THROWBACK ALBUM REVIEW: St. Anger by Metallica

What is the worst album you've ever heard?  That's a hard question to answer, because there is a LOT of bad music out there, all for different reasons, under different genres, by different artists, with different traits that make it awful.  One of the things I've learned in my time of writing critiques, is that certain things that are bad, have a certain amount of enjoyability perhaps buried in them.  A bad movie can be fun to watch for hilarious acting, or ridiculous story, or whatnot.  A bad video game can be enjoyed after popping open a beer and watching a glitch fest of hilarity ensue.  However, I've been reviewing music for a very long time now.  I don't do it as often nowadays, but I used to review music a lot, in my post High School years.  Music was my life back in the day, and I loved recommending music to others, or warning others to stay away from certain music.  And that part of me still lives today.  I make plenty of mixes, in hopes of showing off good music to other people, and of course, I spotlight old music every Thursday for the Throwback Thursday Ressurection Jukebox special thing I do on Google+. In my experience of music...I can tell you that bad music is not so easily enjoyed. You can't just pop open a beer, sit back, and listen to a bad pop album. You're still going to hate it. Which brings me to one of the most controversial albums of all time, by a band I used to absolutely idolize.

Metallica in high school was life.  They were in many ways to me...the band that could do absolutely no wrong. And I'll go ahead and admit that when I was in high school, it was a good time to be a Metallica fan.  My sophomore year, they released Death Magnetic. That album, though not perfect, remains one of my favorite albums they've done, and to me, one of their best. However before that, there was a lot of bad aftertaste from the album that came...beforehand...and that was the infamous St. Anger album.

I used to defend the hell out of this album, and it was dumb fanboy love at it's absolute finest. Growing up, not only have I drifted away from Metallica as my music taste broadened a bit, but I've come to realize...hey...St. Anger ain't all it's cracked up to be. But listening to it again, is it their absolute worst? ...well...no....there's always Lulu to lower the bar even further, but even without Lulu I won't call it their worst.  Honestly I don't know where to rank it.

Now...I will say this.  The production of St. Anger...is garbage. Attrocious. Pitiful. I can go on, but I won't. But combined with the frustrating tone of this album the frustrating lyrics, and the times that Metallica was going through, it strangely...produces a unique charm.  And I don't like putting it that way because I feel as if those who detest this album are gonna accuse me of being a fanboy...guys I haven't listened to Metallica in full for a while now.  I'm too busy fanboying over Pink Floyd or some other old band.  So hear me out.To fully understand this album, we need to go back to the early 2000's, and take a look at what exactly Metallica was going through...

Band therapy, Jason Newsted's departure, James Hetfield's rehab, the drama between them and Napster, and in many ways, that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Watch the documentary, Some Kind of Monster, and you can see a bit more what exactly each member was thinking.  So when I hear James shouting off key, I'm wondering if he's even singing.  It sounds like he's just raging.  The lyrics to some of these songs, when delivered right in songs like Frantic, St. Anger, or even songs like Shoot Me Again, can be pretty...intimidating. Now that's not to say that there isn't a fair amount of...crap.  Because though I used to really really relate to songs like Invisible Kid, I've come to realize that coming from a band like Metallica, they're fucking silly. My World has some cool moments, but overall, it's a knock-off song.  And Purify?  I'll rip more on this song later, but those lyrics don't even make sense.

More on the production. From note one you can likely hear the problem.  I don't really mind the down-tuning so much, as it does give the overall album a darker tone, but they don't really experiment much with it, and when they do experiment, the results can be atrocious, such as the infamous loosening of Lars' snare drum.  A fatal mistake, Lars.  Being a drummer myself, saying the drum heads aren't in tune is an understatement. There are times that snare is just wailed upon, and you cringe at each and every hit. Purify.  Remember that song I was just talking about? A few seconds in, Lars is only hitting that snare...as hard as he can.  I'll give you a moment to rub your faces. Another common complaint is the lack of guitar solos.  Now this is something I wouldn't mind so much, again if they did something to compensate or experiment with. Songs like Frantic don't need solos.  And the song Some Kind of Monster has some jam sessions that aren't too bad to listen to. But as you go further and further into the album, you begin to hear a sense of repetitivity, and that's because there is no solo.  And exhibit A....fucking Purify. There is a section of this song where a certain riff is repeated over 20 to 30 times.  I'm not exaggerating.  That is ridiculous.  Okay I'll stop ripping on Purify...it's too easy.  It might as well be said, it's pretty much the absolute worst Metallica song they've put out.  So what other song can I rip for repetitivity?  How about the album's final song...in which for the last few moments of the song, James decides to shout the single word "Kill" I'm willing to bet over 40 times. 

Put all this together with atrocious production (and thankfully this would be the final project with Bob Rock), mediocre lyrics, and frustrating times, I have only one thing to say.  Why was this album released when it was?  I ask this because there is material here that isn't half bad.  There's a lot of material I actually really like, but if Metallica really wanted this album to come out on top, if you ask me, it really should have been delayed.  Had this album come out a year or two later, perhaps the results would have been better.  Instead, the pros are outweighed by the cons.  But I will say this...despite everything I've said negative...I can still listen to it in full. Now, I'm not gonna say it's a favorite album, because I gotta pace myself, but I find this album strangely satisfying to listen to when I have a shitty day.  And this is kinda how I feel Metallica felt when releasing this.  Dealing with all the shit they were dealing with, I feel that St. Anger was the album that they just poured everything...all that negativity into, and just gave it to us.  Did they care?  I don't know.  But I think of it as a necessary evil because Death Magnetic certainly kicked ass.  Listening to St. Anger on a downer day can be...strangely...cleansing I feel.  At the end of the day, a shitty day is a shitty day, but I like to think of this album as a ritual to exorcize those demons I have that build within me when I feel only rage and frustration at the world.  That aweful production, those angry frustrated lyrics, darker tones in guitar, and aggressive play style strangely helps me cope.  From beginning to finish.

