My one Star Trek pet peeve

It's times like this that being an English major and a Star Trek fan don't mix.

Since Star Trek V, there's been a recurring line in the Star Trek franchise that just bothers me: "And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by." It's frequently used because the words fit very well with various Star Trek motifs—stars (to steer by) and starships (tall ships). But as someone who holds an English degree, its use in Star Trek bothers me, because this line of poetry is being used out of context from its source material.

The line "And all I ask is a tall ship . . ." comes from the poem Sea Fever by John Masefield, and when you read the full poem, you get a much different feeling than starships and deep space. Sea Fever, you see, is a poem of longing—longing for another time, another place. Sentimental, heartfelt yearnings by a 19th-century sailor for sea life.

I first read Sea Fever in high school English class, and of course I recognized it right away because of that one line used in Star Trek. But being a sentimental man myself, I quickly put that recognition aside and was instead struck by the sadness of the poem, the sentimentality of happy memories from years gone by. Which is why every time I hear, "And all I ask is a tall ship" on Star Trek, I have a hard time swallowing it.

For those interested, you can read the entire John Masefield poem right here.

Happy birthday, Gene Hackman!

He goes by many names: Lex Luthor, Royal Tenenbaum, Little Bill, Rupert Anderson, Harry Caul, Jimmy Doyle. The rest of us know him as Gene Hackman, and this fine actor turns 78 today. And in celebration, let's enjoy two of his most famous movie moments.

Star Trek teaser trailer

IMDb is now advertising the teaser trailer for the upcoming Star Trek prequel. I've never been a fan of teaser trailers myself, but at this early stage, any advertising of the film's release is probably good marketing.

The Lives of Others (revisited)

I gave The Lives of Others another watch recently (I was fortunate enough to find the DVD under a certain decorated tree one fine December morn), and while watching the film, I tried to pinpoint the exact moment that Wiesler, the Stasi officer who's the story's main character, has his change of heart. What I found instead, was the possibility that he never did!

One thing that really struck me about The Lives of Others, at least on this viewing, was how it addressed the use of power over others, because to a certain degree, each character wields a great degree of power in the course of their daily lives. Grubitz, Wiesler's boss, demonstrates his power when he toys with the state worker who tells a joke at the lunch table. Minister Hempf wields his power when he turns over Christa-Maria to Grubitz for spurning him. And Georg Dreyman more subtly uses his power as an artist to subvert the system and inspire anti-establishment thought.

And Wiesler, most of all, has so much power over Dreyman and Christa-Maria that he is, in essence, their puppetmaster. Take, for example, the scene where Wiesler decides to expose the affair between Hempf and Christa-Maria. This state of power he held over them caught me more off-guard than it did on previous viewings, and while watching it from that perspective, I truly began to wonder if all the events depicted in The Lives of Others were really meant to illustrate how great and how damaging power over other people can be.

Let's go back to the aforementioned lunchroom table when Grubitz first encourages the worker to tell the joke about the party chairman, then does a complete 180 on him and threatens to turn him in—just to prove that he (Grubitz) could. In that moment, Wiesler can see the degree of power Grubitz has, and when watching how Wiesler manipulates his reports to conceal Dreyman's writing of the suicide article, it made me wonder if Wiesler really wasn't trying to protect Dreyman, like I had previously thought . . . but was actually trying to prove to Grubitz that even he could be overpowered and brought down. Don't forget that Grubitz was very ambitious and protective of his career, always stressing how important "Operation Laszlo" was to their respective careers.

When Grubitz begins to suspect something amiss with Wiesler after the suicide article gets published, it also began to seem quite feasible that Wiesler might not have been out to protect Dreyman and Christa-Maria—but instead, was out to protect himself. When he takes the typewriter from Dreyman's apartment, is he really trying to protect Dreyman from prosecution, or is he trying to destroy any evidence that he was consciously hiding Dreyman's authorship—in the process bringing down Grubitz by showing that his theory of Dreyman being the author of the suicide article was false? Again, the destructive use of power over others.

It would be almost tragic if this were true of Wiesler, because The Lives of Others is a powerful movie when viewing Wiesler's character through the lens of becoming sympathetic to Dreyman and Christa-Maria . . . but it's equally as powerful when viewing Wiesler as the unchanged, cold, and calculating state robot who wants to illustrate to his superior his own use of power over others.

And objectivity goes right out the window

Oliver Stone, the producer-director known for such movies as Platoon, JFK, and Born on the Fourth of July, is planning to do another political biography in the same vein as his 1995 movie Nixon . . . only this time, his subject will be our current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And given Stone's oft-dubbed "conspiratorial" politics, I naturally wondered if this new film would have a particular political bent—which Stone himself addressed right away:

Stone, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq, told the trade publication he's not looking to make an anti-Bush polemic. He said he wants "a fair, true portrait of the man."

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight! And Michael Moore really intended Fahrenheit 9/11 to be a romantic comedy.

Heath Ledger has died!

Jennifer, our receptionist at work, pulled a Columbo moment on me this afternoon: as I was walking out the door and we exchanged our good-nights, out of nowhere she says, "Heath Ledger's died." I about froze on the spot.

Heath Ledger? Brokeback Mountain Heath Ledger? 10 Things I Hate About You Heath Ledger? Soon to be playing The Joker in The Dark Knight Heath Ledger? When I went back to Jennifer's machine to look at the news article she'd pulled up, sure enough, it was the same Heath Ledger! The first thing that crossed my mind was, "His poor daughter!" Because he and Michelle Williams had had a daughter not too long ago, right around the time they both went to the Oscars for Brokeback Mountain.

Initial reports says that his death appears drug-related, and that he was found in (of all people) Mary-Kate Olsen's apartment. It's a damn shame he died, because here was a really great actor who was just coming into his own.

Godspeed, Heath! You left this earth too soon.

The Oscar nominees have been announced!

This morning I had the pleasure of listening to the official news broadcast of this year's Oscar nominees. You can find the full list of nominees here (IMDb), and also here (Oscars.org). I would say my reaction to some of these nominees was varied—which is to say, some I expected, some I did not expect, and some I was pleasantly surprised by.

So now let's break down the key nominees! :)

Best Picture: From the list of Best Picture nominees, I've only seen two of the five: Michael Clayton, and There Will Be Blood. I found There Will Be Blood to be quite a fascinating, well-made film (my review is still being composed), though I'm rather puzzled by Michael Clayton receiving all the nominations it did. It was a good film, but I just wasn't that overpowered by it. I haven't seen Juno yet, nor No Country for Old Men, though both have gotten quite a lot of buzz, and No Country for Old Men is definitely on my must-see list (despite my mixed reactions to the Coens and their films). I'll just get this out of the way now: I'm no fan of romantic movies, so I really can't get excited by Atonement, despite its winning one of the top Golden Globes.

Prediction: No Country for Old Men, with Atonement possibly scoring an upset

Best Director: I think a lot of people are gonna be upset that Tim Burton didn't get a nomination for Sweeney Todd, though I personally have no feelings on the matter. I'm glad, however, to see Paul Thomas Anderson getting a nomination for There Will Be Blood, and the nomination for the Coen brothers (both of them!) was kind of a foregone conclusion.

Prediction: The Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men

Best Actor: I think it'll essentially boil down to a battle between Daniel Day-Lewis and Johnny Depp. I saw There Will Be Blood, and found it to be quite a unique film, with Day-Lewis giving a powerhouse performance that simply cried out, "Oscar lock!" On the other hand, Johnny Depp is long past due for an Oscar win, and while I haven't seen Sweeney Todd yet, I definitely want this guy to win an Oscar one day. Personally, I think he was robbed by not getting nominated for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a number of years back. But here I also have to bring in the "pleasantly surprised" motif, because of Viggo Mortensen's nomination for Eastern Promises. It struck many (myself included) to be a long-shot nomination, and his performance was indeed impressive! As to George Clooney, I'm puzzled by his nomination. Yes, he was good, but I didn't find him quite as compelling as I did in Syriana.

