Star Trek: First Contact

~ Mark

Star Trek: First Contact. I hear this is the best of the TNG cast, and it is good, but doesn’t measure up to the best of the original cast. Definitely darker. Some of that innocence and optimism is gone (which makes some of the humor and goofiness just… awkward), though thankfully the special effects are finally worthy of the setting. Highlights? I loved the editing and cuts between the scenes on Earth and the various ship scenes–so fluid. Patrick Stewart breaks out of Shatner’s shadow at last. The scenes with Data and the Borg are really good. The spacewalk scene is one of the most typically movie-theater-type fun set pieces in the whole series. There’s also a thematically appropriate opera reference in the solid soundtrack. I liked it.

Aziz Ansari gets candid about love: “elusive and sadly ephemeral”

~ Mark

With my stand-up now, I’ve realized there are two types of jokes. One type is me talking about miscellaneous topics and getting laughs. That would be how I feel my first two stand-up specials come off. The second type is, you get a laugh, but you also get the feeling that the audience is saying, “Thank you for saying that!” I find the second type way more satisfying.

Aziz Ansari gets candid about love: “elusive and sadly ephemeral”

My Perfect Adventure: Frugal Traveler Columnist Seth Kugel | My Perfect Adventure | OutsideOnline.com

~ Mark

Wow. Seth Kugel is delightfully self-aware.

Q: What motivates you to keep writing?
A: Not to be facile, but if I don’t write, I don’t get to do the things I later write about. An editor once asked me whether I was one of those writers who liked writing or who hated writing. The implication—that there are journalists who struggle with writing and that that’s completely normal—was a huge relief.

Also this:

Q: Name three things you still want to cross off your bucket list.
A: Get married. Have kids. Write a great book. Disappointed?

My Perfect Adventure: Frugal Traveler Columnist Seth Kugel | My Perfect Adventure | OutsideOnline.com

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

~ Mark

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. This one is intense! Such a good way to close out with the original stars. It seems to have the most traditional blockbuster feel: political intrigue, betrayal, blatant emotionalism, heroes in peril, a mad dash to prevent calamity, last-minute rescues, one-liners and philosophical banter. I think this one also built up the biggest sense of dread and risk out of the series. Also a nice thematic change, rather than exploring the frontiers of space and encounters with strange beings or energy forms or whatever, they’re easing into universal civics, basically, and trying not to let their baggage screw it all up. Same director as the excellent Star Trek II… and I think this one gives it strong competition.

Repo Man

~ Mark

Repo Man. So lively and fun, and it gets more demented the further you go. I loved this one, especially all the side laughs they threw in – just little gems of gesture (e.g., the wrapped gift) or background noise (the TV in the hospital) or the way a scene closes (behind the counter after buying drink at the convenience store) or a character detail (the cop knitting; the kindling for the kooky fireside conversation). A solid cast across the board, with lovely typecasting. One character is an obvious ancestor of Napoleon Dynamite.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

~ Mark

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The star trio is reunited! Kirk is also more bad-ass than usual. Director’s privilege? A good bit of the humor attempts fall flat, but I think the story is decent overall. The camera in this one is definitely more fluid than the previous entries in the series. Lots more long, arcing movements and mobile in-your-face stuff. I think the soundtrack was influenced by Scheherazade. If I had to describe the Star Trek films in one word, it would be idiosyncratic. The changes in tone, the weird plotlines, the ambivalence toward traditional villains… there’s a lot you don’t see in other movies. Star Trek rankings so far? Tough call, but maybe:

  1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
  2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
  3. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
  4. Star Trek
  5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
  6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

B Michael Tumblr: Just Free Stuff

~ Mark

bmichael:

Rappers are very much analogous to bloggers in that both groups sort of do what they do because they want to do it, but they also know there’s not really any worth to what they’re doing – except sometimes one of their cohort gets scooped up by some faceless place with money, so there’s always a little halo of maybe-money attached to what they do. Maybe that halo’s worth more than actually making a piddly amount of money.

B Michael Tumblr: Just Free Stuff