I may just be in the minority there, but with this element, I cannot in my right mind, condemn this album as a failure in full.  That gets reserved for other albums.  While St. Anger isn't exactly on the money, I'm not going to say that it missed the target completely.  Even if it just grazed the outside of it. While it's not for listening on a casual level, it is an album I'd recommend if you just gotta rage a bit.  Because St. Anger DOES live up to it's name.  Metallica's return to its thrash roots does provide some emotionally raw anger that is easily heard in this album.  Give it a listen once in a while before you shelve it or return it to the library or whatever.  It's safe for the occassional listen.  Nothing more, nothing less. Or don't. I don't know anymore. 

Album Grade: C

THROWBACK REVIEW: Star Trek: Nemesis

We did it!  We're through the Next Generation films! Yup, unlike the crew of the original six movies, Picard's crew only got four films to wrap up their series, and on some levels, that's probably for the best. Unlike the Original Series, which only got three seasons (including that God-awful third season), The Next Generation remained on the air for a whopping seven seasons, all of which were pretty dang good. Yeah the first couple seasons weren't as good, but compared to Season Three of the original series? It's gold. And no, I will never get tired of ripping that third season a new one. Back on track, with such a big series, I don't think Picard's crew needed six films to wrap up their series. Heck, I'm not sure they even needed four, but here we are. Is Nemesis a worthy send-off?

Well...yes and no. Now I will get this out of my system now, this is a film that some people will compare to the Final Frontier, as yet another bad bad bad Star Trek film, and all I have to say to that is.....really? I mean, granted it's not perfect, but I had a lot of fun watching it. It's a bit of a mixed bag, but honestly, I think it gets way too much dirt than it deserves. There are some things here that don't belong. But there are a lot of things here that hit right on the money. And the thing it does decent at right up front is.....I'll be honest, the action. Now before I get too many angry fans tearing me a new one, I will say that some action doesn't fit. And the scene that immediately comes to mind is the ATV action scene in the first act. I still don't get why they added it. It really adds...nothing to the film. It could have been cut, and nothing would have changed in the film. I mean granted we get a couple of cheesy, but likable lines in the scene (I don't care what others might say, unsafe velocities had me chuckling), but the Reman attack was completely unnecessary. And a few of the shootouts....probably could have been edited down and whatnot (a shuttle flying through the halls of a warbird seems a little over the top). But one thing I absolutely love in this film is the space battle, which is absolutely phenomenal. Easily amongst the best of the franchise, and I've yet to get to a personal favorite space battle. It's paced wonderfully, visually appealing, and at times, even intense to the point where you're wondering if it's scary (God I love hull breach scenes). And the fact that the Romulans....long time enemies of the Federation, aid the Enterprise in this battle, only strengthens this battle. It's a real treat to watch.

The concepts of Nature vs Nurture are also a concept I found somewhat interesting, though not so much emotionally gripping as one would hope. Here you have a concept never before explored in Star Trek, where Picard is facing his own clone. You'd hope this would have a bit more of a payoff than what we got. Instead we just get a few scenes of them together, in which the clone just kinda drops the whole "If you were in my place, you'd do the same thing!" a couple times, before we get our eventual climax, and that's that. Honestly, it kinda felt a little anti-climactic,and if it weren't for the....spoiler alert....death of Data giving it a more serious emotion to the overall scene, the whole thing would have felt rather mediocre.

Which leads me to discuss the biggest factor of the movie, the send-off. Let's compare the send-off of the original crew to the send-off of the Next Generation crew.  Minor note, this paragraph includes spoilers.  If you don't wanna be spoiled, skip ahead to the next paragraph. The original crew's send off was as such.  With peace talks now beginning with the Klingon Empire, the Enterprise is ordered to immediately return to Starfleet where it will be decommissioned, and the crew will mainly retire.  So...the crew takes their ship out for one last ride to wherever. It's a fantastic, glorious ending that is still every bit as awesome as it should be.  Picard's crew?  It's...much more somber. Here, Data is dead, Riker and Troi are getting transferred, and while peace talks with the Romulans are beginning, there's not a lot to smile about, because the crew is just...going through such a tough time. I mean sure, the original crew saw the death of Spock, but he came back. And though Data's memories start to resurface in the memory banks of...B-4...(who I won't dedicate a paragraph to, but let's just say I don't like this character at all), we don't get another movie to see Data return.  For all we know, he may be gone...forever. Seeing the crew, standing there in near silence, reflecting on Data is truly sad to watch.  And it doesn't help that Riker and Troi are leaving the beloved crew of the Enterprise.  The send off of Picard's crew leaves so many holes in the crew we have come to know and love.  And honestly...that's a really gutsy move. It's not the glorious "everything will be okay" ending that Kirk always seemed to get.  Here...things have happened, that have caused a lot of pain.  Whether you approve of this or not...I'll let you decide.  For me personally...I think it's pretty dang strong.

