STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS: a movie review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, and Bad Robot present Star Trek into Darkness.  Directed by J.J. Abrams.  Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof, based on characters created by Gene Roddenberry.  Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, and Peter Weller.  Cinematography by Daniel Mindel.  132 Minutes.  Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

A motion picture franchise generally has juice when the nerd arguments begin.  As I left a screening of Star Trek Into Darkness, some die-hard Trekkies were in heated discussion about how new versions of heroes and villains stack up to the original cast's interpretations.  J.J. Abrams and the new/old Star Trek crew has revived and refreshed classic sci-fi characters for a new generation.  The latest film successfully builds on the good will from the 2009 release and updates one of the Star Trek universe's greatest villains, making him more formidable than ever.

This Star Trek installment gets off to an engaging start when Kirk (Chris Pine) and Bones McCoy (Karl Urban) do more than just observe the planet and culture of Nibiru, breaking nearly all the principles of the Starfleet prime directive of noninterference.  This costs Kirk his captain's chair.  His Federation career is salvaged when his old commanding officer Pike (Bruce Greenwood), who is reinstated as captain of the Enterprise, names Kirk as his first officer.  Kirk's first duty as a first mate is to accompany his captain to a meeting called by Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller).  A deadly terrorist is working within the Federation, Commander John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), and his daring attacks lead to Marcus giving Kirk an opportunity to captain a special search-and-destroy Harrison mission.  Many, including Spock (Zachary Quinto), object to the aggressive and warlike nature of their orders, and Scotty (Simon Pegg) refuses to carry them out and is relieved of duty.  What Kirk and his crew encounter next reveals dark secrets that reach the top of the Federation, and a nearly all powerful villain who is capable of anything.

The cast continues their appealing interpretations of the Enterpise crew.  Pine mashes up William Shatner and Han Solo bravado as Kirk, while Quinto is action Spock and continuing his tempestuous (for Vulcan standards) relationship with Lieutenant Uhura (Zoe Saldana), sometimes with humorous results.  For example, Kirk makes the valid observation about Spock and Uhura's fights:  "How does that work?"  Other crew members are also carefully written and portrayed, walking the line between variation and homage without being the screen equivalent of a tribute band.

But no adventure could be complete without conflict, and Cumberbatch is a menacing antagonist.  His sonorous voice and lean, threatening look make him an ideal villain.  Weller is effective as a militant and vengeful leader with much to hide.  Though the film's commentary on war and terrorism lack subtlety, at least the attempt at literate science fiction in the midst of spectacular special effects mayhem is made.

Even Star Trek purists should be pleased or at least pacified by the material.  References to Tribbles and playing with Bones' verbal tick "I'm a doctor, not a _____" induced some rolling laughter from my screening's audience.  Fans of Star Trek II will probably appreciate a variation on one of the movie's most famous scenes.

Star Trek Into Darkness is another Abrams produced-and-directed entry worthy of a Star Trek fan or non-fan's time.  It gives some well-established and loved characters another fresh and entertaining adventure.  Just be prepared for rhetorical nerd fireworks if you dare say it's better than the original.

My rating:  ***1/2 out of ****.

THE GREAT GATSBY: a movie review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, and A&E Television Networks present The Great Gatsby.  Directed by Baz Luhrmann.  Adapted for the screen from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce.  Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, and Jack Thompson.  Cinematography by Simon Duggan.  142 minutes.  Rated PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying, and brief language.

Based on my favorite novel I was forced to read in high school, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby is another failed attempt to bring the acclaimed novel to the big screen.  While Luhrmann's style flourishes may grab fans of his Red Curtain trilogy (including Moulin Rouge), for many moviegoers they detract from the attempts at acting and overall story.

Once again, a novel of big social ideas is "condensed" to its basic action in this overlong film, unfortunately most of which is noveau riche Gatsby's grandiose and shallow parties he throws every weekend, hoping his former lover Daisy (here portrayed in languid waif fashion by Carey Mulligan) will show up and be impressed.  This is not one of Leonardo DiCaprio's finest roles--he fights a losing battle against the directorial bombast and generally doesn't try too hard.  Daisy's rich socialite husband Tom Buchanan is portrayed by Joel Edgerton and sports a pencil mustache, but should have had a bar-handled mustache to twirl in his hammy performance.  As with previous film adaptations, Nick Carraway's (Tobey Maguire) characterization comes off best, Maguire being perfectly suited for the role of the World War I veteran and working class neighbor who has much more in common with Gatsby than he first thinks.

For all its visual flash, the film has a traditional narrator in Maguire's Nick Carraway, often using voice overs and annoying floating text passages from the novel on the screen.  For the latter, Luhrmann may be taking advantage of the 3-D technology, yet the spoken and printed words come off more like telling than showing emotions and events for the audience.  Luhrmann filmed the production with 3-D cameras, but other than Gatsby and Nick speeding into New York City for the first time together in Gatsby's yellow Duesenberg, the effect is more of an unnecessary distraction than storytelling aid. And fast motion camera effects make Tom Buchanan's drunken debauchery with his mistress (Isla Fisher) look like a comic musical sequence out of Moulin Rouge, possibly to keep the film in the PG-13 range.

What make the viewing experience particularly frustrating are sequences that do work.  Visual highlights include the first Gatsby party Nick attends, an intentionally over-the-top and amusing scene where Nick's bromance hits a crescendo as Rhapsody in Blue booms on the soundtrack and fireworks explode behind Gatsby's head as he comes into Nick's view, DiCaprio's smiling face illuminated.  Actors somehow are able to get a word in edgewise in Luhrmann's visual noise as Gatsby and Daisy meet again at Nick's staged tea party, DiCaprio and Mulligan capturing their awkwardness and continued affection for one another.  Edgerton even manages an effective scene as Tom Buchanan confronts Gatsby about the affair with Daisy.

Unfortunately, these moments are scattered through a long motion picture.  This version of The Great Gatsby is like one of Jay Gatsby's shindigs:  some exuberant and giddy highs followed by sluggish lows and those hung-over guests who don't know when to go home.  Please, just read the book.

My rating:  ** out of ****.

IRON MAN 3: Movie Review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures presents Iron Man 3.  Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Ty Simpkins, and Ben Kingsley.  Directed by Shane Black.  Written by Drew Pearce and Shane Black.  Cinematography by John Toll.  130 Minutes.  Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.

After the mildly disappointing Iron Man 2, Tony Stark, his metal suit army. and friends are back for a strong third installment of the series.  With formidable villains, character developing subplots, and Downey's charismatic performance as the egotistical billionaire, the film should please both comic book and movie fans alike.

Much of the credit should go to co-writer and director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), who explores the established characters effectively and builds new back story material.  Stark's problems begin when he attends a science conference at the end of the last millennium, seducing an attractive botanist who has intriguing new ideas in tissue regeneration (Rebecca Hall), and rudely ignoring Aldrich Killian, a geeky Stark admirer with interesting plans of his own (Guy Pearce).  Back in the present, Killian now reappears as a dapper and successful scientific entrepreneur pitching an important project to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), the president of Stark Enterprises, with flirtatious flair.  Despite an impressive presentation, Potts has to turn financing and development of Killian's project down, due to its possibly sinister weapon-like implications.  Meanwhile, international terrorist The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, a menacing mix of the comic book villain and Osama bin Laden) begins threatening the U.S. President and commits a terrorist act on U.S. soil that strikes close to home for Tony Stark.  Stark's angry invitation for the Mandarin to visit his home results in more devastation, and a nationwide search for clues that includes investigating Killian's possible ties to the Mandarin, and travelling to the Southern U.S.  Stark meets up with a little boy (Ty Simpkins, in a winning performance) whose family happens to have a handy garage/shed area where the billionaire lies low and lets the world think he's dead, building mechanical preparations for a major assault on the Mandarin's lair.

What sets Iron Man 3 apart from many other noisy action blockbusters is the human element.  Stark's interactions with others, and Downey's chemistry with his fellow actors, are the keys.  He develops a wise-cracking and amiable friendship with the boy.  The relationship ups-and-downs continue for Stark and Pepper Potts and the audience cares.  Male one-upmanship and cautious friendship is maintained with Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle).  Loyal bonds continue with Stark's longtime chauffeur/bodyguard and now semi-bumbling head of security Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau).  This would be a good film without the spectacular special effects, and is very good with them.  Only an over-extension of the chase and fight sequences in the climax slow the film's momentum. 

Unlike Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, this is a movie meant to be seen on the big screen.  Iron Man's flights and battles, explosions, and the settings in general are enhanced by the 3-D process, working well even in the darker sequences.  Though the film would be more than adequate if seen in a regular digital screening, there are multiple scenes that leap off the screen in Real 3-D.

Though comic book readers are used to some outlandish plot twists, the latest Iron Man entry will pleasantly surprise even the most jaded fans.  For example, a big action sequence allows a major character the first chance to don an Iron Man suit and flash superhero qualities.  And one hilarious turn of events should bring movie going-crime charges if revealed.

There may be a new incarnation of Jay Gatsby in the theaters, but the cinematic mogul of choice is Tony Stark.  Combining thrilling action sequences, excellent acting, humor, and more than one surprising twist, Iron Man 3 is great summer popcorn movie entertainment.

My rating:  ***1/2 out of ****