Conflict: Star Trek Discovery's Final Frontier

It's been a source of frustration for many Stardates - as part of creator Gene Roddenberry's vision of a more enlightened future, Star Trek writers have long had to contend with developing stories that shied away from any conflicts between crewmembers, or portrayed them in a negative fashion. "Drama is conflict" has been a mantra since the Greeks. But it's been a limitation on Star Trek that's caused many who've worked on the various iterations of the franchise to feel a bit hobbled over the years.

Thanks to a fascinating story in the current Entertainment Weekly, we're learning that the showrunners on the new CBS Star Trek Discovery have 86'd this age-old condition of the series in the hopes of telling more dramatic stories. This is good news, and a hopeful sign that they're spending a good amount of time working on good stories - putting the emphasis on the writing.

Showrunner Aaron Harberts explains, "We're trying to do stories that are complicated, with characters with strong points of view and strong passions. People have to make mistakes - mistakes are still going to be made in the future. We're still going to argue in the future. The rules of Starfleet remain the same. The thing we're taking from Roddenberry is how we solve those conflicts. So we do have our characters in conflict, we do have them struggling with each other, but it's about how they find a solution and work through their problems."

One other significant departure from previous Star Treks is that Discovery's narrative will be highly serialized, as opposed to the "planet of the week" model Star Trek began with.

I found this to be extremely encouraging news. Not that we should expect a darker, more brooding Star Trek. But that the showrunners are trying to find a workable mix between what makes Star Trek unique, while making sure the format connects with modern audiences. After all, Star Trek veteran Ronald D. Moore launched his Battlestar Galactica update largely in response to the storytelling limitations imposed while working on Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Just knowing that the people involved in Star Trek Discovery care enough to avoid serving us leftovers is pretty fantastic. Star Trek has always been about pushing past the borders of the frontier, and it sounds like we're in for a fresh new perspective that goes where no previous outing has gone before.

Star Trek Discovery debuts September 24th.

Han Solo's Big Chill

"You don't think I'd be fool enough to stick around here, do you?" 
Probably not for the last time, Star Wars has made history. By now we've all heard that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) were fired from the as yet untitled Han Solo standalone movie, by Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy.

This is pretty crazy, as the film was roughly 75% complete, with only a few weeks left to shoot. So to part company when you're this far along - damn, that must have been some rough sledding. So what happened? By all accounts, Lord and Miller were not content to merge their style with the Star Wars playbook, trying to plug in a lot more humor, while encouraging the cast to improvise. This did not sit well with co-writer and executive producer Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens - he's the elder statesman of the Star Wars universe - and if he's not digging what you're doing to his script, and neither is Kathleen Kennedy, well, out the airlock you go.

Directors have departed films plenty of times in the past. For tragically personal reasons, Zack Snyder recently left Justice League, with Joss Whedon stepping in to complete the film. But this is different. This is an incredibly high profile termination. And in less than 48 hours after the story broke, Kennedy announced their replacement - Academy Award winning director Ron Howard will be taking the helm, completing principal photography and shepherding additional reshoots over the summer.

How this will all sort out as far as screen credit is anybody's guess, as only the Director's Guild can make that call. But it sure focuses a crazy amount of attention on this project. Howard (Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind) could sure use a victory. His last couple of films (Rush and In the Heart of the Sea) have been visually amazing, but also frustrating. He's a world class filmmaker, that's for sure. He's likable and seasoned, and if anyone can right this ship, he's the guy. It helps that he's a massive fan, so his enthusiasm is going to serve him well.

Strange times - and strange timing, given that this news broke on the cusp of the very weekend that as yet unfilmed Star Wars Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow's The Book of Henry received scathing reviews and a whopping 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Lord and Miller's firing almost feels like a bit of a mafia warning to Trevorrow: "Don't forget - you work for us - and you'd better not forget to please us..." 

This has got to be sobering news for everyone working in the Star Wars universe - enough to put you off your blue milk. And certainly a potent reminder that this is a high stakes game, and that no matter how comfy you may be feeling in the cockpit, any pilot can be replaced.

