Although J.J. Abrams has received critical acclaim for his interpretation of Gene Roddenberry’s vision, it remains to be seen if the members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences can overcome their prejudice of science fiction and nominate the film in the “Best Picture” category for 2009.

Traditionally, Science Fiction has not been given the credit it deserves, often overlooked by the Oscar’s except for special effects. Star Wars (1977) remains the exception, although the attention this year will be on the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701 to challenge the notion that the genre is too unrealistic to compete or win multiple awards for screenplay, directing, set decorations, score, editing and acting.

This form of fiction has provided a perfect format for presenting contemporary issues often by slipping under the radar of the censors, unveiling the relevancy of the subject matter by being just one step beyond reality yet distant enough to be non-threatening.

Classic Star Trek, first conceived in 1965, had numerous story lines based on the important subjects of its time, including race relations, arms proliferation, over population, and many others in imaginative and colorful ways. No other series could have presented these issues at that time without having some kind of severe public backlash, yet of all of the thirty Emmy’s the franchise has been awarded, not one was in writing, directing or acting.

The conflicts raised by science fiction also relate to expectations of how society might evolve based on assumptions created by advancements in technology and medicine, suggesting conceivable possibilities although sometimes far fetched. This form of story telling challenges the imagination  sometimes requiring a leap of faith beyond the logic of the story’s credibility, focusing attention on character development, using special effects and futuristic gadgets to further the story rather than dazzle the audience.

In the past, the demographics of the voting academy members of the Oscars and Emmy’s were different and much older, dismissing science fiction, fantasy and horror as not worthy of competing with other genres. However, in 2003, The Lord Of The Rings-The Return Of The King earned eleven Oscars, the first fantasy film to win best picture, suggesting that the academy, now comprising a majority of baby boomers who grew up with the original Trek, may be ready to give science fiction the spotlight.

Review of Star Trek (2009)

The Chupacabra (Spanish for goat sucker) is an animal indigenous to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Latin American communities that speak Spanish in the United States. The name comes from the animal’s reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of goats. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed for centuries near Ponce, Puerto Rico and have since been reported as far north as Maine and as far south as Chile. It is supposedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail.

The first photographs were taken in March 1995 in Puerto Rico by Madelyne Diaz don Diego who lost all of her 150 goats in an attack. Each animal she claimed had similar characteristic puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood.

In Coleman, Texas, a farmer named Reggie Lagow caught what he claimed was the Chupacabra in a trap he set up after the deaths of a number of his goats. The animal was described as resembling a mix of hairless dog, rat, and kangaroo. Lagow claims he delivered the animal to Texas Parks and Wildlife officials for identification, but reported in a September 17, 2006 phone interview with John Adolfi, founder of the Lost World Museum, that “the critter was caught on a Tuesday and accidentally thrown out in Thursday’s trash.”

When Star-Trek premiered on Sept 8th, 1966, star date 1513.1 on NBC, no one knew it would trigger a chain reaction that would ripple through time, transporting several generations through endless syndication, a total of seven hundred episodes, ten movies and countless novels. Now we have phasers set on high stun as the 2009 interpretation of the franchise hits theaters the first week of May.

In recent years, the cancellation of  Enterprise, the last of the Star Trek television series after a four-year run marked a decline in the popularity of the forty year saga, a bit time-worn, partially due to the speed at which technology is moving in the real world, so much so that it’s hard to imagine anything more advanced than the transporter, Hollow Deck, or the touch tap control panels of the Enterprise 1701-D.

The new film brings J.J. Abrams to the helm of the franchise in an attempt to resuscitate the flailing saga by exploring the formative experiences of the original crew of the Federation Flagship, Enterprise 1701, filling in some of the gaps in the relationships that generated the popularity of the series that explored the final frontier. Abrams is noted for his direction of Mission Impossible 3, co-creator of Alias, Lost, and executive producer of Fringe. His icon is Stephen Spielberg and his favorite TV program of all time is The Twilight Zone. Mr. Abrams excels by exploring the inner nature of the hero and the background stories that made their journey extraordinary. There is no one better suited to present for your consideration a rein-visioned Star-Trek. Let us hope he is successful in his attempt.

