedy...
This brings me to Judd Apatow and his entourage. This guy is very popular right now. His resume includes, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad. These flicks are about the same as Forgetting Sarah Marshall. There are funny moments but overall, they are all too drawn out and inconsistent in terms of laughs and story lines. Don't get me wrong. There are some very funny parts in each of these films. But, these films are not funny all throughout the 2 hours of each one. Once again, don't get me wrong. No comedy is funny the entire movie. There are "dead' times in any comedy, and the classics understand how to use this to their benefit. These are the times the plot points are inserted, and "fill up" the movie to make it coherent. Unfortunately, it seems like Mr. Apatow has it reversed.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall is roughly and basically about a guy that dates a girl(Kristen Bell) that is way out of his league. She is a successful television actor in a cheesy show based on CSI. This guy(Jason Segel) is a musical compositionist for the same show, and doesn't do too much else on the side. His life is made up of hanging out with his girlfriend. When she breaks up with him(naked I might add), he tries to "forget" about her. Hence the title and where the movies plot lies. I put it to you simply because that is what it is: A guy heartbroken by a girl who tries to forget her, yet keeps running in to her everywhere. When he goes to Hawaii to get away, guess who just happens to be there as well?
Yeah, there are some laughs in this movie. Unfortunately, there are not entirely enough to warrant a second viewing of the film. I think that is where my beef with this one lies. If you notice, this is the first comedy that I have reviewed in writing. I usually don't rate comedies for the above reasons and because there are not many as of late that I want to watch again. For Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I don't really have any interest in watching it again.
