Blu-Ray Review: HANNIE CAULDER - OLIVE SIGNATURE

Starring Rachel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, Jack Elam, Christopher Lee. Directed by Burt Kennedy. (1971, 85 min).
OLIVE FILMS

Of course, no Rachel Welch vehicle will ever be considered a classic, much less taken all that seriously. Nor did any of them need to be. At the height of her popularity, you could have filmed her eating yogurt for 90 minutes and her damn-near intimidating beauty would keep us staring up at the screen in slack-jawed wonder.

Though few paid much attention at the time (other than how great Welch looked in nothing but a poncho), Hannie Caulder was sort-of a milestone. Sure, it was obviously tailored to prominently feature Welch’s considerable assets, but today it’s frequently cited as the first rape-revenge film, as well as one of the first westerns to feature a female gunfighter as the main character. This Blu-Ray, part of Olive Films’ Signature collection, includes several all-new bonus features which discuss its belated influence on those two genres.

Welch plays the title character, who is gang-raped and left-for-dead by the Clemons Brothers (Ernest Borgnine, Strother Martin, Jack Elam). Hannie solicits the help of bounty hunter Thomas Price (Robert Culp) to teach how to be a gunfighter so she can exact revenge. Price is reluctant at first, fearing for her life, but he soon relents, having a gun custom-made for her, showing her how to shoot and eventually buying her some trousers (good for the character, bad for males in the audience straining to get a glimpse beneath her poncho). Meanwhile, the film spends a surprising amount of time keeping us abreast of the Clemons Brothers, who bumble from one robbery to the next with soldiers on their tail.

"What are you smiling about? You just shot the neighbor's cat."

While Hannie Caulder is, at its heart, a fairly traditional western, it’s pretty violent at times (no doubt influenced by The Wild Bunch) and calculated to titillate (rape scene notwithstanding). Admittedly, Welch is sexy as hell - even when holding a gun - but lacks the intensity to make the film anything more than escapism. On the other hand, Culp is so good as Price that I often found myself wishing he had his own movie. One major bone of contention - which is discussed by a few film scholars in the bonus features - is the what-the-hell-were-they-thinking decision to present the Clemons Brothers as bumbling comic relief. Since they gang-rape the hero in the very first scene, it’s impossible to find any of their subsequent slapstick antics amusing.

Still, while no masterpiece, Hannie Caulder is certainly decent popcorn entertainment. The fact that the film was inadvertently groundbreaking has earned it a cult following over the years (including Quentin Tarantino), which makes it worth checking out for the curious. One other thing is certain...they just don’t build ’em like Rachel Welch anymore.

 EXTRA KIBBLES:
“Win or Lose: Tigon Pictures and the Making of Hannie Caulder”
“Exploitation or Redemption?” (Film scholar Ben Sher discusses the film’s place and influence on the rape-revenge genre).
“Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (10 page essay by film critic Kim Morgan).
Audio Commentary by Director/Author Alex Cox

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW

Blu-Ray Review: TAXI DRIVER - 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle. Directed by Martin Scorsese. (1976, 114 min).
SONY

At this point, what more can be said about Taxi Driver that hasn't been discussed, studied and appreciated by critics, film fans and pop culture historians? 40 years later, the film remains just as cinematically and thematically relevant as it did back in 1976. Its power to disturb and amaze viewers hasn't dissipated one iota.

It made a bonafide star out of Robert De Niro and established director Martin Scorsese as a creative force to be reckoned with. It featured one of Bernard Herrmann’s final (and best) film scores, guaranteed Jodie Foster would not fade into child-star obscurity and made “You talkin’ to me?” part of our vernacular. Not only is Taxi Driver the definitive study of loneliness, alienation and one's descent into madness, Travis Bickle is the arguably the most disturbing anti-hero of all time. And, of course, even with a budget of only a million-and-a-half bucks (a paltry sum even back then), the film is a technical marvel.

The future star of Dirty Grandpa.

Taxi Driver is no stranger to Blu-Ray and the 2011 release was already loaded with extensive and comprehensive extras, not-to-mention a terrific transfer. But this 40th Anniversary Edition, while including most of the same features, throws in a can’t miss, 40 minute Q&A session following Taxi Driver's screening during the most recent Tribeca Film Festival. Scorsese, writer, Paul Schrader and producer Michael Phillips join most of the primary cast in front of an appreciative live audience, all of whom offer interesting stories & entertaining anecdotes. This bonus feature alone makes the disc worth picking up.

