Fans of The Star Trek saga may nitpick, but if you are a casual fan of the Gene Roddenbery  creation and enjoyed the 2009 “Star Trek” release, you ‘ll definitely enjoy this sequel from director J.J. Abrams, “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. I guess the darkness would be the fact that the Enterprise mission becomes militarized thanks to the plans of Admiral Marcus ( Peter Weller of “Robocop” fame, very effective here) who wants to bypass the Starfleet “Prime Directive” to harshly deal with former Starfleet agent John Harrison ( Benedict Cumberbatch, BBC’s amazing Sherlock Holmes). Chris Pine is wonderful in the role of James Kirk, as are the rest of the returnees from the last “Star Trek”. Zachary Quinto reprises his role as Dr. Spock, and his Vulcan reserve is challenged before the film’s end. That may bother the diehard purists, but I found the overall iconic cross referencing of the Star Trek TV show and earlier film efforts very entertaining. Simon Pegg gives the role of Scotty an energetically comic twist even in the most dire situations. I can’t believe they added the 3D in post production as I thought it very effective and worth the extra bucks. I must say the special effects are worth the price of admission by themselves. I was constantly thinking, how does Industrial Light and Magic keep out doing themselves. Thankfully, the acting and story line keeps this film from being just another mindless summer SFX extravaganza.

Rated PG 13

My GPA 3.8

Matthew McConaughey has been on a good run starting with the recent films, “Lincoln Lawyer”,”Bernie”, and “Magic Mike” playing multifaceted characters with depth and skill, but I think he has outdone himself with “Mud”, a coming of age film, a mashup of Huckleberry Fin and “Stand By Me”. McConaughhey plays Mud, a man on the run, the reasons, having something to do with a longterm relationship with Reese Witherspoon’s character, Juniper,  are revealed in a tension filed pace in this excellent film written and directed by Jeff Nichols, with great camera work by cinematographer Adam Stone who takes full advantage of the southeast Arkansas riverscape. Mud is discovered by two boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Laflond), who decide to aid Mud in his quest to reconnect with Juniper. Ellis is the focal point of the film and Sheridan continues the fine work he displayed as a boy in Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”. I can’t say enough about how good McConaughey is as Mud. On top of that, the story pulls you in and keeps you invested throughout. I highly recommend it.

Rated: PG-13

My GPA: 4.0

Monday night (3/25) I did the voice of Pope Benedict XVI on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the monologue as part of a bit about the former Pope meeting the new Pope Francis to pray about “special” things. Here’s the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW66QD-Ftmc

Jean-Jacques Mantello directs this throwback to the days of TV’s “Wild Kingdom” in a way the old Mutual of Omaha folks could never deliver. Mantello’s cameras get right up in the business of a veritable roll call of nature’s biggest and best: rhinos, hippos, elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, and vipers, oh my, just to name a few. The closeup 3D photography is what makes this film different than others you may have seen, especially in the IMAX format. There’s no plot really, the vehicle for moving the action along is an extended walk about with two Maasai men in full tribal colors. They observe the best Kenya’s wild has to offer, and we finally see an actual ceremony of the tribe celebrating the wonders of nature. Fair warning: this movie includes “survival of the fittest” scenes of carnivores in action, so the youngest of children may be upset. One quibble is about the narration, I wish the filmmaker had budgeted for some dulcet tones from someone like Jeremy Irons rather than the dull narration that accompanies the film.

My GPA: 3.0

I should start by saying that, all things considered, the original “The Wizard of OZ” movie is still my favorite film of all time. Great music, characters, comedy, scares, heart, it has it all. So it’s perhaps unfair to compare the original with this “prequel”, “Oz, the Great and Powerful”. The Sam Raimi offering from Disney has loads of CGI magic but suffers from it’s miscast lead, James Franco. He can be great in movies like “Milk” and “127 Hours”, but here he is weak and wooden as the greedy, con-man magician , Lothario, Oscar Diggs. His smart ass smile can only go so far when he gets to the technicolor world of OZ. He arrives via tornado, with lots of references the original movie, and is received as the long awaited king who will rescue the Ozzies from Evil. There are three witches, Glinda the Good (Michelle Williams, still channeling a little “Marilyn”), Evanora (Rachel Weisz, effective in her deviousness), and Theodora (Mila Kunis, Evanora’s conflicted,easily manipulated sister). After enjoying Kunis’ interview with the Hugh Grant like young BBC radio rookie (3 million views and counting), it’s hard to believe she could ever do wrong. Anyway, Franco is accompanied by a talking monkey (a funny Zach Braff) and a fragile China Doll (Joey King). Raimi and the writers have decided to shadow many of the elements of the original OZ which is the most interesting aspect of the movie. The use of the Steampunk-like contraption that mirrors the fiery visage we remember from Frank Morgan’s 1939 OZ is very entertaining, but I kept thinking how much better the new OZ would have been with a Bradley Cooper in the lead role. By the way, the film is too intense for the toddlers so pay attention to the PG rating.

