Zoe Saldana – NZ Film Freak

Director: J.J Abrams
Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof
Released: April/May 2013
Starring: John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Peter Weller and Anton Yelchin
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I went to the midnight premiere of Star Trek Into Darkness! Pretty cool, guys. Pretty cool.
Although, I was quite disappointed that nobody dressed up…

I haven’t seen any previous Star Trek movies or television episodes, so I have to say I was at an emotional disadvantage, because I didn’t have a relationship with the characters that many others had.

Having said that, I did enjoy the movie – especially in 3D. It actually made the movie better. For once. The scenes in space were pretty epic with stars flying at your face. As for the sound effects though, the screechy scratchy gun fire put my teeth on edge.

The villain was incredible! John Harrison/Khan was played by Benedict Cumberbatch… His voice.. Oh my God… So amazing. However, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu is my favourite character – I wish he had more dialogue.

Oh! Of course, Simon Pegg’s character Lieutenant Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott was pretty hilarious. Some great laugh-out-loud moments. Wicked fight scenes, particularly the final fight between Spock and Khan. Intense!

I am embarrassed to say that all of the jokes about Spock made by Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory finally make sense… -_-

Although it was an entertaining movie, I did find that it had the typical and predictable plot structure which made it all too easy to assume who would prevail. But perhaps that just comes with the genre. The morals of the story were pretty much spelled out for you too… Very little mystery.

A pleasing and entertaining sci-fi action film which will be popular among the Trekkies. There are no surprises or unexpected twists, so it really is more about the characters and nostalgia that comes with the territory of the long-running series.

Jodie’s rating: 7/10 (From the perspective of a Star Trek newbie)

Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Released: 2009
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver
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When I watched this film in 3D, my review would have been very different to what this review of my second watch is. At first, I would have said that it’s a storyline we’ve seen before, that the characters were typical and that it was all about the technology.

However, this is not exactly what I think now.

Having seen the first hour of Avatar on TV recently, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it compared to how I felt about it roughly two years earlier. After the adverts interrupting my good time a few too many times, I just had to get the DVD. Which I did. And here’s my verdict:

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and I think it is mostly because it is very easy – too easy – to compare what happened to Pandora to what is happening everyday on Earth. At least in New Zealand, we’re struggling to prevent businesses fracking the rocks below the surface to collect gas/oil which has massive effects on the environment and the people living nearby.

James Cameron made this before there was the amount of struggle between the value of the environment versus the financial value of the environment, that there is today. So Avatar hit home pretty hard the more realistic the story became.

Beyond the deep and meaningful, the technological advances of this film are at a level that will take a long time for anybody to measure up to. It’s all motion capture – so that’s all green screens and dots – but you would never be able to tell that the actors have no Pandora environments to work with.

The designs of the people (Na’vi) and the intrepid creatures that roam the strange planet and how they all share a similar colour palette to show the interdependence between the environment and it’s inhabitants. With the main message being that it is all about balance.

It is a film of action, adventure, fantasy and science-fiction. It’s kind of like exploring Wonderland, but Wonderland from the future. So it’s not at all boring for a second. Which is why after buying the DVD (and finding it had no special features -_- not cool James, not cool) I had to go back out and buy the 3-disc version to get the ins and outs of the story.

It’s got everything that would make you wish that you were there. Riding on flying dragons, galloping through the jungle on six-legged horses, exploring a land rich in life and colour. Pandora is the land you’ll soon want to exist.

Because although it is a ridiculously long film (although it is actually a lot easier to handle than any of Peter Jacksons epically exhausting creations) I found there was still a lot I wanted to know about Pandora and the tribe of Na’vi. Plus, Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) back story is quite an eventful one.

I mean, come on, this is James Cameron we’re talking about. The writer and director of Titanic! So of course this is a film worth watching. In fact, I think Cameron should be famous for his writing more than his directing.

I think this film is one of very few that is very beneficial in 3D! The landscape designs look idyllic and the creatures are so intriguing. I am weary of the sequels, however, that are meant to be on its way…

So depending on what ‘filter’ you’re going to watch this film through, whether it’s from a political point of view, an environmental or religious point of view or, just watching it for plain entertainment, you will find something to take away from Avatar. It’s all about values, balance, the circle of life and appreciation.

Jodie’s delayed rating of: 7/10