My review of the film will be posted as soon as I am able to see the film.

Seeing The Future In Psychedelic Color

Healing has always been held with fascination as a power unto itself, indestructibility saving a person so gifted from the inevitability of death. Its depiction in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the fourth in Marvel comics most popular series, comes with a price, a burden elegantly portrayed by Hugh Jackman who consistently adds dimension to the character, a mutant born with heightened animal-keen senses, increased strength, retractable bone claws, and the ability to recover from any wound, poison or illness. His only weakness from total immortality is being decapitated - his Achilles tendon - with physical and emotional pain as his constant companion, a difficult burden to carry for someone with a prolonged life span and considerable time to suffer.

Wolverine’s accelerated healing process makes it possible for the military to create a super soldier with marked improvements to his physiology by using his ability to regenerate allowing his skeletal structure to be reinforced with Adamantium, the indestructible element discovered from a meteorite in an excruciating process.

Jackman carries the film well, aided by a passionate performance by Liev Schreiber as the brother who embraced his animal-keen senses to become  Sabertooth, with greater strength than Wolverine yet immersed in his dark side, a strong counter balance as they become vitriolic enemies, but there are too many plots going on at the same time, making the film hard to follow. Less would have made a better film. The action sequences are well done but far more conservative than the other films.

This adaptation, released May 1st, 2009 - directed by Gavin Hood, screenplay by David Bernioff and Skip Woods, based on the characters created by Len Wein and art director John Romita, Sr. - is more a character study than action-based film which spans the evolution of Wolverine from childhood in the early Eighteen Hundreds through the civil war to contemporary times and the pivotal moments that led to the sibling rivalry between him and Victor who will become his most vicious adversary Sabertooth , a predatory stalker with a taste for blood. The film also introduces some of the other young mutants and the emerging philosophy that defines the currents leading to the anti-mutant movement that will became the focus of all the X-Men films. However the other mutants’ powers are not used as well as they could have been, a major weakness of this character driven installment.

The acting is good but Jackman is a bit leaner in the fourth film than in his previous characterizations despite the promotional photo’s to the contrary, although it remains a visible reminder why Sabertooth is stronger until Adamantium is introduced into the equation. Besides, having one’s skeletal structure merged with the molten Adamantium injected into the bones would make even the greatest of gods weak at the knees.

The twists and turns that the story takes would seem more appropriately engineered by a demented Magneto than Colonel William Stryker, played by Danny Huston who portrays evil with a calculated civilized sensibility, less dark or mutant than one would expect from a military leader with a grudge against all the emerging youngsters with special powers.

As with all of Marvel’s characters, there is the identifiable struggle of alienation at the center of their battle for self confidence and acceptance in a world that views them as nothing more than freaks. This addition to the myth of Wolverine explains some of the mysteries introduced in the earlier films that leads to the development of X Mansion with Charles Xavier at its helm engaging and protecting his charges to use their powers wisely.

My Percepto Rating is: Better than the third film but not as action packed or engaging as the first two. The star of this film is Sabertooth, beautifully acted by Liev Schreiber.

For a full List of the Cast see Imdb database.

Although the Sub-Spacial Hologram sounds like a creation of Star Trek, displaced by a generation or two, in fact, it is not. Holographic images appear in three dimensions, a manipulation of the senses to perceive depth that binocular vision allows.

If the five senses could be fooled into believing that what isn’t there, is, then perhaps they can also be convinced that what is there, isn’t, using science to influence perception.

The concept of sub-space particles has encouraged thoughts of traveling to other planets and far away galaxies, made possible when Time and Space are no longer impeded by the constraints of speed.

