...where no one has gone before.

If you have the slightest hint of nerd in you you'll realize that I saw the Star Trek movie. Actually, I saw it twice. I had to visit my dad over the weekend and I promised I'd see it with him, but I already saw it with friends on IMAX for my birthday. So if I was willing to see it twice, and if you have a brain, you've probably figured out that I liked it. Good job. Now for the review.

Star Trek

Well well, Star Trek. The holy grail of nerdy series. In a room of a bunch of non-Trekkies, I doubt many people would have raised their hand if they were asked "Who wants to see the new Star Trek movie?" And with good reason. It's no secret that the last two Star Trek movies have sucked sh!t. I know I definitely wouldn't have raised my hand. But now after seeing it two times, I would raise my hand to go see it a 3rd time.

Star Trek spends no time twiddling around with worthless intro scenes, showing who everyone is, it jumps onto the screen and is filled with massive ships and, an intense battle scene is almost immediate. Of course, there is a plot about this. What do you think this is? Star Wars Episode 1? That's an insult. It's best to not know anything about the movie when you go into see it, but it is a good idea to have basic knowledge of the original series, characters and their attitudes mostly. This is because although the movie succeeds as an individual film, it triumphs as a prequel, what many critics (and I) have hailed as the best prequel ever made. It sets everything up perfectly for the original series to take place. The character's relationships, positions, etc. (minus one new character) are set up exactly in the way they were in the series. Some of the characters' original catchphrases will make old fans tingly inside. "Dammit man I'm a doctor not a physicist." "I"'M GIVIN' IT ALL I GOT!" Sound familiar? (Disclaimer: I do not watch the original series, nor am I a fan of it, but I have seen some episodes and this movie appears to set it up perfectly. If it doesn't, feel free to comment about it.)

But without even knowing it's a prequel, anyone can enjoy this film. It's not just for blockbuster action movie lovers, it's for the indie drama movie fans too. It's this years "The Dark Knight" (perhaps, unfortunately), in the way it is filled with action and explosions that keep you on the edge of your seat, but also a dramatic and deep (at sometimes bizarre) story, about friendship and loss. Everyone needs to go see this. It actually bests all Star Wars movies, bar the original, yes even The Empire Strikes Back, if that gives you an idea of how good it is.

10/10

Definitely the movie to beat so far this year, and it will take something HUGE to dethrone this. Best action movie in ages, yes, this is including The Dark Knight. Given the chance to watch either one again, I'd watch Star Trek one more time. It has the same dramatic depth to it as The Dark Knight, but then on the action side, it's more fun. The Dark Knight had a great plotline, but on the action side, it was overly dark. I liked the darkness of it, it was the only way to do the movie right, but Star Trek achieved a great plot while managing to remain fun. If Star Trek were released last year, it would be #2 or #3 overall, after Slumdog Millionaire and maybe The Wrestler.

When I think about The TDK comparison, it is unfortunate because although it's fantastic and worthy of at least a Best Picture nomination, it won't get one. It will win Oscars for visual editing, special effects, costumes, etc., but other than MAYBE a nomination for best supporting actor (for Zachary Quinto as Spock), it won't get very far. Pity the Academy is too stuck up to see greatness in films like this. Don't get me wrong, I think they usually pick the movie that deserves best pictur emost (and if not, then the 2nd or 3rd most deserving), but it's a shame that any action or special effects automatically disqualifies a movie for best picture unless it's a gangster movie (which for some reason are Oscar darlings).

While I'm on movies, I'll score four others and give a short comment. Not reviews, that's way too much work.

Valkyrie

7.5/10

Interesting story with a surprisingly good performance by Tom Cruise, but it was inconcise and hard to follow. Perhaps the story was just not meant to be a movie. Still worth watching.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

9/10

Although overlong like many complained about, the story is fascinating and the characters actually make you care about them. The story spirals into a very sad and powerful ending, one that everyone knew was inevitable. Unpredictable and undeniably entertaining, it's definitely one worth watching, though not quite among the best films of 2008.

