JG Judgementally Comments...

Star Trek Beyond

Can the third Abramsverse Star Trek movie find something better to do than resurrect an old bad guy? Yes!

Third time’s a charm? After the standard-action-fare of the 2009 movie and the misguided attempt to use Khan in Into Darkness, can Beyond find a successful balance?

Pre-Existing Prejudices: It’s the most recent of the three Abramsverse movies which means that there’s not a lot of scope for historical distance. But as with the other two Abramsverse movies I had generally warm feelings towards it on its release and I’ve watched a couple of times since. I like Idris Elba a lot but don’t remember him making a vast impression, and of course it’s hard to view Anton Yelchin’s performance objectively since his death. Neither a stand-out classic nor a total failure, I remember this as fine. We shall see if that’s still true…

Doctor Who – Flux (Season 13)

Is third time the charm for Chris Chibnall’s version of Doctor Who? Remarkably, yes!

What’s The Show? Doctor Who‘s six episode long truncated series 13

What’s It All About, JG? Trying to find out if there’s anything worth salvaging from the Chibnall era of Doctor Who before both he and the reliably brilliant Jodie Whittaker bow out, and also embracing the full force of serialisation. But in terms of plot, the universe is threatened by a mysterious “Flux event” the Doctor knows nothing about. The Earth is protected by the Lupari, as represented by the appealingly dog-like Karvaista. Turns out there’s been some kind of battle between Space and Time (capital S and capital T) as represented by Azure and Swarm on one side and the mysterious Division on the other. Meanwhile, two survivors of the Flux, Vinder and Bel, are separated and are trying to reunite while getting into/out of the way of the plot, and the Doctor has a new companion, Dan (a surprisingly strong John Bishop), a Liverpudlian who turns out to be a dab hand at taking out Sontarans with a wok. It all ends with the Doctor struggling to get back her memories from her adoptive mother (unsuccessfully), a snake-like Grand Serpent infiltrating UNIT, and the Flux wiping out vast amounts of Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans. Whatever else you can say about Flux, it’t not lacking for event!

Arrival

It was the boat that made the decision for her, in the end. It wasn’t a beautiful vessel, at least not aesthetically. The physics of its buoyancy, the amalgam of engineering and logic in its engine and the interplay between the two might conceivably be described as beautiful, but that’s all. This was no sleek yacht of the super-rich, no sailing boat of the well-to-do. Just a large functional vessel, a few time-worn scars on its hull, leaving port. The tak-tak-tak of its engine rolled serenely across the water, making its presence known, but not intruding.

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Khan II: Space Boogaloo. But can Into Darkness do anything to expand on the original?

If the 2009 Star Trek achieved anything it was finding an excellent cast to continue the adventures of the old crew in new times. But now the crew has been established, can Into Darkness find a way forward for them?

Pre-Existing Prejudices: All together now: KKKkhhhhaaaaannnnnn! Yes, it’s the most notorious of the three Abramsverse movies, and probably the most controversial. There are accusations of whitewashing, with Ricardo Montalban’s charismatic take being replaced by This Year’s Thing, Benedict Cumberbatch. There’s sexism, with the gratuitous Carol-Marcus-in-underwear scene. There’s the… well, actually is it plagiarism of The Wrath Of Khan? Not really I guess, since it’s an intentional reinterpretation of those events. Eh, anyway, it’s that movie.

Beatles Stuffology Podcast – Episode 8: Ask Me Why

Click Here To Listen

For this episode JG and Andrew tackle “Ask Me Why”, which given the fairly muted reaction seems like an entirely valid question. How’s Lennon doing on the old lead vocals? Is there much going on anywhere else? And just how long can two people string out a conversation that clearly isn’t going anywhere?

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

The Beatles, Get Back

What’s The… Movie? TV Show? Documentary? Er, Thing: Get Back

What’s It All About, JG? Back in the dim and distant days of *checks notes* 2020? Really? That feels ages ago. Anyway, back then, Peter Jackson started to assemble footage from the apparently-near-infinite amount of film shot for what was originally Get Back, but ultimately became Let It Be. Let It Be as a movie had one rare distinction – it managed to make arguably the most important band of all time seem boring. The rooftop concert is amazing, that goes without saying, but the rest is tedious drag of frazzled band members, myth repeated so endlessly it’s become fact, and a gloomy, depressing and doom-laden atmosphere.

Star Trek

The Next Generation have become the former generation as Nemesis signalled the end of the line for that iteration of the show. But what’s this? We’re going back to TOS with a new cast for the old crew? Well, Ok then…

Pre-Existing Prejudices: It’s the first of three (so far) Abrmbsverse Star Trek movies where we return to the era of TOS with a new cast and a new timeline. I remember vividly seeing this in 2009 and having largely positive reactions to it, with some moments working very well (the TOS theme on a massive cinema sound system!) and some not so much. I’ve seen it a couple of times since but this will be the first time I’ve sat down to actually analyse it rather than simply sticking it on. For what it’s worth, when I first saw this in the cinema with my other half, his reaction was, “that’s the best Star Trek movie I’ve ever seen in the cinema”. The one he saw previous to that was Insurrection…

No Time To Die

Can No Time To Die wrap up the Craig era in a satisfying way?

After a pandemic-induced delay, No Time To Die finally arrives in theatres and on streaming. But can Daniel Craig’s final outing make up for the disappointment of Spectre?

Pre-Existing Prejudices:

Beyond the interminable delays, not much. The delays had, I must confess, robbed some of my interest and the momentum behind the film seemed pretty stalled, despite Daniel Craig’s apparent willingness to pop up just about anywhere to try and get some interest going. And I didn’t know either of the Big Twists prior to seeing it, so that was nice. Reviews were mixed, but then again it’s a James Bond movie – reviews are always mixed. (For what it’s worth I watched this at home on streaming, not in the cinema).

Beatles Stuffology Podcast – Episode 7: Boys

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We delve into Ringo’s first vocal for this episode as we discuss “Boys”. Is it a decent cover version? Does Ringo manage to make a good impression? And how long will it take before we inevitably get round to mentioning Thomas The Tank Engine?

eMail: beatlesstuffology@gmail.com

Twitter: @beatles_ology

Star Trek: Nemesis

Despite it’s reputation, it’s not that bad! Wait, come back, it’s true!

We enter the 21^st century at last, with the final of four TNG movies, and arguably the one with the worst reputation. But can Nemesis at the very least avoid the blandness of its predecessor?

Pre-Existing Prejudices: Well, as mentioned, I don’t think there’s any movie in the Star Trek canon that has quite the reputation of Nemesis, though Into Darkness will work hard to correct this. As with all movies post-The Final Frontier I have seen this in the cinema, and have… well, you can probably guess but unusual opinions on it anyway.