A to Z Movies: Star Trek

Title: Star Trek

Year Released/Rating: 2009 PG-13

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Leonard Nimoy

Directed By: J.J. Abrams

Written By: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Gene Roddenberry

Star Rating:  /5 stars

Trivia: The film’s teaser trailer (welders working on the half-built Enterprise starship, amidst narration from U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Leonard Nimoy’s Mr Spock) was personally directed by J.J. Abrams. Real welders were brought in to film the trailer. The words of Spock and Kennedy were taken from the 1960s (the decade where Star Trek began) and thus linked past and present, enhancing the film (as well as hinting at the time-travel). According to Roberto Orci, Kennedy’s words were also chosen as he was the one who started the “space race,” and so would be appropriate for a space film: “If we’re going to have a Federation, it makes sense for Kennedy and his words to be in there.”

Extra Trivia: To prepare for his role as Captain James Kirk, Chris Pine watched classic episodes and read encyclopedias about the Star Trek universe. However, his research was rudimentary, as he wanted his performance to be original and not an imitation of William Shatner. He based his performance on Tom Cruise’s Maverick and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Indiana Jones, heroes who Pine felt possessed the archetypal hero qualities Kirk has (humour, arrogance, decisiveness).

Once again we skipped Q for the next letter.  And this time we went for action.  I love J.J. Abram’s re-imagination of the Star Trek universe.  It’s fresh without compromising the original tv show and movies.  I especially love Chris Pine’s Kirk.  He plays it as that arrogant bastard that somehow you still like.  It’s a perfect fit.  I also love the little nods here and there to the original.  It has a nice nostalgic nod.  As much as I like this one, I am concerned about the sequel being planned.  J.J. Abrams doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to continuations  He has great ideas, but then makes the show more complicated and confusing.  Hopefully he has good people to help guide the sequel.

P.S. This also appears on IMDB’s Top 250 movies list.  So it’s counting for my Day Zero Project also.

Best Bits:

Christopher Pike: I’m Captain Christopher Pike. To whom am I speaking?
Nero: Hi, Christopher. I’m Nero.
~~

James T. Kirk: So what type of combat training do you have?

Hikaru Sulu: Fencing.

~~
Spock volunteers for what could be a suicide mission] I’m coming with you.
Spock: I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.
James T. Kirk: See? We are getting to know each other.
James T. Kirk: [slaps his shoulder]
~~
Christopher Pike: Russian whizkid, what’s your name? Chanko? Cherpov?
Pavel Chekov: Ensign Chekov, Pavel Andreievich, sir.
~~
Christopher Pike: Be careful with the ship Spock, it’s brand new…
~~
Spock: Under penalty of court martial, I order you to explain to me how you were able to beam aboard this ship while moving at warp.
Scotty: Well…
James T. Kirk: Don’t answer him.
Spock: You will answer me.
Scotty: [pause] I’d rather not take sides.
~~
Spock: Get him off this ship.

 

A to Z Movies: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Title: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Year Released/Rating: 2005 PG-13

Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody

Directed By: Doug Liman

Written By: Simon Kinberg

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Trivia: When Jane is going to her first shown kill, she correctly answers a question from the quiz show Jeopardy!. This was unscripted and spur of the moment on the part of Jolie.

Extra Trivia: When the Smiths are holding hostage “The Tank”,Adam Brody’s character, he is wearing a t-shirt from the 1999 “Fight Club” movie,in which Brad Pitt played one of his most well known roles,Tyler Durden.

J’s pick tonight.  I voted for lighter action.  Something not too serious, but with some good dialogue and action sequences.  And we picked Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  I especially love the dialogue and looks in this movie.  Jolie and Pitt have an awesome way of communicating without speaking.  I love it!  And we get Vince Vaughn popping in here and there h some great lines.  Overall, a good fun lighter action film.

Best Bits: 

Eddie: Tell me you got smart and that you killed that lying bitch.

Jane Smith: This lying bitch?

Eddie: Guess that was just wishful thinking.
~~

John Smith: [angry that Benjamin had blown their cover] You burn the picture after you get the assignment! It’s the first thing you learn!

Benjamin: Oh, I must have missed that day. Just like you missed the one about not marrying the enemy.

~~

John Smith: Web of lies!

~~

John Smith: [just before running over an assassin with the minivan] These fuckers get younger every year.

~~

Jane Smith: Any last words?

John Smith: The new curtains are hideous.

~~

Martin Coleman: Shame about the red oak.

 

A to Z Movies: Jurassic Park

Title: Jurassic Park

Year Released/Rating: 1993 PG-13

Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Written By: Michael Crichton and David Koepp

Star Rating:   4.5 /5 stars

Trivia: When the T-Rex comes through the glass roof of the Explorer in the first attack, the glass was not meant to break, producing the noticeably genuine screams from the children.

Extra Trivia: The full-sized animatron of the tyrannosaurus rex weighed about 13,000 to 15,000 pounds. During the shooting of the initial T-rex attack scene that took place in a downpour and was shot on a soundstage, the latex that covered the T-rex puppet absorbed great amounts of water, making it much heavier and harder to control. Technicians worked throughout the night with blow driers trying to dry the latex out. Eventually, they suspended a platform above the T-rex, out of camera range, to keep the water off it during filming.