Taken

7.75/10

"I won't tell you Taken is great, but it's great fun." This critic nailed it. The story was intense fun, although some things about it were just nonsense. The odds of such a story actually happening, even under the exact same circumstances, are slim to none. He based tons of his ideas purely off chance, and guess what? They all turned out correct. That doesn't happen. Regardless, it was still a very fun watch.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

9/10

Shockingly funny. Watched it off a recommendation from my dad, who is very reliable. It won't be as funny for everyone as it is for me (although if you're reading this, you probably have as good or better knoweldge than me). You should have a good knowledge of music over the last century if you want to really enjoy it. Otherwise it will just be another unfunny stupid comedy. Also, dare I say the music was great? Particularly the blues at the beginning. The lyrics were obviously intentional trash, but the music was actually quite good. The corny acting, cliche story, and ridiculous foreshadowing of everything bad, all intentional of course, combined with the musical satire all make for one great big laugh. However, if you're a huge Johnny Cash fan and are easily offended, stay away.

I was almost a little embarrassed to like the last one, but I'm not gonna lie, I enjoyed watching it.

While in New York, I picked up some CDs (since the Barnes & Noble there has a whole floor devoted to CDs and DVDs).

"s/t" by The Smiths

Thanks to Shadow for the recommendation, truly a great album.

"Remain In Light" by Talking Heads

Couldn't resist it for only $8, and such a hard to find album too. As well, excellent, just what I'd expect from the Talking Heads.

"Feels" by Animal Collective

It was between this and "Sung Tongs", and after demoing both album over three times previously on playlist.com, I thought "Feels" was the better choice. Also fantastic, my 2nd favorite, after "Merriweather Post Pavillion." Now to buy "Sung Tongs" with that iTunes gift card I have (ew, iTunes, I feel dirty). 3 days until Animal Collective live (sorry to sound harsh and braggy that I get to see them, if it's any consolation for you I accidentally bought the wrong tickets so I don't get floor seats).

I got a ton of good stuff over my birthday too, but this blog is long enough. Maybe I'll go over it next blog.

But one present I'll talk about now is a huge book I got called The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes: The gastest, the greatest, the best axemen ever! The first section of the book is entitled "Virtuosos", with the description of what separates a guitar hero from a virtuoso

"The guitar hero is the iconic image of rock 'n' roll. Beyond image, the rick-guitar virtuoso is about the playing- the talent, the technique and, above all, the dedication. The dedication involves practising (is that how you spell practicing in another country?) for hours every day, cultivating the talent and the technique, obsessing over sounds and how to create and control them and then putting it all into the context of a performance as part if a rock band onstage. But while the guitar hero inspires the audience, the guitar virtuoso also inspires and influences other guitarists, who can see beyond the image to the dedication and details in the music and the performance."

I thought that was just a neat quote on what makes a guitarist truly amazing. It named 19 guitarists virtuosos, in no particular order I guess, keep in mind this is purely for rock guitarists, explaining why B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and other great blues guitarists weren't put in the book until the blues section:

Frank Zappa

Jimi Hendrix

Jimmy Page

Jeff Beck

Eric Clapton

David Gilmour

Steve Howe

Brian May

Mark Knopfler

Steve Hackett

Steve Morse

Eric Johnson

Eddie Van Halen

Joe Satriani

Randy Rhoads

Steve Vai

Yngwie Malmsteen

John Petrucci

Jonny Greenwood

With no particular order, it's definitely not a perfect list, but this is about one of the best lists I've seen someone make (no not just for the inclusion of Jonny, although I do like that and find this gives me a little more right to say he's great :P). Check out the book, anyone who wasn't included in the virtuosos section that you think should have been is definitely somewhere else in the book. Really an interesting thing to pass some time.