At the Tribeca Film Festival, De Niro teases Taxi Driver II: Travis Takes Manhattan. Foster & Scorsese are as surprised as the audience.

All these years later, Taxi Driver remains a textbook lesson in filmmaking, not-to-mention another strong argument that the 1970s were Hollywood's true Golden Age. This is also the definitive Blu-Ray release. Aside from remaining an inarguably great film, even those who may not particularly like it (given its themes and subject matter, that’s certainly understandable) are provided ample reasons to at-least appreciate it.

EXTRA KIBBLES:
Q&A from the 40th Anniversary TFF Screening (with Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Martin Scorsese, Harvey Keitel, Paul Schrader, Michael Philips, Cybill Shepherd).
FEATURETTES: "Martin Scorsese on Taxi Driver"; "Producing Taxi Driver"; "God's Lonely Man"; ""Travis' New York"; "Travis' New York Locations"; "Taxi Driver Stories".
Audio Commentary by Scorsese & Schrader (from 1986 Criterion release).
Audio Commentary by UoV Professor Robert Kolker.
Audio Commentary by Paul Schrader.
"Making Taxi Driver" (This nearly feature length documentary cover similar ground to some of the other bonuses, but is still the most comprehensive and entertaining).
Storyboard To Film Comparisons.
Theatrical Trailer
Digital Copy

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! BETTER THAN A FRESH CAN O' TUNA

(even if you own a previous version on video)

Rest in Peace, Robert Vaughn

Robert Vaughn (1932-2016)

Blu-Ray Review: SAUSAGE PARTY

Voices of Seth Rogan, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek. Directed by Conrad Vernon & Greg Tierman. (2016, 89 min).
SONY

Once you're aware of the cast and writers involved, I suppose the greatest praise one can give a movie like Sausage Party is it's exactly what you think it's going to be. That being said, the deviant in me likes to imagine the shocked, drop-jawed faces a few dumbass parents who ignorantly gathered their little ones for a family night at the movies and expecting another Toy Story. This had to have happened somewhere in the world, right?

The Toy Story comparison is appropriate, though, as Sausage Party shares a similar concept: the food products of a supermarket are actually alive and interact with each other when people aren't around. Only instead of a single delusional space toy, everyone is completely ignorant of their actual purpose, believing that once they're put into a shopping cart, they are taken to The Great Beyond, sort of a food Utopia. When a terrified jar of honey mustard is returned to the shelves with horrifying knowledge of what really happens, most of them refuse to believe him. However, Frank (Seth Rogan), a sausage, finds his faith shaken after some of his friends are whisked away (in an amusing homage to Saving Private Ryan). While Frank and his hot dog bun girlfriend, Brenda (Kristen Wiig), are looking for the truth, Barry, one of the other sausages taken away, struggles to make his way back to he store to save his friends before the store re-opens for the 4th of July holiday. Meanwhile, a psychotic douche rampages through the store, seeking revenge on Frank for blowing his opportunity to serve his purpose.

Some of you older movie-savvy viewers may also notice, in addition to Toy Story, Sausage Party has almost the exact same plot of that cult sci-fi relic, Logan's Run.

An intense scene from Pineapple Express This is the End Sausage Party.

As  with most movies with Seth Rogan & Evan Goldberg's names attached, Sausage Party more-than-earns its R rating. The story takes a backseat to CG-animated characters who swear, get high, have orgies and engage in sex talk that would make Donald Trump blush. Much of the humor is juvenile and the novelty wears off pretty quickly (roughly a few minutes after the hilarious opening musical number). However, when it isn't pandering to middle school boys, are occasional moments when Sausage Party is actually pretty clever, particularly the thinly-veiled assaults on various stereotypes, religions and how some zealots twist sacred writings to fit their own agendas. Offensive? Absolutely, but that's probably the point.

Obviously, Sausage Party ain't the work of Pixar, but you knew that already. Still, the animation is decent for a relatively low budget film, certainly better than what you've seen in junk like The Nut Job. Your tolerance for this also depends largely on your appreciation for Rogan's brand of humor and his usual band of buddies employed to provide the voices. Personally, I always thought Rogan sounded like he'd be more at home in an announcer's booth calling a Raiders game than demonstrating diversity as an actor. Frank is simply pot-smoking Rogan as a pot-smoking sausage, but the rest of the cast does a decent job creating unique characters.

