May 2009 Archives

Izah Morales INQUIRER.net MANILA, PhilippinesââWhat path should I follow?â This seems to be the recurring theme in the latest episode of âStar Trek: The F uture Begins,â which tells the stories of each young crew of USS Kelvin Enterpr ise. We see a young Spock (Zachary Quinto)--who is confused about his half-human, ha lf-Vulcan roots--taking a path that would later shape his life as an adult. Spock joins James Kirk (Chris Pine), Uhura (Zo Saldana), McCoy (Karl Urban), Su lu (John Cho) and Chekov (Anton Yelchin) in a maiden voyage to stop Romulan Ner oâs vengeful attack on the United Federation of Planets. In the process, the âb attleâ also takes place among the crew whose friendships and leaderships are te sted. Quinto, popularly known in his role as âSylarâ in the hit television series âHeroes,â plays a more scholarly and stiff character in Spock. With the signature Vulcanâs husk-like haircut, Quinto takes on an emotionless character , similar to Sylar, but minus the ruthlessness that we see in the TV series. Among trekkies, Vulcans are known as logical beings who rarely display emotion. Their life is decided by reason. Yet, it is Spockâs half-human nature that mak es him yearn for loveâagain similar to his character in Heroes. Pine, on the other hand, takes on the role of the young and happy-go-lucky Kirk . But as events unfold, the boy matures into a responsible man. Another noteworthy character Chekov, the 17-year-old genius, steals some scenes from the protagonists. The quirky Chekov, played by Russian actor Yelchin, sur prisingly provides the movie with some welcome humor. Directed by J.J. Abrams of the âMission: Impossible III,â âLost,â âAlias,â Star Trek: The Future Begins provides a good mix of action and drama. However, the love angle is somehow forced and is not given much explanation and detail, whic h might leave viewers asking for more. For trekkies, this movie is definitely stunning and sometimes visually overwhel mingâa signature of J.J. Abrams-directed films. But as far as Star Trek movies are concerned, this a big improvement from previous attemptsâconsidering the po werhouse production led by Abrams. As the familiar introduction in the TV series goes, this movie will take you to a new âfinal frontier.â Star Trek: The Future Begins is a movie by Paramount Pictures.

By Clarence Yu 17 Again tells the story of Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry/Zac Efron) w ho, at the age of 37, finds himself regretting the choices he made when he was in High School. He is unhappy with the way his life has turned out and is in th e middle of a divorce with his once beloved wife. Wishing that he were back in high school again, Mike soon finds himself transfo rmed back to his young self, however, it is still the present day, and he has n ot gone back in time. What follows next is a predictable storyline that sets th e stage for a series of events that makes Mike realize that he should have been happy with what he had. 17 is one of those typical body-switching comedies in the vein of Bi g, Vice Versa and Peggy Sue Got Married. The laughs come and go, and the movie is both well produced and directed (Burr Steers helmed the feature). Matthew Perry is underutilized as the elder Mike; Leslie Mann is lovely as Mike 's wife, but the real scene stealers are Mike's best friend Ned Gold, played by Thomas Lennon, and Principal Masterson played by Melora Hardin. Their interpl ay is fantastic; the scenes involving the romance between the two are absolutel y hilarious and are worth the price of the ticket if you aren't into teen comed ies. Zac Efron begins his non-singing/dancing lead career here in this movie, and fo r starters, that is something fresh. Efron displays a beautiful, almost effemin ate star quality that teens swoon over. He carries out his dialogue effectively , but you can still see that it will take a couple of more roles to push his st ar into real leading man power. One is reminded of Rob Lowe during his early ro les in the '80s. At this point in his career, Efron gives off the sense that h e is going to need a gang to elevate his star power, much like the Brat Pack be fore him, that he isn't going to be able to survive based upon his six pack alo ne. In the end, 17 Again may not be a landmark movie by any measure, but it doesn't really pretend to be one. Even if it is just milking the box office cow by ca pitalizing on Zac Efron's celebrity, it has good morals to tell, and with the a udience that it is targeting, that is something that is always good to see. Bri ng your kids to this one.