The Halloween Tree

That's a bit more like it.

I must fully admit I read the book before I watched this short, and honestly the book made me fall in love with Halloween somehow even more than I already was, it is a spectacular book and should be read in the coming weeks by all. So how did this adaptation hold up? Quite well really, though it is a very brief adaptation barely passing the one hour mark I enjoyed it for what it was, an adventure with some wonderfully spooky visuals that actually teaches you a bit about other culture's customs on Halloween. So our story begins with four friends getting ready for tricks and treats but are sad to hear of their 5th friend having to go to the hospital, yet strangely they see him running towards an old dark house inhabited by the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud who chastises the children for not truly knowing the reasons why you do the things you do on All Hallow's Eve and so whisks them away on a fantastic journey through time to experience and learn how certain customs came to be. They travel to ancient Egypt, Britain during the Dark Ages, Paris where Notre Dame is being built, and Mexico during the Day Of The Dead festivities. I do enjoy the special, and especially love how not only did Ray Bradbury himself narrate the story but also Leonard Nimoy voices Mr. Moundshroud, that is the awesome. You can tell Leonard Nimoy is having a lot of fun in this role and it was a real treat seeing him in a role I've never truly seen. True I saw clips and trailers for The Halloween Tree many times on my old Cartoon Network tapes but I've never seen it until now, and I know for a fact I would have enjoyed and been creeped out by this when I was younger. There are some great visuals in this with that wonderful autumn atmosphere combined with some truly creepy scenery, it really is a perfect movie to watch with younger viewers. I'll be honest and I hate to be that person but, the book is of course superior and does everything downright perfectly, so I would reccommend the animated short for younger viewers from say 5 to 8 and the book for kids 9 to their teenage years. The book deals with a lot of extra stuff briefly touched on in the special and tells a more intricate and deeper story, it's one of the best books I've read in a good long while. But I still enjoy and appreciate the special and would gladly put it on for some of the younger members of my extended family, and I hope you enjoy it too and by all means check out the book whether you want to read it alone or tell the story to others.

Next time, a Halloween special from a most unlikely source.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

What a way to go out.

Star Trek 6 is a pretty damn good movie. For many reasons, bust mostly the story. The story involves the Klingon Ascendancy convicting Jim of attempting to assassinate the Klingon leader while on the verge of finally coming to peace with the Klingon race, thus forcing Jim, and Bones to escape a prison planet to push for more aid to the Klingons after their homeworld has been damaged. And this is a great story cause it reflects our own ending of the Cold War when this film was being made. The characters have all got great sign offs, with Jim retiring along with Bones and Spock, being replaced by a skilled doctor and a young Vulcan played by none other than Kim Cattrall. Of course! Wait, what? Kim Cattrall was a Vulcan? Fascinating. Sulu gets the new flagship the Excelsior, everybody gets to someplace different and better than where they have been kinda stuck. I daresay the best part of the movie is Christopher Plummer as Chang, who is an excellent villain that loves quoting Shakespear because as all Trekkies know, every great villain quotes classic literature! I do have to say though the prison planet segments drag hard and it gets boring but the rest of the film is great and I really love it. I recommend Star Trek 2, 3, 4, and 6 those are the best. Next Generation movies are more miss than hit but maybe I'll get to them soon. Until next time, I will see you guys out there amongst the stars.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

I can sum this movie all up in one line, "What does God need with a starship?" and if that doesn't clue you in for the levels of stupid then boy howdy, here we go.

And you know ehat the saddest part is? There are some real genuine good moments in this movie. Good character development, good comedy at times, but it is covered in so much nonsense that not only did Star Trek fans completely drop this movie entirely, never talked about or referenced again in any of the Star Trek media in decades to come but even Gene Roddenberry did not like the movie. Star Trek has learned it's lesson though and has stayed away from the whole "searching for God/the creator" seen in the original Star Trek movie, but when an entire fandom has universally decreed that this movie is the worst with the only other competition being Star Trek Insurrection which itself is heinously anus but with that movie, there were no good parts to it. It was garbage from beginning to end, but this movie had sparks, brief moments of good things in it. But sadly the bad outweighed the good immensely, I don't blame Shatner for this but I do question his choices. He based the movie off the ridiculous tv evangelists that was a boom for some dumbass reason in the 1980s, cause that's exactly what I want in my Star Trek movie, commentary on religious idiots. Now Star Trek has talked about a lot in it's history from racism, to slavery, ethnic relocation, amongst many other issues that reflected our own time and world at that period. And while they have talked about religious beliefs before, they shouldn't dedicate films to it. It disappoints me, it really does. The dialogue and scenes can work incredibly well, with my favorite scene being just Jim, Spock, and Bones camping. Why? Well after you have seen them fight alien races, and travelling to new worlds, to see them on shore leave and to enjoy their time camping and talking around a fire is incredibly nice to see. They have history together, they bicker but they are great friends, we learn about them and their relationships. Whenever Kirk confides in his friends that he knows he will die alone, that's not there for payoff later. It is there for character building. When Kirk explains that pain is what makes us who we are in life, and that while we do not want it, in the end we need it is a incredible step in the series history. Like....why is there good scenes in this movie?! They deserve a better movie! The comedy works in somes scenes, because it's characters we have known for decades bouncing off and working with each other, and it is great! But then there are comedy scenes that make me feel ashamed with the exception of one guilty pleasure line. Ugh!! Why Star Trek 5? You could have been great, you could have been a contender instead of a bum which is what you are! Screw it, at least Star Trek 6 is a pretty good movie so I can wash this taste out of my mouth. Just watch the Nostalgia Critic's review of this, it's pretty great. In fact, watch all his Star Trek reviews! Which I will go do now, see you tomorrow.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Transformers Dark At The Moon

