Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

The movie, originally known as the Wrath of Holmes, or How I Learned To Stop Hating and Love The Triblle, ultimately was renamed Into Darkness. I guess this is a reference to certain actions taken by certain individuals throughout the film, and I don't mean those taken by Khan.
To be completely honest, I think we saw a little glimpse of Mr. Abrams Star Wart part 7. At the beginning of the movie when Krik amd Spock get called to Starfleet Command HQ and they are wearing the very militaristic grey uniforms with the officer's hats, I thought, "all we need to see are the plans for galaxy's greatest weapon and it's Star Wars", and I of course meant the Death Star, but as soon as they walk into the Admiral's office we pan along a line of space ships from the current day up to the Enterprise and this monstrous gun-metal grey ship right after it. I was waiting for a fade-out to the Jedi Temple where any Jedi Knight that isn't called by name in the Star Wars movies to be telling a Jedi Master of the same ilk about a rumor they had heard about the Senate building an army.
There were many inside jokes for the Star Trek fanbase, most of which I actually got. Well, I got all that I got and am assuming that there were ones that I didn't get. In fact, every scene that Karl Urban was in was like he wasn't playing Dr. McCoy as much as he was playing DeForrest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, and was very entertaining while doing it. Despite this I didn't really feel like I was watching a Star Trek film. I half expected Tom Cruise or Colin Farrel to come on screen at any moment and introduce the sub-plot that would prove that I was watching just anothyer big budget science fiction film. This is not a complaint. I really quite liked this film. Benedict Cumberbatch acted the crap out of the role of Khan. People had told me that he was so far beyond the other actors, who were not slouching mind you, that it was like a professional in with dinner theatre troupe. I don't think that was far from teh mark. I would love to see him opposite Patrick Stewart - in anything, it doesn't have to be Star Trek related. Maybe they could find a role for Mr. Cumberbatch in the upcoming X-Men film. That. Would. Rock.
The main weak point of this film was the way it used it's female characters. Unfortunately, it used them teh way that classic Trek used famele characters - as scenery and second-class characters. I felt that way about all of the women in teh movie, but the Adniral's daughter, what the fuck? It appears that the whole point of having her in the film was so that she could say, "Daddy, please don't kill them." All she had done before then was make statements like, "I am too a science officer" and "Why yes Captain, I will have sex with you later." An homage to Star Trek is one thing, but this would have been the chance to show us just how important Uhura was in running the Enterprise.

Star Trek: Into Darkness on IMDb

The Raven (2012)

For full disclosure, I have to state right off the top that I'm a fan of John Cusack. I also quite like Edgar Allen Poe, mostly for his writing, but also because we share the same middle name and our names have the same meter: Edgar Allen Poe - Eric Allen Cone.
I must also confess that while I knew a little of the life of Poe, I knew nothing of the end of his life. The opening narrative of the movie says that Poe was found delusional on a park bench in Baltimore and nothing was known of his last few days alive. I suspect that the events leading up to the start of the movie are based on what was really known about Poe. It just has the feel to it. This movie is a period piece and to my eye they went to a level of detail that would make even the BBC folks nod with approval. You don't put that much effort into realism just to mess with what is known about Poe. In furthering my confession I write this blog entry offline (like I do almost all of my entries) mostly because it's more convenient for me, but also because I like the irony. One thing that it does not afford me easy access to reference materials. So, while I have the collected works of Mr. Poe right here to peruse, I only have my knowledge from a lifetime ago from some class I took where I learned that Poe's wife died of consumption.
Disclosures and confessions behind us for now, let's get down to the nitty and the gritty. I like this movie. It was a historical thriller that did not go the route of the Sherlock Holmes movies with the over-the-top special effects and the slo-mo camera work revolving around the character because somebody thought the Matrix looked cool. I'm not saying it didn't look cool, 'cause it did, but at the same time is that really the best way to tell a Sherlock Holmes tale? Instead, the action in The Raven feels very believable and that's a good thing.
As far as the acting goes, John Cusack is the weak link of the movie. Seriously, this is not a complaint. I thought Mr. Cusack did a fine job, but the other actors, particularly Brendan Gleeson as Captain Hamilton, were superb. I'm not familiar with Luke Evans, but he does a good "intense". He also looks good with his shirt off. Just saying. I would watch other movies that followed the career of the character he plays in this movie, Inspector Fields, who is very much like Detective Murdoch from the Murdoch Mysteries television series and movies but grittier and more, um yeah I'm going to say it, intense. The last actor I wanted to mention is Sam Hazeldine, who pulls off a very good Hugo Weaving imitation at the end of the film. Maybe it's not an imitation, but I like the low-pitched voice and almost excruciatingly articulate pronunciations.
There is one thing about this movie that really chapped my hide. You're watching the resolution of the film, and if you're me, you're pretty satisfied with what you just watched. BAM! The credits start and it's this hardish rock song with some industrial elements and the graphics are abstract cgi of geometric ravens landing in piles as they die. What the fuck? This doesn't fit with the rest of the movie in either sound of look, and it doesn't fit with the second half of the credits. This really left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. So, watch the movie, skip the credits.

The Raven at IMDb