Shit, They Made a Sequel? Star Trek Into Darkness Review

I'm starting a new segment of my blog. Well, I'm actually starting the first segment of my blog because I don't really have anything ongoing yet, so here we are! I have half an hour to write this before work and it's pouring outside. I picked the worst day to want to write. I thought I'd try my hand at movie reviews since I'm so cultured and all. Last night, I went to see Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to--you guessed it--Star Trek.

All right, let me start this off with a little of my Trekkie background: I have never seen The Next Generation or The Original Series, so my knowledge of Star Trek-related information is limited. I know only what has been mentioned in these two movies and therefore will not be criticizing the movie from a picky, way-back fan as many people have and will. 

Let's recap a little, shall we?

Last time we were all huddled together eating butter-soaked popcorn in dirty movie theaters that charge $10.25 for a 13 year-old to see a damn movie on a Sunday night, Jim Kirk was just an ordinary guy who liked to hit on women and wasn't particularly ambitious about his career. Oh, but we all know how his father sacrificed his life for the lives of his crew on the U.S.S. Enterprise. His wife subsequently made his son a living tribute to her husband in naming him Jim as well. Seriously, mom, way to up the expectations.

Admiral Markus stops by on a particularly bloody scene in a bar where Kirk got his ass beat on and decides to convince young Kirk to join Starfleet, the exploratory organization meant to gather observations on extraterrestrial lifeforms and other space-based things. Long story short, he hates Spock, a Vulcan, who watches his planet burn to pieces, and then loves him. We see old Spock and our Spock and Kirk is the captain of the Enterprise, Starfleet's biggest and baddest ship. The end. Why did I decide to sum up the first one? Oh well.

Back to my Fast forward a little bit and now we're on a planet that "hasn't so much as invented the wheel yet." (I was going to fact check that quote but instead I found an angry rant about how this movie sucked. Now I feel like I've gotten myself in too deep.) The first time I saw the trailer was at the midnight premiere for The Hobbit. I thought I had come into the wrong movie because the clip lasted a full ten minutes, covering the entire beginning of the movie. But the colors were vivid and beautiful, something I would've loved to see in IMAX 3D if I didn't throw up after The Hobbit. I was excited.

I've never been a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch. Cue all the teenage girls on Tumblr with their Sherlock and Doctor Who shirts screaming "DALEK" at me (still have no idea what that is). Tried watching an episode of Sherlock and was honestly freaked out by how fast Cumberbatch spoke. But in this sequel, he was fantastic. A true villain. Ruthless, well-spoken, manipulative. The guy you love the hate. We spent the entire movie battling internally whether or not Harrison (aka Khan) was the bad guy. Was Markus the bad guy? Was the right decision made?

Thematic undertones of morality really created dimension for these characters, and as a fiction writer that is something I truly admire. At the end of the film, just as Captain Kirk's systems failed and his hand slipped from the glass, you could see Spock finally feeling the way people have been hoping to have their guards up for all eternity. I adored it.

For those of you who have watched it, what are your thoughts? Did you expect the end? Will there be another? Leave your comments below!

Because I am Surrounded by Creativity

When I listen to creative and insightful people talk, there is a mechanism in me that triggers my pen to move again. This mechanism has been activated yet again after remaining silent for quite some time. Looking back at my last post, I haven't written since April 18th. And even though I had the urge to grab some receipt paper at work and write a poem instead of, you know, work (which I did end up doing), I haven't written much since then. Maybe not at all since then. I find that mildly depressing.

For the past couple of days, I have been abusing my new iPhone and the fantastic feature of being able to listen to fascinating people all day, every day for free. Even as far as seven years ago, I enjoyed downloading podcasts onto my whatever-generation iPod nano. However, the iPhone makes it so much more accessible. I've listened to one TED Talk from Sir Ken Robinson and two TED Radio Hours on NPR in the past two days (one of which I repeated because I enjoyed it so much). It makes me so happy to hear that there are people who think so similarly to me and that there are more ideas out in the world than I can comprehend.

I just gave you this huge anecdote to literally introduce a poem I wrote in my head on the way home tonight. This doesn't usually happen, but I'm happy it did.

One Day

I don't need a Kleenex to dry my tears
Or the overly-willing hand of a boy or his shirt sleeve.
I have my own hands to drag across my tear-stained face.
I have my own sleeve to ease my eyes of their burden.
But I hate to think that there is still that part of me,
That fraction of my soul,
That begs for that ever-so silent Kleenex he has hidden.
And one day, even though I have my own two hands,
He'll relieve me of my burden.
For just one day.

Aaaaaaaaaand because I love this woman more than I should love a person I've never met, here is Elizabeth Gilbert's TED Talk. If you don't recognize her name, you should. She wrote Eat Pray Love (which totally had me crying more than necessary).