The earliest pioneer of Astronautic Theory was Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, a highly educated Russian rocket scientist born in 1857 and who died in 1935, living most of his life in a log cabin outside of Kaluga , near Moscow. He was the first to envision machines that could work entirely outside of Earth’s atmosphere, exposed to extreme conditions such as a vacuum, extra-terrestrial radiation, and temperature variations.

Inspired by the possibility of transcending all the impediments of survival in outer space, made feasible by Tsiolkovshy’s dream, Science Fiction flourished. The sub-space warp drive, a staple of Borg technology, assimilated from numerous species, became steeped in the realm of credible possibility, just one of the achievements projected into the Twenty-Fourth Century.

Now, a Japanese experimental device, The Sub-Spacial Communications Pod, takes a step into that future, first reported by Michael Keferi of  cscoutjapan.com “It’s claimed that the ‘Pod’ projects a 3D character hologram for users to interact and communicate without the need of special glasses. Users can interact physically with the hologram character such as blowing air and watching the character’s clothes move as if it’s the wind.”

According to reports, the pod will come with a “Physical transfer field that allows the user to purchase specially bar-coded cards with item information to be scanned into the characters, who can also eat, get fat, teach English and even give you news.”

My Percepto Rating: Three Of Two

A- Either it exists or it doesn’t
B- Now you see it, now you don’t
C- Can something exist, if I’m not there to see it?
D- The Sub-space trans-warp coil?
E- Three Of Two

One day, Wursest, a burly aardvark, lost his way and found himself somewhere on the Oregon Trail. How he got there was a mystery since he never thought it odd. A nocturnal, burrowing mammal native to Africa, his closest living relative, the jumping shrew, hopped around without noticing any disappearance.

Marcel the myopic marsupial, who was passing by said in an English accent: “Blimey, your an Aard one!”
“You think?” responded Wursest, who added, “Marsupials, except for the platypus, are native only to Australia.”
“Well, I come from Paris, spent time in London at The Palace having tea with the King,” responded Marcel, adding, “and what the frack do you know?”, in a  shrewed sarcastic tone.
“There isn’t any king of England, only the Queen, HRH Elizabeth,” exclaimed Wursest who then asked, “Are all French Marsupials as myopic as you?”
“Non! Non! Non! Just those in Kebec who pronounce ‘Qu’ as a ‘K’,” exclaimed Marcel. “They just can’t seem to parlez-vous the right way.”
“And those who are left?”, snouted Wursest.
“They are the ones who know English but insist everyone speak French, with a ‘K’ instead of a ‘Qu’,” suggested Marcel.

Suddenly, the local Platypus walked by from the adjacent pond and said in a puzzled tone, “Hola, Me llamo Carlos. Como arrivan Usteds aqui?”
“No say!” they both said.

Ga-Gorib sat at the edge of a round deep chasm in the ground. A monster of indescribable proportions. Arrogant and angry, he aimed to taunt all who passed as if he had nothing better to do except seeking over-confident heroes to betray their good sense and cross the line.

Ga-Gorib would growl, “I’m so ugly, throw rocks at me and see if you can find there target.” When anyone threw a large stone, it bounced off Gar-Gorib, ricocheting back to hit them on the head as one by one they fell unconscious into the hole, down, down, down to a place not known. Never to be seen again.

One day, when Ga-Gorib was in a particularly nasty mood, two men and a young child approached the chasm:
“He is rather ugly, I must confess,” said one.
“But does he deserve to have rocks thrown at him?” responded the other.
“Here’s my sandwich, Sir,” said the boy politely extending his hand over the hole toward the monster.
“An offering for me? A true hero?” asked the ugly creature.
Ga-Gorib was so touched as he reached across the deep dark hole that he lost his balance and fell down, down, down into the hole, below the ground. His grunts never to be heard from again.

As a child, sitting in the dark at the historic Loew’s Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse off Fordham Road in the Bronx, a grand palace in the classic sense, the theater where I initially saw the first three of my list of horrible science fiction films. Often described with “an eclectic and luxurious period-revival architecture”, it evoked a comparison to Radio City Music Hall and its art deco ambiance.

