Limitless Ramblings

I saw Star Trek today. JJ Abrams' Star Trek.

Now, before I proceed with this review, I guess I need to set up the background a bit. I grew up with Star Trek, and not just TNG. I started from the beginning. I was so excited when I could do the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" hand thing. Spock, Kirk, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN were household names. Bones was one of my first crushes. I learned the Hamlet monologue from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. One of my youngest childhood memories is seeing TUC with my dad, and being SO engulfed in it that I had to pee and wouldn't go. I was in pain on the way home but it was worth it, because I got to see Star Trek on the big screen. Star Trek was a HUGE part of my childhood. I am proud to admit that I am a Trekkie. (For a non Trekkie's thoughts on the movies, check out my friend Jordan's review HERE.It's exquisite. :D)

That being said, when it leaked that JJ Abrams was making a Star Trek movie, I was thrilled. Then I found out it was a Kirk/Spock prequel, as opposed to a TNG sequel. I cried. I was so excited. The casting experience was a trying time for me... I was thrilled with some selections, not so much with others. As time went on, I grew more and more excited for the cast, and the movie.

Then it got pushed back. What started as a geek's excited wait for a geeky film became a 2 year long obsession over what promised to be an epic action film. The wait was long, trying... my Spock poster seemed to mock me at times. Every thing began to drag my mind back to Star Trek and how far away it was. Preview after preview made me more and more excited. I began pulling up clips of my favorite episodes and movies on youtube, rereading my Star Trek novels, anything that would keep me in the Federation while still taking my mind off the movie. I was hyped. People went to see it, and I got nothing but good review after good review, save for one negative review that scoffed at Quantum Physics (I'll address that later.) I finally saw it today with my family - my WHOLE family, even my aunt. We're a Star Trek family, we all grew up on it. The ad campaign, "This isn't your father's Star Trek" didn't really apply to me... it was my Star Trek, too. I knew all the little jokes, all the little hints and cool names for things. It was my Star Trek... and I was sooo excited.

It was hailed as "This Year's Iron Man." I loved Iron Man. My favorite movie of last summer. LOVED it. Having said that... I disagree with the statement.

It was SO MUCH BETTER than Iron Man!!!!! Yes, that's right - I'm a trekkie that is going to stand before and say I was pleased with that movie. No, no, scratch that. I wasn't PLEASED. I was OVERWHELMED. I cried. I laughed. I bounced in my seat. It was every bit the Star Trek I grew up with and I was so excited for that. I loved every little bit of the movie!!! EVERY LITTLE BIT! For those few hours in that movie theater, I was a little girl again, trying not to pee for as long as possible because I was once again watching my beloved Star Trek, my TOS, on the big screen.



THE CAST

Chris Pine/James T. Kirk: Chris Pine WAS Kirk. There was no doubt about it, from the moment he hit on Uhura at the bar. His arrogance was portrayed perfectly, 2 parts cocky, 1 part confident. Thinking outside the box, unable to accept losing... you don't want to like him but can't help it because he's freaking HOT and he's a good person underneath. The odds don't matter - either we go down, or they do. Pine was amazing. There were so many instances where I had to convince myself that he wasn't always Jim, that this was his first time. Amazing. Absolutely AMAZING.

Zachary Quinto/Spock: There was never any doubt, but I was still blown away by Quinto's portrayal of the half Vulcan, half human. There was a completely new side to him, a new depth to the character that I absolutely loved. Due to the tweaks in the reality, he was a different beast, but still carried on the same characteristics that made Spock the icon he is. I loved him just as much as Nimoy!Spock.

John Cho/Hikaru Sulu: He was surprisingly amazing. I wasn't sure, seeing as I'd only seen Cho in a few things, but he was really really good as Sulu. He was quiet, yet BA. He fumbled a few times, but his ability to adapt to each and every situation only made one smile... especially if they knew his destiny to become Captain.