But I think the biggest reason that Nemesis can get the flab it gets is mainly because for the time it came out...Star Trek was running on fumes.  It needed a break, and I'm glad it got one. Whether you criticize it for too much action, or issues in continuity, or anything else...I mainly get the feeling that while it knows what to do in a lot of areas, it gets too distracted with other scenes.  I asked about it on G+, and found that roughly 70% of fans liked this movie. There are so many things that I absolutely love about this film, that hit the bullseye, but there are a lot of things also that just didn't need to be there.  And the fact that this can happen...continuously, I think is the film's biggest fault.  If it were just one or two elements, I wouldn't mind, but it just resurfaces one too many times. While I love the ending of this film and the action, it needed to focus more on those concepts it was trying to introduce, and less on B-4's character, and the very unnecessary action scenes. It's a big mixed bag, but it's still an enjoyable mixed bag.

Star Trek: Nemesis is a film I'm unsure how to rate honestly.  I wanted to give this film a three, because by most means, I njoyed this film from beginning to end.  While there were elements that I don't care for, not once in the movie did I say, this isn't how I remembered it, or that it was a bad film.  It has bad moments, but moment's don't condemn a film for me. However thinking harder on it, I'm going to issue this movie with some tough love, a two and a half star rating out of four. While enjoyable, the film's easy distraction, and whatnot distracts the viewer, and can at times make you question why it was in the film.  Is it a perfect send off for Picard?  No.  Is it worthy? ...you can be the judge of that one for yourself.  But as distracting as it can be, I still very much recommend a viewing of it.  THe good that is in this film...is just too good to not recommend it.

Please feel free to suggest any movie you might want me to look at in the future down below.  Leave a comment telling me your own personal thoughts or feelings about this film.  Agree?  Disagree?  I want to know! And as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 2.5/4

We did it!  The Next Generation films are complete!  But...there's still two more Star Trek films out there that I must tackle.  Films that I know, not everyone will agree with me on.  It's time to tackle the infamous reboot films.  See you next week.

REVIEW: Zootopia

I'm a huge fan of anthropomorphic characters.  I think they can capture the imagination in more ways than one, they have tons of potential, and they can tell a story in ways human characters just cannot do.  I enjoy anthropomorbphic characters so much, that in my free time, I've personally created a few of them, and even in my free free time, made a cheesy story for them. And there are times, I feel these characters get way too much negative rep.  No doubt some of you have heard many of the stereotypes surrounding furry fandom or whatnot, and I will say from experience, a lot of these fans are very nice people.  But I digress.  I'm here to talk about a movie.  And I hope you don't mind my sudden intermission from my Star Trek reviews.  Insurrection will be out Monday. Let's talk about Zootopia.

How do I begin this review?  Screw it.  I love this movie.  If I remember right, It's the first movie in Disney history since Robin Hood to have a full character lineup to be completely anthro (Not counting Pixar films). But unlike Robin Hood, Zootopia takes advantage of this anthro lineup in so many clever, fun, and downright funny ways, that it's impossible not to love.  Each and every character for the most part has a very fitting personality, from the sly fox, to the stern bull, to the slow sloth.  And even when the personality doesn't seem so fitting, it's executed in a manner so very clever, that it's just impossible not to like.  Yes, character in this story is a strength, I dare say, one of the strongest character movies that DIsney has ever done.  And you can try and argue that they only seem fitting due to silly animal stereotypes and whatnot, and I will just say that it doesn't hurt the overall experience this film has.

And ironic enough, while the story continues, it actually plays with these stereotypes in some very surprising ways.  There are a couple jokes I won't lie that make me raise an eyebrow, such as when our lead character, the rabbit Judy, who dreams of being a police officer, says that rabbits are "Good at multiplying". Ha ha.  But it's these silly jokes and the overall surprisingly darker tone that this movie starts to take on at the end of the film that gave me the feelings I got when watching Pleasantville for the first time. There is some simple, yet clever social commentary here, and even if it's not exactly relatable to us as a society, it can very much resemble certain things that are growing issues right now. Looking back, I'm wondering if some things in this movie, were on purpose meant to symbolize the behavior of our society when thinking of groups of people in our country, such as Muslims. With the whole Trump drama and his plans on dealing with Muslims, part of me wonders if this was in fact trying to show a potential dark message for us.  Am I overthinking things?  I don't know, but that is a gutsy move by Disney.

As far as the actual story is concerned, I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. I went into this theater, not exactly sure what to expect.  I didn't know what I was going into.  Well...how does the story hold up?  It's a traditional buddy-cop story, but man is it told well.  In fact, in many ways, it reminded me of the cop-comedy Hot Fuzz, which is a favorite film of mine.  Now granted, it doesn't get anywhere near as ridiculous as Hot Fuzz, but the twists that come up in this film are twists that I didn't always see coming.  Was I able to predict a few things? Sure.  But there were twists and turns in this movie that I legitly didn't see coming, and it kept me guessing! If you're able to do that, I have a lot of fun! And while it does pull out some of the typical clichés you've come to expect from Disney, I barely noticed, because they were just executed so well, that I kinda find it hard to hold against this film.

You know, I'm trying to find a problem with this film...but I can't.  While I could nitpick certain things, like for example, I feel the Shakira cameo seemed forced in areas, and whatnot, the good in this film just heavily outweighs anything bad, and if there is anything major that would have hindered my experience....I can't find it.  From the fun characters, to the exciting adventure, to the absolutely incredible animation.  If you get a chance, IMAX this movie, it's well worth the money. 

Disney's newest film surprised me in more ways than one, and gave me fun that I didn't think I'd have. It's filled with adventure, action, comedy, and nonstop fun.  Disney takes advantage of this material in ways that will have you laughing with the rest of the theater, and will make you want to see this again, which is why I am pleased to award Zootopia, with the fullest rating I can give.  Zootopia earns the ful four star rating out of four.  This is a film for all ages.  Fom the young minds to the more adult minds, there is something for everyone in this film.  It captures the imagination in more ways than one, and the result is beyond satisfying.  I'm already trying to find people to see it again with.  That should say something.  If you are trying to find a movie to go see, put this on the list, because again...it's well worth the money.

