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stillaneHow awesome was that?!
Okay, I lied. I have more. Please do not assume anything in here will be new or different, though, because I am possibly the last human on Earth to join this party, and I have no doubt all the cool stuff has already been discussed.
I do have one caveat, though, and it's not about the movie itself.
*deep breath*
Okay. I feel better. Rant concluded, and we now return you to your regularly scheduled dose of squee.
Seriously, how terrific was that movie?
Okay, I lied. I have more. Please do not assume anything in here will be new or different, though, because I am possibly the last human on Earth to join this party, and I have no doubt all the cool stuff has already been discussed.
It goes without saying that I badly, tragically need to see it again, but: This movie is tailor-made to fit my narrative kinks. There is time travel! Opposites attracting! Found family! Epic, huge-scale, asskicking coolness! Inside jokes! Explosions everywhere! *glees self into coma*
As with just about anything, the characters are what get me hooked, and oh man, these characters. Kirk is totally what Kirk should be, and fascinatingly uncreepy. If you've been around this journal for more than five minutes, you will have guessed that he is like character catnip for me: A guy with serious heroic tendencies, prone to getting himself into really shitty situations by virtue of being both too damn smart and too damn smartassed, and to having more issues than the New York Times.
And then there's Spock. I... don't have that much to say. He's Spock, only really angry. Quinto is awesome, not least of which because he got more across with just his eyes than most actors manage with a chunk of exposition. And subtitles. And possibly flares. Yes, I did actually giggle in the theater at the end of the Vulcan Big Giant Heads scene. I still can't believe he pulled that off. So. Awesome.
And then there's Uhura. And McKoy. And Scotty, and Chekov, and Sulu the Badass. I'm a little bit in love with all of them individually, and a lot in love with them together. Seriously, competence kink for the win! \o/
I have to admit, I am not JJ Abrams' biggest fan. In general, I like where he starts out with projects, but I don't trust anything with his name attached to have any sort of coherent plan or endgame. At all. Yes, okay, I totally still feel burned by Alias. Despite repeated attempts by people I trust and the undeniable pretty factor, I stubbornly refuse to watch Lost until it's over and the general consensus comes back something other than, "Bwuh?"
Which would be why I am still reeling from the surprise of not only adoring this movie, but adoring it for it's thought. For all the criticism about how it's just an excuse to blow crap up in space (and honestly, I have nothing against blowing crap up in space; it's space, it's not like there's not room for a little exothermic rearrangement), this thing is damned smart. Not necessarily overtly, but what's flashing by in your periphery all the while is really kind of fantastic.
Take the time travel aspect. On the surface, neat gimic; you get to tie the old to the new without stepping on anybody's toes, you get to reset the universe and shake everything up, and you get to introduce an element of uncertainty into the familiar. Beyond that, though... In the whole of space, or even just in the little corner of it close to Vulcan, what are the odds of this Kirk getting tossed out within running distance of Spock Prime? How about the odds that Scotty just happens to be hanging out on the same rock, twiddling his thumbs and trying to resurrect a beagle? Hell, what are the chances that the entire command crew of the Enterprise becomes the entire command crew of the Enterprise?
It's not an accident. It's fate, and in a movie where there is science at the heart of every action, that's amazing. The butterfly that kicks off this hurricane is really more like an earthquake birthing a tsunami, and the timeline still fixes itself. What's even more cool is that nobody talks about it; the characters don't make a big deal about it, most of them likely totally unaware, but the audience is very clearly supposed to see it. It's fantastically meta, and yet weirdly reverent. Which, really, is what you could say about the movie in general.
I've seen a few reviews about how it doesn't get Trek, how it's not scifi enough. I don't see it. Seriously? That's like standing on a beach in Hawaii, sand between your toes and sunset right in front of you, and bitching about how it's not Hawaiian enough because nobody's throwing a luau for you every five minutes. The scifi here isn't on display, it's everywhere. The whole damn universe is scifi, but organically so; it's a world, not a setting.
Seriously, this is destiny as a scientific principle. How much more scifi can you get?
I love that there should, by all traditional rights, be a concern riding through this of what might be changed by giving too much information too early in the timeline, and that it completely gets chucked by the wayside. I love that Spock Prime doesn't even question it, because he is old and peacefully tragic and just too damn practical to waste time on the bullshit of worrying about timelines. There's such a perfect, amused bite me, you cosmic bitch edge to him laying Scotty's own equations in his lap way before he's devised them, and to the Great Vulcan Yenta act he pulls on Kirk and his own baby self. The universe has fucked with him enough, and he's earned the right to fuck with the universe right back.
