Movie Roundup for May 23, 2009
Fred Claus – I’m not sure why I watched this one, but I was surprised how it wasn’t 100% terrible. It was mostly awkward. Not quite a kids movie, not quite a movie for adults. I liked Kevin Spacey as the terribly clichèd evil lawyer trying to shut down Christmas because he didn’t get a present from Santa when he was a kid (oops, spoiler alert!). Oh the irony that it was a Superman cape that he had asked for and not received. Who knew this was the origin story for Lex Luthor? On that note, Superman Returns was terrible.
Not recommended, at all.
Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan – It really surprised me how little I liked this one. I remember it being my third favorite Star Trek movie, and yet the movie is so bland. The cinematography – particularly the scenes of Khan on the Reliant – just bores and revolts me. The score by James Horner is okay, but is entirely inappropriate for Star Trek. The whole “Kirk feels old” theme is really hamfisted in its implementation.
The movie really has two things going for it – actual submarine space battles, and life/death on a starship (particularly the death of Spock). It does both things extremely well, but they don’t fully make up for its shortcomings.