Prediction: Really, it's a dead heat between Daniel Day-Lewis and Johnny Depp

Best Actress: I'm afraid I haven't seen any of these films, so I really can't gauge who gave the best performance. Though I did notice Cate Blanchett got a second nomination for the same role she played 10 years ago! In 1998, she got a Best Actress nomination for Elizabeth, and this year she's being nominated for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I think that's a genuine Academy first! The closest analogy I can make is to Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both winning Oscars for playing the same character, Vito Corleone, in The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II, respectively.

Prediction: I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and say Ellen Page for Juno

Best Supporting Actor: I must admit, I'm a trifle disappointed that Paul Dano didn't receive a nomination for There Will Be Blood. He definitely held his own opposite Day-Lewis, and provided a perfect complement to his character, so it's a shame the Academy didn't recognize his performance. On the flip side, though, I am pleased that Tom Wilkinson received a nomination. His sendup to Peter Finch's Howard Beale from Network was just stunning, and I think Michael Clayton showcased some of his best work yet! Though I wasn't quite expecting Philip Seymour Hoffman's nomination, nor Hal Holbrook's. Though I'm also pleased by Casey Affleck getting a nomination (though I thought it might have been for Gone Baby Gone rather than Jesse James). If there was one person I'd have wished a nomination for in this category, though, it would be Robert Downey, Jr. for Zodiac. He was such a scene-stealer in that film, but popular thought is that Zodiac premiered too early in the year for it to be a viable contender, and I think that assessment is sadly correct.

Prediction: Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress: Okay, I never in a million years thought I'd see Cate Blanchett play a man—let alone play Bob Dylan!!! Would this be the appropriate time to shout, in true Austin Powers fashion, "It's a man, baby!"? It looks like I'll have to see I'm Not There now. But here's another instance where the "pleasantly surprised" motif comes in, specifically with Ruby Dee's nomination for American Gangster! In an otherwise passable film, I found Ruby Dee's performance to be rather impressive, rather classy, and I remember thinking that an Oscar nomination for her would be in order, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to come to fruition. I've heard a lot of buzz surrounding Saoirse Ronan for Atonement and Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone, but I have to say, I'm still surprised that Tilda Swinton got a nomination for Michael Clayton. It's not necessarily that she did a mediocre acting job, but rather her role was surprisingly clumsy. She was supposed to be a ruthless executive, but ended up tripping over her own feet because she didn't have a clue how to be ruthless. Just didn't strike me as Oscar-worthy, I guess. Though if you really want to see a powerhouse Tilda performance, check her out in Chronicles of Narnia, where she was icy as hell (and robbed of a nomination).

Prediction: Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There, though I'm keeping an eye out for Ruby Dee or Amy Ryan to score an upset

Best Original Score: I'm kinda surprised there wasn't a nomination for There Will Be Blood. I felt that Jonny Greenwood's rather unique score lent a greatly different yet perfectly fitting feel to the picture!

No prediction

Best Animated Feature: And where, pray tell, was The Simpsons Movie's nomination???

Prediction: Ratatouille

Best Documentary Feature: Politics as usual will rain on this parade, with No End in Sight and Michael Moore's Sicko up for awards. I'm rather tired of Michael Moore's arrogant, slanted politics, so I'm crossing my fingers that he doesn't try to steal the limelight at this year's awards show and/or make a political statement if he wins.

Prediction: No End in Sight

Best Original Screenplay: Juno and Michael Clayton seem the two likeliest to receive an original screenplay nomination, though I wasn't expecting Ratatouille to be among the flock.

Prediction: Diablo Cody for Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay: Of these nominees, the only one I've seen is There Will Be Blood, and I haven't actually read the Upton Sinclair novel on which it was based. (Actually, I can only think of two instances where I've read the original novel from which an Oscar-nominated screenplay was written—Mystic River and L.A. Confidential. And now that I think about it, both movies had the same screenwriter!) But Atonement and No Country for Old Men also seem like logical nominees.

Prediction: The Coen brothers for No Country for Old Men

And now we wait for February 24, that most-anticipated night where the awards get handed out! Strike or no strike, I still hope the show goes on. And barring the unforeseen, I still intend to do another live-blogging of the ceremony this year.

