Porn Trek!

[3113]

See, here is what I was going at when I said I thought that he overstated the accent a bit. It was like because he knows he doesn't look like Koenig, he tried too hard to sound like him.

Although the actor admitted in an interview that he did try to mimic Koenig's Russian accent, I'm guessing that he didn't do it because he knew he didn't look like Koenig. It was all too clearly a joke and likely as much on the part of the screenwriters and director as on the actor.

I mean, I don't think it's coincidence that Chekhov ended up with lines that had him saying "Vulcan" over and over again. I'm pretty sure they wanted us to remember and laugh about the way Chekhov was always saying "Wulcan" instead of "Vulcan."

As the actor's parents are Russian, he likely knows how to do a real and perfect Russian accent if asked.

 

[CharleyH]

See, here is what I was going at when I said I thought that he overstated the accent a bit. It was like because he knows he doesn't look like Koenig, he tried too hard to sound like him.

And honestly, I'll blame a director on something like that. Because I am certain that if J.J. wasn't looking for that accent, it would have been reeled back.

But"staid?" I always think of staid as meaning sober and dignified. I din't take that away from that performance at all.

The crit (other than the curly hair thing) I keep hearing on that casting is like the Karl Urban casting... only it's "No way Charlie Bartlett plays Chekov!" instead of Eomer/McCoy.

However, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the subject.

Hi, Bel. I was thinking fixed, regimented and maybe a touch of overdone. Staid was the first word that came to mind when I was posting, but stiff would have been a better word on reflection. Thanks for pointing it out to me.

I didn't want to bump this thread so close to the release of 'Terminator: Salvation', but I thought it interesting that you said,

And honestly, I'll blame a director on something like that. Because I am certain that if J.J. wasn't looking for that accent, it would have been reeled back.

The reason I am interested in this is because I LOVED Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula and I think Coppola an amazing director, but as an accomplished director, even he couldn't take the valley (or better yet, the Ted) out of Keanu Reeves in that movie.

I am very curious about your opinion. Can you elaborate?

 

[Belegon]

I am very curious about your opinion. Can you elaborate?

About a directors influence?

Basically, my opinion here comes from two different directions... one is my limited acting experience. You know, high school and college musicals aren't really the same as a major motion picture. But I did work with a man named Tom Rusch who was a very well respected stage director in San Diego at the time he took on one of our productions as a personal favor to the HS principal.

An actor forms his/her performance based on many things. Some of those influences may never be apparent to an audience or even to the actor. As a director, you are almost an editor in the same way a novel editor is. (my other direction.) I'm not talking copy edit here, commas and grammar.

I'm talking about when you read something that is totally out of character. An actor or author may not even realize it, the same way we don't see our own grammar mistakes. The director/editor does see such things, or at least they are paid to do so.

So, I feel that if J.J. thought the accent was too over the top, he would have noticed it. Since we are talking about several scenes including one of which clearly plays off the incomprehensibility of the accent, I feel it was a deliberate choice.

As to why I felt the performance was better than you apparently did, if that is what you meant, I think that is lodged almost entirely in the "I can do that!" scene. I totally bought into this seventeen year old kid running his ass off to prove he belonged and he could help and his joy in not only saving lives but in meeting the challenge. That scene colored my entire opinion of his performance.

 

[3113]

As to why I felt the performance was better than you apparently did, if that is what you meant, I think that is lodged almost entirely in the "I can do that!" scene. I totally bought into this seventeen year old kid running his ass off to prove he belonged and he could help and his joy in not only saving lives but in meeting the challenge. That scene colored my entire opinion of his performance.

It also made his crushing agony over losing the mother all the more poignant.

And didn't Wynona Rider do a nice job at that minor but essential role?

 

[McKenna]

I found myself oddly attracted to Nero:

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2008/11/24/star-trek-poster-nero.jpg

It must have been all those Maori-like tats. Rowr.

 

[slyc_willie]

It also made his crushing agony over losing the mother all the more poignant.

And didn't Wynona Rider do a nice job at that minor but essential role?

I think you erroneously attributed Cloudy's comment to me, here.

I still haven't seen the movie (between work and the Little One, time to go to the theater is very limited), but I did have an interesting conversation with an admitted Trekkie at work. Sharing what I've read on this thread, and my own extrapolations from it, my suspicion that this new Star Trek is not a re-imagining of the original, per se, but something like an alternate view of what would happen if the future selves of the Enterprise crew went back in time and influenced their younger counterparts.

Which makes this a very different and intriguing series (if it is going to become one). This isn't Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, etc. re-imagined, but more like re-shaped.