So yeah. I liked it, just a little bit. *g*
As with just about anything, the characters are what get me hooked, and oh man, these characters. Kirk is totally what Kirk should be, and fascinatingly uncreepy. If you've been around this journal for more than five minutes, you will have guessed that he is like character catnip for me: A guy with serious heroic tendencies, prone to getting himself into really shitty situations by virtue of being both too damn smart and too damn smartassed, and to having more issues than the New York Times.
And then there's Spock. I... don't have that much to say. He's Spock, only really angry. Quinto is awesome, not least of which because he got more across with just his eyes than most actors manage with a chunk of exposition. And subtitles. And possibly flares. Yes, I did actually giggle in the theater at the end of the Vulcan Big Giant Heads scene. I still can't believe he pulled that off. So. Awesome.
And then there's Uhura. And McKoy. And Scotty, and Chekov, and Sulu the Badass. I'm a little bit in love with all of them individually, and a lot in love with them together. Seriously, competence kink for the win! \o/
I have to admit, I am not JJ Abrams' biggest fan. In general, I like where he starts out with projects, but I don't trust anything with his name attached to have any sort of coherent plan or endgame. At all. Yes, okay, I totally still feel burned by Alias. Despite repeated attempts by people I trust and the undeniable pretty factor, I stubbornly refuse to watch Lost until it's over and the general consensus comes back something other than, "Bwuh?"
Which would be why I am still reeling from the surprise of not only adoring this movie, but adoring it for it's thought. For all the criticism about how it's just an excuse to blow crap up in space (and honestly, I have nothing against blowing crap up in space; it's space, it's not like there's not room for a little exothermic rearrangement), this thing is damned smart. Not necessarily overtly, but what's flashing by in your periphery all the while is really kind of fantastic.
Take the time travel aspect. On the surface, neat gimic; you get to tie the old to the new without stepping on anybody's toes, you get to reset the universe and shake everything up, and you get to introduce an element of uncertainty into the familiar. Beyond that, though... In the whole of space, or even just in the little corner of it close to Vulcan, what are the odds of this Kirk getting tossed out within running distance of Spock Prime? How about the odds that Scotty just happens to be hanging out on the same rock, twiddling his thumbs and trying to resurrect a beagle? Hell, what are the chances that the entire command crew of the Enterprise becomes the entire command crew of the Enterprise?
It's not an accident. It's fate, and in a movie where there is science at the heart of every action, that's amazing. The butterfly that kicks off this hurricane is really more like an earthquake birthing a tsunami, and the timeline still fixes itself. What's even more cool is that nobody talks about it; the characters don't make a big deal about it, most of them likely totally unaware, but the audience is very clearly supposed to see it. It's fantastically meta, and yet weirdly reverent. Which, really, is what you could say about the movie in general.
I've seen a few reviews about how it doesn't get Trek, how it's not scifi enough. I don't see it. Seriously? That's like standing on a beach in Hawaii, sand between your toes and sunset right in front of you, and bitching about how it's not Hawaiian enough because nobody's throwing a luau for you every five minutes. The scifi here isn't on display, it's everywhere. The whole damn universe is scifi, but organically so; it's a world, not a setting.
Seriously, this is destiny as a scientific principle. How much more scifi can you get?
I love that there should, by all traditional rights, be a concern riding through this of what might be changed by giving too much information too early in the timeline, and that it completely gets chucked by the wayside. I love that Spock Prime doesn't even question it, because he is old and peacefully tragic and just too damn practical to waste time on the bullshit of worrying about timelines. There's such a perfect, amused bite me, you cosmic bitch edge to him laying Scotty's own equations in his lap way before he's devised them, and to the Great Vulcan Yenta act he pulls on Kirk and his own baby self. The universe has fucked with him enough, and he's earned the right to fuck with the universe right back.
So yeah. I liked it, just a little bit. *g*
I do have one caveat, though, and it's not about the movie itself.
The fic... On the one hand, there is a growing level of awesome that makes me wriggle with glee. Dude, just like the movie, it's all the fun of Trek, but shiny and new. Badasses! In space! There is no downside here. *g*
On the other hand... I'm hitting the back button a lot, and not for the reasons you'd maybe expect. The punctuation will be fine, the plot will be promising, the characters will all be present and accounted for, things will be exploding with great frequency, but the voices... Dear god, the voices. Is there anybody else who can hear it every time the author is writing Shatner!Kirk, rather than Pine!Kirk? Like, really, really obviously. It's harder for me to hear it with Spock, just because he's Spock, but it's all over Kirk.