Please feel free to suggest any films you would wish for me to take a look at.  Leave a comment down below telling me your own thoughts on the film, and as always thanks for reading.

(Star Trek: Insurrection will be out Monday)

Final Verdict: 4/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Star Trek: Insurrection

Oh boy... 

Here we stand, ready to talk about one of my most disliked films of the franchise of Star Trek. Yup. We've gone from one of my favorite films, to a film I really don't like that much, but unlike Star Trek: The Motion Picture which I don't like due to absolutely atrocious pacing, or Star Trek V, which I don't care for due to poor editing and forgettable story, Insurrection gets a stamp of disapproval from me for much more technical reasons. It is the one movie out of all the Star Trek movies out there, that feels like it doesn't belong. And I hear some of you already asking me, "Oh yeah? Well what about those reboot films?" Yes. Even the reboots have more to do with Star Trek than this film does. There. I said it. Shall we begin?

Now a few things I will say regarding this film that are actually well done, are the environments. I cannot, and will not deny that the imagery of space in this movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. No other Star Trek film has portrayed the Enterprise going through a nebula so beautifully. So I will give credit where credit is due. The scenery in space is absolutely gorgeous.  Heck, I'll admit it, even the scenery on the planet the movie focuses on is good, there's just nothing that really stands out about it like the Nebula does.  The Enterprise is looking good as ever (though....whoever was the design genius behind the idea that the Enterprise should be controlled by a joystick in an emergency has been playing too much Atari), and even the enemy ships (who belong to this race called the Son'a) look visually appealing.  There are a few effects during the film's action that appear slightly out of place if you ask me, but overall, the ships are beautiful in this film.  And that is about all the good I can say of this film.  That's not a good thing, movie.

The film's main plot focuses on a race of "aliens" called the Ba'ku, and I put quotes around that word, because they look human in every way possible (they couldn't put a little effort into the make-up department to make these guys look a bit more alien?), who have very much decided to isolate themselves from using....machines....despite using machines in their daily lives. I mean, they straight up say in the movie, "We believe that when you create a machine to do the work of a man, you take something away from the man." Well that's just lovely...but the thing is...as Linkara expertly points out in the excellent review he does with the Nostalgia Critic of this Ba'ku use machines everywhere, from dams to irrigation systems, and likely to sewing machines. "It's almost like machines are helpful or something." I'll rant a bit more about this later, but another thing I cannot accept in this movie is the fact that the Ba'ku, a race we are told has forsaken technology, knows how to...fix...an android.....

....

Bullshit. Just pure, simple, bullshit. Normally I'm pretty open to Star Trek explanations for certain things, but Insurrection managed to be one of the few things of the franchise that just pressed all the wrong buttons. How does this race know how to fix an Android when throughout the series, almost all life that sees Data, looks upon Data as a technical marvel and revolutionary figure? No one knows how to make another like him, and his creator is dead. Heck, Data has to personally instruct Geordi a lot of the time on routine maintenance. And this race that has forsaken machines and technology can just pull off miraculous repair work? That's........just stupid! They go on to reveal that they know the secrets of Warp travel and other things and, it just....doesn't fit. And I say this because the villagers look at Data like he's some kind of monster. More on their behavior shortly.

Another thing that kinda gets to me, a point that Linkara points out in the mentioned review, is the fact that apparently, the Dominion War is going on during this movie. For those who don't know, the Dominion War is a war the Federation is involved with against the mentioned Dominion, particularly during the series Deep Space Nine. And the Federation was losing pretty badly, with predictions that if the Federation loses, BILLIONS of people will die. And we are told that the unique radiation or whatnot that the planet can give off can help....say it with me now...BILLIONS. Yet Picard says, how dare you try to relocate this small group of six hundred people, who aren't indigenous to the planet. It's like the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many.....oh wait... Yeah there's a generic bad guy plot behind it all, but if you don't know that, you'd think Picard wasn't thinking straight. That and the whole fact that Picard has been involved with numerous relocations in the past...really doesn't seem to fit the overall picture here.

But with everything wrong with this picture, from Picard's overall thinking, to just...overall...strange scenes with Data (like how he can be used as a floatation device or how they sing to...gain control of him?), and from overall rushed plot elements, to plot elements that make absolutely no sense (I still don't get why the Ba'ku could do half the crap that they do in this movie), there is one thing I've been waiting to talk about as to why I dislike this movie so much, and it revolves somewhat around the Ba'ku and technology. As I said up above, the Ba'ku don't like machines or technology so much (despite using machines...and having knowledge of technology...as stupid as it sounds). And I've said how this movie goes about depicting it, from the village basically looking to Data as this...abomination almost. Kids run away from him, the people distrust him, the movie hammers in the point that they look at technology as a bad thing.  And ironically...TECHNOLOGY SAVES THE DAY!  Yeah, I can't help but wonder what the Ba'ku were thinking of Picard's crew who were shooting down drones and erecting force fields to protect the 600 villagers.  I like a certain line from that review I keep mentioning (sorry I bring it up a lot, it's an excellent review). "Thanks for saving us with your technology, by the way, we hate technology." But that's not even what gets to me.  Star Trek is about how we as humans have evolved through the centuries up ahead, to better ourselves as a species with the help of relations with aliens, and the advancement of...say it with me now...technology.  Technology is a CORE ASPECT of Star Trek.  Now I understand that Star Trek is a broad series, and honestly, I would have welcomed this concept of the crew coming across a culture that has rejected machines, but the way it was executed here, it literally felt at times like the moral of whatever story they were telling was that we shouldn't rely on technology...and while some may say this to be true...technology is just a tool that we use in our daily lives. And the people of Star Trek know it. While yes, some people shouldn't spend so much on technology nowadays, the philosophy of Star Trek stands for how much our advancement in technology has done us good. I mean, good God, it's inspired inventors to actually make so many things from the show for the past fifty years! And this is what I mean when I say that this movie feels like an anti-Star Trek movie, it rejects this core aspect.  You may argue that the reboots may not be in full spirit of Star Trek, But at least they stuck with the basic principles for the most part.  This movie straight up turned its back to it.

