Star Trek, the new film from JJ Abrams, incites the single greatest question that any movie can generate: “Is it any good?” It’s an explosive return for the longest running American film franchise, with an eleventh film now under its ever-expanding belt. Gone are all numbers and subtitles from its title; it’s a subtle hint of the director’s intent to go back to basics.

And boy, does he ever. Beginning literally with the birth of Jim Kirk that is probably the biggest atomic wedgie on “canon” ever yanked in Trek history, Abrams breaks from the need to fit into the tightly-woven mold of five television series, ten movies, and a small library of books, all of which add something to that ever-expanding Trek universe. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurzman have delivered what seemed like the impossible: a brilliant script that fires on all thrusters.
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Watchmen, the new, well-overhyped film from Paramount Pictures, is as faithful an adaption from its all-too-revered graphic novel source as could be. This is both the film’s greatest success as well as its greatest flaw.

Once considered the “unfilmable” graphic novel, Watchmen held a status of reverence which has placed it among the “100 Greatest Novels” by Time Magazine. Unlike most superhero movies, its source material is far less widespread, with a mere twelve issues making up its entire pantheon. Interesting, too, is its rabid fanboy devotion which will surely pick apart every scene with a kind of hair-splitting fervor that’s often reserved for legalistic religious scholars.

Zack Snyder picked up the director’s reins for Watchmen, having wowed mostly-male audiences with the overly graphic 300. Unlike most superhero films, none of its characters are on the lips of the average American (quick, can you recite the complete back story of the first Night Owl?), which makes this film an especially great challenge for any writer or director. Read more »