The New Universe of Star Trek.
JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movies aren’t just bad. They’re stupid. Sure, they’re gorgeous to look at. The reimagining of the ship and bridge (but not so much the God-awful Engineering) is majestic. Casting ranges from excellent to okay – at least nothing objectionable. The score is brilliant. As a package, it’s atmospheric, and creates the aura of The Original Series – well, if The Original Series had the budget JJ had. Cosmetically, the movies will seduce you, if you let them. But, for the moment, let’s take the Star Trek element out of this discussion. I don’t want people to think I’m criticizing these movies just because they didn’t do…
Man of Steel.
Warning: This piece contains oblique spoilers to Man of Steel. I’ve anticipated the release of Man of Steel ever since they announced they were going to make it. Another Superman movie? With the technology (e.g. CGI) at their disposal to completely realise the magnificence of this character? I loved the first two movies (Superman: The Movie and Superman II, particularly the Richard Donner re-cut), which remain amongst the best superhero movies ever made. But now, in a Hollywood where superhero movies were taken seriously and you could make minor heroes like Iron Man and Thor entertaining and credible, surely this could be Superman’s crowning moment, especially with the talent (Zack…