Star Trek: Insurrection easily earns a one star out of four. If the improbable plot elements and ideals don't get to me, the overal themes do.  What could have very much been at best, a mediocre episode perhaps, ends up taking up an entire feature film, which only leaves me rubbing my head, and asking myself "How could Jonathan Frakes, the guy behind First Contact, come up with this?" How could this movie...which has such gorgeous scenery, and at least...a followable plot, get so much wrong?  How could Final Frontier end up entertaining me more than this?  These are questions I will likely never get an answer to.  While the first Star Trek film got a lot of dirt from me for pacing and boring story, this one just...nearly infuriated me for it's themes, and that's another bad sin to come from Star Trek. I'm pleased to say that no other Star Trek film has ever tested me on this kind of level, but...we still have three more Star Trek films to go...and they all have their critics.

Please feel free to suggest a movie for me to review down below.  Leave a comment about your own thoughts and feelings about this film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 1/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact in multiple ways feels like this was the Star Trek movie that was made for me. It is one of the coolest adventures of the Trek universe, and easily the best of the Next Generation films of Star Trek.  Long have I praised this film, long have I defended it from the relative few who I have seen trash talk it.  And long will I continue to love and defend it.  I won't let some nitpicking fans ruin my love of this film, especially when I feel that a lot of their points that they try to make are debatable at best. Is Captain Picard out of character here?  Is there too much action?  Let's just take a look.

I will start this review out by pointing out ironically, my only problem with this movie.  The setting. At the end of Generations, we'd witnessed the destruction of the USS Enterprise-D, and we saw the crew getting picked up by a few Starfleet ships, before warping into the distance, ready to continue their many adventures.  Well, when First Contact starts up, where are we?  On the new and beautiful ship Enterprise-E.  But.....where did it come from?  This is my biggest question.  Why weren't we given a little introduction to this ship? I mean in Star Trek IV, when the crew is getting shuttled to their new assignment, we were given a glimpse at the newly constructed USS Enterprise-A. This gave us some insight as to the fact that the legacy of the Enterprise was only beginning.  Here, they're literally just sitting around a table, talking about their new ship and how they're ready to fight the Borg. I mean don't get me wrong, the Enterprise-E is a beautiful ship, but I would have loved to get to know her a bit before this movie.  An introduction scene or montage or something.  I mean heck, even the crew members like Geordi look different. His visor is gone.  We were given no hint that he'd be given implants instead of his visor before this.  And in his case, no one even bothers mentioning the fact that he decided to get implants or what led to his decision.  It's just a minor gripe about how they set up this movie that gets to me.  But by the time the movie gets rolling, this problem can easily be forgiven, because when we hear that the Borg are attacking Earth...well...who wouldn't be on board?

The opening battle between Starfleet and the Borg cube is one of the coolest scenes of these movies. Normally, Star Trek isn't a franchise I'd associate to put together a fun space battle, but this movie certainly went above and beyond to put this one together in which we get a small cameo by the USS Defiant, and even a very brief glimpse of the famous Millenium Falcon from Star Wars.  And while this battle may not be too visually spectacular when compared to the dogfights of Star Wars or whatnot, it's still a very impressive scene to have come out of Star Trek, before launching us into the main plot of the film in which the Borg send a probe back in time to assimilate Earth before humanity can launch their very first warp-capable ship, which would enable first contact between them and the Vulcans. The Enterprise, caught in this time warp, finds itself in the 21st Century, in a post-WWIII world.  Where we meet easily my favorite non-Enterprise character of the movie, Zephram Cochrane, played perfectly by James Cromwell.  James is an absolute riot in this movie.  I don't think I've ever see a guy play a depressed drunk quite like him. The crew of the Enterprise is tasked with assisting him in repairs to his ship, which is damaged during the Borg attack, and in just...well...helping him find that pride to actually do the launch again, though the hero worship doesn't help at all. Every emotion, every line that James says is just...so in character.  Even the franchise's only title drop in it's long history seems fine. James easily makes this movie worth watching.  He was perfect for the role of Zephram.