The Razzie nominations have been announced

At least there's one awards ceremony that isn't hanging on the outcome of the writers strike: the Golden Raspberry Awards, aka The Razzies, which celebrate the worst films of the year. I often get a kick out of these awards—not only because they provide a comedic counterpoint to the Oscars, but more often than not, they're accurate, because some movies are just so bad that they never should have been made in the first place (Godfather III, I'm looking in your direction!). And this year's acting nominations seem to focus all around the same people: Eddie Murphy, Lindsay Lohan, and Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Worst Picture: I must admit, I haven't seen any of these films, though I'm surprised by I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Well, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, because Adam Sandler seems to have been a Razzie favorite over the years. But Norbit and Daddy Day Camp don't necessarily surprise me.

Prediction: Norbit, since Eddie Murphy films seem to be a Razzie favorite, too.

Worst Actor: I think the only one that surprises me is Nicholas Cage's nomination. He's actually getting nominations for three films, one of which is the National Treasure sequel. I haven't actually seen that film yet, but it's rather good from what I hear. So I guess that's why I'm puzzled by Nick Cage getting razzed for that film (though I haven't seen Text or Ghost Rider, the other two films he's getting razzed for). As to Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Eddie Murphy, these two seem to be heavy Razzie favorites. I must admit, I often think Hollywood has been unfair to these guys, because I think they're both good actors—but at the same time, I have to question their choices of roles over the years, because I know these guys can do better. Frankly, I think films like Norbit, The Nutty Professor, and going all the way back to Coming to America show quite the opposite about Eddie Murphy—which is to say, I think it shows just how good an actor he is, because of the great variety of character roles he can jump into with surprising believability.

Prediction: Cuba Gooding, Jr. for Daddy Day Camp

Worst Actress: This lineup actually surprises me the most, because of two actresses who landed in this category: Diane Keaton and Elisa Cuthbert. I have enormous respect for Diane Keaton, and consider her one of the finest actresses of our time. I haven't seen Annie Hall yet, for which she won an Oscar, but her work on The Godfather Duet and Reds was nothing short of stunning. (Plus, she wasn't a bad-looking woman when she was younger, either!) So for someone like her to get razzed . . . it's just hard to fathom that she'd do a bad acting job, I guess. As for Elisa Cuthbert, again, I think she's a fine actress (and I'm sure Colby will agree with me when I say she ain't that bad-looking, either!), and I have a lot of respect for her. So again, it's hard to fathom her choosing a bad role. Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan, on the other hand . . . To be perfectly honest, I never thought Jessica Alba served much of a purpose in Hollywood, other than eye-candy. And Lindsay Lohan's nomination just speaks for itself.

Prediction: Lindsay Lohan, heavy favorite; though Diane Keaton might score an upset!

Worst Supporting Actor: We find Eddie Murphy in this lineup, too, along with Rob Schneider—who, I have to say, might need to strike out on his own again, because serving as Adam Sandler's bitch has run its course (which is to say, Rob Schneider has a bit role in damn near ever Adam Sandler movie, and it's just gotten old). Orlando Bloom scored a nomination for what I'm guessing is a spoof on the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which I honestly hadn't even been aware of. Jon Voight made it into the lineup as well, and he's another actor that surprises me to be here, because like Diane Keaton, Voight has shown his great acting abilities over the years to surprising effect. One of his nominations is for September Dawn, which is actually the opposite of what I had envisioned. When I had seen the trailers for that film a long time ago, Voight had actually struck me as being very strong and commanding. I guess some didn't agree with me.

Prediction: Eddie Murphy for Norbit

Worst Supporting Actress: Eddie Murphy made it into this category as well! Along with Jessica Biel. I guess the Razzies really dislike like Eddie Murphy more than I thought.

Prediction: Jessica Biel for I Now Pronouce You Chuck & Larry

Worst Screen Couple: The whole main cast of Chuck & Larry, along with an intriguing array of identical couples—i.e., Lindsay Lohan with Lindsay Lohan (her two characters paired up, I guess), and Eddie Murphy with Eddie Murphy (any of his own characters paired up).