Because, see, Pine!Kirk is a bright guy. He may, in fact, be a freakin' brilliant guy, all things considered, but he is never going to be caught dead in a sweatervest discussing his MENSA qualifications, okay? He's the type that you're going to assume has never read a book in his life until he casually gives you a detailed breakdown of why Ulysses is a bunch of pretentious bullshit while simultaneously kicking your ass at the Trek equivalent of MarioCart. He is a stealth genius.
A good bit of what I'm reading is too... proper. I'm not saying Kirk's every other word should be dude or fuck, but you really shouldn't be able to insert a whither or thou anywhere in it, either. This Kirk should not sound like a Victorian in space, is what I'm saying. Above and beyond whatever singular speech quirks Shatner brought to the role, Original Kirk has a much more refined way of saying things, and it fits in with his world. It does not fit into a universe where Kirk starts out by getting into bar fights because shit, what else is there to do on a Saturday night in Iowa?
Also: Lover. *shudders* If this word could be stricken from the English language, I would so be first in line to vote on it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know a single guy in real life who I could picture using this one with a straight face. Gay, straight, trans, bi... none of them. Jokingly, sure, maybe even campily, but with intent? Hell, I don't know any women who'd refer to their partner this way, either. Possibly the extremely elderly, in the context of scarring the young for life? I don't know, but just... no. A story has to be incredibly fantastic to compensate for even one earnestly-employed lover for me, and I do not think I am alone. Please, for the love of all that is good and ficcy, stop using this word. I beg you. While it may mean what you think it means, it also sounds at best silly and at worst about as purple as Barney the damn dinosaur.
On the other hand... I'm hitting the back button a lot, and not for the reasons you'd maybe expect. The punctuation will be fine, the plot will be promising, the characters will all be present and accounted for, things will be exploding with great frequency, but the voices... Dear god, the voices. Is there anybody else who can hear it every time the author is writing Shatner!Kirk, rather than Pine!Kirk? Like, really, really obviously. It's harder for me to hear it with Spock, just because he's Spock, but it's all over Kirk.
Because, see, Pine!Kirk is a bright guy. He may, in fact, be a freakin' brilliant guy, all things considered, but he is never going to be caught dead in a sweatervest discussing his MENSA qualifications, okay? He's the type that you're going to assume has never read a book in his life until he casually gives you a detailed breakdown of why Ulysses is a bunch of pretentious bullshit while simultaneously kicking your ass at the Trek equivalent of MarioCart. He is a stealth genius.
A good bit of what I'm reading is too... proper. I'm not saying Kirk's every other word should be dude or fuck, but you really shouldn't be able to insert a whither or thou anywhere in it, either. This Kirk should not sound like a Victorian in space, is what I'm saying. Above and beyond whatever singular speech quirks Shatner brought to the role, Original Kirk has a much more refined way of saying things, and it fits in with his world. It does not fit into a universe where Kirk starts out by getting into bar fights because shit, what else is there to do on a Saturday night in Iowa?
Also: Lover. *shudders* If this word could be stricken from the English language, I would so be first in line to vote on it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know a single guy in real life who I could picture using this one with a straight face. Gay, straight, trans, bi... none of them. Jokingly, sure, maybe even campily, but with intent? Hell, I don't know any women who'd refer to their partner this way, either. Possibly the extremely elderly, in the context of scarring the young for life? I don't know, but just... no. A story has to be incredibly fantastic to compensate for even one earnestly-employed lover for me, and I do not think I am alone. Please, for the love of all that is good and ficcy, stop using this word. I beg you. While it may mean what you think it means, it also sounds at best silly and at worst about as purple as Barney the damn dinosaur.
*deep breath*
Okay. I feel better. Rant concluded, and we now return you to your regularly scheduled dose of squee.
Seriously, how terrific was that movie?
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 05:31 pm (UTC)I was surprised the first time by how funny the movie was. I mean, I went in expecting to see explosions in space, but I wasn't expecting to be laughing out loud throughout the movie.
Red matter made me shake my head a little bit, because what? But I don't even really care about the stupid science because the story itself is just so much fun.
Also: Lover. *shudders* If this word could be stricken from the English language, I would so be first in line to vote on it.
YES! I'd be second in line. The word makes me cringe every time I stumble across it in a story, and it is so damned pervasive!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 11:14 pm (UTC)I am so cranky that the theater I saw it in was apparently experiencing technical difficulties and the sound kept doing funky things. I think I've probably missed about half of the best dialog, and even so: Still. Awesome. :)
Red matter made me shake my head a little bit, because what?
I call it the Abrams Effect. There has to be a giant red ball of incomprehensible magic stuff somewhere, after all; I'm just thankful it didn't wind up chasing any of them down a corridor in homage to Indiana Jones, honestly.