Anton Yelchin/Pavel Chekov: In my Star Trek photo album on facebook, I describe him as Anton "I'm adorable" Yelchin. I wasn't lying. Yelchin's portrayal of the 17 year old Russian was nothing short of ADORABLE. He didn't resemble the original Chekov too much, but he had the characteristics down fairly well, and was still able to portray him as a young, excited kid. Everything he did was absolutely adorable. I can't think of any other word. He made me smile, I wanted to pinch his cheeks. I wanted to hug him... he was so cute. I loved it.

Zoe Saldana/Nyota Uhura: BEAUTIFUL! Zoe Saldana was able to capture all the simple, elegant, beauty of Uhura. She had the calmness, the skill... she was perfect. I loved her completely. Her quiet intensity brought a depth to the character that made me think of the old days, the old movies. Amazing.

Simon Pegg/Montgomery Scott: I'm unable to put this one into words, no joke. He was Scotty... that's all I can say. He WAS Scotty. He did a great job. I have a new found respect for him, he's a great actor... he WAS Scotty. :)

Karl Urban/Leonard McCoy: I cried when DeForest Kelley died. I was always a Bones girl growing up, and because DeForest Kelley was such a character actor, there was no difference in my mind between him and Bones. They were the same person. When he died, it was like a part of my childhood was gone... but when Karl Urban was on that shuttle... when he opened his mouth and started arguing with that woman... it was like he was back. BONES was back. I cried again. Everything he said, the way he carried himself... the way he acted toward Jim and Spock... the way he reacted to everything... it's like he's back from the dead. Karl Urban did a fantastic job, and I'm so glad. The inability to nail this character to a T would have ruined the movie for me. I'm simply amazed, and so thrilled. I thought this new movie would make me a Kirk or Spock girl, but I was mistaken. I still am - and forever will be - a Bones girl. :) He had some of my favorite lines of the movie, and he really did take control of the character and establish him. Same old McCoy, no matter WHAT reality.



THE PLOT ------SPOILER ALERT------

As the preview tells us, this Star Trek was a prequel to the first movies. It encompases the crew's years as they're fresh out of Starfleet Academy. The movie starts out with a Romulan ship traveling back in time and destroying the U.S.S. Kelvin, killing Kirk's father in the process, but not before his wife gives birth to their baby boy... his father dies a hero, and it made for quite the tear jerking opening scene.

Fast forward a few minutes - Vulcan is sending out a distress signal and the starships are manned to fight the menace! We find out that Vulcan is under attack by the same Romulan menace that destroyed the Kelvin - cleverly deduced by Kirk - and the Enterprise engages in a sudden battle. The crew of the Enterprise does it's best, but Vulcan is still destroyed, and Spock's mother is killed in the process. After a confrontation with Kirk, Spock launches the rogue deemed first officer to the surface of Delta Vega. There, Kirk meets Spock Prime, who tells him all about the events that unfold in the future.

129 years in the future, a star goes super nova, and Spock promises the Romulans that he'll save Romulus... but he fails. In an attempt to still defeat the Supernova, Spock creates a "red matter bomb" and creates a black hole. This is witnessed by Nero, who then decides to go after Spock. Having lost his family when Romulus was destroyed, Nero sets out to cause Spock the same pain he feels, and is helped along when the black hole Spock created takes them not only to another time, but another reality, where Nero's destruction of the Kelvin sets a similar, yet slightly different set of events in motion.

It is now Kirk's job to unite the crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise and stop Nero before Earth suffers the same fate as Vulcan.