One of the things people tend to complain about in this movie is the fact that Picard seems out of character, as he slowly descends into an obsession to destroy the Borg at the cost of...well...anything. I've read articles about how this once intelligent and level-minded leader, was turned into nothing but a man who just wanted to kill anything Borg, despite not ever showing this side before.  To that I say...really?  So his willingness to use a single Borg drone to carry a virus to eradicate the entire Borg race wasn't an obsession? In that same episode, his angry refusal to even speak to the Borg drone who was starting to show signs of individuality wasn't an out of character grudge?  Look I understand that in that episode, he did decide against his act against the Borg, and did in fact get to know the drone in question, but you gotta put into effect what exactly is going on in this movie.  Picard's entire way of life is at risk.  The Borg are threatening to end life on Earth as we know it, erasing everything we've done.  Now I will say that yes, Picard could have been more level-headed but all captains react differently in a crisis. Picard didn't want to lose the Enterprise, despite the fact that for all he knew, it was already lost. With everything the Borg had put him through in the entire franchise, I could easily see why he was so reluctant to accept defeat, and to destroy his foe in the only means left.  And to see him finally realize what he was doing in the end, I felt was very fitting.  When he starts quoting Moby Dick, before finally ordering the complete evacuation of the Enterprise it's easily one of the strongest scenes of the movie. I can only guess that people don't like this because it makes Picard, arguably one of Star Trek's strongest captains, appear weak. Weakness is a part of being a captain, and I find it interesting to see how captains handle this aspect. I mean....if you want an example to compare it to, Captain Edward Smith was supposed to have been the most experienced and talented Captain of White Star Line back in 1912. Yet when the Titanic struck an iceberg, even the talented Captain was weak in the time of crisis. It's just a thing that captains face, and I thought this movie pulled it off. 

As far as the action is concerned in this movie, you'll hear no complaints from me. I've long since grown a bit tired of hearing complaints about how much action should be in Star Trek. Now before I go on, yes, there are times when Star Trek action does very much feel out of place. And I will take note of it. But in this particular film, there was not one scene that felt out of place. Why? Well I guess it was how the scene was set up. I can't really compare it to action of Star Trek II or VI, because unlike action of those two movies which involves ship to ship combat, this action primarily takes place within the Enterprise, which is a move I absolutely love. The concept of the Borg beginning to take over the Enterprise is something that will keep you on the edge of your seat, especially when you begin to realize that the fight is a losing battle. But that tension is still present. When you watch the crew slowly walking through the halls of the Enterprise, past Borg drones, left and right, or when Picard and Worf are battling the Borg on the hull of the Enterprise itself? Man....it's so satisfying to see Worf slice through a Borg in zero gravity. 

But I think the best aspect of this movie, is finally seeing just how humanity meets the Vulcans for the first time. Now I will say that the climactic scene, which features the landing of the Vulcans feels a bit rushed into, especially after the climactic fight between the Borg Queen, Picard, and Data. The fight is resolved, and we pretty much suddenly see the landing happening. I would have appreciated just a little buildup, but the whole fascination between the humans and Vulcans alike is well done, and the music to the scene? Perfect. I've not talked much about the music of the films, but I really should. The musical score of this film, and Generations are fantastic. Regardless of what you might think of the movies, the music is very well done. Back to the scene, we've only had to imagine before this how First Contact could have played out. To see the humans and Vulcans finally meeting, engaging with one another, and experiencing each other's culture for the first time is a treat I really love. I absolutely love how the Vulcans react to Zephram's jukebox. 

At the end of it all, there's a lot I could talk about in this movie, from interactions between both Data and the Borg Queen, and Picard and Zephram's friend, Lily, but then this review would be longer than I'd like. All you need to know, is that I feel this is the one film of the Next Generation crew that got almost everything right. The strongest of the film's. And though there are a few minor gripes, it's nothing that made me dislike this film, or penalize it in ways other films did get penalized from me. Is it my favorite film? I dunno. Again, it's still hard to decide between this, and Undiscovered Country, but it's still a great film, for multiple reasons. 

Star Trek: First Contact, is issued with tough love, a three and a half star rating out of four. I want to give it that full four star rating more than anything, but I think it just barely misses that. Barely. While it does so many things that will make it rival other strong films, it does seem a little rushed in a few areas which does end up slightly hindering the experience, but it's still one of the best out there, and I will continue to preach that until the cows come home. From the action, to the acting, it still feels like the perfect Trek movie for me as a person. 

Please feel free to request a movie you'd like me to take a look at. Leave a comment down below telling me of your own thoughts on this movie or whatnot, and as always, thanks for reading. 

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Star Trek: Generations

I hope you all enjoyed my reviews of the original six Star Trek movies, and my little Battlefield Earth intermission review, now let's keep going. We've crossed into the threshold of the movies of Star Trek which belong to that of the cast and crew of the hit TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. And these are the films I find that are highly criticized. And parts of me don't really understand why. I'm sure all the "hard-core" Trekkies could refer me all over the map as far as why certain films are terrible and whatnot, but for the most part, I enjoyed these films. And ironically, the Trekkies who dissect these films trying to make me understand why they're terrible...only make me like these films even more for what they are. Now I will admit that there are a lot of times where you will notice that the crew of Picard just doesn't seem to carry quite the same movie magic that Kirk's crew had in their films, but when they're on target, the results can just be fantastic. And the first film to tackle, in this area? The film known as Generations.

This is one of those films often called one of the bad films, and having watched it a few times now...I don't get it. Why is it hated so much? I mean sure it has flaws, but I still can't figure out a sure answer as to why it's so despised. In my eyes, it tells a competent story, it keeps my interest, and I will stand by this statement of it having one of the absolute best scenes in the filmdom of Trek. 

Well I guess one reason it's not liked by so many is the manner in which they put both Picard and Kirk on screen at the same time. The Nexus is an idea I remain open to, though perhaps it could have been fleshed out a bit more. The exact manner in which one enters or exits the phenomenon known as the Nexus is never really explained. Kirk enters it through a hull breach, Picard is kinda just...taken into it, and they both just...kinda leave it. How? I can't even explain it. Is the Nexus alive? Did it know that they both wanted to leave and go to the same place at the same time? It doesn't make sense. I mean we're told that it's this place of never-ending happiness and whatnot, but it's not explored much in the film, despite the fact that it's the focus of the main story of the film.