My GPA: 3.0

Here we are, another year of fine film making about to be honored at the 85th Academy Award Show. The year started out with a couple of movies that really stuck with me: “Beasts of the Southern Wild” was a revelation, and I’m glad it received some Oscar love, though I’m surprised “Moonrise Kingdom” didn’t get more attention. Denzel was terrific in “Flight” and “Silver Linings Playbook”, with it’s wonderful cast, was  my frontrunner in a number of Oscar categories for a good while. I saw “Lincoln” twice and the second viewing sold me on it’s Best Picture chances, it has the best adapted script and Daniel Day-Lewis deserves the Best Actor honors in a tough race to call, but I’m thinking “Argo” is now a lock as this year’s winner.

The Best Actor will go to Daniel Day-Lewis for “Lincoln”, with Bradley Cooper a possiblity. If Denzel had played a more sympathetic character in “Flight” he’d have a fighting chance, and you have to acknowledge Hugh Jackman’s commitment as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables”.

The Best Actress nominees were all wonderful this year. Emanuelle Riva was amazing in “Amour” as a stroke victim dealing with her final days, and Naomi Watts left us all wondering how she survived the grueling tsunami production, “The Impossible”, but Jennifer Lawrence will win for playing the flawed and fascinating cop widow in “Silver Linings Playbook”.

The Supporting Categories offer some of the best performances of the year. The Best Supporting Actor nominees are all potential winners, but I’m inclined to go with Robert DeNiro’s obsessive sports fan father in “Silver Linings Playbook” mainly because it’s been awhile since his last win, although I loved the work of Christoph Waltz and Tommy Lee Jones this year.

It appears that nothing will derail the coronation of Anne Hathaway as the Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner in “Les Miserables”, although Sally Field  in “Lincoln” and Helen Hunt  in “The Sessions” are close behind in my estimation.

The Best Director award should be Stephen Spielberg’s if “Lincoln” does win Best Picture. Although if “Argo” wins best picture, and many recent signals indicate that it is now the frontrunner with one win after another this award season, I would be happy if Ang Lee won for “Life of Pi” the most amazing visual treat of the year.

BestActor

The nominees:
Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln”
Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”
Denzel Washington in “Flight”

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis
Could win: Bradley Cooper
Should win: Daniel Day-Lewis 

Best Actress

The nominees:
Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva in “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”

Will win: Jennifer Lawrence
Could win: Naomi Watts
Should win: Emmanuelle Riva

Best Supporting Actor

The nominees:
Alan Arkin in “Argo”
Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”

Will win: Robert DeNiro
Could win: Cristoph Waltz
Should win:Tommy Lee Jones  

Best Supporting Actress

The nominees:
Amy Adams in “The Master”
Sally Field in “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”
Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook”

Will win: Anne Hathaway
Could win: Sally Field
Should win: Anne Hathaway

Best Picture 

The nominees:
“Amour” Nominees to be determined
“Argo” Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
“Django Unchained” Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
“Les Misérables” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
“Life of Pi” Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
“Lincoln” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
“Silver Linings Playbook” Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
“Zero Dark Thirty” Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers

Will win: “Argo”
Could win: “Lincoln”
Should win: “Lincoln”

Best Director

“Amour” Michael Haneke
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” Ang Lee
“Lincoln” Steven Spielberg
“Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell

Will win: Steven Spielberg
Could win: Ang Lee
Should win: Spielberg

Best Original Screenplay

The nominees:
“Amour” Written by Michael Haneke
“Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Flight” Written by John Gatins
“Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
“Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal

Will win: “Django Unchained”
Could win: “Amour”
Should win: Anything but “Flight” would make me happy.

Best Adapted Screenplay

The nominees:
“Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
“Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee
“Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
“Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell

Will win: “Lincoln”
Could win: “Silver Linings Playbook” or “Argo”
Should win: “Lincoln”

Best Animated Feature

The nominees:
“Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
“Frankenweenie” Tim Burton
“ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler
“The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord
“Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore

Will win: “Frankenweenie”
Could win: “Wreck-It-Ralph”
Should win: “ParaNorman”, I thought this was  a much better stop-action story than”Frankenweenie”

Best Foreign language Film 

The nominees:
“Amour” Austria
“Kon-Tiki” Norway
“No” Chile
“A Royal Affair” Denmark
“War Witch” Canada

Will win: “Amour”
Could win: “A Royal Affair” Denmark
Should win: “Amour”

Here’s Garrison Keillor’s take on the latest PBS offering:

Afton Abbey

Here’s a trailer for “Branches”, a movie I did last February. Should see a screening of it in the next month or so. The writer director is Andrew Gingerich, I had a great time doing it.

http://tinyurl.com/bhxnszz