Reviews

This is a truly amazing movie. Young Duncan (Liam James) has the kind of summer we all should have, even with a jerk like Trent (Steve Carell) hanging around. A fantastic cast, some of whom play against type, tell a great coming of age story. The amazing thing is how this is not just a coming of age for Duncan.

Duncan finds his way to a water park, and connects with Owen (Sam Rockwell), supposedly the manager of the park. Duncan finds a connection to Owen, and it becomes life-giving, although the full extent of Duncan's need only becomes apparent as we go through the summer with Duncan, his mother (Toni Collette), Trent, and Duncan's neighbors (Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb and a delightful River Alexander).

A crucial moment in this film would have been a downfall in a lesser movie. Duncan is directed to do something that could have lead to his humiliation, but instead becomes a moment where he finds an identity.

AnnaSophia Robb is of course in the film as a romantic interest for Duncan, but she does something far more important: she listens and talks with him. It is a trickier role, and Robb and James develop a lovely friendship.

A beautiful movie, well worth owning.

I have been a Star Trek fan for as long as I have had memory. I remember watching Trek episodes when I was three years old. I have seen every version of Star Trek, enjoyed some, walked away from others.

I enjoyed J.J. Abrams 2009 Trek film. I appreciated having these classic characters interpreted by new actors, and I thought everyone on board this movie did a fascinating job of creating a new approach to retelling the classic Star Trek stories. I very much wanted to see Star Trek Into Darkness, but I went into it with some trepidation.

I should not have had any concerns. Star Trek Into Darkness may well be the finest Star Trek movie ever made.

This movie is a pleasure from start to finish. I do not mean it is the best of Star Trek, only that it is the best of the Star Trek films. It touches on allegory, holding up a mirror for us to see ourselves in the choices we have made, acting out of fear and ignorance in response to attack. It is visually breathtaking. The opening scene is so audacious, that even as you are asking why the Enterprise is under water, you are struck by the awesome beauty of her rising from the sea.

It does use elements and plot points from previous Trek stories, but uses them well, in ways that illuminate and surprise. Illuminate, because these events reveal facets and new views of characters who are both familiar, yet distinct in this re-imagined time-line. Surprising, because even as you recognize the path the story is taking, you realize something new has been brought out.

The movie belongs, I think, to Chris Pine. He takes Jim Kirk to new places, places the William Shatner was able to hint at, but never given the opportunity to show. One clever subtext of the two films, the 2009 film and this one, is that Kirk once again faces the Kobyashi Maru test, but in this film he cannot cheat. Kirk still finds a way to beat it. I saw Chris Pine do something that William Shatner never had the chance to do: show Jim Kirk as a man willing to pay any price for his ship and his crew. One crucial point of continuity between Shatner and Pine is that Pine does for Kirk what the episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" did for Shatner's Kirk: establishes Kirk as the person who has to make the most difficult decisions, and the one willing to pay the price for doing so.

Zachary Quinto once again demonstrates why he was born to take the role of Spock.

Each of the cast has moments. The film does center on the triad of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, but each character has at least one moment, from Sulu assuming command, to Chekov stepping up during the climax. Simon Pegg is once again terrific as Scotty, taking a stand that is very much in character for a man who loves the Enterprise almost as much as Kirk. Zoe Saldana reveals Uhura's strength and resourcefulness, and the Spock- Uhura relationship adds nice insight to both characters.

For newcomers, Star Trek Into Darkness is an exciting movie with a brilliant touch of allegory that provides it with some depth in the midst of the summer movie season. For long time fans, Star Trek Into Darkness is like an intertextual celebration of the best of our travels with this crew.

This film was an unexpected delight. "A Christmas Carol" variants are a dime a dozen, but this movie is remarkable. This film mixes drama and comedy deftly. The whole cast is a treat, doing excellent work in an endeavor fraught with possible peril, with special mention to Larry Miller and Wallace Shawn.

Thomas Everett Scott plays a man, Allen Karroll, well on his way to alienation who wakes up to that fact while helping the person the Ghosts were supposed to haunt. The film strikes several different chords, but allows for each scene to unfold on its own, giving it rich moments of humor and sentiment. It was with sentiment that Wallace Shawn was especially crucial. He is perfect as Zeb Rosecog, and a scene with his daughter was stunningly special and moving. Larry Miller and the Ghosts provide wonderful moments of humor. Miller is person with great capacity for humor and drama, but here is called to walk lightly between both.

I also want to mention Deanna Milligan as Carrie, Allen's girlfriend. She was down to earth, yet luminous, with a smile to melt the snow. I hope to see more of her as an actor in the future.

I finally had the opportunity to see this film at G-Fest this past July.

It was awesome.

Kaneko had wanted to use two other Toho kaiju, but found himself making a compromise, shoehorning King Ghidorah and Mothra into the film. He does NOT allow this to interfere with his overall vision of the story.

This depiction of Godzilla may be my favorite. I have seen and appreciated the variety of identities Godzilla has had over the decades. I enjoyed Godzilla the Protector in the '70's, and I even liked Son of Godzilla. But this vision is amazing. With those pale eyes and unrelenting rage, this is Godzilla as a scourge unleashed. This is Godzilla as he has not truly been seen in decades. Even the Heisei films lacked the urgency of menace Kaneko achieves, in part because

POSSIBLE SPOILER

Kaneko shows consequence to Godzilla's activity, in the cost of lives and property, and there is no ambiguity about Godzilla's presence. He is a threat, a dangerous force of nature, not a protector, not an inadvertent ally, but something to be feared. Driven by the spirits of victims of war, Godzilla is a force out of the forgotten past. Kaneko actually uses Godzilla in a fascinating way, to touch into the Japanese forgetfulness about their role in the Pacific War. This is a touchy subject in Japan, and Kaneko uses the topic with surprising delicacy in a special effects film.

Kaneko also uses the Guardian Beast concept well, drawing upon what I think are cultural ideas, as his view of the Sacred Beasts seemed similar to how the god-beasts were approached in Princess Mononoke. I did not feel as if he were inventing a mythology, as much as he was telling a story out of an existing stream of mythology.

Some criticism was leveled at using King Ghidorah as a "good" creature. I would agree that KG has never been seen as a good or beneficial creature, but it works in this film. I noticed also that Ghidorah's color is coupled with shimmering gold effects, suggesting benevolence and power. After all of the reinvention Godzilla has gone through, I did not see a revision of KG to be too great a leap to make.

See this film. If you are a kaiju fan, see this film. If you are not a kaiju fan, see this film, to see how good the genre can get. I will agree with others who continue to say Kaneko's G3 was the best of the genre (although I like G2 a little better. . .), but Kaneko is in fine form here, and I hope to see him tackle Godzilla again.

On a side note, I had the opportunity to meet Kaneko-san. I acted like a complete otaku, but I thanked him for his vision and his skill as a storyteller. Arrigato, Kaneko-san, domo arrigato.