Cars 3: It's Not the Years, it's the Mileage

I’m either the least qualified person to review Cars 3 or the most. Least, because my 8-year-old son is a Radiator Springs obsessive. He loves Lightning McQueen and Mater and the gang – we’ve even been to “Cars Land” at California Adventure – and I couldn’t even begin to count how many times we’ve watched Cars, Cars 2 (blimey…) and Mater’s Tall Tales together. So I’m a little biased, in that if he’s happy with the new movie, then I’m gonna be happy. But with all that exposure does come a certain expertise. I know when it feels like Radiator Springs, and I know when the pistons aren’t firing.

So I’m happy to report that at least for this family demographic, Cars 3 is a winner. It’s very deliberately a step back from the Mater-centric spy-nannigans of Cars 2, returning to the charm and focus on character and action that’s endeared the Cars universe to legions of kids – and their somewhat slow-to-come-around parents.

Cars 3 pretty much pretends Cars 2 doesn’t exist. Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is still ripping up the race track, when unexpectedly, he finds himself in the wake of a newer, faster, high-tech race car called Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer). All computer-designed aerodynamics and humorless efficiency, Storm knows he’s superior to Lightning in every way, and like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, he can think only, “I must break you.” In trying to keep up with Storm, Lightning endures the mother of all crashes, akin to Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man, “She’s breaking up…she’s breaking up…” leaving him nearly totaled.

It may seem odd for a kids’ movie to be focusing on getting old and seeing the new generation threatening in your rear-view mirror, but that’s really the meat of Cars 3. Lightning has to go back to the gym – a new high-tech training center, and submit to the motivational regimen of new character Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo). Cruz is ultra-modern herself, perky and determined, but maybe a little naive about the “seasoning” that makes a veteran.

This first-act training center set-up is the weakest part of Cars 3, and pretty talky. Thankfully, the film picks up quickly and only gets better as it goes along. Lightning needs to get outside – to get back to his roots. Cars fans know that Lightning wouldn’t be Lightning without the tutelage of Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), who’s no longer with us, but who’s brought back in Lightning’s reveries thanks to the tasteful use of previously unused Newman recording sessions from the first film. Doc also had a terrible accident that cut his racing career short, despite how much he felt he still had left in him. Thematically, Cars 3 is really about Lightning coming to terms with his own “mortality” and trying to figure out how he’ll pick his own self up and what kind of second act he’s going to make for himself. The shadow of the past – of Doc Hudson and his legendary elders – contrasts interestingly with Cruz, Storm and the new ways of the present. Lea DeLaria, Margo Martindale, and especially Chris Cooper, embody welcome new characters. The loss of Route 66 and the echo of the past was a major theme of the first Cars, so it’s a good fit here.

None of which gets in the way of a rip-roaring fun time for your kids, let me tell you. Lightning and Cruz have to go on a “backroads” journey of discovery and reinvention – Lightning has to visit the past to find his future, which serves as a school of hard knocks for Cruz, who’s great in the lab, but never spent much time in “the field.” From unexpected demolition derbies to derelict race tracks, it’s all rendered by Pixar art department vet Brian Fee in a pretty dazzling directorial debut. The compositions in Cars 3 are jaw-dropping at times. The high-altitude reveal of the climactic Florida Speedway is stunning – like a shot from Gladiator. The racing action is dizzying and the camera is right on the asphalt, giving you a tremendous sense of speed and perspective. More than any of the previous films, the animation of the cars and environments is positively eerie. The cars seem tangible and absolutely tactile, they’re so realistically rendered.

No spoilers from me, but I was really delighted by the finale of Cars 3 and how they chose to handle this chapter. It’s clever and surprising and it sends you out with even more affection for the characters. Exploding with action, humor, and brightly marketable primary colors, Cars 3 is a great summer family picture that should do really well. And I can only imagine how familiar I’ll be becoming with it, when it hits video later this year. Ka-CHOW!

Amazon Prime: The Triumph of Wonder Woman

“What I do is not up to you.” Make no mistake, mere mortals, Wonder Woman has arrived, and she’s awesome!

The character has had a long, bumpy road through development over the years, and while there have been some close starts, nobody seemed able to figure out just how to bring this revered comic book icon to the screen. Despite their profitability, fans have had a pretty contentious relationship with the previous DC Universe films, with many vilifying Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) made her first appearance, easily the best part of the picture. 

Maybe the Gods were just waiting for the right moment, because director Patty Jenkins (Monster) has delivered a triumphantly successful Wonder Woman movie, that’s not only the best of the DC bunch, but easily the equal of Captain America and Iron Man, one of the most satisfying action films in ages, with moments of pulp satisfaction that rival Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s simply fantastic.

