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Reviews
Friends and Family (2001)
Really, really stupid
I watched this flick the other night with my roommate (he picked it out; I didn't), and it was unbelievably bad. We both agreed it was one of the worst movies we'd ever seen. The jokes, about mothers, midwesterners, mafioso, et. al., are hideous and lame. The characters are all horrible cliches. The plot marches on in a ludicrous fashion that really grates on the nerves. Cuts between scenes that are meant to subtly emphasize the irony of the situation only reveal the insipid obviousness of the plot. On top of it all, the over-the-top, hammy acting reinforces so many stupid stereotypes that you wind up wanting to yell at the screen. Despite this, my roommate and I resolved to finish the movie. Don't ask me why -- perhaps we were hoping for a sex scene that never happened.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Good Ending
This may seem narrow minded, but generally there are two types of Star Trek fans, those that were weened on the classic, original episodes, and those who weren't. If you got hooked on the original episodes, then your attitude towards the first six films is vastly different than a casual viewer. Because in those first films you got to see a world made barely believable by bad make-up and worse special effects come to life in a very real, breathtaking way(or about as real as 1980's special effects could get). If not, I could see how they might seem dated and lame.
As an ending to that series, Star Trek VI succeeds for many reasons - the first one being that it engages us in the characters. On a fundamental level that is where V failed. ST5 turned the entire crew into an aging set of charicatures. In VI we see a little depth put into the mix. Endings are bittersweet, and while a tinge of sadness hangs over the whole film, another overarching theme seems to be the wisdom (or gravity) of age, of knowing when it is time to step gracefully into the shadows. For, any true hero knows when to make an exit as well as an entrance.
As an homage to films past, it seems that Meyer was channeling almost exclusively from The Manchurian Cantidate. Although there were some other references to films that I didn't realize until I read other users comments. The suspense and conspiracy elements of the plot do well to distract the viewer from dwelling on the fact that this is "it".
There are some weak links to this films, most notably DeForest Kelley and George Takei's performances (they were never the strongest actors, but here Kelley is simply bad, while Takei over-emotes to the point of nausea). As well, the tendency to lean back on sitcom-esque one-liners, while on the surface is diverting, tends to strip credibility from the overall images that Meyer and Nimoy are trying to portray. "The guess who's coming to dinner?" line in particular seems to have been created specifically for use in a theatrical trailer. Also, there are major plot holes surrounding the character of Valeris that would have been easily resolved if Saavik had been in the story as originally intended.
Well paced, and interesting, with some of the best SFX of the original series films, ST6 is a must see for even a casual fan of TOS. And, if your into Klingons you'll be in heaven.