I remember seeing this in the theater and being scared out of my mind.  I didn’t even read the book until later.  And once I did read it, I realized that the book is even scarier.  It’s still one of my favorite films from my preteen years.

The opening scene is just fantastic.  There’s no explanation.  No exposition.  Just action.  We see an encounter with one of the dinos, we don’t really know which one, and the tragic results.  Obviously if we pay attention later in the movie we know that the accident happened at the Raptor cage.  Just a great establishment of tone for the rest of the movie.  Once our scientists get to the island, everything seems nice and happy.  But we should all be remembering the opening scene.  It’s just great.  And the score!  Oh the score!  It’s just amazing.  My favorite scene has to be with the initial encounter with the T-rex.  The rain, the mud, the Jeeps, the kids.  All so very scary.  Overall, I love it!

Best Bits: Almost all of them come from Malcolm… no surprise here.

Dr. Alan Grant: Oh my God. Do you know what this is? This is a dinosaur egg. The dinosaurs are breeding.

~~

John Hammond: All major theme parks have had delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!

Dr. Ian Malcolm: But, John. If the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don’t eat the tourists.

~~

Dr. Ian Malcolm: Anybody hear that? It’s a, um… It’s an impact tremor, that’s what it is… I’m fairly alarmed here.

~~

Dr. Ian Malcolm: Remind me to thank John for a lovely weekend.

~~

Dr. Ian Malcolm: God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs…

Dr. Ellie Sattler: Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth…

~~

Dr. Ian Malcolm: But again, how do you know they’re all female? Does someone gone into the park and, uh… pull up the dinosaurs’ skirts?

Henry Wu: No, we control their chromosomes. It’s really not that difficult. All vertebrate embryoes are inherently female anyway. They just require an extra hormone given at the right developmental stage to make them male. We simply deny them that.

~~

Dr. Alan Grant: [holding a newly-hatched Dinosaur in his hands] What species is this?

Henry Wu: It’s uh, a velociraptor.

Dr. Alan Grant: [in disbelief] You bred raptors?

~~

Tim: [after the tour car falls upside down on them at the bottom of the tree] Well… we’re back… in the car again.

Dr. Alan Grant: Well, at least you’re out of the tree.

~~

Dr. Ian Malcolm: If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it’s that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territories, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, ah, well, there it is.

 

A to Z Movies: Iron Man

Title: Iron Man

Year Released/Rating: 2008 PG-13

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed By: Jon Favreau

Written By: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby

Star Rating:   5/5 stars

Trivia: The script was not completely prepared when filming began, since the filmmakers were more focused on the story and the action, so the dialogue was mostly ad-libbed throughout filming; Jon Favreau acknowledged this made the film feel more natural. Some scenes were shot with two cameras to capture lines improvised on the spot;Robert Downey Jr. would ask for many takes of one scene since he wanted to try something new. Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, had a difficult time trying to match Downey with a suitable line, as she never knew what he would say.

Extra Trivia: Agent Phil Coulson repeatedly states he is a member of the ‘Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division’ (finally shortening it to SHIELD). In the comics, the SHIELD agency originally stood for the ‘Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage/Law-Enforcement Division’, then in 1991 was revised to the ‘Strategic Hazard Intervention/Espionage Logistics Directorate’.

Tonight I wanted some action and not a quirky comedy.  We chose between Indiana Jones (my pick: The Last Crusade) and Iron Man.  Obviously we went with Iron Man.  I think the main reason I love this movie is Robert Downey Jr.  He is Tony Stark.  He’s not an actor playing Tony Stark.  He really is Tony Stark.  In interviews Robert Downey Jr.further described his portrayal of Stark as “a challenge of making a wealthy, establishmentarian, weapons-manufacturing, hard-drinking, womanizing prick into a character who is likable and a hero.”  That’s it, right there.  He’s an asshole, you want to hate him, and yet you still really root for him.  And speaking of, Jeff Bridges is the ultimate villain.  He’s that slimy businessman that runs a bit of double dealing on the side.  He’s making you money, but also has higher aspirations.  Watch out for him!  So nicely done.  I really appreciated it.  Especially since Mickey Rourke’s villan in Iron Man 2 is so week.  At least Justin Hammer is fun to watch.  Definitely my favorite of the Avengers movies so far.

Best Bits: 

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: [walking in on Stark's robots trying to get him out of the Iron Man suit] What is going on here?
Tony Stark: Let’s face it, this is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.
Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: Are those bullet holes?

~~

Tony Stark: [reading the newspaper] “Iron Man”. That’s kind of catchy. It’s got a nice ring to it.

~~

Tony Stark: Give me a scotch. I’m starving.

~~

Tony Stark: Hmmm. Your eyes are red. Tears for your long lost boss?

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: Tears of joy. I hate job hunting.
Tony Stark: Yeah, well, vacation’s over.