Jenkins came close to directing a Wonder Woman film once before back in 2005, but had to exit due to an unexpected pregnancy. She hadn’t made a feature since Monster, working in TV on shows as diverse as Arrested Development to The Killing pilot. The script (Allan Heinberg of Grey’s Anatomy) springboards off the comic work of George Pérez, who relaunched the story in 1987 with deeper ties to Greek mythology. 

Wonder Woman delivers a classic, audience-pleasing origin story of young Amazon Princess Diana, on the hidden island of Themyscira, a land cut off from the modern world, where the children of Zeus know nothing of firearms and train in ferocious combat. It’s like Rivendell, and the Amazons are the Elves, imbued with supernatural grace and strength. Diana is the daughter of protective Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), who wants to shield her from a life of combat. An insane standout here is Robin Wright as General Antiope, who personifies fierceness and kicks ass like you can’t imagine. She’s an incredible movie character and Wright takes the potentially zany fantasy antics deadly serious, with the most intense stare you’ve ever seen. The combat scenes are unhinged, with delirious slow motion choreography that makes Guy Ritchie look like he’s sleepwalking.





When a World War One pilot (it’s set in 1918) crashes off the island coast, Themyscira gets its first taste of the modern world, of modern weapons and of men. As American spy Steve Trevor, Chris Pine is terrific and his chemistry with Gadot is high-voltage. She’s never seen a man before, and he’s never seen anyone like her. As great as she was in BvS, Gadot is a revelation here. She seems ethereal and curious about everything she sees, and makes the Diana a character you immediately root for. Injustice is inherently appalling to her: “I will fight, for those who cannot fight for themselves.” 

As circumstances force her to leave the protection of the island for the very heart of the war in Europe, she can’t believe the suffering and violence she sees. She’s a protector, and feels compelled to right the countless wrongs she sees around her. Her relationship with Steve Trevor is practically a role reversal of Superman and Lois Lane, with Pine the plucky mortal who’s increasingly unsure of how to rein-in this superhuman being. Unable to contain herself, the scene where Wonder Woman climbs up out of the trenches and heads into the No Man’s Land of a battlefield in Belgium had my audience cheering and out of their seats. It’s the scene to beat this summer, that’s for sure.

Jenkins has cast the film beautifully, with Lucy Davis, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya and Danny Huston all turning in marvelous work. Pine has his own team of howlin’ commandos, with Saïd Taghmaoui stealing every scene he’s in. The characters are a delight, and there’s an amazingly captivating recreation of World War I London that’s truly remarkable. At its heart, Wonder Woman is a story about the nature of war, and our willingness to go along with it, and a skillfully told story of empowerment – not just of female liberation, but of breaking free from that part of us that reflexively hates. 

It’s potentially broody, dark stuff, with the threat of poison gas looming very large. But Jenkins and Heinberg never forget to let us have fun, and that old fashioned joy and cinematic craftsmanship, along with a star-making performance by Gadot, make Wonder Woman the most enjoyable cure to superhero fatigue you’re going to find anywhere. A must-see in the theater and very highly recommended.

Alien Covenant: L'eggo My Eggo!