Prediction: Lindsay Lohan with Lindsay Lohan

Worst Remake or Ripoff: Not having seen any of these nominated movies, I really can't say what's a genuine ripoff or not—though I do recognize some of the movies named as being ripped off.

Prediction: I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Prequel or Sequel: Now we get into the real nitty-gritty, for a couple of these I agree 100% with: Hannibal Rising (Silence of the Lambs was quite good, Hannibal was okay, and now the series needs to be laid to rest), Evan Almighty (strikes me as a vehicle for Steve Carrell, and not much else), and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (in one word, why???).

Prediction: Aliens vs. Predator

Worst Director: Out of all these directors, only one name stands out: Fred Savage! The former Wonder Years star directed Daddy Day Care. I didn't even know he'd ever stepped behind the camera!!!

Prediction: Chris Siverston for I Know Who Killed Me

Worst Screenplay: A lot of the same nominations as the acting and picture awards, really.

Prediction: Epic Movie

Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie: Advertised as a new category, presumably because a lot of horror movies were released last year, many of these films garnered lots of other Razzie nominations, like I Know Who Killed Me, Hannibal, and AvP.

Prediction: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

If I remember correctly, the winners are announced the day after the Oscar ceremony, so we'll have to wait till then to see if my predictions hold up. Last year, I think I got 5 out of my 8 predictions. I wonder, too, if any of the actors/actresses will show up to receive their awards!!! Like Tom Green and Halle Berry did several years back.

Nothing is sacred anymore (VIII)

YouTube is great! I'll just get that out of the way now. :) I mean, where else can people exercise their video creativity than on YouTube?

I've lost track of the number of trailers I've seen on YouTube that have been recut to resemble other movies—like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles recut to the tune of Brokeback Mountain, or Monsters, Inc. recut to resemble The Big Lebowski. One time (though I didn't blog about it) I even remember seeing the trailer for When Harry Met Sally recut as a horror movie trailer!

I think this latest one takes the cake, though: The Goofy Movie trailer recut to resemble a David Lynch film! Just the idea of Goofy, one of the greatest Disney characters of all time, going on a nightmarish head-trip à la Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, or Mulholland Dr. is just mesmerizing! If only such a movie truly existed, though . . . *sigh*

Examination of road rage, or accurate depiction of DC traffic?

Getting my inspiration from one of Will's posts yesterday, I began looking at some old Goofy clips on YouTube (I have a soft spot for Goofy and various old-school Disney cartoons in general), and came across this.



While it gives a comedic cartoon depiction of the downside to road rage, I found myself relating to certain elements depicted herein . . . more than I wanted to admit to! In doing so, I found myself comparing this clip to actual DC-area traffic, and found a great many parallels.

The segment about merging from a dead stop onto a superhighway is spot on (I'm thinking of the exit from Colesville Road southbound onto the outer loop of 495 before they "corrected" it), and I've done the "stop-light race" more times than I can count! As for the parallel parking bit, you've obviously never tried finding a parking spot on Constitution Avenue at the height of cherry blossom season! ;)

A watered-down press conference

I caught a few minutes of the Golden Globes last night, just to see what the "press conference" style of this awards shows would be like—and to get a taste of what the Oscar ceremony might morph into in another month, should the writer strike go unresolved.

I have to say, it was quite different than what I had expected. I mean, I had kinda toned down my vision of an awards ceremony, but I guess I hadn't realized just how bare bones this might be with only the two hosts naming the nominees and winners. No red carpet, no audience of stars, no winners' speeches . . . and most of all, no suspense! That's what I enjoy the most about the Oscars: when you have a highly competitive category, or when you have someone you're cheering on so strongly to win, the suspense increases to maddening levels right up to the moment the announcers' lips move to name the winner. There was hardly any of that last night when I watched the last 20 minutes of the Golden Globes.

You could easily argue that the Golden Globes had been reduced to its very essence, but without all the above-mentioned elements, a great deal seemed lacking. In short, it wasn't really any fun—as several others noted. Granted, I don't require the whole event to be glamorous and glitzy, but it is nice to see all of Hollywood come out and bear witness to the ceremony.