Most notable were the ornate fountains filled with water and large live goldfish swimming around without a conscious thought, and all those coins in the bottom, an attractive sight during intermission with mini mints, bonbons and popcorn, as I stood awestruck and doing my best to resist the urge to stick my hands in and grab them. Then there was the glimmering ceiling with stars resembling the night sky. A fit place to see the full range of films offered by the cinematic world.

The worst of the spectrum of science fiction is distinguished not only by the script and the poor special effects, but also by the actors, especially the distinguished ones like Academy Award Winner Ray Milland who took home the gold statue for his stunning portrayal of an alcoholic in The lost Weekend (1945). It also starred Jane Wyman, former President Ronald Reagan’s first wife.

Somewhere, Milland veered off the track in 1972’s, The Thing With Two Heads, written by Wes Bishop, directed by Lee Frost and also starred Rosey Grier. In the movie, this British actor plays Dr. Maxwell Kirshner, a dying wealthy white racist who demands that his head be transplanted onto a healthy body. As his health rapidly deteriorates, the only alternative is to graft Kirshner’s head onto the body of a black death row inmate. Truly horrible.

This same year, 1972, the famous British Thespian went on to star in Frogs, directed by George McCowan, also starring Sam Elliot, Joan Van Ark and Adam Roarke. A film that explores different animal species as they exert revenge on a southern family of an ecologically abusive patriarch, played by Milland. How timely! Lizards, snakes and birds. Perhaps a cheap imitation of Alfred Hitchock’s masterful horror film, 1963’s The Birds. “If you are squeamish, stay home, Cold Green Skin against Soft Warm Flesh. Ribbit.”

The third film on my list is X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes, by famed horror director Roger Corman. Arguably with some redeemable characteristics, written by Ray Russell and Robert Dillion, it starred the relative unknown comedian, Don Rickles in a rare performance displaying his dramatic range as a swindling cad. The x-ray special effects were portrayed through the eyes of Dr. James Xavier, a dedicated physician experimenting with a developmental drug to increase the range of human vision, beyond the visible spectrum and past the x-ray wavelengths. Perhaps a glimmer of what Clark Kent sees as the man of steel. The film definitely has some charm as Dr. Xavier, beginning to detect the effects of the drug, goes to a party and sees all the people dancing the Twist bare skin, uncovering the truth of their nature and driven mad by glimpsing the divine, compelled at the end of the film to pluck his own eyes out.

Interesting choices for the actor who also starred in some of Hollywood’s finest classics as Beau Geste (1939) starring Gary Cooper; Dial M For Murder as Grace Kelly’s husband and  Love Story, as Ryan O’Neal’s father.

For more on the life of British Actor Ray Milland, click on the link

Majel Barrett, the widow of Gene Roddenberry, founding father of the Star Trek franchise, died on Dec 18th from complications of Leukemia at the age of 76 in her home in Bel Air, California. A devoted wife to Gene who died in 1991, she is survived by their only son.

She acted in almost every spin off series from the original classic Star Trek first as Number One in the pilot episode under Captain Christopher Pike. The role stirred controversy among network executives who could not accept a female commander so she was reintroduced as Nurse Christine Chapel, assistant to Dr. Leonard McCoy, with a secret crush on Mr. Spock.

She went on to star in The Next Generation as Ambassador Lwaxana Troi, daughter of the fifth house, holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Ring of Betazed. Often providing a complex dilemma for her daughter, Lt. Commander Deeana Troi, chief counselor and the longtime paramour of Commander Riker. Mrs. Barrett’s last appearance on The Next Generation was in the seventh and final season in “Dark Page”, a complex character study when her meta conscious mind collapses upon itself as a result of awakening guilt over the death of her first daughter, Kestra, an episode that featured a young Kirsten Dunst. It was filled with psychological imagery as Deeana enters her mother’s mind to help her deal with the guilt of the loss of a young child. She also appeared as Lwaxana Troi in Deep Space 9 and as the voice of the computer on TNG, Voyager and in the movies.