These are interesting times. Some of the most anticipated films on the horizon involve filmmakers going back and either reexamining their earlier work, or in the case of this fall's Blade Runner 2049, seeing a new chapter being brought to life by a different director with a new perspective. More and more, as with Star Wars, filmmakers are being tasked with breathing fresh life into a beloved franchise, while making sure it carries the familiar aromas of nostalgia. With Alien: Covenant, legendary director Ridley Scott has already revisited the world of his groundbreaking 1979 Alien with Prometheus, an incredibly divisive film that this reader loved, but which is derided by many. With Covenant, Scott has dunked his Prometheus donut into the original Alien and made a semi-sequel to one, while virtually remaking the first.
Almost 80, Scott remains an incredibly prolific and dynamic filmmaker. A commercial visionary who can still rock the box office with a film like The Martian. I went into Covenant giddy with excitement. What's vexing to me is that while Scott's direction and sense of scope is totally on point and exhilarating, the script (from John Logan and Dante Harper; story by Jack Paglan and Michael Green) goes out of its way to repurpose and restage numerous beats from both Alien and James Cameron's sequel Aliens, that Covenant ends up at times feeling a lot like an Alien remake, made for a 2017 audience presumed to be unfamiliar with the original. Unfortunately, for much of its running time,  Alien: Covenant feels more than a little recycled.
The Covenant is a deep space colony ship, her crew in suspended animation for the long voyage. Like David in Prometheus, a lone synthetic (Michael Fassbender, called Walter here) is tasked with watching over the sleeping voyagers - until an accident unexpectedly wakes the crew early. It turns out there's a nearby planet that may be an even better candidate for colonization than their original destination, so grief stricken crew members Katherine Waterston (of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and  Billy Crudup lead a scouting party to explore the planet, while the rest of the crew (including Danny McBride) remains in orbit on the Covenant.
Once on the planet, things start to go wrong very quickly. The first and third acts of the film are full of dread and escalating suspense. I loved the Neomorphs, ghostly pale cousins of the original Alien Xenomorph with blind, distended heads. They're utterly nightmarish and disturbing. Likewise, the newer, seemingly larger Xenomorph is speedy and terrifying. Though the creatures in this outing go from embryonic to full-grown way, way faster then in prior (meaning future) outings. Like Jiffy Pop fast. Though pretty familiar sledding for Alien fans, for the most part I liked Act 1 and Act 3 of this picture, replete with call-backs as they were - the exploding dropship from Aliens stranding everyone; the gutsy protagonist using a large mechanical claw to fight close-quarters with the beast; her triumphant declaration of vanquish! Finally making it back to the ship - sigh of relief - and everything's fine - or is it?! Too many times, scenes in Covenant echo with recognition.
But, boy - that middle part. Act 2 is a lugubrious drag, and when Covenant's Walter meets Prometheus' David, the "Data vs. Lore" dynamic drags on like some kind of dimly lit outtake from Colonel Kurtz's temple hideout in Apocalypse Now. While members of Covenant's crew are dispatched with escalating carnage, Walter and David go from ruminating on Shelley's Ozymandias to knock-down drag-out martial arts mayhem. The cast is uniformly good. I loved Fassbender's work, pulling double-duty as synthetic narcissist. Why David does what he does is pretty inexplicable, however. Waterston and McBride are both extremely engaging, and McBride does a great job inhabiting the kind of working-stiff character Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto embodied in Scott's original.
Beware of the most ham-fisted shower scene since Jolene Blalock slathered on the "decontamination gel" in the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, and a finale twist that unfortunately, everyone is going to see coming from miles away - except the one character who should have seen it coming. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski shoots in a nearly colorless monochrome that really gets old after a while. This is one of the grayest, least colorful films in recent memory. I have to say, with a few exceptions, I really think I enjoyed Prometheus a lot more than Alien: Covenant, which surprises the heck out of me. After the engagement and pure fun of the recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Alien Covenant just isn't all that enjoyable and feels like a bit of a slog in comparison.
But if the earlier Alien films are kind of fuzzy in your recollection and you're just in the mood for a good space shocker, you could do a heck of a lot worse - though I'm not sure that's much of a recommendation.

FIRST TRAILER: Star Trek Discovery!

Here we go, our first look at the new CBS series, Star Trek Discovery. We definitely get an Enterprise vibe here, with better production values. Lots of Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh - a bit of a "Riker, you're ready for your own command," vibe between them. A fair amount of Klingons, a lot of crazy aliens. Martin-Green's Commander Burnham appears to be part Vulcan.

Intriguing, no doubt. But the biggest hurdle CBS has to face is convincing fans to sign up for a brand new pay channel to get this. A colossal mistake not putting this on Netflix, as it's going to be in many other parts of the globe.

Still, have a look and see what you think. Please be good and have good scripts!

War for the Planet of the Apes: Final Trailer Takes No Prisoners

Looking ahead to July, I'm seeing one very busy weekend! On Sunday, July 16th, Game of Thrones returns, and now I see that the night before, I'm abso-poso-lutely going to be sitting in a theater watching War for the Planet of the Apes. I mean, just look at this thing! Director Matt Reeves did a smashing job in the last Apes outing (Dawn of), and in this latest and final trailer, we get our first real look at the epic, apocalyptic clash between man and ape.

I think I'm gonna be rooting for the apes...