Again, unless you've just landed on Earth or are dumb enough to make your entertainment choices based solely upon spotting cheerful cartoon characters, none of this should come as a surprise. As such, Sausage Party delivers as promised, essentially an animated variation of Pineapple Express and This is the End.

EXTRA KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES: “Shock and Awe: How Did This Get Made?”; “The Pitch”; “The Great Beyond”; “The Booth”; “Seth Rogan’s Animation Imaginatorium”; “Line-O-Rama” (alternate dialogue); “Good Food Gag Reel”.
Digital Copy

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD...IT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D EXPECT

GREAT POSTERS FOR BAD MOVIES (Part 4)

Movie posters are a dying art. Today, most are little more than quickly slapped-together Photoshopped montages. But back in the days before the internet, posters really had to sell movies, which meant hiring artists and photographers with enough creativity to (sometimes deviously) get butts planted in theater seats. In the tradition of P.T. Barnum, sometimes the best posters were used to entice moviegoers into seeing the worst movies...

SQUIRM

Despite a few admittedly nasty moments, this 1976 schlocker is cheaply made tripe which earned a bit of belated attention on Mystery Science Theater 3000. The poster, however, is a horrific masterpiece that almost resembles a death metal album cover.

JADE

Jade was a Basic Instinct wannabe, written by the same guy, Joe Eszterhas, and directed by William Friedkin. Touted as an erotic thriller, it's certainly explicit, but while this poster does its job of promising a grand ol' dirty time, it's also the sexiest thing the film has to offer.

METEOR

A 70's disaster film poster in the classic tradition...head shots of the all-star cast, epic hand-painted artwork and a tagline that sums up the entire movie in 17 words. The movie itself unbelievably cheap looking considering its rather large budget, which helped bankrupt American-International Pictures. Still, it beats watching Armageddon.

DREAMCATCHER

“Evil slips through” indeed. Any movie that includes “Shit Weasels” as a major plot device guarantees some unintentional laughter. Seriously, Morgan Freeman's overgrown eyebrows (in serious need of weed whacking) are the scariest things in the whole picture. The poster, though, its beautifully ominous.

INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

We may be in the extreme minority, but while most point their fingers at Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crustal Skull as being the worst in the franchise, Temple of Doom is truly the bottom feeder of the bunch. Stupid dialogue, brazenly obnoxious co-stars and surprisingly lazy direction by Steven Spielberg made this an endurance test, and the only film in the franchise that hasn't aged well. Love that painting, though.

• GREAT POSTERS FOR BAD MOVIES
• More GREAT POSTERS FOR BAD MOVIES 
• GREAT POSTERS FOR BAD MOVIES (Part 3)

Movie News: MARK HAMILL'S POP CULTURE QUEST premieres on Comic­Con HQ on November 15

PREMIERES NOVEMBER 15, 2016

And airs Tuesdays

On www.Comic-ConHQ.com

On November 15^th the force will be strong on devices across the nation as Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest comes to Comic–Con HQ. Mark Hamill has been collecting comic books, original artwork, toys and other mementos since the early 1970s and now he gets to share his passion and enthusiasm for collecting in his new web series.

“I’ve been a collector all my life,” said Hamill. “This show is a natural outgrowth of that passion. Now I have an opportunity to collect other people's collections! I can't wait to see what's out there and share it with the world. Collectibles are a living history of who and what we are, so we just might learn something…but there's no doubt we're going to have fun!”

This series kicks off at the DC Comics headquarters with the legendary Jim Lee, as the co-publisher and Mark trade favors and end up with their very own pieces of pop culture history. Join Mark throughout the season as Mark Hamill’s Pop Culture Quest uncovers comic book memorabilia, film props, Godzilla, pinball machines and beyond with special guests including monster amasser Scott Zilllner, famous collector Bob Burns and many more!

Hamill will once again team with his friend and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi producer Howard Kazanjian.  Kazanjian was Executive Producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark and served as VP at Lucasfilm during the dramatic expansion of the company in the 1980s. Producer Darren Moorman, whose film Same Kind of Different as Me will be released next year, and longtime collector and vintage show promoter Scott Kinney will round out the producing team as Executive Producers on the series.

