Star Trek - the reboot or: When Kirk Met Spock

Growing up in the Eighties, I became a sci-fi fan pretty quickly. In the early Eighties, it seemed like boys were either Star Wars fans or Star Trek fans. While I became a die-hard Star Wars fan, I also grew to like the original Star Trek series too - I used to watch the old episodes on reruns, and I remember having class parties in grade school where we watched the first two films and seeing the third and fourth films with my cousin Nathan at the old Har Mar Mall movie theater in St. Paul. When I heard that J.J. Abrams (one of the creators of the TV hit show "Lost" and director of the movie Cloverfield) was directing the new Star Trek film, I decided to check it out, and see how true the film was to the beloved memories I had of the classic TV show.
The film begins with a battle between a massive Romulan ship and the U.S.S. Kelvin, a Federation starship that is soon captained by James T. Kirk's father. Kirk's dad sacrifices his life to save hundreds of crewmembers, including those of his wife and as-of-yet unborn son, with a suicide journey into the belly of the awe-inspiring CGI-created Romulan vessel.
Flash-forward a few years later to an unidentified stretch of open road in Iowa, where we find the young James T. Kirk cruising down the highway in his uncle's "borrowed" red Corvette, blasting Beastie Boys music on his thrill ride. This sequence shows one of the first (but definitely not the last) of Kirk's quests for adventure.
We also get to see a young Spock growing up on his home planet of Vulcan (played by Zachary Quinto, best known as the villain Sylar on TV's "Heroes"). Quinto does a nice job of balancing his logical, rational Vulcan side while also showing us his more vulnerable, emotional human side during the film.
Moving ahead a few years, the reckless, impulsive Kirk gets into a confrontation, after which authority figure Christopher Pike (played by film veteran Bruce Greenwood) sits the wild child down and advises him to follow in his father's footsteps and join Starfleet. This was a touching sequence, and I appreciated how it struck up the relationship between Pike and Kirk.
As the film goes on, we see how Spock and Kirk advance in rank in the Federation, and their first meeting, and several encounters thereafter, are anything but friendly. It was interesting to see how these personalities clashed, but Abrams did bring out enough of their similarities and motives for the audience to see the groundwork for the friendship that would later bond these characters.
I won't go into the plot and spoil the movie for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but I will say that actors Karl Urban (Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy), Simon Pegg (best known for his comedic roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), Anton Yelchin (Hearts in Atlantis) and John Cho (American Pie, and the Harold and Kumar flicks) are impressive in filling the roles of Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Chekov and Sulu, respectively. Pegg brings his trademark wit and humor to the Scottish engineer's role, Urban channels the late DeForest Kelley's cowboy swagger in his portrayal of "Bones" McCoy, and it was fun hearing Yelchin say "wessels" for the first time - brought back memories of Star Trek IV. I also have to say that Eric Bana (Munich, Ang Lee's Hulk movie) as the Romulan commander Nero and Leonard Nimoy also are welcome surprises to the film.
While certain things like the Enterprise's transporter room, the massive Romulan warship and the spacesuits have been updated for today, Abrams and co. still managed to keep classic details from the TV show intact, like the Starfleet badges, hand phasers, Uhura's distinct comlink, and even the green-skinned lady. Throw in the classic TV show theme music at the end, and you have a great summer flick that's worth re-watching. That's all for now - until later, live long and prosper!

Deja vu all over again?

I had the old quote "it feels like deja vu all over again" attributed to Yankees great Yogi Berra last Sunday night on my way back to Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN en route to a Queensryche concert. I had just been to the same casino the week before for an awesome concert by Staind and Rev Theory. I stayed at the same hotel, and window-shopped at Reed's Sporting Goods store in downtown Walker again before the show, too. I kind of had that feeling of deja vu, but that was OK, because I really enjoyed this concert too!
I figured that there would be a lot of dedicated fans going to the show, which i first realized as I stopped at a red light next to the casino. Pulling behind me at the light was a car with a vanity plate that read "Q RYCHE." When I got into the casino, I saw a lot more people wearing Queensryche t-shirts, including one guy who was carrying an LP of the band's first album.
Queensryche has been known for concepts, like their concept albums Operation Mindcrime I &II, and their new CD American Soldier. The concert was also a concept of sorts, as it was announced that the band would be performing "suites" of music from their 1986 album Rage for Order, the new album American Soldier, and the 1990 classic Empire.
Shortly after 7 pm, the band erupted into their first of seven songs from Rage for Order. I wasn't too familiar with this album, but I enjoyed hearing classic songs like "Walk In The Shadows" and "I Will Remember," as well as rockers like "Neue Regel" and "I Dream In Digital" during the first set of music.
Shortly after "I Will Remember," guest vocalist A.J. Fratto jumped on the stage, encouraging the crowd to get on their feet during the intro to the song "Sliver," the first of seven more songs from the American Soldier set. It was cool watching the video screen as the band played and getting to listen to true stories of war from American soldiers during the set. Although most of the songs were heavy in tone and emotion, the band did mellow out a bit, as lead singer Geoff Tate's youngest daughter Emily joined him onstage for duet vocals during the song "Home Again."
After a few more minutes, the band returned to the stage to crank out "Best I Can," the leadoff track from the classic album Empire. I got to hear some of my Queensryche favorites like "Jet City Woman," "Anybody Listening?" and "Silent Lucidity" during this set, as well as deeper album cuts like "Hand On Heart" and "One and Only." After a brief rest and a little bit of crowd love for drummer Scott Rockenfield, the band performed Empire's title cut as a one-song encore to a grateful audience who were witness to a truly amazing concert experience!
I had a lot of fun at the show. I enjoyed the music, got to meet some new friends and die-hard Queensryche fans, and even ran into an old friend from high school at the casino gift shop as we waited for the arena doors to open before the show. I was also glad after talking to a friend who had attended the Queensryche show the night before at the Myth in Maplewood, MN that the set lists for both nights were different in terms of song order and selection. Too bad there's not another show at Northern Lights this weekend - then I'd really feel like deja vu all over again!