Film Review – Star Trek (2009)
By Todd Murphy

BOTTOM LINE: J.J. Abrams has successfully brought “Star Trek” back to life in this ambitious reboot of the classic franchise that simultaneously manages to remind us how great Star Trek is while making some very bold and welcome changes the franchise desperately needed.

THE GOOD: As a franchise, “Star Trek” had been languishing in tired old material and looked dead in the water, largely thanks to regurgitated story lines and an unwillingness to take risks. Thankfully, director J.J. Abrams takes all the right risks to inject life in to the franchise, and from a story and execution standpoint, one cannot underestimate how bold and ambitious the risks Abrams has taken with this film. This film is a super-charged version of “Star Trek”; action-packed, big visuals, dramatic story points and great character moments. In essence, this is the first “Star Trek” film that has been afforded the resources to be a big event film, something which has not been attempted since the first 1979 film (which did not take advantage of those resources). The visuals are spectacular, the action is first rate and the world created finely detailed. All of this would be for naught if the characters were not up to scratch and for the most part they are. Chris Pine somehow manages to embody Captain Kirk without being William Shatner.

You see the character in him, just as with Zachary Quinto as Spock, although in this case, his physical resemblance is extraordinary. Karl Urban is perhaps the most successful as Dr. McCoy, managing to create some of the great touches that made this character so loveable by the late DeForest Kelley. Leonard Nimoy’s inclusion as the elder Spock was a master-stroke, allowing for a continuation from the old series; the writers cleverly used his character in a scenario that allows this film to serve as both a sequel and a prequel at the same time, thereby avoiding the trap of adhering to the franchise’s continuity (and thus potentially disappointing hardcore fans). The one thing to appreciate the most however is that Abrams was clearly not afraid to allow big and devastating things to occur in the story starting with the destruction of Vulcan and its race, a pinnacle of the original series, at the hands of bad guy Romulan Nero (a very strong Eric Bana). In this story, anything goes, and that is precisely what this franchise needed; a sense of urgency and a lack of knowing what will happen to the fate of the characters and the story. “Star Trek” is finally refreshed and revitalised to boldly go in to the future where no franchise has gone before.

THE BAD: Although “Star Trek” is arguably the best film in the series, aside from “Wrath Of Khan”, there are some minor things that did not work through the reboot. First is Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov. He truly looks like he is not enjoying the performance he has to give, and for the most part, unlike the original Chekov, this character is annoying and silly. John Cho as Sulu is not particularly distinctive, largely because he is not given much to do apart from a big action scene. The musical score is another point of contention; it seems somewhat clumsy in comparison to the more elegant and classical pieces written for previous films, although the inclusion of the original theme music at the end of the film is welcome. Also, the fast-paced execution and over-use of jerky camera moves can be somewhat exhausting and is clearly geared towards the Gen-Y or teen male markets. Hopefully in future sequels the pace can be toned down at least in some areas to allow for the drama to unfold more organically rather than as an impressive piece of fast editing.

For the original review, follow this link: http://www.allaboutmovies.net/filmreviewstartrek.htm

Todd Murphy is a staff reviewer at the film/DVD review web site, http://www.allaboutmovies.net – for all the latest reviews on the newest releases.

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Entertainment Weekly reported today that Leonard Nimoy is likely to join the cast of Fringe, the hit Fox television show that returned to the airways last night. Nimoy will play William Bell, a former colleague of William Bishop (John Noble) and the mysterious head of Massive Dynamics, the company that has a yet-to-be-defined role in all of the strange things that have happened.  In other words, this sounds like more than just a one-off cameo but a legitimate guest-starring role.

If the contract goes through, he will appear in the season finale and will be involved in a story arc in season two.

As background, the creator of the show – J.J. Abrams – is also the director of Star Trek, and Nimoy makes an appearance in that movie. Apparently, the guy played a character named Spock off and on for the last few decades.

Let me cap this off by saying that Fringe is one of those shows that I look forward to every week. I was… er, on the fringe… when the show first started, but it has developed into an entertaining and intriguing sci-fi thriller with some truly weird things. That being said, it also inspired me to start watching The X-Files from the beginning, and two seasons in, all I can say is that, even 15 years later, The X-Files is a much better show than Fringe. But, I don’t have to choose between the two.

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For Wiccan soldier, death brings fight

Family pushes for permission to place religious symbol on headstone

RENO, Nev. – Nevada officials are pressing the Department of Veteran Affairs to allow the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to place a Wiccan symbol on his headstone.

Federal officials so far have refused to grant the requests of the family of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, who was killed in Afghanistan in September when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down.

“Every veteran and military member deserves recognition for their contributions to our country,” said Tim Tetz, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services.

The state’s top veterans official said Thursday that he was “diligently pursuing” the matter in cooperation with Gov. Kenny Guinn, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev.

“Sgt. Stewart and his family deserve recognition for their contributions to our country,” Tetz said.

“It’s unfortunate the process is taking so long, but I am certain Sgt. Patrick will ultimately receive his marker with the Wiccan symbol,” he said.

Department does not recognize the Wiccan symbol
Stewart, of Fernley, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize.

Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

The Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There’s also an emblem for atheists — but none for Wiccans.

Stewart’s widow, Roberta Stewart, said she’s hopeful she’ll receive permission to add the Wiccan pentacle — a circle around a five-pointed star — to her late husband’s government-issued memorial plaque.

While Memorial Day services are scheduled Monday at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Roberta Stewart plans an alternative service at Fernley’s Out of Town Park. She’s calling the ceremony the Sgt. Patrick Stewart Freedom for All Faiths Memorial Service.

“This is discrimination against our religion,” Roberta Stewart said. “The least his country can do is give him the symbol of faith as he would have wished,” she recently told the Daily Sparks Tribune.

Wiccan minister frustrated with lack of progress
The Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister of the Wiccan Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wis., is among those who have been pushing the federal government to adopt the emblem. She said the Veterans Affairs Department has been considering such requests for nearly nine years with no decision.

“While this stonewalling continues, family of soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice are still waiting for equal rights,” Fox said by telephone. “Sgt. Stewart was shot down by terrorists. He deserves to be recognized. I’m holding out hope that my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War did not do so in vain and that the freedom of religion on which our country was founded will prevail,” she said.

Officials for the National Cemetery Administration in Washington, D.C., did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

Veterans Affairs Department spokeswoman Jo Schuda told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month that the application was being processed but there was no new information on whether it will be approved.

Stewart enlisted in the Army after he graduated from Reno’s Wooster High School in 1989 and served in Desert Storm and in Korea. After completing his active duty, he enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard in 2005 and went to Afghanistan with Task Force Storm.

(Duvy’s note: This is total bullshit! This guy died saving our asses! Now you guys know I think religion is the worst thing that can happen to you, I still believe people should have the right to choose for themselves. I’ve spent a year or two with every religion, I wouldn’t complain about how fucked I think religion is unless I had experienced them first hand, but Wicca is way more open minded and peaceful then christianity any freaking day. I’ve had christians openly and violently attack me because I couldn’t be converted, but I have only been attacked by Wiccans one time. I was a pecti-wiccan from 1993 til 1995 after flowing from faery wicca back to vampire wicca and then I realized I couldn’t be a hippy and all around me fake wiccans were cropping up and misleading innocent believers into giving up money for a coven, when they could have been solitary for free. I’m probably not making my point clear, but you political closed-minded holes out there should let people live free like it isn’t all about control and money. That would be cool. Every veteran and military member DOES deserve recognition for their contributions to our country, so does everyone on the whole planet. RESPECT!)

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