SiM Poster: Carriers

Captain Kirk (Pine) tries hand at the viral thriller genre

In the joint venture by Spanish brothers Alex Pastor (Peacemaker) and David Pastor (Orson), Carriers, a group of four friends try to escape a viral pandemic in the western U.S., only to discover that it is each other that they need to watch out for. Directed and scripted by the Pastors, this PG-13 horror-thriller stars Lou Taylor Pucci (Fanboys), Chris Pine (Star Trek), Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly), Emily VanCamp (The Ring Two) and Christopher Meloni (The Stepfather). Paramount Vantage will release the film September 4th.

This Ain't Your Father's Star Trek!

Slick new director gives it his all with Kirk, Spock & the Enterprise

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Having never seen a single episode of any of the half-dozen Star Trek TV series or any of the ten previous films, I can spare you from all the plot inconsistancies and inaccuracies that the current reboot has pledged, but I'm sure you're more than fine with that! The most recent of the Star Trek motion pictures also happens to be the most acclaimed (a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), the most profitable ($314 million as of today), and the most likely to convert any of the others who had yet to be acquainted with the iconic sci-fi franchise.

Sophomore director J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III) picked up the pieces of Stuart Baird's ill-fated Nemesis (2002) feature and scrapped them for good, charging through with familiar characters in unfamiliar territory. Abrams was part of a tenacious team of "Trekkie" filmmakers who set out to revive a dying series some four years earlier, including co-producer Damon Lindelof (TV's Lost) and co-screenwriter Roberto Orci (Transformers). They delved back to the premiere television project that included characters like James T. Kirk (Smokin' Aces Chris Pine), Spock (Heroes' Zachary Quinto), Nyota Uhura (Vantage Point's Zoe Saldana), Scotty (Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg) and Leonard "Bones" McCoy (The Lord of the Ring's Karl Urban), and--for the first time--casted fresh faces for the esteemed venture.

Hollywood's newest pretty-boy Chris Pine puts on Captain Kirk's space suit and climbs aboard the eminent USS Enterprise to walk in his late father's shoes as the leader of the pack. Along for the ride is Spock, a cross-breed of human and Vulcan played immaculately by Zachary Quinto for most of the 127-minute epic, while the original Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, puts on those pointy ears and returns for his final frontier. Throw in your indicative love triangle and an all-out war with a near-extinct species from the future, and you've got a potent cinematic formula that's bound to break new ground for an old tale.

Abrams is able to check off almost every possible theatrical highlight with his Trekkie inauguration...tantalizing locales? Check! Well-timed farce? Check! Engrossing characters? Check! He pulls this film together like so many others wouldn't be able to, sparking a renewed interest in Gene Roddenberry's pop cultural phenomenon. Coming from someone who previously couldn't be less interested in this niche-market franchise, I can't wait to see these actors reassemble for a second go-around of where no man (or woman) has gone before. In regards to this rebooted franchise, may it live long and prosper!

4/5 stars

Star Trek Shines

Abrams makes a beloved old series, new and exciting!

BY COLIN ENQUIST

J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield, TVs Lost and Fringe) directs the reboot of the space opera, which has a solid cast of mostly unknowns that steal the show in Chris Pine (Smokin’ Aces), Zachary Quinto (TVs Heroes), Leonard Nimoy (Spock in the original Trek series), Eric Bana (Hulk), Bruce Greenwood (Deja Vu), Karl Urban (Pathfinder), Zoe Saldana (Vantage Point), Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), John Cho (Harold and Kumar) and Anton Yelchin (You and I).

When I first heard about the Star Trek reboot, I kept wondering who could play Kirk and Spock. Instantly Joshua Jackson jumped out to fill the role of Kirk, but I couldn’t narrow down a solid choice for Spock. Once I heard Pine was selected to play Kirk I realized why I am not a casting director as he not only surpassed my expectations but blew them right out of the water. Not one actor was cast out of place during the entire film.

The film sets up early that this isn’t the normal Star Trek universe, but an alternate timeline that could happen if certain events were triggered. Using time travel, which I thought was going to ruin the movie, turned out to be extraordinary as it basically merged the old Star Trek universe with the new one without using cheesy over the top explanations. Plot wise the film was solid, tying everything together and leaving very little questions asked. Aside from the Spock and Uhura relationship which is never really explained, you just assume they have a relationship to piss off Kirk.