Blu-Ray News: HELLRAISER BOX, CREEPSHOW 2 and More Coming 12/13 from ARROW VIDEO

HELLRAISER: "THE SCARLET BOX" LIMITED EDITION TRILOGY

These terrifying and original films boast brand new 2k restorations along with hours of archival content and newly produced extras including audio commentaries and interviews with Clive Barker, Doug Bradley and Sean Chapman in his first interview on the Hellraiser films in decades.

 The 4-disc set will also include the newly edited version of Leviathan, the definitive documentary on Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2. A new documentary, Hellraiser: Evolutions, will also be included and will look at the evolution of the hit horror franchise and its enduring legacy.

These features will sit amongst a host of rarities and never-before-seen footage from the movies including the legendary 'Surgeon' scene from Hellbound: Hellraiser 2, the subject of fierce debate amongst fans for many years, now finally unearthed for its home video debut.

This limited edition Blu-ray comes with an exclusive illustrated 200-page hardback book featuring new writing from Clive Barker archivists Phil and Sarah Stokes and a 20-page booklet featuring never-before-seen original Hellraiser concept art. The limited edition packaging is adorned with incredible new artwork from Gilles Vranckx alongside a set of 5 exclusive art cards and a fold-out reversible poster.

 

CREEPSHOW 2 [Limited Edition Blu-Ray and Standand Edition Blu-ray ]

 

Horror titans George A. Romero and Stephen King deliver yet another fiendish selection of blood-curdling tales in Creepshow 2 - now newly remastered in 2K! 

In "Old Chief Wood'nhead", a group of young hoodlums face retribution from an unlikely source after looting a local hardware store. Meanwhile, "The Raft" sees a group of horny teens wishing they'd read the warning signs first before taking a dip in a remote lake. Finally, an uptight businesswoman finds herself with some unwanted company following a hit-and-run incident in "The Hitch-hiker". 

Whilst retaining the EC comic book flavor that made the original such a hit, Creepshow 2, this time directed by long-time Romero collaborator Michael Gornick, is a decidedly darker and grimmer affair than its predecessor and remains one of the greatest horror anthologies of all time.

 

THE DRILLER KILLER [Limited Edition Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD SteelBook and Special Edition Dual Format Blu-Ray + DVD]

In career that has encompassed such controversial classics as Ms. 45, Bad Lieutenant and Welcome to New York, none of Abel Ferrara's films have quite managed to match the shock, extremity and downright notorious nature of The Driller Killer.

 

Ferrara plays struggling artist Reno, a man pushed to the edge by the economic realities of New York living in the late seventies and the No Wave band practising in the apartment below. His grip on reality soon begins to slip and he takes to stalking the streets with his power tool in search of prey...

Forget Taxi Driver, The Warriors and The New York Ripper, The Driller Killer is the definitive look at NYC's underbelly - a slasher that is as much at home in the arthouse as it is the grindhouse.

Blu-Ray Review: THE KILLING OF AMERICA

Narrated by Chuck Riley. Directed by Sheldon Renan. (1982, 90 min).
SEVERIN FILMS

The Killing of America is an infamous - though seldom seen - shockumentary made during an era when the so-called Mondo genre was at its apex. Unlike blatantly exploitative and voyeuristic films like Faces of Death, this one purports to be a serious study of the rising epidemic of gun violence in the United States. But while the tone is indeed deadly serious, it often contradicts its own supposed lofty intentions in order to revel in sensationalistic mayhem.

Accompanied by ominous narration, The Killing of America is mostly a collection of murders and shootings caught on camera, starting with the JFK assassination, which the film suggests is the catalyst for the nation’s descent into a culture of violence. For a brief time, considering the current debate over gun control in this country, the message seems more timely than ever.

However, the film eventually shoots down its own argument (no pun intended) when it becomes obvious there really is no agenda other than shocking the viewer. Footage of suicidal jumpers, autopsies-in-progress and a street execution in Vietnam have nothing to do with the film’s supposed theme. While such issues such as racial discrimination and economic hardship are briefly mentioned, there’s no real ‘study’ of violence, nor any unity tying this footage together in any profound way. And even though a few law enforcement officials provide some fleeting commentary, we spend far more time listening to various apprehended serial killers as they go into lurid detail of their atrocities (accompanied by hideous crime photos), with little insight to their mindset or motives.