In this case, I'm kind of okay with there not really being an explanation behind the science (or "science," sometimes). I look at it like having names for elements that haven't been identified yet, just placeholders for a concept that we haven't caught up to. There's enough of the personal aspects that trace out causes and effects and consequences to keep my speculative side entertained, anyway. Also: Things go boom. *g*
YES! I'd be second in line. The word makes me cringe every time I stumble across it in a story, and it is so damned pervasive!
I have never understood why it shows up so often. Okay, yes, it's a perfectly descriptive and applicable designation for a relationship, but really? Just because it works doesn't mean it should be used. Maybe we can start a campaign?
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 05:31 pm (UTC)Yes, okay, I totally still feel burned by Alias. Despite repeated attempts by people I trust and the undeniable pretty factor, I stubbornly refuse to watch Lost until it's over and the general consensus comes back something other than, "Bwuh?"
Hmm. With one season left, I remain pretty satisfied with Lost. I'm actually going through and watching it from the beginning again with one of my friends/housemates, which--knowing what I know now--is making it seem like there has been an endgame in place from day one. Like there's a scene in the pilot episode that is VERY OBVIOUSLY talking about something not revealed until the 5th season finale (at least, it's obvious having seen said finale). So I remain pretty hopeful/confident about the last season. *twiddles thumbs patiently until January*
Also, said housemate's boyfriend is apparently interested in getting us to watch Alias next. I am now somewhat leery, however o.0
lso: Lover. *shudders* If this word could be stricken from the English language, I would so be first in line to vote on it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know a single guy in real life who I could picture using this one with a straight face. Gay, straight, trans, bi... none of them. Jokingly, sure, maybe even campily, but with intent? Hell, I don't know any women who'd refer to their partner this way, either.
I do know people who make copious use of that word. But I also know some pretty strange people. As in, "lives in a hut (a yurt, technically) on a mountain" type strange people. So...
Down in the real world, I'm more inclined to agree. :p
Oh, and HI! I think it's actually been longer than the lifespan of some tropical fish since I've talked to you! We really need to correct that! What's your schedule like these days?
Also, ever thought about visiting the west coast?
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 11:40 pm (UTC)Re: Lost... You were totally who I was thinking of above. And yep, I'm still holding out. *g*
Re: Alias... The first two seasons rock. They're intriguing, and the characters are very cool, and when they start setting up the mythology, it really sucks you in. They weren't afraid to change the entire world at the drop of a hat, either, which led to some fairly cool heel-turns in the series. Also, Victor Garber is so many flavors of fantastic it isn't even funny; seriously, I defy anyone to tell me his character doesn't kick every other TV father's rear end up one side and down the other. Here's the thing, though: Nobody kept an eye on the overall arc. It just kind of... developed so many twists and gotchas that there wasn't a unifier anymore, and then in the end so many plotlines got left flapping in the breeze that it felt really incomplete and incoherent. Add to that the fact that the identity of the characters wound up taking a backseat to the need for newer and better thrills all the time... I think it drove me so nuts because it had such potential, and then just used it badly.
So, yeah. Watch for the enjoyment and the oh-no-they-didn't! element, and don't get too invested in the arc, and you'll be fine.
I do know people who make copious use of that word. But I also know some pretty strange people.
This does not at all surprise me. I think the "lives in a yurt on a mountain" factor counts as special circumstances in just about any discussion, though, really. *g*
Also, ever thought about visiting the west coast?
Yep. Might make it out that way when I'm shopping around for internships, actually.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 04:22 am (UTC)I admire your fortitude, my dear. Come the finale, I will be sure to squeal extra-loudly in your direction :p
I think it drove me so nuts because it had such potential, and then just used it badly.
Oh dear. This sort of thing is wont to drive me to drink. But I suppose knowing that going does tend to ease the experience (see for reference: season 2 of Twin Peaks). I am duly warned!
Yep. Might make it out that way when I'm shopping around for internships, actually.
Neat! When's that on the slate? If'n you're in the Portland area, consider yourself in possession of a place to crash. There's Lebanese food nearby that's amazing, if that sweetens the deal. Hehe.
This week/weekend is kind of icky for phoning (I've got work stuff going on all over the place), but maybe next?
Surely! My schedule's pretty fluid of late, so tell ya what, ring me at your convenience :)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 06:05 pm (UTC)Yes, I did actually giggle in the theater at the end of the Vulcan Big Giant Heads scene. I still can't believe he pulled that off. So. Awesome.
Quinto's bitchface/acting skillz are admirable.
