Star Trek (2009)

I guess I should start with a warning that I watched this movie without immense amounts of Star Trek knowledge. In fact, a large amount of my Star Trek knowledge comes from an episode of Futurama. I think I've seen a part of an episode or two but never a movie. And somehow in my life I became familiar with phrases like "I'm giving her all she's got, Captain." and "Dammit, man! I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" Add to that the facts that director J. J. Abrams said this was made so anyone could watch it regardless of Star Trek background, and writer Roberto Orci has mentioned Star Wars influence and I couldn't help but be curious.

Ironically in a feature on the DVD, they discuss that they felt Star Trek was always like classical music while Star Wars was rock and roll and they wanted to bring some of that rock and roll to this film. Abrams specifically cites that he felt the Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back pace was what modern audiences needed.

So that makes it very interesting that the movie has such a stunted start. While it provides background on some of our main characters, most of it is also relayed later through dialogue that does just fine letting us know what we need to know. So instead of editing that early stuff out, it jarringly skips to a few minutes of one character's life here and another's there. Before you know it, it feels like five false starts and we're already nearly fifty minutes in before the film really gets going. The pacing gets better but the injections of comedy soon fade away and we're thrown into summer blockbuster-style action and it's just not quite as fun.

There are some great filmmaking techniques at play here though. Abrams actually followed the camera around tapping on it and shaking it to get a more organic shudder to action sequences. It's one of those things that you don't give much thought to but really helps make a sequence. ILM did the CGI work on this film and they actually had to find a way to replicate that shaking for consistency. They ended up putting a motion sensor on their desks and tapping it like Abrams did and voila... seamless style.

Abrams also hired kids to walk and run through certain sets to make them seem bigger than there were. It's a pretty brilliant shortcut to saving materials. In another sequence the characters are supposed to be quickly falling down towards a planet's surface so instead of hanging them upside down on wires, the production team built a platform and shot down at the actors standing on mirrors. The mirrors reflect the sky, it really looks like they're falling on film, and no one had to have all their blood rush to their head.

It's this kind of innovation and creativity that makes me curious as to what Abrams and his team have up their sleeve next. This effort was cooled by a story that could have used some more editing and more of a challenge for the characters. It was fun to watch and the acting was fine, but it wasn't anything fantastic.

Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: if you're bored and you like space but you're not a scientist

Avatar (2009)

James Cameron revived himself to bring us another movie people will see in theaters six times each, supplementing his bank account for another twelve years. This time it's Avatar, a really pretty video game complete with abrupt dialogue, running, and plenty of weaponry.

The concept is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic ex-marine, is taking his dead twin brother's place, in an operation focused on mining the ridiculously-name unobtanium on the planet Pandora. He's now part of a scientific team lead by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) which uses avatars of the native population, the Navi, to learn about them and the biology of their planet.

Jake becomes the driver of his brother's avatar and the aforementioned running ensues. While the concept is complex, the story beyond that is practically nonexistent. And what is there feels very recycled. Some have been saying it's Fern Gully, Pocohantas, and Dances with Wolves rolled in one. I'm inclined to agree.

Luckily the actors bring serious gravitas to some ridiculous dialogue. They try their best to make lines that are clearly there just to inform the audience or to hit you over the head with a message seem like something their character might naturally say.

This movie's strongpoint is definitely its visuals. Cameron and his team have made advancements in CGI but since the focus was definitely on that, I couldn't help but be reminded a bit of The Phantom Menace fiasco. And many of the vehicles created look like they've been lifted from the Halo series as well as other video games (although one vehicle is clearly a retooled piece from Aliens). On top of the CGI though, Team Cameron uses 3D to their advantage. There were no cheap "Hey, look this thing is pointing at/reaching out to get you." shots.

Part of the problem with 3D in this movie (and probably others to come) is that like any other live action film, selective focus is used. While this technique is employed to draw your attention to a specific place in a scene, in 3D the issue comes up where something appears physically closer to you but is out of focus. Sometimes the out of focus item isn't closer to you but since it still pops out from the background, it can still be distracting. And that messes with your brain. The headache the whole thing gave me eventually passed as my eyes were worn down and beaten into submission.

Avatar runs nearly 3 hours. It appears since Cameron was also the editor (in addition to the director/producer/writer), there was very little left on the digital cutting room floor. When you see a slow-motion screaming/running/things exploding sequence, don't be surprised when yet another one comes five minutes later. If you didn't get enough of a soaring sequence, don't worry you'll get another one soon enough.