Disturbing and relentlessly graphic, The Killing of America is well-made for what it is and certainly better-produced than other shock-docs made at the time. Ultimately, though, its actions speak louder than its words. Despite all the narrative bluster to the contrary, it’s still just a non-stop parade of death and violence presented as spectacle.

EXTRA KIBBLES:
Individual Interviews with Director Sheldon Renan, Editor Lee Percy and Mondo Movie Historian Nick Pinkerton.
Audio Commentary by Renan
Violence USA: Japanese Cut of the Film
Trailer

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEH...IF YOU'RE THE TYPE WHO SLOWS DOWN TO CHECK OUT CAR ACCIDENTS, MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Blu-Ray Review (with my cat): NINE LIVES

Starring Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Arnell, Cheryl Hines, Malina Weissman, Christopher Walken, Mark Consuelos. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. (2016, 87 min).
20TH CENTURY FOX

Just after I popped-in this disc and plopped onto the sofa to review it, one of my cats, Joesy, slinked into family room and brushed up against my leg.

“Whatcha watchin’, Dave?” she asked.

“Nine Lives,” I replied, scratching her behind the ears, which got her motor going. “Wanna watch it with me? It’s about a guy trapped in a cat’s body.”

Though still purring, she eyed me with some skepticism. “I dunno. Most movies about cats really suck, to say nothing of the whole body-switching thing. Maybe I'll just go outside and kill something.”

“Yeah, but this one has Kevin Spacey as an egocentric billionaire transported into a cat’s body by a quirky feline boutique owner played by Christopher Walken, all under the direction of Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty). That’s a lot of high caliber talent for a film that sounds like something that might air on the Disney Channel on any given night. So even though the initial trailers looked ominously awful, perhaps this trio is able to put a nifty spin on a well worn premise. Besides, you got something better to do?”

Joesy paused to ponder, then jumped onto the sofa to join me. “Well, I do like Kevin Spacey quite a bit, and Get Shorty’s one of my favorites. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Good kitty.”

We watched in relative silence as the plot was laid out: Spacey plays Tom Brand, a meglomaniac not to far removed from Donald Trump, who routinely neglects his wife (Jennifer Garner) and daughter, Rebecca (Malina Weissman). Meanwhile, his company questions his obsession with the construction of his new tower.

Joesy and Dave review Nine Lives.

“No cats yet,” Joesy quipped. “How boring.”

“It’s called exposition,” I said. “Admittedly, it’s a little dull, but probably necessary.”

“So that time I have to wait in the morning before you drag your lazy ass outta bed to feed me breakfast is exposition?”

Rebecca wants a cat for her birthday, so Tom grudgingly finds a mysterious, out-of-the-way shop run by Felix Perkins (Christopher Walken) and purchases Mr. Fuzzypants. Later, Tom has a near fatal accident. While his actual body lies in the hospital in a deep coma, he wakes up in the body of Mr. Fuzzypants.

Joesy hissed. “Hey, Mr. Fuzzypants looks like Stinky.” (Stinky is our other cat, who spends most of her life under my daughter’s bed and almost never shows herself). “I hate Stinky. And lemme guess...as a cat, this Brand guy discovers how what a terrible dad he’s been and learns to give his family the love and attention they deserve.”

“Maybe...let’s just watch.”

Meanwhile, all kinds of slapstick ‘hilarity’ ensues as Brand adjusts to life as a cat while simultaneously trying to convince his family who he really is, as well as save his company from the clutches of greedy underling Ian Cox (Mark Consuelos).

“Wow,” Joesy stated, jumping to the coffee table and staring at the screen in bewilderment. “The special effects are terrible. The difference between the real cat and the computer animated cat from one scene to another is obvious. And none of us move at all like that! I’ve seen better CGI on the SyFy Channel. None of these gags are funny, either. What a waste of Kevin Spacey’s talent. Who wrote this?”

I checked out the credits on the box. “Five people.”

“Five??? And the funniest gag they could come up with a My. Fuzzypants taking a whiz in a purse?”

“Hey, you peed in the laundry hamper once. Besides, you’re an adult cat. Nine Lives is obviously intended for kids and kittens. Kids like scatological humor, you know.”

“Then why isn’t your kid down here watching it with you?”

“She’s twelve and wasn’t interested. When I say kids, I mean wee ones. You know...indiscriminating kids under ten who eat up anything featuring cute animals.”