Also: Lover. *shudders* If this word could be stricken from the English language, I would so be first in line to vote on it.
I support this motion for the full 115%.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 01:18 am (UTC)I'm still trying to find some way to weasel myself to the theater here again before too long, but so far no luck. It turns out, I do need sleep occasionally. Damn.
Quinto's bitchface/acting skillz are admirable.
They really are. Like, I have never seen someone more clearly state, "Fuck you" without those being their actual words. It is a thing of beauty.
I support this motion for the full 115%.
If I ever run for anything in life (yeah, riiiiiight *snort*), this will totally be my platform. *nods solemnly*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 07:25 pm (UTC)I love this movie so much! I was bouncing when I came out of the cinema, and it was even better the second time! It's all the little things that are different, but also all the things that you recognise and I *love* the crew, together and apart. Such perfect casting. <3
Also, "exothermic rearrangement" may be my new favourite thing to say. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 01:26 am (UTC)Such perfect casting. <3
It really is. I'll confess, I was skeptical at first, because damn, those are some iconic shoes to slip on. This, though... it just gets it, who these people are at their core and who they can be with a little bit of a left turn, and it's all reverent without being painfully slavish. Between this and the Batmans and Iron Man, I might just have to have some faith in recycled stories put out by Hollywood. Who'd have thunk it?
Also, "exothermic rearrangement" may be my new favourite thing to say. :D
Dude, when in doubt, find new and fun ways of saying, "Boom!" That is my whole life plan, right there. *g*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-23 09:06 pm (UTC)I would love to see your reaction to some old TOS fic. At one point Spock's cock is called a "pale emerald organ". I am not kidding.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 01:33 am (UTC)I have the same relationship with a lot of Old School Fic as I do with asparagus: I want to like it, I appreciate it in theory and recognize that it has a lot of elements which are very important to my daily life and happiness, and yet... The taste. I can't handle it. I can choke it down and even, with a good slathering of some kind of flavoring (or enough alcohol, in the case of fic), derive some enjoyment from it, but for the most part it's a no-go. The purple (or emerald), it burns. *sigh*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 04:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 02:26 pm (UTC)As for Alias...I still have a seething pit of hate for the last season and especially the finale. WTF did they do to Irina? And how could they do that to Spy!Daddy? NYARGH.
Thirdly, a universe of yes on "lover". The one or two times I've read it and haven't wanted to immediately back out of the story are overwhelmed by the thousand times of DO NOT WANT.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 03:07 pm (UTC)He's really pretty adorable, isn't he? And god, those eyes. *sigh*
WTF did they do to Irina? And how could they do that to Spy!Daddy? NYARGH.
Hahaha YES! I pretty much sat there and went, "Wait, all of this, we went through all of this, and that's the answer. She was just... Oh hell no." I was... upset about Spy!Daddy, and yet not all that surprised. I mean, at least that one was consistent, what with every single plotline consisting of trying to get the audience to doubt Jack's motives while we all knew that he had precisely one, and her name was Sydney. At least they finally owned up to that, and let him have a crowning moment of awesome.
(Somewhat relatedly, I was attempting to explain the fate of Original Kirk to my mom last night and this lead to the concept of 'dropping a bridge on someone.' It took a minute to get it all clear, but finally she interrupted with, "Wait, you mean they actually dropped a bridge on him? And now that's a standard term? Wow. That's terrible." And then she laughed a lot. I love my mom.)
Thirdly, a universe of yes on "lover".
This is like my extreme test of author loyalty. If I can withstand the use of this word, I have to be damn attached to that author/story/cliche. I keep trying to think of characters that I could legitimately hear using it, though... Maybe in Highlander? I could maybe see Duncan MacLeod or Methos wielding it responsibly, but then, I think you get special dispensation if you've been around more than, say, 200 years. Or live in a yurt on a mountainside, as per
But then, I also bet at least one of them has lived in a yurt on a mountainside, so there's that.
In conclusion: Chris Pine. *licks*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-24 04:10 pm (UTC)And that MOUTH, and his big ole brain, and charm, and...*SIGH*
Wait, all of this, we went through all of this, and that's the answer. She was just...Oh hell no.
EXACTLY. Who the hell wrote that, and what series were they watching? I mean, Irina was such a complex, multifaceted character that she was practically 4- or 5-D, and then...They turn her into a stock mustachioed villain?
I was also very, very sad that, even with his crowning moment of awesome, Spy!Daddy never got to see his granddaughter. Because he would have remolded the WORLD for her.
In conclusion: Chris Pine. *licks*
A++++ WOULD CONCLUDE AGAIN.