Another thing that I kinda found slightly annoying was the emotion chip of Data, which he had gotten from Lore in the series. What could have been a great way to develop Data's character further was instead overused in some rather...silly and annoying comedy that for the most part, fell flat. I wouldn't mind this comedy so much if it was maybe only one or two scenes, but in this movie, it seems that whenever Data is on screen, he's laughing hysterically, behaving like a child, or just being overall odd. I sincerely laughed at his first real taste of alcohol, and I absolutely loved how he delivered that "Yes!" line. but when he was playing with..."Mr. Tricorder", and singing "Tiny Little Life Forms", I kinda rubbed my head a bit.  Now I should say that there is development with Data and the emotion chip in the film, but the overall unneeded comedy far outweighs the serious development. I just wish it was handled better because after this film, the whole concept of emotion in Data is roughly never heard of again. It was potential that was just wasted.

And of course, we all know that William Shatner stars in this film, reprising his role of the iconic Captain Kirk, and his time on screen with Picard is a little silly, but I will say he has some very good moments. Despite what some might say, I actually like the discussion the two have while they make a delicious looking meal of eggs. And both Picard and Kirk do seem to work rather well together, despite having such different personalities; Kirk being the adventurous cowboy diplomat, and Picard being the more disciplined by the book man.  They are so different, but I can't help but feel that they blend rather well together.  Their fight scene with the film's antagonist, Tolian Soran (who is excellently played by Malcom McDowell) was much better than from what I remembered, and when we get that Kirk death scene, despite it getting SO MUCH negative rep, I can't help but say...you know, it's a fitting death scene. As Kirk predicted, he died alone (You can say that he died with Picard, but they didn't really know each other, so I'm willing to say that his prediction from Star Trek V came true in that sense). And to know that he helped save billions of lives in the system, I see as a fitting way to send off the legendary captain.  I've yet to hear a reasonable argument as to why this scene is bad, that doesn't include how Kirk deserved a much more dignified or glorious death.  

But my favorite scene has to be the destruction of the Enterprise....oh...spoiler alert....screw it, the film is over 20 years old. I've heard some people argue that the old Klingon Bird of Prey should not have been able to take down the Galaxy Class iconic starship, an argument that I will say does hold some ground, but the film explains it well enough for me.  The only thing that annoyed me about the scene was the obvious use of stock footage when destroying the Bird of Prey from Star Trek VI. But the following crash scene is just...so impressive. The practical effects used to show the saucer section crash landing on the planet below are so unbelievably incredible to watch, and they still hold up today.  I honestly will call it one of the absolute best scenes of any Star Trek movie. While the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III may be a bit more of an emotional destruction, as far as effects and overall "epicness", this scene blows that one out of the water.  The saucer section plowing through trees, people getting thrown around left and right, it's not a glorified end of the Enterprise-D as some would have wanted it, but I could REALLY care less at that. It's a great scene. Not everything needs to end glorious.

When all is said and done, Generations is a flawed, but enjoyable film for me.  I have heard so much dirt about it, and watching it again, I can't understand why it's trashed as it is.  It's nowhere near the worst, and I won't even call it bad.  Am I wrong? I don't know.  As a critic, I live by the statement that there's no such thing as a wrong opinion.  So I will say, maybe I'm in the minority.  But you know what?  That's just fine by me. I don't at all mind being part of a small group of people who find some charm in this movie, despite its flaws. I'll call it a guilty pleasure.

Star Trek Generations earns a three star rating out of four for me. Yeah, it could have been done better, but the things that it did do that hit on target have such a great payoff that I find it impossible to hate this film.  It plays off maybe to some as what one might expect from a mediocre episode of the show, but to me, I could follow it from beginning to end. From the questionable scenes (such as Picard dealing with the news of the death of his brother and nephew), to the better scenes (that awesome crash), it's a movie I find enjoyment in, and before anyone questions, no, I will not say that I'm blinded by nostalgia, as I saw this film only once as a kid. And barely remembered it before watching it again (other than it had the cool opening scenes with my then favorite incarnation of the Enterprise-B).  All I know was that I liked it then, and today, I still like it.  And if the majority of Trekkies don't like it...well it just makes me like it even more.

Please feel free to request a movie you'd like for me to perhaps take a look at and review.  Leave a comment down below telling me your own thought and feelings of this film (I have a feeling a lot of you might disagree with what I've said about the film in question).  I'll see you next time on our Trek-a-thon, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Battlefield Earth

For a while I've been wondering about how I wanted to go about reviewing this film. Should it be special, should it be under a certain circumstance, well screw it.  I'm just gonna review it because I want to. You all likely know of Battlefield Earth, and it's legacy as being known as one of the worst films to have ever been made, but after sitting through it twice now, I kinda gotta wonder...is there some element of likable charm to it?  If you've never heard of this film, well where have you been?  I guess it kinda fell out of the loop after it crashed and burned back in 2000, but from what I can gather, it still has quite the legacy, and a lot of people still have a bad taste in their mouth.  Heck for all I know, you might be one of the many who has a bad taste in their mouth, and are only here to make sure I tear it a new one.  What can I say?  I think the film's a riot.

Now that's not to say the film isn't bad.  It was poorly received for good reason.  Tere's a lot to talk about as far as the film faults go, from hammy acting, to shoddy camera work, to some simply bizarre or awkward shots, to plot devices are are an understatement to call coincidental, the faults of Battlefield Earth outweigh any rights it has...and honestly, I'm not sure if it even has any rights.  Well, I think I can come up with a few, I will say that the environment of a post apocalyptic alien taken over world is pretty decently designed. The dome that the Psychlos (yeah...that's the name of the alien race) build is actually pretty cool to look at. And I won't deny...I wouldn't mind tasting that bright lime green drink that they call Kerbango. Serve me one of those in one of those weird glasses! I guess one final thing I can say toward the movies credit is that the film score isn't bad at all. There are times the music does shine through. 

