Movie Reviews: Star Trek Beyond ★★★★☆

Star Trek Beyond (2016) 

Director: Justin Lin
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
Running Time: 120 minutes 

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Idris Elba

I loved the new Star Trek! I was quite skeptical after finding out that J.J. Abrams would not direct the third film in the rebooted series and the first trailer was not very convincing for me, but I enjoyed myself immensely in the theater! It was fun, it was esthetically pleasing, it was just really exciting!

The cast is, just like in Star Trek (2009) and in Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), a huge asset. First of all: Chris Pine is enormously charismatic as Captain Kirk. Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban are hugely amusing as Spock and Bones, who form a brilliant couple stranded on a deserted planet. Simon Pegg as Scotty seems to have been bumped from supporting character to one of the main characters (it's very coincidental that that would happen in this film, as Pegg co-wrote the script). Zoe Saldana's Uhura is the only character I felt was let down a bit, in comparison to the rest she didn't have much to do here. Newcomers Idris Elba as the bad guy and Sofia Boutella as Jaylah (who is apparently based on Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone (2010), according to Pegg) are also very solid, but the chemistry of the familiar cast is what's the heart of the film. For that reason I got quite emotional when I saw Anton Yelchin as Chekov, because the young actor passed away a little while ago. Abrams has (fortunately) stated that Chekov won't be recast, but that he'll be written out of the story.

Enough about the cast! The film itself is quite good as well. The story was, for me, not as inventive as the first or the second one, but the film felt like a very authentic Science Fiction film. Going back to its Sci-Fi roots, so to speak. In comparison to Star Trek: Into Darkness, this film doesn't have a lot of twists and turns, but an excessively difficult story is not needed for a brilliant film (ask Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)). I do think it's a little unfortunate that Justin Lin didn't take any risks, something that I'm missing in almost all recent blockbusters. To be honest, considering the immensely hateful reaction to a 'risky' decision such as a female cast of Ghostbusters (2015), it's quite understandable that filmmakers stay a little safe. The 'coming out' of Sulu was even criticized by the original actor. Am I the only one who doesn't really care about the personal appearance/life/preferences from a character?

Nonetheless, it's a good film that continues the high quality of the 'new' Star Trek films. The cast is outstanding and it looks beautiful. I would like to see more risks in the next one, but I was very happy and content with Star Trek Beyond.

★★★★☆

Movie History: Week 2 - Citizen Kane (1941)

A few months ago, two friends and myself participated in a film quiz. Unfortunately, half of the questions were about films before 1970. This is an area of cinema of which we all knew basically nothing. I've seen a Hitchcock film or two, but we've never taken the time to watch all classic movies everyone always keeps raving about. So what to do about that? We started a little club and aim to watch one old/classic/vintage film a week. 

Week 2: Citizen Kane (1941) ★★★★☆

The only thing I knew about this film, is that it was directed by Orson Wells and that Rachel talked about it in Friends (1994 - 2004) (Rachel: Relax! It’s not like it’s Citizen Kane! Joey: Have you ever tried to sit through Citizen Kane? Rachel: Yeah I know it’s really boring, but it’s like a big deal). It has got a reputation of being boring and pretentious, but I totally disagree. It was surprisingly good. This film is now 75 years old (!), but it didn't feel that way at all. Especially compared to 12 Angry Men (1957) that's over 15 years older. Even though the end wasn't really satisfying, the film as a whole was really good.

The story is basically: Various people trying to find out what the final words of the famous publishing tycoon, Kane, meant. His last word was Rosebud. The film is sort of like a detective, because the audience is shown more and more about Kane. At first, he looks like a very sympathetic man, but that changes quite quickly. Without spoiling the film, I can say that the ending (the actual meaning of Rosebud) didn't live up to the expectations. It's not horrible, but it didn't really make a huge impact. 

Orson Wells is really impressive. He plays Kane in his 20's to his 60's. It is truly remarkable how well his make-up and clothes work to make him look older. It is proof that one doesn't need a whole bunch of CGI to make someone fifty years older. (Yes, I'm talking directly to you, Ridley Scott. For making Guy Pearce look 80 in the most unrealistic way I've ever seen in Prometheus (2012)). He doesn't just look good, but he's a great actor. The personal development Kane goes through is amazing. Funnily enough, Wells doesn't just act in Citizen Kane, he's also the director, the producer and the writer. There are so few men or women who do take on so much responsibility nowadays (with the exception of Xavier Dolan). I have to say that Wells was the standout. The other actors are nowhere near as good as he is, especially the female cast (but they are trapped in very sexist roles, so I don't necessarily think it's their fault).

Citizen Kane is a really good film. It's is way ahead of its time with art direction and cinematography. It is truly a beautifully made film and it is after 75 years still very watchable without being too dated. Orson Wells is absolutely brilliant and he really is the shining center of this movie.