If that's the case, I really wanna see it now.

 

[Belegon]

Wynona earned the best possible compliment for an actor...that people didn't even see her, just the character.


me on the other hand...I'm an attention whore. Which is why I am wondering just how nondescript I must have become to get misidentified twice relating to one post....

 

[3113]

I think you erroneously attributed Cloudy's comment to me, here.

No, actually, I attributed Bel's to you (I'll go back and edit that. I didn't even notice it), but I didn't do it! Something weird has been happening when I hit "quote" especially on this thread. It seems to be locked onto you. Seriously. For the past few times, when I hit "quote" it quotes one of your responses. This time, it accurately quoted Bel, but attributed it to you!

Who are you and what have you done to my quote function!

 

[3113]

me on the other hand...I'm an attention whore. Which is why I am wondering just how nondescript I must have become to get misidentified twice relating to one post....

It's not you. Slyc is using his Vulcan mind powers on the thread. Every response goes to him.

 

[Belegon]

It's not you. Slyc is using his Vulcan mind powers on the thread. Every response goes to him.

Slyc's a Vulcan? Ahhhh.... that totally makes sense. It explains his complete lack of shyness.

Modesty is illogical.

 

[harrlequin]

It was inconsistent as hell, some major liberties taken with the previously-established future, and I'm sorry - Spock just cannot exist for any length of time as two people in the same time frame. Never mind the paradox (something the writers cheerfully ignore every chance they get), that can make a person seriously whacko, even a Vulcan. I know this, Heinlein told me so. Speaking of the pointy-eared one, Spock and Uhura??? Seriously? Also not terribly impressed with the battle scenes - they were sometimes very confusing visually, perhaps it was the size discrepancy between the two ships tat made it so.

However -

It was huge amounts of fun. I laughed my tushie off in several spots, enjoyed Kirk getting the snot kicked outta him how many times? Zachary did a fine job on Spock and the physical similarities are kinda spooky. The rest of the characters are lovingly played, and I agree with the majority - Chekov's "I can do this" was terrific.

I don't know what to think about the plot, about the two Spocks - hey, speaking of which, how the hell is he going to have Pon Farr if Vulcan is a black hole??

 

[3113]

I don't know what to think about the plot, about the two Spocks - hey, speaking of which, how the hell is he going to have Pon Farr if Vulcan is a black hole??

There are plenty of humans and Romulans left. It's been aptly proven that Vulcan can reproduce with them.

 

[harrlequin]

There are plenty of humans and Romulans left. It's been aptly proven that Vulcan can reproduce with them.

Actually, most of the above crit was from the person I was the movie with. I quite happily threw away my suspension of disbelief and got right into it.

But there is no Vulcan planet!

 

[3113]

Actually, most of the above crit was from the person I was the movie with. I quite happily threw away my suspension of disbelief and got right into it.

Exactly what you should have done. Did you tell the person you were with that this was porn? You don't ask why the woman has decided that having sex with her next door neighbor is the only way to raise the bake sale money, you just enjoy the story

But there is no Vulcan planet!

In "The Search for Spock," Spock was able to go through it without being on Vulcan. And, um, er, there has been a looooooooong history of slash fiction where Spock got much needed relief with other crew members--and these occurred well out of range of planet Vulcan.

I think the franchise, long ago, decided to forget about the need for Vulcans to go back to their home planet to mate, and just kept the 7-year itch idea of it. And I'm betting that someone, somewhere, came up with a song-and-dance excuse to get them out of the corner that one episode had painted them into. Like, for example, Spock needed to get back in because he was paired up with that girl, but if he hadn't been, any crewman or woman would have been just fine

 

[harrlequin]

Exactly what you should have done. Did you tell the person you were with that this was porn? You don't ask why the woman has decided that having sex with her next door neighbor is the only way to raise the bake sale money, you just enjoy the story


In "The Search for Spock," Spock was able to go through it without being on Vulcan. And, um, er, there has been a looooooooong history of slash fiction where Spock got much needed relief with other crew members--and these occurred well out of range of planet Vulcan.

I think the franchise, long ago, decided to forget about the need for Vulcans to go back to their home planet to mate, and just kept the 7-year itch idea of it. And I'm betting that someone, somewhere, came up with a song-and-dance excuse to get them out of the corner that one episode had painted them into. Like, for example, Spock needed to get back in because he was paired up with that girl, but if he hadn't been, any crewman or woman would have been just fine

Am I the only one getting all hot and bothered reading this?

 

[NoJo]

The more I hear about the movie being good, the less inclined I am to see it. Surely what made the original series such a cult was how utterly crap, camp and tacky it was.