Rating: 3/5

Recommended for: People who enjoy the color blue and small children with long attention spans.

Extended Review: Dr. Augustine's group goes through all the trouble of growing these incredibly expensive Navi avatars so they can infiltrate the native population. And yet, the avatars wear human clothing which looks nothing like the very distinct Navi garments. It seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to announce that you're not really one of them without even saying a word. The Navi are quite large (about twice as big as humans) so I guess it'd take longer to walk through the forest if you weren't using your avatar. Also, I guess this way the humans can talk to the Navi eye-to-eye. But there seems to be no reasoning behind making the Navi so tall except to and yet another element of different-ness. When the humans and Navi are in the same scene, it just looks ridiculous.

District 9 (2009)

District 9 is not only a sci-fi movie; it's a smart movie. And it's intense - really really intense. Around ten minutes in it grabs you and won't let go, building momentum along the way until it's time to roll credits.

In the film, twenty-some years ago a massive alien ship stopped over Johannesburg, South Africa. An exploratory team found many unhealthy extraterrestrials inside and brought them down to live in a camp - District 9. Eventually it's a highly-secured slum and several "prawns" (as they're sometimes called derogatorily) are involved in violent protests and crimes.

So in 2010 Multinational United (MNU) is contracted to relocate the aliens to District 10, 200 km outside the city. In documentary style, the audience follows Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copely), a bureaucrat on the team serving eviction notices. After an accident, Van De Merwe learns what it's like to be on the other side of MNU's armored vehicles. Don't let what happens to Van De Merwe turn you off, and you'll be glad you stayed.

We get to see the district through a blend of filming styles that also includes security camera footage and traditional Hollywood style filming. Eventually it totally gives way completely to that last style. That transition is just one of the many smooth, thought-out aspects from Neill Blomkamp and his team in this movie. This is not mindless entertainment.

There is never just action for action's sake. There are motion-capture CGI aliens and violent explosions but they are used sparingly. It's clear the film isn't about how well they can make alien special effects - it's about the story. But the sparse use also helps make it all seem more realistic. There's this gritty, dirty feel to the whole thing. The production filmed in an impoverished neighborhood where residents had actually been relocated to a government-run housing district.

District 9 deals with many of the same issues in South Africa during the Apartheid - such as racism (rather speciesism here) and forced relocation. The treatment of refugees is another embedded element. These layers are woven in thanks to Blomkamp's own experience growing up in South Africa, but it's not a parable. You could be entertained by this film without knowing about the history in which it's entrenched.

Neil Blomkamp had the opportunity of a lifetime in making this movie. It was his first time directing a feature-length film and Peter Jackson as his producer just let him run with it. The finished product is fantastically made and very interesting to see.

Rating: 4/5

Recommended for: Those who don't mind a shot of world history with their sci-fi

(not recommended for small children)

THX 1138 (1971)

Before the incredibly well-known Star Wars series, George Lucas made THX 1138. Based on a short-film he'd made in college, THX 1138 is set in the 25th century in a strict underground society where daily sedative consumption is required and everyone has been assigned a function. Cameras and computers monitor every move. It's not too far outside the vein of books like The Giver or 1984.

When THX 1138 and his roommate LUH 3417 stop taking their medication, they start to have feelings - like attraction. This new awakening leads to actions that throw them in the spotlight, where they are deemed unfit for regular existence and arrested.

It's difficult to say too much more without giving the whole story away because there's not too much more of the story. In fact, throughout the film it feels like you're circling outside a story, never really getting into details or why things are the way they are, just hanging in space as things happen in front of you. It's borderline trippy.

Weirdly enough, it sort of works. The vague, lost quality of it all lets the audience feel what it's like to live in THX's society. Also, it's very apt for Lucas, who's known for only speaking minimally to his actors while directing. He's always seemed to have a strong vision for his films but not always the best success of fully sharing it with everyone else. Here the visuals do a lot of the speaking for him.

Time spent in quiet, all white, endless rooms contrasts with that spent in loud, crowded, grittier transportation areas. In fact those transportation areas are the most fantastic of the visual sequences. They seem to be paving the way for running down the trenches of the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope. In reality it was clever use of places like the San Francisco International Airport, Caldecott Tunnel, and the (at the time) unfinished BART subway system.

Robert Duvall also helps with his commitment to the character of THX 1138. Without saying much, he's easy to latch onto and take seriously.

This movie might not be for those who thrive on a great story, but it's definitely something different than what you can see any given day.

Rating: 3/5

Recommended for: Adults who'd like to see pre-stormtroopers