One of the best scenes is probably the orbital dive, showing Abrams’ smart direction, fading to the complete soundless space as they are blasted from the ship, no music, nothing except for the divers breathing in their masks, and then a large boom of them entering the Vulcan atmosphere. Abrams uses the soundless of space a couple times throughout the film and it really jumps out at showing just how lonely and vast it really is.

The choice of using the X, Y axis more on the levels of Star Wars brought realism to the dogfights the Enterprise and the other Starfleet ships were going through. Seems simple having the ships come at each other from different angles, as up and down don’t really apply in space, but this effortless change makes for some great action and an evolution from the original Trek films. Another big budget film recently released (Wolverine) had horrible misuse of the CGI but Star Trek gets it right, creating ships and landscapes that seem plausible and real while keeping with the cinematography of the film incorporating Abrams’ use of lens flares throughout the film.
Some questionable music choices throughout the film, not necessarily bad choices, but I felt they could have been better. A few times it seemed they tried to create new music, trying to fit the futuristic world, while other moments they decide to use older rock and roll.

Star Trek does all the little things right, providing faultless back story that is intricately interlaced into strong character development. Mixing that with the very strong acting makes for almost pitch perfect emotional attachment to everyone on screen hoping they make it through the peril that is being caused during the exciting action sequences.

4 out of 5
Colin Enquist

Star Trek Avoiding Negativity

Looking to prosper at the box office

BY COLIN ENQUIST


Reboots have been taking a lot of flak, mostly because they are being done so poorly. Some exceptions do apply though, King Kong, The Magnificent Seven, Ocean's Eleven, are a few that come to mind. It looks like we may be able to add another film to that list. The J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek, while not being officially released until Thursday at 7:00 PM on May, 7th, preview screenings have been popping up all around. It seems that every person who has seen the film can only say positive things about the it.

Abrams was originally attached as a producer only, citing that he wanted to work with writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci again, whom he worked with during the filming of Mission Impossible III. Kurtzman and Orci both label themselves "Trekkies" and wanted to create a script that a die hard fan would enjoy, the casual fan and introduce Star Trek to any newcomers as well. Abrams on the other hand is just a casual fan. Then Abrams read the script, stating that he was envious of whoever got to direct the film. Paramount must have heard this and quickly offered him the job, which Abrams jumped at the chance. The writing duo of Orci and Kurtzman must have done what they set out to do, if a casual fan (Abrams) loved the story so much he had to direct.

The first public screening was held on April 6, 2009, at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas, hosted by writers Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and producer Damon Lindelof. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was what everyone in the theatre thought they were going to see, followed by a ten-minute preview of the new Star Trek film. To the audiences surprise, a few minutes into Khan, the film began to melt on screen and Leonard Nimoy appeared on stage with Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof, asking the audience, "wouldn’t you rather see the new movie?" For almost two years, Vulcan, Alberta had campaigned to host the film premiere, but the small town lacks a movie theater, so Paramount arranged instead a lottery where 300 winning residents would be taken to a pre-release screening in Calgary, Alberta. The first of many premieres across the world was held at the Sydney Opera House on April 7, 2009. On April 11, the film was screened by 920 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Cast and crew members were in Kuwait to meet with the soldiers.

Not much is known aboout the plot, just that the film will chronicle the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow crew members aboard the USS Enterprise. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana star in the film. Rumours have been bounding around that William Shatner will have a cameo in the film, but Shatner has stated he did not want a cameo in the film rather a part along the lines of Nimoy's.

Now, as we draw closer to the theatrical release, reviews are showing up across the internet. Boston Globe writer Ty Burr gave the film a 4/4 and said it is "ridiculously satisfying", and the "best prequel ever". Tall words, but with Rotten Tomatoes having the film at 100% fresh rating off of 22 reviews, Metacritic holds a score of 89 and IMDB the film is sitting at 8.2/10, how can you not believe him. The movie trailers have looked fantastic and hearing no negative rumblings from any fan, Trekkie or casual, can you refrain from seeing this film opening night? I know I can't.