I just hope that, come next month's Oscar ceremony, the writer strike will either be resolved or that the ceremony will continue as planned—just off the cuff, rather than scripted.

On another interesting note, I caught some of the earlier evening's results on IMDb . . . and saw that some of the winners were announced there before they were even announced on TV! (Inside information, anyone?)

Others who share a birthday with me

A quick glance at IMDb this morning showed me that several others in Hollywood share a birthday with me! They are . . .

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (47)



Michael Peña (32)



Orlando Bloom (31)



And my personal favorite, William B. Davis (70)!

30th birthday extravaganza

Today I turn the big 3-0! None of this "29a" routine for me, either! :)

To celebrate this landmark birthday, I had made it my goal to have as full a weekend as possible, and so far it's turned out to be relatively successful. Friday night I went to see There Will Be Blood up at the AFI (a full review is currently being drafted). Yesterday I treated myself to lunch at The Vienna Inn, with those divine chili dogs and french fries that are so excellent when dipped in beer. And then last night a bunch of friends got together at Will and Erica's for pizza and beer (Erica also celebrated a birthday recently).

And to cap off this weekend's festivities, today we're headed out to the Caps-Flyers game at 1:00. It may not be the Nats or the Nittany Lions, but what better way to celebrate one's birthday than with friends at a sporting event? :)

Golden Globes now a press conference

Courtesy of the writers strike, this Sunday's Golden Globes award ceremony has essentially been cancelled, in favor of a press conference style announcement of the major awards.

Normally I don't pay much attention to the Golden Globes, but with the writers strike affecting this awards show, I'm starting to grow concerned for February's Oscar ceremony—a concern shared by others, it seems.

The developments stand as an ominous sign for the Academy Awards, which are scheduled to air Feb. 24 on ABC. The writers guild refused to grant waivers for its members to work on the Oscars or the Globes.

Disrupting the awards show season, a huge promotional showcase for the entertainment industry, is one way the guild can flex its power and attempt to bring producers back to the table to resume talks that collapsed Dec. 7.

Oscar broadcast producer Gil Cates has vowed there will be a televised show, one way or another.

While I don't have strong feelings about the writers strike, I'm nevertheless crossing my fingers that it doesn't affect the Oscars next month. (Plus, if the Oscars do go press conference on me, it won't be much fun to live-blog.)

Pictures that say 1000 words (II)

In case you missed some of the pictures from my Flickr stream that I blogged about yesterday. (You'll have to forgive the enlarged photos, as the pictures are wider than my blog template.)

From my summer walk around Capitol Hill









My October walk across the National Mall

Pictures that say 1000 words

Since I'm accumulating an ever-growing collection of digital photos, this weekend I purchased a subscription to Flickr so that I can begin posting them and blogging about them regularly.

• To begin with, here are some pictures I took on a summer walk around Eastern Market and Capitol Hill.


• One sunny weekend during October, I walked the entire length of the National Mall, starting at Union Station, going down to the Capitol, walking across the Mall to the Lincoln Memorial, and then crossing the Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery. This is an easy 2-3 mile walk, filled with fabulous sites (as you can see from the pics).


• Every so often, I'll take a day trip out to Annapolis, which is very lovely—particularly on a sunny day.


• I've now uploaded my complete set of photos from my summer visit to the Kwik-E-Mart in Bladensburg, MD.


• And of course, my London photos.

I have a ton of Penn State pictures that I want to upload, too, but those will come at a later date. But I thought I'd send out the DC photos to whet everyone's appetite. :)

The Three Tenors: and then there were two (revisited, and cofirmed)

Following the death of tenor Luciano Pavarotti last fall, his fellow Three Tenors colleague Jose Carreras has come forward to state that Pavarotti will not be replaced. This news I actually welcome, because Pavarotti had a voice like no other, and nobody but nobody could replace him—not on stage, nor in his famous trio.

And now that New Year's has passed . . .

I now make it 3 months and 29 days until the official opening of Nationals Park! That means baseball fever can now slowly build and build in me until it reaches feverish levels—only to be sated by that first spring training game in early March, coupled with the official commencement of baseball season a mere few weeks after!