HOT: The Terminal

I don't think this film gets the credit that it deserves. And I definitely don't think that Tom Hanks gets credit for his performance in this film. In fact, I completely blank on this performance whenever I think of his best.

Anyway, Hanks stars as Viktor Navorski in The Terminal. Navorski is from Krakozhia who is traveling to New York City to fulfill a promise he made to his dying father.

When Navorski lands, however, it is found that while he was in the air his country became part of a civil war. Due to this happening, Navorski's travel visa becomes null-and-void, therefore he cannot enter the country legally. Also, Krakozhia would no longer be accepting planes, so he cannot go home either.

So, he is basically stuck.

At the same time Navorski lands at John F. Kennedy Airport, Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) is nearing a big promotion in the TSA, and would be overseeing the entire airport. And, somehow Navorski throws a wrench into Dixon's plans - he becomes a thorn in his side without really doing anything. Just for really being there.

When Navorski first lands he does not understand what is going on because his English is very limited, and here is where Hanks is just perfect in the role. Navorski begins to learn the language and begins to understand more and more of his surroundings - and before we know it he is speaking and understanding English with ease.

He befriends three airport personnel during his time stuck in the airport, Mulroy (Chi McBride), Gupta (Kumar Pallana) and Enrique (Diego Luna). They sort of begin to help him during his time at the airport, including getting fed. Enrique promises that Navorski will never go hungry again as long as he helps him get to know Dolores (Zoe Saldana).

And if that is not enough, Navorski also develops a bit of a crush on a flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Amelia is a bit of a wreck and is currently seeing a married man in hopes that he will leave his wife. But, she does develop some feelings for Navorski in their time together. The three pals even help Navorski develop an airport date with Amelia when she lands at JFK.

I have to admit, I didn't realized I liked this movie as much as I did. I got a bit choked up towards the end of the film. I don't think that was the case before - perhaps it was my mood or maybe who I am now eight years after its release. Either way, I really enjoyed watching this movie - even more than before.

Hanks, of course, was fantastic in this role. I was also happy with his three buddies in the airport - McBride is the only one I truly know, but all three were great. Tucci provided yet another outstanding performance. He is truly an underrated actor - I think he can do pretty much anything. Here, he was fantastic in the role of what can only be described as the villain.

One final note: Loved that Saldana was a Trekkie in this film. Little did we know at this time that she would be the new Uhura. I definitely laughed out loud.

Grade:

Star Trek

"I've given her all she's got, Captain!"

The words spoken by Scotty couldn't ring more true. This Star Trek 'reboot' by J.J. Abrams (Fringe, Lost, Alias) was nothing more than outstanding.

I have been a Trek follower ever since my mother introduced it to me when I was about six years old. This film pretty much out races them all.

Abrams took the Enterprise back to it's beginning, when Capt. Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) was in the captain's chair - and our beloved James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) was just barely a graduate of Starfleet Academy.

The film shows the origins of both Kirk and Spock (Zacahry Quinto) while also showing a little more background to Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (Karl Urban) and Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Also along for the ride are Sulu (John Cho), Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin), but their story lines aren't explored as deeply.

Without going into too much detail, Nero, a Romulan miner, is out to seek revenge against the man he feels is responsible for the destruction of his home planet. He even goes as far as to head back in time to seek his revenge.

It turns out it is up to the young recruits, who are thrown into battle much earlier than they are expected. This is the first challenge for Kirk and the crew to show their worth - something we have come to expect in the earlier films.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with the acting, most notably Karl Urban as McCoy. Going in he was the person I knew the least about, but his portrayel was both an homage to the late DeForest Kelley, while also throwing in a lot of his own skills. I was also pretty unfamiliar with Pine, but thought he did a decent job in trying to replace the legendary William Shatner. He did things his own way, because let's face it - you can't try to copy Shatner.

The rest of the cast was pretty talented as well, Qunito was a spot-on Spock - with a lot of human elements thrown in. Saldana was actually given a lot more to do in this film than Nichelle Nichols really ever had to do in the previous installments. Cho was a great Sulu - and Yelchin provided a new look and sound for Chekov, but remembered to butcher his "W's". Pegg also provided a great Scotty - although it was definitely pre-donuts Scotty.

In my opinion, this was the best Star Trek film out of all of them, and I have been a fan of nearly all of them. It had a lot better action than previous installments, but also had the give-and-take between the characters which provided tons of great comedic moments. And the drama was also packed in pretty nicely as well - a great first voyage for the Enterprise.

I am definitely looking forward to more.

Grade:

Star Trek

I have to admit, I checked out the new trailer to the updated/revamped Star Trek franchise and it has me very excited. So much so, in fact, that since watching it that first time - I have watched it about five other times.

I have been a pretty big Star Trek fan since the original crew of Shatner, Nimoy and McCoy. Out of all of the films from the original crew, the only one I truly disdain is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Boy, they really got off on the wrong foot with that piece of junk.

Luckily, though, the movie made money and it allowed for a truly great six-movie arc, culminating with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Since that film, Star Trek was handed over to The Next Generation crew - and the films were pretty solid at the start.

But, we haven't had a new film since Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002.

Enter J.J. Abrams, Lost and Alias creator.

The film has been rewound and revamped. Abrams has started the Star Trek franchise from its beginning - the arrival of Kirk and his crew at starfleet.

Now, I have heard the grumblings already. Diehards are complaining that not everything in the story is what happened in Gene Roddenberry's original stories.

Of course not. Things have to be changed - and I say it's probably for the better.

All I can say is this: looking at that trailer I am extremely giddy for this upcoming film.

The fight scenes look extraordinary - I mean when did you see such space battles in a Star Trek film ---- it looks almost Star Wars-esque.

I am upset by the move to the summer, because it was orginally planned for Christmas. But, I will definitely be checking this film out when it finally does open.

Casting:

Kirk: Chris Pine
Spock: Zachary Quinto
Sulu: John Cho
Uhura: Zoe Saldana
McCoy: Karl Urban
Scotty: Simon Pegg
Chekov: Anton Yelchin
Nero (Romulan Villain): Eric Bana