The remake singularity is coming. Within the next decade or so (if current trends are any indication), every film ever made will soon be in a state of constant re-imagining, with infinite remakes in production at any given time. Don’t like Renny Harlin’s explosion-centric take on Apocalypse Now? Well, try Len Wiseman’s explosion-centric take on Apocalypse Now. Or Tim Burton’s. Or Zack Snyder’s. Now, thanks to the ever-expanding proliferation of media, the same tired stories can be repackaged for you in any number of unappealing ways.
Traditionally, most remakes seem to …

I am a Trekkie and a woman and I am profoundly angry with Star Trek (2009).  I admit, that I did not go into this movie with high expectations. From the beginning of the hype, when this Star Trek prequel was announced as being in pre-production, there were foreboding pangs of dread.  Star Trek has always been about moving forward, that the future of humanity can and will be a more positive and beautiful reality than we know today. This promised future will not come from magic or from …

The crowning irony of this year’s reboot of the Star Trek franchise (hereby dubbed ST09) is that J.J. Abrams deliberately set out to make the film even more mainstream, citing the Star Wars films as immediate reference points, despite the fact that for years, the Trek franchise has been desperately moving toward the mainstream on its own. With Abrams at the helm, Star Trek has come full circle in its continuing voyage through modern media, originating in television, moving to film, then relaunching television spinoffs, and finally, respawning as an exclusively film franchise, but the economy of Abrams’s fleet, efficient TV style butchers the wonder and awe of Star Trek on a fundamental level.

The audience is made up of equal parts leather-clad true believers, college-age hipsters, and, like me, cinematic onlookers hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime multimedia experience.  I’d never heard of the Canadian hard rockers Anvil, but since the unveiling of the sweetly-titled documentary, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, at Sundance in 2008, buzz had been mounting.  I frequently check this particular theater’s online listings, never knowing when a special event may appear, and tonight I’ve hit the jackpot:  Anvil itself is going to be at this midnight showing, thrashing through what could …

Playtime and Star Trek
This month is sci-fi month at Playtime in honor of the release of J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the Star Trek franchise. Playtime staff and collaborators sat down to have a chat on their favorite and formative Trek memories, as well as their reaction to the latest film.
What was your first Star Trek series, and who/what introduced you to it?
David Jordan: TOS.  My dad has been a fan of ST since the show originally aired and as such I was exposed to it at a very young …

What if the movie a person credits with turning him- or herself into an authentic film buff is the single most influential film on that person’s aesthetic taste? It may be that a person is unable to cite a specific motion picture — after all, one’s passionate love affair with cinema isn’t usually something that occurs overnight. Real, lasting love grows over time. So arbitrarily picking your current all-time favorite just won’t do for this thought experiment. No, if you can’t recall a specific film, I suggest that the pentecostal movie is the one that you loved most as a child. For me, Disney’s The Black Hole, for all intents and purposes, is my own personal Rosetta Stone of aesthetic taste.

To be a Trekkie, you must first be “well adjusted,” have no issues. You should be respectable; you probably have a degree in dentistry, psychiatry, education, medicine, or pet acupuncture. You must be what others might call “too normal.” As such you must be a steady person who pays their bills, is scrupulous about regulations, never drives faster than five miles above the limit, is civil without loquacity,  brings the low fat reduced sodium pretzels to pee wee soccer, and probably takes the trash out on time most Monday mornings.
Wake …