 

[3113]

The more I hear about the movie being good, the less inclined I am to see it. Surely what made the original series such a cult was how utterly crap, camp and tacky it was.

That's exactly what makes this movie good. It's "good" camp.

Did you think I titled this "Porn Trek" because the movie was deep and complex and on par with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"?

 

[slyc_willie]

No, actually, I attributed Bel's to you (I'll go back and edit that. I didn't even notice it), but I didn't do it! Something weird has been happening when I hit "quote" especially on this thread. It seems to be locked onto you. Seriously. For the past few times, when I hit "quote" it quotes one of your responses. This time, it accurately quoted Bel, but attributed it to you!

Who are you and what have you done to my quote function!

Hey, it's not my fault your computer's infatuated with me.

It's not you. Slyc is using his Vulcan mind powers on the thread. Every response goes to him.

All your quotes are belong to me.

Slyc's a Vulcan? Ahhhh.... that totally makes sense. It explains his complete lack of shyness.

Modesty is illogical.

Absolutely. But I'm only half-Vulcan. I still enjoy human brashness and insolence from time to time.

 

[rgraham666]

I hated "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A movie about suicide and the inability of human beings to handle disappointment and failure.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I hated "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A movie about suicide and the inability of human beings to handle disappointment and failure.

Ah, but that's what aht is all about, Rob, old man. Just ask any Lit professor.

 

[jomar]

The more I hear about the movie being good, the less inclined I am to see it. Surely what made the original series such a cult was how utterly crap, camp and tacky it was.

Alright, the truth. No salt shakers, hokey bridge, ripped shirts or tribbles. There is a cliche wacky watery alien ship, contrived plot twists and weak villain motivation (25 years would allow for some chill time). Pretty quick character development (fuck Spock, I kid), especially Kirk who we learn early on is an impulsive risk taker...silly moments with Bones and Kirk, green sluts, implausible shit. And Kirk spends an inordinate amount of time desperately hanging off edges.

So, while this outing hasn't measured up to the suckiness of the original, it is a fast ride with pleasing eye candy.

Let go of expectations and report back.

 

[Grov]

Simon Pegg nailed the role of Scotty.

No problem with Uhura getting a bigger part but not a fan of an emotionally involved Spock. Kirk is the designated man whore.

Eric Bana is a much better Nero than he was Bruce Banner.

Kirk likes green chicks and so do I. Maybe one of his "friends" helped get him access to the Kobyashi Moru subroutine.

This was the maiden voyage of the Enterprise as the flagship. It could have been a regular ship of the line beforehand.

Karl Urban even pulled off the oft misspoken line "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a ____." He did a great. "Wife got the whole planet in the divorce." NO wonder he's got a burr in his saddle.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I hated "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A movie about suicide and the inability of human beings to handle disappointment and failure.

Agree completely, except the suicide part. I don't remember that...

 

[3113]

I hated "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". A movie about suicide and the inability of human beings to handle disappointment and failure.

If you hated it, you hated it, but I think you read it completely wrong--though I understand why read it that way and had that visceral reaction to it if you did read it that way.

The movie is about murder, not suicide. The man, however, in becoming aware and witness to the "murder" of the woman who hurt him, realizes that he's killing himself along with her. More, he realizes that she doesn't deserve to die. At which point, he tries to stop it from happening in the hopes of saving them both.

The resolution of the film, however, shows that it's not so easy as the man, or the doctor who created the procedure think to murder others or yourself. The essence of the movie is whether or not all we are is our memories. And the movie's answer to that question is a resounding "NO!" It says we're far more than that.

Far from being about the inability of humans to handle disappointments and failure, it is a movie that proves that we can learn to handle all kinds of disappointments and failures. Even the very worst disappointment and failure, the times when we disappoint and fail ourselves. This is evident when, during his last memory of her, our hero accepts and forgives the "murder" he's caused of both of them. Far from seeing it as a failure and a disappointment that he can't stop the process, he accepts it all. Everything he's done and is about to lose.

Thus, the movie is all about learning to accept loss.

And that acceptance is what allows him, awake, aware, and making a fresh, new conscious choice on the matter, to bravely risk certain failure and disappointment by wanting to be with this woman all over again, even after he's heard on tape how he disappointed her, and how she failed him. Hence, the two of them survive the "attempted" murder, which erases only memories, but not what who they really are, and what they feel for each other. And both learn to deal with failure and disappointment.

And that is what the movie is about.

 

[3113]

Ah, but that's what aht is all about, Rob, old man. Just ask any Lit professor.

Yes, please do ask me anytime you like.