Star Trek Into Darkness

FLIX!

I was all set to name this review "The Trash of Con". I was a little perturbed that Paramount was forbidding any reviewer to actually give the name of the villain in this picture. I was going to unload if the producers and J.J. Abrams in any way harmed my beloved Star Trek.

From the beginning, and I mean the mid 60's, I would leave the Junior Varsity football games at halftime so I could get home and watch Star Trek. Yes, sports fans, I watched the original series on network TV in prime time. I saw all the episodes when they were first seen by the public anywhere. Years later, when it was announced there would be a follow-up series called "Star Trek - the Next Generation" I was dismayed. I just knew they could not do justice to the original. And although I and other "Trekkers" (not Trekkies if you please) were probably the most skeptical audience ever, TNG won our hearts big-time. That was a great show, that ended way too soon.

I must admit that I am not a fanatic, have never gone to a convention, and frankly got lost in all the Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, and other off-shoots from the original series. But Rodenberry's original vision was compelling then, and is masterful yet to this day. And that, my friend, is what a 'classic' is. Timeless. Not just for me. But for millions of others. Including, luckily, J.J. Abrams.

Into Darkness is the twelfth Star Trek film. J.J. Abrams directed the last one simply entitled "Star Trek". I loved it. Here was a guy that loved the show like I do, making a big budget Studio flick about it. Perfectly, Abrams chose to go back to a time before the original series took place to tell the back stories of all of the cast and how things became the way they were in Star Trek. Then as now, he uses young beautiful actors to portray the characters we love, and he thankfully also this time uses a compelling storyline that ties into not only the original series but the second film "The Wrath of Khan." But I was afraid that he would have to bend to the wishes of the 3-D-emons and make a flick that was more effects than story. Not the case. Whew.

First there is the cast. Remarkable. They are not only flawless in their portrayals of characters that were created by others, but they also very much look like younger versions of the original cast. Chris Pine as James Kirk is brash and unapologetic. Another words he is Kirk. Zachary Quinto as Spock is wonderful. Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, and Anton Yelchin are all terrific as Uhura, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov respectively. Add to the mix Peter Weller as Admiral Marcus and Bruce Greenwood as Christopher Pike and there you go.

This storyline basically goes back and sets the stage for what happens in a movie so long ago - The Wrath of Khan. And it does so beautifully. This film is packed with plenty of something for everyone. Action, wonderful effects, and a solid storyline. What can be better than that? My wife doesn't have a clue what Star Trek is about and she liked this movie a lot. That says something.

A couple things I really liked? Bones making the endearing and almost mandatory "I'm a Doctor, not a ......!" line. Trekkers love this. Also I really liked the presence of a Tribble, the fuzzy little creature that was a part of one of the comedic episodes of the original series. Please J.J.....never lose this sense of honor to the original series.

Things I didn't like? If one more character would have shed another movie tear, I swear I would have hunted Abrams down just to slap him. Please. Okay shedding a tear might be impressive to some actors, but until you can do the Joan Crawford "Which eye?" question to your director, calm down kiddos. (A director told her that shedding a tear might be nice in a scene, and she truly asked him "Which eye?").
And another thing: Abrams, dammit, it's okay to do a Star Trek movie without Leonard goddam Nimoy. C'mon! That was then, this is now. You know what this constant Nimoy inclusion does? It convolutes the storyline. It gets into that "me then, me now" contrived bullshit. That's what. Please before this life is over Abrams, see if you can do a Star Trek movie without Nimoy. That sir, is your five year mission. Also, with Pike dying, doesn't that somehow confuse we dyed-in-the-wools who remember that Pike was the primary figure in the two first episodes of the original?

But besides wishing someone could pry Abram's lips off Nimoy's ass, this was a great film. I can't wait to own it. And I hope that Abrams can finally be so sure of himself that he can make his own Star Trek movie without leaning on the casts of the past. That is the one thing that would truly make Gene Roddenberry happy. And maybe only a Trekker will understand that last sentence. But that's okay.

See this wonderful movie.

Lilyhammer

TUBE!

This is purportedly the first original television series produced by Netflix, and after I posted my review of the magnificent "House of Cards" claiming it was the first, someone corrected me. Except, Lilyhammer is co-produced as American/Norwegian and the Rubicon Production Company shows their cute couch logo at the end, so I think there is an argument to be made about this being the first entirely Netflix produced television show.

At any rate the whole, "no it's not" thing fired me up and I watched the whole first season of "Lilyhammer" on Netflix. Even though I am not a fan of that pitiful piece of crap "The Sopranos", (which also featured Van Zandt), I do love the E-Street Band. So Miami Steve was worth a watch. He's one of those guys that I know I could hang out with and we would totally click. Rascals? Motown? Try me brother.

This TV show stars Steven Van Zandt as a New York underboss who was passed over for what should have been his "promotion" and lets his dissatisfaction known. After an attempt on his life (which coincidently results in the death of his dog "Lily") he decides to rat out all of the mobsters he knows in exchange for being placed in the Witness Protection Program. Instead of opting for the usual Florida or the Bahamas, he asks to be placed in Lillehammer, Norway. He apparently fell in love with the place when the winter Olympics were held there. And he figures nobody will ever look for him there. And he is right.

Once he gets there, the Norwegian culture is nothing like he expected. He immediately starts using his New York tactics of squeezing and strong arming and soon owns his own nightclub which he dubs "The Flamingo" in honor of Bugsy Seigel and his beginnings in Las Vegas. Frankie Tagliano - now Giovanni "Johnny" Henricksen, takes on a local doofus to be his number two guy named Torgeir Lien played wonderfully and believeably by Trond Fausa Aurvåg. But soon Johnny comes to the attention of Police Chief Laila Horland (Anne Krigsvoll) and her over zealous officer sidekick Geir "Elvis" Tvedt (Kyrre Hellum). Besides being the Norwegian Barney Fife, Geir also is an Elvis impersonator. A bad one. Rounding out the cast is Fridtjov Såheim as the bumbling government worker, Sven Nordin as Johnny's lawyer and eventual business partner Julius Backe, and the lovely Marian Saastad Ottesen as Johnny's girlfriend Sigrid Haugli.

This series is definitely different and unique. First of all the Norwegian actors are great but Norwegians approach things differently. For example, the Police Chief and girlfriend both have teeth that although normal enough, are certainly not Hollywood acceptable. The Norwegians speak Norwegian a lot. So you have to be willing to read subtitles. But despite this and the bleak surroundings there was something vaguely compelling about this story.

The show is not without fault. Van Zandt plays his character so far over the wise-guy stereotype top that he is laughable, being not so much an antihero as a caricature. And then, since there was snow in Fargo, and there is snow here, they must also have a female Police Chief like Fargo. Things fall into place a little too easily for Johnny. And yet through these faults I found the show strangely watchable.

Rumor has it Van Zandt wasn't happy with the finished product and wasn't going to do any more, but Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band recently announced that another guitar player would be filling in on the Australian leg of the current tour, so that Van Zandt can film another season of Lilyhammer. By the way, the deliberate misspelling is a tribute to the character's little dog lost in the first episode.

The Norwegian/American collaboration on this is unique. When season one premiered on Norwegian TV in January of 2012 it drew a viewing audience which constituted nearly a third of the entire nation. They love it there.

I will look forward to season 2 here also.