Yes - there were tweaks to Star Trek canon. However, they were handled in a way that is deemed acceptable. The Quantum Physics theory was absolutely acceptable. One person claimed it was a cop out for Abrams, so he could change whatever he wanted, but in reality, it was a genius move to make. Alternate Reality is not a foreign concept when talking of Star Trek. That path has been taken before, just not in a movie. The movie was done so beautifully that it worked, no matter what the differences were. The movie never claimed to be canon... on the contrary, it claimed that it "wasn't your father's star trek." It had enough jokes (The BEAGLE! The RED SHIRT!) to please Trekkies, while at the same time making a beautiful movie, full of action and hilarity. The action scenes were amazing, a little more than traditional movies, but enough like them to where it wasn't too upsetting. Abrams didn't use Quantum Physics and Alternate Reality as a cop out, he used it for his movie... more importantly, he created a movie that was Star Trek enough to not put the franchise to shame, and yet still awesome enough to pull in more fans of the genre. Not to mention, he opened the door for a whole new world to be explored... and isn't that what Star Trek is all about? To boldly go where no man has gone before, rather than give us the same story line we've seen over and over again?? Yes, he could have played it safe, given us a prequel to the Star Trek movies we've already seen, but what fun would that be? He went there... he gave us a story line that was enough Star Trek to keep old fans interested. He gave us a cast we could fall in love with without feeling like we're betraying the old one. He gave us a story line that has more potential than a "by the book" prequel could have ever dared to offer.

It was amazing. I don't know what else to say. It was simply amazing. If ever anyone has boldly gone anywhere, Abrams has... and I'm more than willing to engage warp engines, and go there with him.

Bravo, Mr. Abrams, bravo. You've made this trekkie proud.

Bonus points if you guess the title reference... lol.

Okay - so... anyone who's known me for more than a month knows that I've been basically freaking out about this band, Theoria. They're a band from Azusa, a bunch of guys that took music theory together and decided to form a band (There's more to the story than that, but that's the Spark notes version). The first time I saw them, I believe it was the first day of their 12 days of Christmas tour... and I absolutely loved them... but lately I've had the honor of hosting them at our church here in Merced, and see them a total of 5 times in concert, so I've been able to see them change somewhat over time.

And I have to say, as good as they were when I first saw them, they are SO MUCH BETTER now. You know you've got a good thing on your hands when people come up to you after seeing them, and all say the same thing. "I figured they'd just be some local band, I'll go ahead and support them... but they were really good! I really liked them." :)

SO - what am I telling you this for?? Well... I honestly think they're good enough to make it big, and because of that, I've been spreading the word about them as much as I can.

Yesterday, Theoria was played on a local radio station in Azusa (I believe it was a local radio station, not entirely sure). That's a big thing for a local band... especially when said band is REALLY good. :) They also got... spotlighted (?) by a blog, and three of their songs are now available for purchase!!!

I know, I know... you're sitting there saying, "yes, Lauren, but what does that have to do with ME?"

Be patient, I'm getting there. The more you ask, the longer I take.

The way I see it, the more air time the guys get, the more exposure they get... and I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one who sees it that way. I also know for a fact that if Theoria sells about 300 songs, they'll get $100 dollars from Soundstation.

HERE'S where you come in.

Step 1: REQUEST "IDENTIFY THE LIE" BE PLAYED ON THE RADIO!

1. Go to http://www.iradiola.com
2. Select "CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A SONG" (it's the second selection in the whiteish gray area to the right)
3. Type "Theoria" in the search box and click search.
4. Click "REQUEST"


Step 2: BUY A SONG!!!

1. Go to http://yourlocalhdband.blogspot.com/2009/05/theoria.html
2. Check out the player underneath the band description (it may not show up in Firefox, but it should in Internet Explorer)
3. Listen to the previews of the songs (to listen to the FULL song, go to www.myspace.com/theoriarock)
4. Click "buy" next to the songs that you want. (each song is $0.99)
5. Check out.
6. Set up a Soundstation account if you don't have one already
7. Download your Theoria tracks and ROCK OUT!

Step 3: SPREAD THE WORD!


And that's it! Now... just to clear some things up... this is not a "please support this poor starving band" plea... I realize that they won't appeal to EVERYONE'S music tastes, so if you don't like them, don't feel like you need to buy their songs just because... BUT - they ARE extremely talented, and I know a few of you that already like them.

PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAVE THEORIA DEMOS:

"Miracle of War" and "Truth" are both on the new demo, but "Identify the Lie" is not (it's the "whoa-oh" song), so you can still purchase a song! :D

PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THEM:

Give them a listen! They really are great, and at the very least, you'll be able to say you at least listened. :)

EVERYONE:

300 downloads is not a lot. How many of us download twice that in any given week? If we spread the word and get these guys out there, I'm sure they can reach that goal in NO TIME! So let's do our part!! If you like them, buy a song, request them on the radio, spread the word around! Good music is meant to be shared!! :) And if you get the chance, catch a concert and GET TO KNOW THE BAND! They're a great bunch of guys that I have the honor to call friends... it's definitely worth your time to stop and chat them up if you get the chance. :)

It's dying.

My blog is dying and the sad thing is, I'm the one trying to kill it. See, when I first started blogging, it was because writing when I was upset helped me to stop being upset. It was like, anger management, an outlet for my emotions... and it worked. Anytime I was upset or stressed or sad or whatever, I was able to blog and it made me feel better. However, I realized I was blogging a LOT, and I figured it wasn't healthy to be that upset all the time. I thought that I was using my blog as a way to deny that I was acting depressed or something so - I made myself stop blogging... and life got REALLY stressful.

Did I notice? Yes. Did I start blogging again? No. I was determined to work through it no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT.

Oh my Jeana, I'm an idiot. haha.

My life has begun to get pieced back together very slowly... but it's getting there. And I guess, the one way I can really help it along is to start writing again. You may be wondering,

"Lauren, what made you decide to start blogging again?"

And that's a good question. I've been asking myself that very same question for a while now, and I think I've finally got an answer.

You see, a few weeks ago, I took a HUGE step in my faith and did something I never thought I'd ever do - I went to Mexico for a week long missions trip. It was way out of my comfort zone, and I don't feel I did as well as I could have had I not been so stressed about stupid things, but it was a great time for me to form relationships with people, get closer to God, and explore possible paths he wants me to take in the future. It seriously was a blessing to be down there, doing His work and learning more about him... even having one of our "you really have it out for me?" talks in the process... haha!

The week was good - but it was hard. I didn't sleep hardly at all that whole week, just lay awake in the tent throughout the night, thinking. I hadn't brought a journal with me, due to my whole swearing off blogging idiocy, so that left me to simply ponder what was bouncing around in my head. Every night I had questions, every night I had ideas and prayer requests and all sorts of crazy little tidbits of information. Every night I thought about how worried I had been in the morning, how stressed... how certain things upset me, how I got angry about other things, and how - in the end - everything still managed to pull itself together.

I started thinking about why I swore off blogging to begin with... about why I blogged, and why I thought it wasn't healthy to do so... and I started to realize that maybe I was wrong... maybe being upset about things, getting stressed, being sad - they weren't really signs of depression, but reactions to questions I have about my life, the direction it's taking, and ultimately what God has planned for it. And blogging was just the way I organized these thoughts, questions, and reactions, and was able to sort out answers for myself.

You see, I've been really looking at my life since getting back from Mexico. Things happened before I left and after I returned, and they've left me with nothing but questions... and it dawned on me that I'm never more complete than when I have questions about life. Then when I'm pondering if I'm doing God's will, if I'm where I'm supposed to be, if I'm making the right decisions, all of that. When I stop trying to fix my own problems, figure out what I want to do instead of what God wants me to do, he shows me, manages to use me in ways I never thought possible.

SO - if blogging is how I deal with the emotions that come with the questions, then I'll go ahead and do it.

And don't worry - I'll blog about Mexico soon enough... and well... everything, really. I have so much to blog about, and I really need to get caught up. :) Consider Limitless Ramblings "on the mend." :)