Saturday Matinee #11

Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven
Presents Saturday Matinee

-----Movie Review #1-----

Title: Star Trek: Generations
Starring: Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell
Narrator: Peter Haydew
Running time: 118 minutes
Released in: 1994
Genre: science fiction
Filed in: Movie reviews

The Nexus is a lot like heaven in some ways. It’s a place where you can live, and relive, your happiest memories. Time is meaningless inside the Nexus, which means you can even jump back and forth to different moments of your life, perhaps changing something you feel was a mistake. “It’s like being inside joy.” As the mysterious Guinan explains to Captain Picard. The only known way to get into the Nexus is through a rip in the fabric of reality that travels endlessly through the universe.
Dr. Tolian Soran will do anything to get into the Nexus. His plan is to destroy a couple of stars that lie near the Nexus’ path, altering gravitational fields, and thereby altering the path of the Nexus itself. This way he can predict where the Nexus will go, and he will be able to put himself in its path. And he doesn’t care at all that he will destroy millions of sentient lives by destroying those stars.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the starship Enterprise, learns of Dr. Soran’s plan, and knows that he must stop it. His first attempt fails, however, and Picard ends up in the Nexus himself. But being inside the Nexus means that time is on his side, and he may also discover another ally, a certain Captain James T Kirk, who has been inside the Nexus for the last 80 years.
Star Trek: Generations is the seventh film in the Star Trek franchise, and is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is the final film to star William Shatner as Captain Kirk, and also details how Kirk finally met his end (heroically, of course). Second, it is the first film to feature the cast of The Next Generation television series. I like the way this movie kind of bridges the gap between Kirk and Picard.
Also of note in this film, is Data’s emotion chip, which he finally decides to install and activate. Brent Spiner has always served as the comic relief for the Next Generation, and there were some pretty funny scenes in Generations as Data tries to cope with his new emotions.

-----Movie Review #2-----

Title: Star Trek: First Contact
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell
Narrator: uncredited
Running time: 111 minutes
Released in: 1996
Genre: science fiction
Filed in: Movie reviews

“Captain’s log, stardate 50893.5: The moment I have dreaded for nearly six years has finally arrived. The Borg, our most lethal enemy, have begun an invasion of the Federation. And this time, there may be no stopping them.”
Six years ago, Captain Picard was assimilated by the half-organic, half-robotic race of cyborgs. That finally proves to his advantage as he is able to use his unique knowledge of the Borg to destroy the Cube ship that threatens Earth. But the Borg are not so easily defeated. At the last moment, an escape ship is jettisoned from the exploding Cube. The escaping Borg create a temporal vortex, traveling back in time. Their plan is to go back to the moment when humans first achieved faster-than-light-speed, thereby catching the attention of the interstellar community, and ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for humanity. The Enterprise follows the Borg back in time, but will they be able to stop the Borg from assimilating their starship, and save First Contact as well?
I like First Contact a lot for a couple of reasons. First is the performance delivered by Patrick Stewart. Stewart is a classically trained actor, and it really shows in this film. There is one scene in particular between Stewart and Alfre Woodard (who plays Lilly) that was incredibly powerful. In the scene, Lilly is trying to convince Picard to abandon the Enterprise and destroy it, thereby destroying the Borg, while Picard stubbornly refuses, letting his rage for the Borg finally come to the surface. Stewart and Woodard (a fine actress also) really played off each other well, and put their whole hearts into the scene. It was incredibly tense.
The second thing I loved about this film is the musical score. Jerry Goldsmith really outdid himself, composing one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard, as the theme for this film. Well done Mr. Goldsmith!
Of course, there is also plenty of action, just as we have come to expect from a Star Trek film. Oh, I almost forgot, First Contact was directed by Jonathan Frakes, who plays Will Riker in the Next Generation cast. I believe this was his first directing credit.

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Movie reviews by Steven Brandt.
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