~~

Agent Phil Coulson: I’m Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: That’s quite a mouthful.
Agent Phil Coulson: I know. We’re working on it.

~~

Agent Phil Coulson: This isn’t my first rodeo, Mr. Stark.

~~

Obadiah Stane: [discussing the company's future with Tony] We’re iron mongers, we make weapons.

~~

Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: Agent Coulson, I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help.

Agent Phil Coulson: That’s what we do. You’ll be hearing from us.
Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts: From the Strategic Homeland…
Agent Phil Coulson: [interrupting] Just call us SHIELD.

 

 

 

 

A to Z Movies: The Fifth Element

Title: The Fifth Element

Year Released/Rating: 1997 PG-13

Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker

Directed By: Luc Besson

Written By: Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen

Star Rating:   4 /5 stars

Trivia: The language spoken by Leeloo was invented by director Luc Besson and further refined by Milla Jovovich. By the end of filming they were able to have full conversations in this language.

So F…  Hmm… We definitely have an odd collection of movies for F.  We sat there for about 5 minutes, I narrowed it down to three, J picked The Fifth Element out of that.  I think it partly has to do with the fact that over dinner we were talking about how many bad movies were made in the 1990s.  There are quite a load of them.  And we happened to pick a good 90s movie for our pick tonight.

You have to take this movie with a bit of camp.  Don’t take it too seriously or it comes off as seriously cheesy.  That’s why I like it so much.  A fun campy action film.  Complete with cheesy Bruce Willis lines and Chris Tucker being, well, Chris Tucker.  My favorite part has to be all the parallel shots.  We get the fight scene between Leelo and the nasties going on at the same time as Zorg is infiltrating the ship and Korben is watching the opera.  There are others, but that sequence is my favorite.  I just love the cuts in that scene.

Best Bits: 

Priest Vito Cornelius: You’re a monster, Zorg.
Zorg: I know.

~~

[Father Cornelius and Ruby Rhod see the bomb stuck to the door]

Priest Vito Cornelius: It’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a…

DJ Ruby Rhod: No no no no no no. ‘Cuz if it was a bomb, the alarms would go off ‘cuz all these hotels have bomb detectors, right?

[the alarms sound]

~~

Korben Dallas: Whoa, lady, I only speak two languages, English and bad English.

[Leeloo continues to talk in divine language]

Korben Dallas: Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for conversation, but maybe you could just shut up for a moment?

~~

Korben Dallas: What’s your name?

Leeloo: Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat.

Korben Dallas: Good. That… that whole thing’s your name, huh? Do you have, uh… a shorter name?

Leeloo: Leeloo.

 

A to Z Movies: Die Hard 4

Title:  Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard

Year Released/Rating: 2007 PG-13

Starring: Bruce Willis, Justine Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q, Kevin Smith

Directed By: Len Wiseman

Written By: Mark Bomback, David Marconi, John Carlin, Roderick Thorp

Star Rating:   4 /5 stars

Trivia: When introduced to an agent Johnson, McClane says: “Johnson, again?”, a nod to the two agents Johnson in Die Hard, despite the fact that McClane and the two agents Johnson never spoke or met face to face.

J’s choice tonight.  I was learning towards Dogma or Dark City.  He suggested Dave or Die Hard.  So we went with Die Hard.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this installment.  Probably since it came out…  I’m almost always up for some good action film and this hit the spot.  I especially love Timothy Olyphant. He always play the creepy bad guy, but also the suave, could possibly be charming, bad guy.  Amazing!  And the stunts are fantastic.  The entire sequence in the refrigeration thing (towards the end) is just impossible.  And that guy, Rand, does almost all his stunts without wires.  That’s just crazy!

Best Bits: 

Matt Farrell: You just killed a helicopter with a car!
John McClane: I was out of bullets.

Matt Farrell:[to Lucy] Wow, I know that tone. It’s just weird hearing it come from someone… with hair.

John McLane [covering the webcam] You think you can, uh, find a track where he is?

Thomas Gabriel: Detective, covering the camera with your hand does not turn off the microphone.

[after the presidential montage]

Casper:That was creepy.

Trey: I tried to find more Nixon.

Thomas Gabriel: McClane? I thought I killed you already.

John McClane:  I get that sometimes.

John McClane: I know I’m not as smart as you guys with all this computer shit. But, hey… I’m still alive, ain’t I? I mean, you’ve *got* to be running out of bad guys by now, right? Huh? Gabriel? Honestly, you can tell me. I mean, how does that work? Got some kind of service or something? Some kind of 800 number? 1-800-HENCHMEN? Oh, you know what? I bet you’re still on hold with, “Can I get another dead Asian hooker bitch over here right away?”

[from the unrated version]

Matt Farrell: You just killed a helicopter with a car!

John McClane: Hundreds of thousands of people get killed by cars every year. That’s just like four more.

[after Lucy struggles and shoots Emerson in the foot]

Thomas Gabriel:  Jesus Christ. You got her?
[Emerson nods]

Thomas Gabriel: You’re sure? It’s a nice effort, though.