Well, I was hoping to have been able to write a review of Watchmen this evening, but I am afraid that is not going to happen. Fate and my own sense of duty to my employer prevented me from seeing the film yesterday, Friday, and my wife’s work schedule prevented me from going today as I had to watch my son. Oh well I suppose, it isn’t like the film will not be still around in theaters next week. I just really wanted to see it THIS weekend.
Now Watchmen still will be the first official film review I write for this blog. It is the film I want to cut my teeth on as an amateur reviewer. Now with that said, I still feel obligated to you, the reader, to at least write about something related to the world of film in this space. And so I shall. In lieu of an “official” review of a film, I am going to offer my opinions and observations on some film related items I watched or read about online today while my son was down for a nap.
New Star Trek Trailer
Yesterday Paramount released online a new trailer for Star Trek. The trailer is set to run in theaters before Watchmen, (sigh), this weekend.
I will spare you an extensive background preamble about my personal connection or feelings about Star Trek as a whole. Suffice to say I am a pretty big fan. Not Vulcan ears, party it up at a convention big though. I like Star Trek that is all.
I have to admit though that I was alittle nervous when I heard that Paramount was making a new ST film and that it would be, the ever so popular, “re-boot/prequel”. I worried who they would find to cast as Kirk, Spock. Would they cast a major star in either role? There were rumors early on that Matt Damon was in the running for Kirk. That never panned out, which is too bad as I thought he would be great in the role. I also worried at the time if they would water down ST to make it hip and accessible to a young audience. Turn it into another mindless sci-fi action film, with big explosions and little substance.
I can honestly say that my fears for this film were alleviated with this new trailer. It is that good and has me sold on the film as a whole.
What I liked:
The music- Let’s start right there. I love film scores and film music as a whole. There is an amazing power to putting the right image with the right piece of music. The music in this trailer fits the images and overall themes of this trailer to a T. It is grand in the best sense, with rising strings and chorals. It screams- this is an epic film, one with a large reach and scale. I love when music can make even the most mundane image seem powerful and important. Great choice of score by those in charge on this one. Sadly, the music heard here is not from the official soundtrack. But rather it is music written and recorded specifically for this trailer (more on this point later).
The images- Let me just say that ILM has went above and beyond on this film based on what is showcased here. Some of the shots of the Enterprise, what small glimpses we were given, are amazing. I think the choice to use all CGI and not models, as had been done on nearly all of the films before, was wise on JJ Abrams part. It just looks much better overall and surprisingly makes the ship seem more real.
Another great image that stood out for me was the destruction of a planet. I believe I know which planet it is but will save that guess in order to respect those that are remaining spoiler-free on this one. It was just so cool to watch the internal explosions within the planet’s core while the planet’s surface collapses in on itself, similar to how a sun/star may look when it goes supernova.
The overall themes presented- I really dig that this film is going to focus on the rise of James T Kirk. This film is an origin story in its truest sense, which is something I am perfectly fine with now. The call to adventure by Pike to Kirk in the bar, at the beginning of the trailer, was great to hear and see. He, Pike, really challenges Kirk to live up to his lineage and more importantly his potential. Pike is clearly the Obi Wan or Merlin or Dumbledore, if you wish, of this film. He is the wise man, who sees the potential the hero possesses and nudges or pushes him in the right direction. I do hope that Abrams really builds, as the film progresses, on these two men’s relationship. I want them to become more than simple colleagues, there should be a father-son relationship there. This is especially important given Pike’s eventual fate. You ST fans reading this know what I am referring to.
I also really liked the “Embracing of Destiny” moment when Kirk assumes command of the Enterprise. Many people online have criticized this moment as Kirk essentially calling “dibs” on the Captain’s chair. They wanted this moment to be grander and carry more weight. I understand their position but also personally feel the way they are approaching it is fine. When you are on a military vessel and things become chaotic, you often find that lower ranking officers will assume command and fill the void. I like the idea that Kirk realizes the stakes and knows that he has to take action. He doesn’t do so though without fear. In fact, he has some insecurities and you can see that in the moment when Ahura tells him she hopes he knows what he is doing and Kirk replies that he hopes so too.
The villain is different this time around. The trailer, unfortunately, does not do a good job of portraying the layers to Nero, the villain in the film. He is seen here yelling orders and generally angry. He refers to a “Day of Reckoning” but there is never any explanation as to what he is referring to. I can tell you, knowing a good deal about Nero and his back story, that his reason for doing what he is doing is justified to some extent. Unlike Khan, he is not just looking for revenge. Rather he is trying to save what is most important to him. Again, I hope Abrams is able to make Nero sympathetic while also making it clear that he is dangerous and poses a grave threat to our heroes. Balance is key here.
One last thing is the look of this film overall, from costumes, sets, technology, the ships themselves, is great. They have made it all seem familiar, yet updated and new. Not an easy feat in my mind. Hats off to the costume and set designers.
Overall, a good two minutes with the crew of the Enterprise. I look forward to being in the theater on May 8th to see if JJ Abrams was able to make the whole film as cool as this trailer was.
Harry Potter 6 Trailer
Warner Brothers, perhaps feeling a tad jealous of Paramount’s ST trailer, released their own new trailer for HP6. Of course I ended up watching it. I mean I read the books, so there you have it.
I have to admit that after the great ST trailer, this one left me alittle cold. Let me elaborate.
First, What I liked:
-The way they have chosen to visually represent what Harry sees while in the Pensieve. I love the way the black smoke descends and comes together to manifest as a person or object. It strikes the right tone as what we see while in the pensieve is memories which are sometime elusive, like the smoke, and very dream-like. The descending black smoke looks gorgeous and menacing at the same time. Cool.
-I still love the shot, which was shown originally on the previous trailer to this one, of Dumbledore and Harry standing on a large rock, the ocean cresting behind them. It is just a beautiful shot to me. Dumbledore looks determined here, his gaze fixed on their final destination. While Harry looks, as he always seems to in these films, dumbfounded and confused. It kinda made me laugh.
-The ring of fire. I like the ring of fire that surrounds someone’s home. If I remember correctly it was the Weasley’s. It was cool to look at.
Now, What I didn’t like:
-The trailer felt lazy to me overall. There is a part at the end when Dumbledore says, in voice over, that Harry must fulfill and then it cuts out. Now I suspect he was telling Harry that he must fulfill his destiny. But why cut that sentence off. It just felt weird to me overall.
-The lack of any substantial new images. This comes back to the lazy factor for me. Many of the images shown were seen already in previous trailers. Dumbledore visiting Tom Riddle- check, Hermione and Ron looking grim and scared- check, Some obligatory Quiddich shots- check, Dumbledore (cough- Gandalf) fighting his way out with flames surrounding him- check. The ring of fire and one or two other images were new. But other than that it was all things I had seen before.
-Dumbledore as Gandalf: When I read the sequences toward the end of the novel when Dumbledore and Harry go on their mission, I never imagined it looking like a scene out of Lord of the Rings. I know to some of you this may seem like a minor nitpick and I respect that opinion. But to me any image they have shown of Dumbledore with the flames surrounding him has instantly evoked sequences in LOTR to me. Now it may be that when I see the whole sequence in the theater that I will not have the same knee jerk reaction. But what is being displayed here did leave me with that impression.
Overall, it was a run of the mill trailer. It didn’t make me want to run out and see the film now. But it also didn’t convince me to not see the film at all either. It was simply an alright trailer. I pray the film is much better. The book certainly was.
One last thing- I mentioned that the music from the ST trailer was not part of the film’s score. In fact, it was written and produced just for the trailer by a company named Two Steps from Hell. Interesting name for a music company, hey? Anyway, this company’s specialty is to write and produce music cues to be used in trailers and even in films themselves. I always assumed, falsely of course, that the music used in trailers was either from the film’s score (more plausible near the film’s release date of course), was temp music borrowed from the soundtracks of other films, or was music that had cleared trademark law and was available for general use. I never thought that the studios would pay out money to have music written specifically for a 2 minute trailer. But I guess it shouldn’t surprise me as the trailer’s sole purpose is to sell the movie going public on the film in question. If the music helps elevate the film in people’s minds, then mission accomplished. I just found it interesting that there is this niche market for trailer music. Pretty cool.
Ok, well that is it for now. It is just past 3:30am here (damn daylight savings time!) and I have to get to bed. My son will be waking me up at 7am no matter what. There will be more movie related stuff in this blog going forward. Including my review of Watchmen next week. Until then, goodnight and good luck.
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