Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category

On stardate 4523.3 is when history records the takeover. Captain James T Kirk and his crew are called by the Federation to assess a priority one distress call at Deep Space Station K7. The rub is that the disputed territory between the Federation and the Klingons Empire has a problem. A real problem. There, soon to be hidden in the grain storage and multiplying like maniacs are those cute little Tribbles. Those furry little asexual animals who look and act harmless, purring and soft. But alas! The Tribbles have one mortal enemy, Klingons.

Oh I loved the Trouble with Tribbles which first aired on Star Trek on December 29, 1967. I was amused when they overtook the Enterprise and Kirk looked overwhelmed in a pile of Tribbles.

Well, that is until I found out those little critters have two disturbing issues. One, they hate Klingons right? So when they interact with Klingons they emit the loudest, shrillest ear-piercing shriek. They jump and get aggressive toward the Klingons and the effort was not wasted on them either, the Klingons hated them too.

At first Kirk and his crew do not see the problem until they found those little critters created another issue. Of course they hated the Klingons but if that was not enough what really brought Star Fleet Command to this corner of the universe was that Tribbles multiplied worse that rabbits and McCoy told Captain Kirk that these maniacs have “only two purposes in life, to eat and reproduce”.

If you were and are a original Star Trek fan you loved this crazy furry like animal. Oh, they get them control, how else could they end the show?

A side note I had forgotten was the retaliation by the Enterprise towards the Klingons for creating the problem. Scotty decided to beam the critters on the Klingon ship to let them deal with the remaining pests.

Trouble with Tribbles has taken on a life of its own. This one show has been done many times over and in 2006 it was remastered and released. A couple things were added as is usually the case when a show is remastered. For example:

Space station K7 is rendered as a CGI effect with more surface detail added. And, A Klingon ship has been added in orbit around the station that was never seen in the original episode, but was seen in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine tribute episode, “Trials and Tribble-ations”. None of the effects from “Trials and Tribble-ations” were used in the remastered episode, although the more detailed appearance of station K7 (including a prominent K7 logo on the dome of its central module) is clearly influenced by that episode.

The story about the Tribbles probably was expected to be serious but it turned out to be one of those legendary shows in which audiences found it amusing. I loved the Tribbles and I did not care if they ate everything sight and reproduced like rabbits. I think the redeeming value they had was they could spot “bad seed” and bad seed was spotted when they were around Klingons! We learned early on as Trekkies that they could not be trusted!

And so Enterprise pulls out of the area to move on yet to another adventure. Ah, those were days, Star Trek with Captain Kirk and his crew.

When deciding what movies I would to see this year I am torn between the adult in me and the child that lurks within. So I decided to pick five that would cover all genres and satisfy the different facets of my personality.

For the historian in me I want to see The King’s Speech about King George VI of Britain and his ascension to the throne. Bringing to the throne a problem with stuttering which his speech therapist helps him overcome. All three leading actors, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter are phenomenal actors. I am sure this is well worth seeing.

For the child in me there are two movies out this year that have caught my attention. As Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp is back in On Strangers Tide. I think it will be as good as the prior movies. All the major players are back except for Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. But really what else could you write about their characters? They married and basically lived happily ever after.

The other movie that tugs at the child within is the Harry Potter movies. I have been waiting to see how Deathly Hollows will be done in Part Two. I have read all the books and know how it ends but I just like seeing movie magic bring everyone to life. Finally when Harry, Hermione and Ron go back to Hogwart’s to find and destroy Voldemort’s final horcruxes the battle all Potter fans have been waiting for ensues.  I have watched the young actors of the Potter movies grow up over the years and I think this is a fitting end to childhood moving them all into adulthood.

Science Fiction and Action movies are another area of enjoyment. I love watching hi-tech scenes from these genres. I am more interested in the technique than I am with the story line but this year one got my attention because it covers both sci-fi and action. In Aliens & Cowboys a space ship shows up over the skies of Arizona in 1873 to take over the earth starting with the Wild West. Who better to fight this diabolical foe than Harrison Ford right? Not sure yet where Daniel Craig fits in but I am willing to see. I wondered what Ford would do after the last Indiana Jones movie. I am looking forward to this one.

More fun? I think another sci-fi and action flick with no risk of getting caught up in the story is on the menu. So I decided on Battle for Los Angeles. All I could find about it so far on www.imdb.com is “A Marine platoon faces off against an alien invasion in Los Angeles.” Oh yeah that is my kind of movie!!!

These movies will get me through the season. They all sound good to me. Entertainment is a welcomed amusing diversion to get through the cares of the day.  There are so many negative things happening in our world it will be nice to have something that will take my mind off of things so I can get another run at life.

Cult classic movies are the greatest. Every time one is replayed I know the lines and know the right place to laugh. It never gets old to me to follow the adventures of “The Dude”. I hear people say “hey dude, oh dude, or dude” a lot but the real dude was the Big Lebowski. He was “the dude” right? Am I right? I mean when is the last time you snuggled up to watch this Coen Brothers classic?

I did last night and I am happy I did. I laughed heartily in all the right places. I needed that laugh. Post holiday blues had set in and I am feeling cabin fever big time. Winter you see, is not my favorite season. I think I could breeze right through it every year bypassing winter and get along just fine. It gets me feeling sluggish and blue. But not last night, last night the Dude put me in a very relaxed mood. I mean who couldn’t be relaxed with the Big Lebowski all mellowed out.

Andy Greene of Rolling Stone says that it is a great release from the days of fast moving electronics. Greene writes:

Early in Lebowski, the narrator (a cowboy named the Stranger, played by Sam Elliott) intones, “Sometimes there’s a man, who, well, he’s the man for his time ‘n place.” The odd truth is this man — the Dude — may have been a decade ahead of his time.

Today, as technology increasingly handcuffs us to schedules and appointments — in the time it takes you to read this, you’ve missed three e-mails — there’s something comforting about a fortysomething character who will blow an evening lying in the bathtub, getting high and listening to an audiotape of whale songs.

He’s not a 21st-century man… The Dude doesn’t care about a job, a salary, a 401(k), and definitely not an iPhone. The Dude just is, and he’s happy.

And isn’t that a great way to feel for just one evening, just happy? No worries, no 21^st century plans. I think that is why I laughed so hard. I think maybe I needed a break from the world of today. Back to when things were just a bit simpler, a bit less stressful. Laughing is so good for the soul. And I think that laughter is a key to bringing mind and body back to a balanced place. I slept hard last night. I am glad that the Dude had a hand in making me forget my concerns of the day. And I think maybe, just maybe I need to find another Coen Brothers show to help me escape. But that is another day.