Musings, Part F

- I rambled on a couple entries back about Pride and Prejudice and how I feel about re-imaginings. I think for this ramble I’ll turn to Star Trek, mostly because of the article ‘Star Trek’ Sequel Is Coming (Wrath to Be Determined). A) Pretty gutsy of Paramount to already greenlight a sequel when they were so wishy-washy with the actual series and the later TNG (The Next Generation) movies. That being said, kudos to holding onto the franchise. B) I am not an Original Series (TOS) fan. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the every series’ canon and Spock is awesome but I like the movies more than the series itself for Kirk and the gang. Granted, I haven’t watched much but I’m going with the gut reaction on this one. Since I’m not a fan of TOS I’m not dreading what they do to the characters. By going back to the beginning with Enterprise they already mucked about with ST canon so no, I don’t care if Spock and Kirk never met in the Academy. Like with Watchmen (which I watched for the story and revisionist history as opposed to the violence and sex, which didn’t throw me like it did some but only because I have the graphic novel and I know Moore’s style) I’m watching for the world created and because well, it’s Star Trek and the trailers look awesome. Though I’m still perplexed about the whole classic car over the cliff thing but I was also upset with Casino Royale for destroying part of Venice (and the wrecking of JB in the most recent movies shall come later in this entry) so…it’ll just be a small mark against it. Besides the movie looking cool I think we could use some hopeful visions of the future right about now. Because that’s what Star Trek does well, it is a hopeful future. Yes, I imagine this movie will make things a little darker, as is the style of re-imaginings of late (see Batman and Battlestar Galactica [2003] for reference) but they can’t muck with the core of the franchise: different beings and backgrounds coming together for a common goal, and Earth becomes a paradise. Just look at what they did from TOS to TNG, they turned the Klingons, the enemies and Big Bad of TOS and most of its movies (perhaps all, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and Voyage Home with the whales? Totally the best one) into allies and part of the Federation, mostly through Worf but once DS9 came around the head of the Klingon Empire was best buds with most of the series’ regulars. I suppose there’s also an argument to be made about the changing nature of diplomacy and politics in there too but that’s cool with Star Trek, there’s plenty to grab from and it’ll probably be relevant to today’s world no matter where you stick it.
- So, James Bond. I’ve seen every one of your films (except that random Sean Connery one that isn’t in the official canon of films). I even watched them, up until the last 3 or so, in chronological order the summer after high school. While I dislike how women are treated in the first several films I understand they are a product of their time and of the novels themselves (and yes, I have read Casino Royale and will be reading the others as they come available/I get my hands on them). I even like the two Timothy Dalton contributions because I see that as the major turning point in how the women are treated. However, I can’t really bring myself to completely get behind the latest two Daniel Craig offerings. It’s not the violence (I don’t think I needed that torture scene in Casino Royale) and it’s not that he’s blond, which is a whatever thing, it’s the lack of quintessential Bond elements. The lines, mainly. “Bond. James Bond” and “Shaken, not stirred.” And of course the lack of Q. How can you not have Q? If you have Brosnan’s M, which I think they intimated was the first female M of the agency, then how can you dump Q? Yeah, yeah, going back to the beginning, blah blah blah. Q is Bond. What happened to the spy gear that made the other movies so awesome? So it’s over the top, all of Bond is over the top. Villains giving long monologues detailing their plans while setting up an elaborate method of killing Bond that of course he’ll get out of…this doesn’t happen in the real world. Real world is more like Indiana Jones facing the whip guy and just shooting him. Bond is cool gadgets, whacko villains, and quips. I miss Q. I want him back. Bring back some levity. Bond also, though it’s not a trait that should be copied by others nonetheless defines his character, doesn’t hold on to women. This whole still ticked off about a betrayal in the next movie thing? So not Bond. Get over it already. Yeah yeah, just starting out, whatever. And you don’t repeat a stunt like they did in Quantum of Solace with the girl covered in oil. Seriously? That was an iconic image from Goldfinger and probably the one thing most people remember and has certainly hammered home the idea that you leave space for the skin to breathe if you’re going to go for the whole body paint thing. You don’t repeat methods of killing people in Bond. Creativity, people, creativity. And with that creativity, get better opening credits. There’s another hallmark of Bond films, great credits. Casino Royale’s were okay, with the card suits and such but the dunes in Quantum? Lame. And it was a bad theme song. Okay, ish, on it’s own but tied into the credits just bad. There’s another missing element, truly great theme songs. My favorite will always be Goldeneye from Tina Turner (which is also my favorite Bond film) but those that came before were also quite good. So, to sum: put back in the classic lines (they’re classic for a reason, put Q back in, make Bond himself again, fix the opening credits, and get a good theme song(s). We’ll have to see what they do (if they do one) to the next one. Better fix stuff though. And don’t destroy part of Venice again.
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself.