Cowboys & Aliens

This is an awesome movie and is really meant to be only watched in the theaters. Seeing Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig together in a movie was just awesome and I really enjoyed the adventure they had dealing with aliens in a 1800s town. I will be discussing the characters, the aliens in the film and the story that made me want to see this movie three times in the theater.

Cowboys & Aliens itself is a 2006 graphic novel written by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. I haven't read it comic myself, but I've heard that it wasn't that great. Anyway, focusing on the film version, Daniel Craig's character is Jake Lonergan, an outlaw and bandit who suddenly wakes up in the middle of the desert to discover something very strange on his arm.

It looks as if it is a big bracellet or something of the shot, or a shackle with no chain connected to it. Attempting to get it off, he has no success and is approached by these outlaws whom he easily kicks their asses and takes a horse to ride into the city of Absolution. From there, he is still not aware of who he is, or what he is meant to do. Having not a clue, he is then wisked into an adventure dealing with first the town colonel Dolarhyde played by Harrison Ford who wants his gold that Lonergan stole from him in the past. Craig's character is pretty much straightforward. He doesn't do a lot of talking and is a really physical hands on kind of character, much like his interpretation of James Bond.

Harrison Ford's character is a ruthless old man who has a bad temper and is basically the man of the town. He pushes his weight around and doesn't take any crap from anyone. When he arrives in Absolution and finds the man who took his gold, he is ordering the police of the town, "You give him to me now! Or I'm gonna take him!" But when a whole new force comes down from the sky, it's up to everyone to work together and figure out how to stop them. This includes Ford working with Craig. Nearing 70, Ford still has it in him!

The film itself is about two hours long and it's fun every minute. If you are into sci-fi or even westers, it's certainly the movie for you. I would put this up there with the fun of Back to the Future Part III. I'm personally not into westerns...at all. But when it is combined with sci-fi and something cool and filled with wonder, you better believe I will be down for the ride. I'm glad I saw this movie and it certainly is my favorite movie of the year...so far. And as we approach September, I can believe that it will be my favorite film all year. Just wait until you see the aliens in this movie! Gnarly!!!

Star Trek (2009)

The new Star Trek film I thought was great! It could fall under any category you would like in terms of being either a sequel, prequel or reboot. I find it to be a little of both a sequel and a prequel. I find it to be a sequel because it does deal with events with the original Spock played by Leonard Nimoy, and also a prequel because although the ships and people look different, they are supposed to be the same characters from the 60s television show but before they are the familiar crew we recognize. It depicts how they meet, get to know each other and their first mission together. This was never revealed on the television series. So, in that sense that is also why I find it to be a prequel.

As for it being a reboot, I think that was the main focus that the crew of the movie had in mind when making the film. It was going to be a new door and open Star Trek to people that either despised the show, or thought it to be too boring, or a show only for "geeks". This movie brought in a whole new crowd of viewers and people you expect would hate Trek, actually really, really love this movie. I'm glad that J.J. Abrams did this when directing the film. He made it so all fans past and present would enjoy the movie equally. Rather than just making it something totally new without any reference from what came before, he incorporated the new and the old together in a pretty good way. I was glad to find out that the movie was such a hit. I can't wait until the next film comes out, which should be some time next year.

As far as the actors are concerned, they did a great job and were perfect choices. Some looked a lot like the actors in the 60s, and some not so much, but the way they played the characters really pulled it off in that you didn't really pay attention to the different looks. They didn't make it seem like some joke or some humorous spoof based on Star Trek. This film really made the characters their own and not mimics of what came before. Chris Pine, the actor that played Captain Kirk, talks in his own way. He doesn't use the typical speech pauses that William Shatner did in the show and movies. He makes it his own and just acts himself. Karl Urban, who plays Dr. McCoy, is just the perfect choice because he really does capture the look and spirit of DeForest Kelley. Zachary Quinto is a lot like Nimoy's Spock, but when you see him on the same screen with Nimoy, nothing comes close to the one and only Spock played by Nimoy. The other actors are very much well-played and I look forward to see what new adventures this new crew will experience in the near future.

The action level for the movie was intense. The effects were great and the villain played by Eric Bana is a character you love to hate. Everything is totally different in this version of Star Trek and you just have to watch it until you know what I'm talking about. Enjoy!

Eyes Wide Shut

Eyes Wide Shut, man now is this the movie to see. The final film by director Stanley Kubrick is very controversial and very disturbing. It deals with the Illuminati and how possibly there's a greater factor in the world that may involve people we least suspect.

Tom Cruise is Dr. William "Bill" Harford, a wealthy doctor living with his wife and daughter in New York. After attending this big party thrown by one of his wealthy patients, Bill and wife Alice end up smoking some pot at home. Later that night, there is an argument that pursues in his wife confessing that she had feelings for someone she saw while on vacation a year ago. After realizing this blow, Bill walks the streets of New York and gets himself into some trouble. Kubrick depicts Bill to be a person of high authority yet at the same time also innocent and honest amongst the people he meets and associates with. He is a truly good-hearted family man and when his wife tells him this, he seems to change drastically. Feeling violated and lost. Meeting up with an old school friend, he is invited to a party which is much more than it seems. It's up to Bill to figure out the connections. Who could be involved? How did it come about?

Stanley Kubrick's style of directing this film really makes you uncomfortable and you have to see this film several times in order to fully understand and appreciate it. One of the most disturbing scenes in the film involve the possible existence of the Illuminati and some of the horrible and disgusting things they do. Kubrick I'm sure wanted to depict more, however there is evidence that suggests that the studio wanted to keep things out of it in order for the film to retain an R-rating. I personally think that Kubrick would not have changed his film for anything or anybody. So, his death may have something to do with the film. Also, Eyes Wide Shut seems to be the only film Kubrick did that was tampered with. Now it is unclear if the Illuminati do exist, but there are many factors that just add up thanks to this film that leads us to a possible theory that they do. We may never figure out if they do or not. Along with this this theory, is the death of Kubrick himself.

Anyway, not to go off on a tangent, this movie is must more than what the titles says. As Tom Cruise isn't my favorite actor, he does give a pretty good performance in that he is basically the audience. He goes along with the movie as we watch the film and the events in it. He is an outsider looking into this world created by the wealthy. Yes, he is a doctor and is of high status, yet he is also out of this loop of very secret people and once he peeks in, dire consequences will occur if he pursues it and keeps asking questions to those he suspects are or are not involved. If you are one to think outside the box and look at possible meanings, then of course Stanley Kubrick is the director for you and Eyes Wide Shut is the movie to watch at least once.