Saturday afternoon I decided to venture into Davis and go to the Somerville Theater (I know, I've lived here almost a year and had yet to make a visit there) to check out a movie I had been putting
off for a while, State of Play. It had a pretty stellar cast, and was one of those suspense/thrillers about government contracted defense agencies...the trailers also made it seem really interesting too. Basic premise, Crowe and McAdams are working on a story about a politician's (Affleck) aide who was murdered. Government cover ups, military contracting companies and possible conspiracy theories ensue. The cinematography was great, it had this gritty, realistic feel that I appreciated and Helen Mirren was excellent as Crowe's editor. It was a little predictable though, the writing was by far it's weakest link; there were quite a few periphery characters that weren't fully developed and a couple subplots that didn't really do anything to improve on the main story (did we really need to know that Crowe slept with Affleck's wife?) and the entire film ran about 20 minutes too long. Cutting the minor subplots would have tightened it up a lot. It ended up being ok though, nothing spectacular, nothing too terrible, but I'll admit that I wanted more, especially from that cast and that director, Kevin Macdonald, who gave us the 
excellent Last King of Scotland a few years ago. Oh well, not a complete loss. There was, however, a complete loss soon after.Monday night I ventured out to Framingham to see The Soloist, a movie that I didn't really have any desire to see but had heard absolutely stunning things about Robert Downey, Jr and Jamie Foxx (who I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of) and those thoughts were reaffirmed when the woman took our ticket stubs and said "Robert Downey, Jr is fantastic and Jamie Foxx plays his part perfectly, you'll love it"...I did not love it. At all. In fact, it was a mess. I was captivated for about the first 1/3; until a metaphor likening pigeons wings flapping to an audience clapping was said by Jamie Foxx and then about .5 seconds later there was a montage where we followed a flock of pigeons as a cello concerto was cranked up...thanks, I get it, I don't need to be shown. There was also an odd sequence when Downey/Foxx were sitting at a dress rehearsal of the L.A. Philharmonic and the screen goes black and we get this light show for about 5 minutes (and it seemed like forever). The movie tried to be too many things; was it about redemption? the plight of the over 90,000 homeless people in LA? looking beyond the surface and seeing amazing talent? I was thoroughly disappointed, especially in director Joe Wright, who was responsible for the excellent and visually stunning Atonement, Jamie Foxx and RDJ did the best they could with the material they had to work with. Also, why does Catherine Keener always play a bitch?!
Grades: C+ (State of Play)/D (The Soloist)
I got an e-mail from the roomates yesterday saying they wanted to go see Star Trek in IMAX at Jordan's in Reading. For those readers who know me, I'm totally not the sci-fi type, especially not something like Star Trek...however, a couple people at work were talking about it (who were NOT nerds) and saying that it was quite good. I was somewhat intrigued, and I figured with a movie like this, it was screaming to be scene in IMAX. Sign me up. We got to the theater and it was PACKED (this was 7pm on a Tuesday), and there were, surprisingly, a seemingly large amount of "normal" people there. The nice thing about Jordan's is that they have temper-pedic seats with this rumble box thing under the seat that gives you and all-immerse experience. It's pretty awesome.
So the movie starts, and for about the first 20 minutes, I was regretting my decision. I wasn't really following the story, it was a little too sci-fi for me. The young Kirk was kind of an asshole (and was hooking up with this green chick), I wasn't really feeling sympathetic for him, and I was just plain creeped out by Spock and the other Vulacans (again, I need to reiterate, I'm totally unfamiliar with Star Trek, and have vague memories of the series in the early 90's with Patrick Stewart,
Whoppi Goldberg, and LeVar Burton). Then, when they were at the the Academy and they had to report to their starships, something just came over me and I decided to just submit and go along for the ride. SO glad I did- Star Trek turned out to be one of the most enjoyable movies I've ever seen. It's nothing more than pure popcorn summer entertainment, and it doesn't try to be anything else. And on that level, it's a sensational movie. Director J.J. Abrams struck an excellent balance of having enough in the movie to keep the Trekkies happy (though you may read otherwise) and there not being too much to overwhelm the newbies (such as myself). It's essentially a prequel to the entire Star Trek franchise. Basic plot: The Romulans (headed by Captain Nero) have this giant drilling mechanism and they're seeking revenge, and are planning to destroy each of the Federation's planets, starting with Vulcan and then moving on to Earth. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise must stop them. Major action packed sequences and a smattering of classic Star Trek quotes ensue. Abrams has assembled an excellent cast that works on all levels; Chris Pine gives a star making performance as Kirk, and Zarchary Quinto is excellent as Spock (and he gets it on with a hottie!), perfectly balancing Spock's genius and vulnerability. There is a great supporting cast too, John Cho, Eric Bana and, of course, Leonard Nimoy. The special effects are excellent, there's one breathtaking sequence that has to do with black holes and red matter, and the destruction of one of the planets. The cinematography is excellent, crystal clear picture, and the design aspects are flawless; give the costume designer credit for not making those uniforms look wearable. The score is outstanding as well, and adds to the overall excellence of the movie. I'll admit, I bought into the story hook-line-and-sinker, and was on the proverbial edge of my seat for the last 20 minutes in the "will they or won't they" succeed in defeating the Romulans. I'm pretty sure you can guess the outcome. Star Trek nowhere near as dark as the current Batman franchise (which I think is also another good series, but for totally different reasons), and clocks in at a crisp 126 minutes, the perfect amount of time to get the sub-plots tied up and leaving the door open for future films. Is it a cinematic masterpiece? No. I'm glad that I was able to just let myself go and enjoy the movie for what it was; an excellent piece of escapist movie making. Am I converted Trekkie? I don't think so, but if this first film is any indication of whats coming up, I'm probably going to stay tuned...
Grade: A
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