But honestly, there's not much else I can say as far as the good in this film, because...it's so very very...bad. When compared to other films I've seen that I absolutely despise or hate such as Last Airbander, Freddy Got Fingered, or anything else in my movie career that I've seen and walked out enraged on, Battlefield Earth just didn't infuriate me.  Because it's so very entertaining in all its glorious badness.  When it comes to most bad movies, there are two types of actors that tend to get the most of my attention; the actors that are bored out of their minds (such as the majority of Last Airbender), or the actors who simply have no idea what they're doing (such as Troll 2). Now there are other types of actors, those who put their heart and soul into it, but in bad movies, these tend to fall flat on their face, such as in Freddy Got Fingered.  But here in Battlefield Earth, almost each and every actor puts their all into this performance, as silly as it is...and it's impossible not to get a laugh out of. This movie has some of the most laughably cheesy lines I've ever heard.  From lines like "But there's a bright side! One day, you're going to die, and when you got to hell, it'll at least be a step up from this pace!" To Travolta's infamous "spell your name" line.  I cannot help but laugh.

The writing behind the story is actually halfway decent as far as setting up the story is concerned.  It's the actual telling of the story where it falls flat on its face. Earth has been under Psychlos rule for 1000 years, and man is an endangered species.  Our story centers on what I can only imagine is a character made soley on wish-fulfillment.  This movie is based off the novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard (though if the movie has anything to do with Scientology, I can't connect the dots), so there might be a small trace of author insertion.  Further research into the protagonist only strengthens that claim.  I mean the middle name of this guy is literally called "Goodboy". Throughout the film, he's constantly praised as humanity's last hope, and how the love of his life (who literally serves little purpose in this film) always knew that his destiny was to drive the Psychlos away from Earth.  These are characters that by the book, I despise.  There's barely anything interesting about him.  He's just the teacher's pet chosen by Terl to learn things, and it's by this select process that he is educated in the silly way that he is, and becomes the only hope for humanity.  His dialogue is clichéd and just all around silly at times.

But if that wasn't enough, the way he fights the Psychlos in this movie can be laughable if not plain stupid.  There's a hose scene in the movie near the beginning that serves little purpose at all.  Might as well have just cut it out, because it's such an awkward scene, where Jonnie literally fights Psychlos with a firehose. No joke.  But that's nothing, try Jonnie leading the resistance against the Psychlos using...military technology that's centuries old.  And it all works just fine. Yeah, never mind maintanence on fighter jets, or 1000 year old jet fuel, it's a "piece of cake" to train these men who haven't held a gun in their life to fly fighter jets in two weeks.  Two...weeks.... But if that's not silly enough, you got the whole Psychlo atmosphere reacting violently to radiation plot device.  Things could not have been simpler for our rat-brained man-animal group who manage to simply beam a nuclear bomb from Earth to the Psychlo's home world. Which upon detonating, destroys the entire planet. Can you see why this story is so dumb? One nuclear bomb is enough to destroy the ENTIRE atmosphere of the Psychlo home planet?  Eh, screw it.  

There are so many things wrong with Battlefield Earth, that I don't know if I should discuss them all here in this review.  From the overuse of Dutch angles, to the overall stupidity of the Psychlo aliens which is probably what makes them lose in this film to begin with, but honestly....I don't know why I should.  Everyone knows it's a fundamentally bad film, and I'm probably only repeating what countless other critics have said, but there's something about Battlefield Earth specifically that sets it apart from other bad movies.  The heart it has.  I've never before seen a film where everyone on board puts their all, their spirit, their heart into doing everything right, only to have the entire thing crash on top of them.  I'm actually thouroughly impressed by that standard.  The performances are impossible not to laugh at, the story is so dumb, it's impossible not to see for yourself just how dumb it can get, I almost wanna say just how much I very much recommend it. It's balancing perfectly on the "so bad that it's good" line. I cannot in my right mind condemn this film as the worst of the worst when it did so much, so right.  I mean that too.  There are a lot of things that I feel are actually done right in this film, which is why it's so funny to see just how it crashed.  This film needed a lot of tweaking, but there's plenty to enjoy for what it's worth.

Battlefield Earth earns a well earned one star rating out of four.  By all accounts I should hate this movie.  By all accounts it could have easily earned a half star rating, or even the lowest rating I could give with absolutely no stars at all.  All the ingredients are there, but there's enough spice in this silly mess to warrant a better score.  I cannot bring myself to hate it.  There's just too much of that likable charm, that numerous performance, that silly story that I really wanna just say "go find a copy if you can and see for yourself". Heck I got mine on eBay for three bucks. But I do realize that this film was hyped up by Travolta himself to be on the same lines of Pulp Fiction or Star Wars.  He really built this film up as far as the hype was concerned...so I can imagine people being pretty angry with this film for letting them down as it did, but for me personally, it's just a dumb silly movie, with a dumb sci-fi story and dumb sci-fi action.  It doesn't do any harm, and left me with a little smile on my face, even if it was for a different reason than most. 

Please feel free to make a suggestion for a film I should review.  Leave a comment down below telling me your own thoughts on the movie, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 1/4

Hope you all enjoyed my brief intermission from the Star Trek reviews and enjoyed a little blast to the past as I discussed this silly movie....or not. Time to tackle the Next Generation films!