You know what? I don't need to write a review. Someone way more talented and hilarious has made a video on Transformers 3, and pretty much said everything I have ever had to say abouth this movie. So guess what? I'm putting a link to that video! And watch his Transformers 2 video, that kicks ass. Dude even took notes while watching the movie, just like me. He's got this man. He's got this by the ass!!

So here's the link: https://youtu.be/-GMD7mCOXTM

That's all folks! See you tomorrow for a new movie!

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Dear God this movie is still a riot to watch.

This is the funniest Star Trek movie ever, but not in a bad cheesy way I mean the genuine hilarious way. The film was directed by Leonard Nimoy and he really had fun with this movie! Our story follows the events of the third movie with Spock fully returning to the crew, meanwhile a mysterious probe is travelling to Earth with a mysterious encoded message. The crew soon pieces together the message is in fact for humpback whales. Yes the movie has several messages of communication whether misinterpreted or lack thereof, and environmental protection. For in the 23rd century humpback whales have been extinct due to massive whale hunting, forcing the crew to actually time travel back to the 1980's to locate two whales and bring them back to their own time. A good story with an admirable message but the film's true stride is in it's humor. This movie had me rolling, even after watching it so many times. For the most part the humor comes from the dialogue itself, but it actually has some physical comedy like slapstick and chases like in a Benny Hill episode. And it works. You really do enjoy the jokes and the dialogue and never once feel like it was forced. That's great comedy writing to be certain. I think my favorite parts are when Spock curses and when Dr. McCoy deals with 20th century medicine, that makes the whole film to me. This is the most fun Star Trek movie you will ever see, and I highly recommend it. Tell me what you think, and next week is kind of a mystery. I have nothing really planned out so I guess we'll see what happens...

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

A good follow up to Wrath Of Khan, but not as fantastic.

Our story picks up right after Wrath Of Khan with the Enterprise leaving the Genesis planet and on their way home. Soon after they arrive the Enterprise is decommisioned and it is discovered that Spock is still alive on the Genesis planet so Kirk and crew travel to the self destructing planet to save their friend. Meanwhile in all this a Klingon commander played by Christopher Lloyd seeks Genesis as well to help his people continue to strive. And this is a very good villain, not with a commanding presence and powerful dialogue like Khan but still a formidable foe with excellent character development which for the most part is very subtle but is nevertheless fascinating to watch. The film takes major steps and risks with their characters, with major losses and yet it adds strength to the film as a whole. Is it as excellent as Wrath Of Khan? No. Is it still a really good Star Trek movie? Absolutely! If you wish for a further continuation of the last film you really couldn't ask for more. And thus the journey continues in the next film, so join us tomorrow when we make The Voyage Home.

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

That's right. The Star Wars kid is reviewing a Star Trek movie the day the new Star Wars movie comes out on video. Oh the irony...

Now let's get to the review of The Wrath Of Khan, where Kirk feels old and Ricardo Montalban gives him grief. But I joke, this film is actually one of my favorite films of all time. The story is practically Shakespearean with it's themes of age, revenge, obssesion, and death with literary analogies to books like Moby Dick and Paradise Lost. The acting is exquisite, without a doubt the original actors at their best. The direction, fight scenes, music, and editing is stellar. The dialogue is quotable as all get out, and every line of dialogue has a purpose in the movie to the point where, if you watch an edited version on TV you lose a lot of the film. This is THE Star Trek movie. Even if you are not a fan of the series, you need to watch this movie! But enough gushing it's time to get to the story. Kirk has been promoted to Admiral and has not been Captain of the Enterprise for some time and soon takes command again not too long before an old enemy has returned. Khan Noonien Singh, the most dangerous opponet the crew of the Enterprise has ever faced returns for vengeance against Kirk, so the crew must battle Khan before he unleashes a machine able to create worlds but also destroy them. Now for a few things to clear up, this week is reviews of the Star Trek trilogy and you may be saying well why the hell did you start with Wrath Of Khan and not the first film? Well the second, third, and fourth films are continuations of the previous movies and share one overarching storyline. Secondly, if you wish to learn more about the events before the film I recommend an episode of the original series named Space Seed which is an origin of Khan and explains how he came to be exiled. So that is it for today, tune in tomorrow when we join The Search For Spock.