Before Star Trek, she had guest starring roles in such shows as Bonanza, The Untouchables and Leave It To Beaver. Ten days before her death it was announced that her voice would be in the new Star Trek film due out in May 2009 in already completed voice-over work. She will always be remembered as The First Lady Of Star Trek.

One of Science Fiction Cinema’s historical treasures is the original version of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Released in 1951, it was directed by Robert Wise in an adapted screenplay by Edmund H. North and starred Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe and Michael Rennie as Klaatu - an actor with a commanding voice, unknown outside his native England, who portrayed a mysterious alien from outer space with a message for Earth foreboding extinction from nuclear proliferation.

Filmed in black and white, the screenplay was based on “Farewell To The Master“, a 1940 serialized short story written by Harry Bates that first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, a magazine that was begun in 1930 during the golden age of Science Fiction. The periodical was part of a genre that included Strange Tales and Amazing Stories, a magnet for many of the Twentieth Century’s greatest science fiction writers. The original story is very different from its 1951 film adaptation, told in a narrative form by photo-journalist Cliff Sutherland who unravels the mystery of klaatu and Gnut, the robot whose name was changed to Gort for the cinematic interpretation.

Part of the reason why the 1951 film worked was because Rennie was not generally known by the American audience. This played well to the premise of the film, an other worldly ambiance to the story with a haunting score composed by Bernard Hermann using two theremin electronic instruments. A being not of this earth who is nevertheless human-looking, who searches for the humanity in the world he came to warn, climaxing in his austere speech at the end of the film to an elite group of respected international scientists. The Day The Earth Stood Still was well received by Hollywood, garnished a golden globe award and is still considered among the best of the Science Films of all time, heralding the era of such classics as Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) and Forbidden Planet (1957).

Now we have the 2008 remake starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, John Clease, Kathy Bates and Jaden Smith. Directed by Scott Derrickson, screenplay by David Scarpa, the film is a dreadful attempt to make money by ripping off the name and some barely recognizable elements of the beloved 1951 classic. It alters the original nuclear premise to that of global warming, justifying the plan to eliminate mankind to save Earth for other species. Reeves has a knack for playing wooden characters, or is it that he just can’t act? His Klaatu is made possible by a premise similar to 1984’s Starman . A DNA sample, abducted in 1928 from a bearded Himalayan mountain climber also played with little emotion in flashback by Reeves, who could have instilled Klaatu in the same way Jeff Bridges‘ alien was imbued in Starman, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination.

John Cleese, known for his Monty Python films, plays Professor Bernhardt who points out to Klaatu: “Most civilizations change when at the edge of the precipice.” This prompts an alteration in the annihilation plan but not before a terrible destructive force is let loose. Gort, here a completely CGI figure and reminiscent of the computer-generated Silver Surfer, is lost in space, somewhere between Central Park and an underground military facility. Although Jennifer Connelly provides the only credible acting, while Kathy Bates, the Secretary of Defence acts with the reserve of a hybrid between Madeline Albright and Hillary Clinton as the President and Vice President are nowhere to be found. The special effects are so lack luster that the end of the film, running 110 minutes, provides the only relief to a nearly empty theater. No where is the line, “Gort, Klaatu Barada Nikto”

If one wants to know why the Earth Stood Still, one should go back to the classic 1951 film and perhaps read “Farewell to the Master” in its original text. The 2008 version omits so much that it fails to relate the important public message that Rennie’s Klaatu came to convey, revealed at the end of the original version which made it so memorable.

For the full cast of characters of both films, and the original short story follow the links below:

The 2008 version: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970416/
The 1951 version: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/
Farewell To The Master: http://thenostalgialeague.com/olmag/bates.html