“That cat isn’t cute,” Joesy sniffed. "Looks like Stinky." Signaling her disapproval, she hoisted a hind leg to commence cleaning her nether regions,

Christopher Walken and Mr. Fuzzypants go over their lines.

The rest of Nine Lives played out pretty much as she predicted.

“Nailed it,” she said smugly, hopping off the coffee table as the credits rolled. Perhaps she’s just getting more cynical and harder to please in her advancing age, or maybe she just sat through too many other movies like this, but Joesy seemed decidedly unimpressed.

“Final verdict?” I asked.

“Two paws down, Dave. Maybe I’d have enjoyed it more as a kitten...and there was a dog that died at the end. You?”

“I’m afraid I must concur. I suppose if I were a parent with little kids, Nine Lives might be a decent disc to pop in during a sleepover or long trips to grandma’s house. But I don’t think I could bare sitting through it with them more than once. And there are a lot of better films out there with a similar premise. Anyway, thanks for watching, Joesy. Where you off to?”

“Think I’ll go beat up Stinky.”

EXTRA KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES: “Letting the Cat out of the Bag: The Making of Nine Lives”; “Russian for Herding Cats” (a short segment on the film’s two cat trainers).
DVD & Digital Copies.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEH...FOR INDISCRIMINATING KITTENS & KIDS ONLY

Blu-Ray Review: STAR TREK BEYOND

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Sofia Boutella, Idris Elba, Joe Taslim, Lydia Wilson. Directed by Justin Lin. (2016, 122 min).
PARAMOUNT

Star Trek Beyond is the best of the reboot films because it’s the first to establish its own identity. It isn’t an origin story, never relies on our familiarity with the original series or cast and doesn’t rehash the plot of another Trek film. In fact, for the first time since the original series ended, the Enterprise crew are finally getting the hell outta their own neighborhood to “explore strange new worlds.”

It’s about damn time, too, because that’s what Star Trek was always all about. We're more than ready to see new worlds and new civilizations instead of upgraded Klingons and Romulans. Star Trek Beyond finally takes us places we’ve never been before and introduces imaginatively-rendered alien characters, as seen through the eyes of old friends.

Extreme gopher hunting.

There’s peril, of course (though no one in a red shirt is forced to take one for the team). When the crew responds to a distress call in uncharted space, it turns out to be a trap masterminded by Krall (an unrecognizable Idris Elba), the disgruntled leader of a legion of mutants who has a singular hatred for the Federation. After the Enterprise is destroyed (again!), the crew end up separated and stranded on the same planet as Krall's base. With some assistance by Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), another stranded-yet-resourceful alien, they discover Krall has lured the Enterprise in order to obtain the last piece of a super-destructive weapon, which he plans to use to attack Yorktown (a massive Federation star base and home to millions).

"Put your pants back on, Scotty."

With all due respect to the original cast, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, John Cho, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg & Anton Yelchin (RIP) have assumed these iconic roles so effectively that accepting them as the classic Enterprise crew (with all the same personality traits & quirks) is easy. More importantly, they’re each given many moments to shine in the story (something the original Trek movies had a lot of trouble doing). Jaylah is also the most interesting new Trek character in years, one I suspect we’ll see in future films. It’s too bad the same amount of attention and care isn’t paid to the film’s primary villain. Krall is suitably vicious and menacing, though not particularly dynamic, even after we learn his motives. It’s kind-of a shame to waste Idris Elba’s talent (and face) on a character that could have been played by anybody.

That aside, Star Trek Beyond is rousing, funny, occasionally poignant and, most importantly, driven more by its characters than action and spectacle (though both are here in abundance, as well). In other words, this feels like a true Star Trek episode, something we haven’t had in quite awhile and didn't know we missed.

EXTRA KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES: “Beyond the Darkness: Story Origins”; “Enterprise Takedown: Destroying an Icon” (again!); “Divided and Conquered”; “Exploring Strange New Worlds”; “New Life, New Civilizations”; “A Warped Scene of Revenge”; “Trekking in the Desert: On Location in Dubai”; “To Live Long and Prosper: 50 Years of Star Trek” (though it mostly features interviews with the reboot cast & crew); “For Leonard and Anton” (a brief, touching tribute to the two late actors)
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
DVD & Digital Copies

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS