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Star Trek Beyond (2016)
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Custer
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My local cinema in sunny England used to give them out free of charge, with the option to put them in a box afterwards for recycling - but more recently they have switched to charging for them. Luckily I noticed that, on a non-3D visit, and had kept a couple of the free pairs.

Strangely, today there wasn't a "put on your glasses now" moment before the movie. I just noticed rather quickly that the Ben Hur trailer was a bit colour-blurred, so put them on then. The Suicide Squad trailer looked quite good in 3D, but I doubt if it would be worth the extra cash to go for the more expensive version.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 3:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Well, based on the recommendations of several respected members of All Sci-Fi I now know what to expect, and I can enjoy this highly successful movie for what it is, without obsessing about what it isn't. Very Happy

My feelings about the old TOS cast movies have always been that they didn't meet a very high standard (some more so than others), and despite my past complains about these new films (like using a brewery as the ship's engineering section . . . * burp! * ), they are at least big-budget crowd-pleasers that have made Star Trek "cool" again. Cool

And since I dislike making posts with more than one paragraph without including a picture, here's a fine image I found of the USS Franklin. Very Happy



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ralfy
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess it was OK as an action movie, but I still miss action movies with good pacing and build-up. My guess is that in order to attract more viewers and to justify the high production and marketing costs, films have to be long and jam-packed with spectacle.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw it a week ago and I liked it. I thought it moved a little too fast with quick cuts, but all of the actors had good scenes. It definitely felt like a supersize television episode in a good way.

I would like to see it again, preferably at home. My biggest surprise was the missing beginning credits.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Star Trek: Beyond After One Month at the Box Office: Well-received, But Not Profitable
By: John Duchak, TrekMovie

This week marks a month since Star Trek: Beyond's release on July 22nd. While the film has been praised by general audiences, fans, and critics alike, it has failed to replicate the box office success of the previous two films of the Kelvin Timeline, only earning $146.8 million domestically and $84.2 million internationally for a total gross of $231 million. This article seeks to examine why the film, seemingly so enjoyed by millions, did not do better at the box office.

Beyond has been out for 31 days as of Sunday, August 21st. While fans have informally rated the film higher than Star Trek Into Darkness, Beyond's box office haul is nowhere near its predecessor. We believe that the following factors have influenced Beyond's performance at the box office: poor audience word-of-mouth, inflated expectations, subpar marketing, and difficult competition.

A Positive Reception

As fans and general audiences reacted positively to the film, many expected Beyond to generate a significant word-of-mouth factor that would have seen the film continue to do well at the box office in the weeks following its initial release. This did not happen.

We will examine how studios determine a film's audience appeal later in this article, but let us first focus on critical and audience reviews. Beyond was mostly praised by the Star Trek fanbase, as a return-to-form for the franchise. However, based on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, Beyond was not reviewed as well as its two Kelvin Timeline predecessors.

Over at Rotten Tomatoes, Beyond has been certified fresh and has received positive reviews from 83% of critics. Audience reviews have been on par with the critical response, with 83% of moviegoers reporting to Rotten Tomatoes that they liked the film. Beyond received an average score of four out of five from respondents. At Metacritic, the film received a metascore of 68. Out of 516 audience respondents, the average score out of ten was 6.8.

By way of comparison, Star Trek (2009) is certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes with 95% of critics giving it positive marks while 91% of moviegoers said they liked the film. At Metacritic, Star Trek has a metascore of 82 and a user score of 8.0.

Into Darkness is certified fresh at Rotten Tomatoes with 86% of critics giving it positive reviews, and 90% of viewers responding that they liked it. At Metacritic, it has a metascore of 72 with an average rating of 7.8 from nearly 1,500 viewers.

Domestic Box Office

(For the purpose of this article, all of our data has been taken from Box Office Mojo, and some figures have been calculated based on their data.)

Domestically, Beyond has earned $146.8 million after 31 days. Comparatively, Into Darkness grossed $211 million and Star Trek $222.7 million after the same amount of time in release. Beyond has earned 31% less than Into Darkness and 34.1% less than Star Trek.

While this is not the final number for the film's domestic gross, Beyond has been removed from 50% of screens it debuted on. Beyond debuted on 3,928 screens across the United States and remained on that many until August 5th, when it slowly began to be removed from cinemas. As of August 21st, Beyond is only on 1,966 screens across the country. Additionally, when Suicide Squad was released on August 5th, Beyond was removed from most of the IMAX 3D screens. The loss of the IMAX 3D higher ticket price factored into lower box office revenues.

We can only use the examples of the previous two Kelvin Timeline films to forecast the longevity of Beyond's stay at the box office. Star Trek closed 17 weeks after its theatrical debut, and Into Darkness closed after 21 weeks. Operating on the assumption that Beyond will close sometime between those two timeframes, it will leave theatres between November 6th and December 11th.

After their first 31 days in theatres, Star Trek only earned roughly an additional $26.9 million, while Into Darkness earned $39.4 million. Based on these numbers, we can speculate that Beyond will earn an additional 12% to 18.6% of what it has made to date domestically. If we simply average those numbers, we can project Beyond to make an additional 15.3% (roughly $22.2 million) of what it has made to date for a final domestic box office haul of around $169 million.

This projection would solidify Beyond as the lowest grossing Kelvin Timeline film of the three, as well as the first that has failed to break $200 million domestically. Significantly, it could also fall short of achieving what its predecessors did in earning back its $185 million budget in the United States alone.

International Box Office

Historically, a film's international box office take is difficult to keep track of on a weekly basis or project, as sites such as Box Office Mojo fail to receive weekly earnings from every foreign market where a film is released. Complicating matters further is the fact that Beyond has yet to be released in 13 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Israel, Japan, Portugal, Turkey, and the lucrative behemoth of China).

Unlike domestic numbers, it is difficult to use Star Trek and Into Darkness as bellwethers of Beyond's projected international performance as there is quite a disparity between how the two films fared in the foreign box office. For instance, only 33.2% of Star Trek's gross came internationally, while Into Darkness did much better and earned a whopping 51.1% of its total gross overseas.

Currently, Beyond has earned $84.2 million internationally, 36.4% of its total gross. We can expect that number to rise as the film has only recently been released in markets such as South Korea, France, and Spain. Additionally, audiences in most of Latin America and China have yet to see it. Most of the countries listed above failed to return more than $1 million during Into Darkness's impressive international run, except for Brazil which brought in $5.2 million. China proved to be the international juggernaut for Into Darkness, grossing roughly $57 million. South Korea and Japan, where Beyond was just released and is pending release, respectively, generated roughly $22.2 for Into Darkness.

If Beyond is able to replicate Into Darkness's success in East Asia, it would add roughly $80 million to its worldwide gross. If Beyond's international numbers are similar to Into Darkness, we can estimate it will earn a total of roughly $163 million overseas, or 49% of the film's worldwide gross. Into Darkness's foreign gross made up 51.1% of the film's worldwide haul, while Star Trek only took in 33.2% of its earnings overseas.

This would give Beyond a final worldwide gross of roughly $332 million. In this best-case scenario, Beyond would fall short of Star Trek's $385.6 million gross and well short of Into Darkness's $467.3 million take.

The Word (Isn't) Given

Edward Jay Epsen, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, states that studios look at three factors to determine the audience appeal of a film, which can indicate how word-of-mouth affects a film's earnings: the per-screen average, the drop-off from Friday to Sunday, and the percentage drop from the first week to the second. Let's examine each of those metrics closely:

Per-screen Average: Beyond opened on July 22nd on 3,928 screens across the country, generating $5,666 per screen. That number did nothing but decline. By July 24th, Beyond, on average, was making $4,159 per screen, a drop-off of 26.6%. At the end of its second weekend in release, the film was only generating, on average, $2,072 per screen, a drop-off of 63.4%. The per-screen average only worsened during August, with Beyond being reduced to only 1,966 screens and a per-screen average of only $585.

Friday-to-Sunday Drop-off: As stated above, Beyond's average per-screen revenue dropped off 26.6% from July 22nd through July 24th.

First-to-Second Week Drop-off: As we have previously reported, Beyond saw a drop-off of 58.2% from an opening weekend of $59.2 million to a second weekend take of $24.7 million.

We can conclude that, based on these three factors, Beyond did not enjoy strong word-of-mouth, despite positive reviews and a glowing reception from fans. It is our assessment that positive word-of-mouth failed to materialize within the general audience, many of whom may have turned up for Star Trek and Into Darkness, but not Beyond.

Bigger Budgets, Bigger Expectations

The budget for Hollywood summer tentpole films, of which Paramount considers Star Trek to be one, has significantly inflated in the 21st century. All three Kelvin Timeline films were released in the prime summer release season of May-August, and they carried budgets of $150 million, $190 million, and $185 million, respectively.

Let us start by comparing Beyond's $185 million budget to this summer's other tentpoles: Independence Day: Resurgence ($165 million), The Legend of Tarzan ($180 million) Ghostbusters ($144 million), Jason Bourne ($120 million), and Suicide Squad ($175 million). By comparison, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy had an overall budget of roughly $281 million, averaging $93.6 million per film.

Absent from these budget figures are how much studios pay for advertising, distribution, and interest fees paid to any partners who helped finance the film. As you noticed from the film's opening, Beyond was financed by four main studios: Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Alibaba Pictures Group, and Huahua Film & Media Culture. Three other production companies (Bad Robot, Sneaky Shark, and Perfect Storm Entertainment) were also involved.

The metric for a film's profitability lies in Paramount's balance sheet for Beyond. From a journalistic perspective, it is incredibly difficult to know how much funding Paramount put forth themselves, nor how much they received from their three partners. We also do not know the exact number Beyond has to surpass in order to be viewed as a profitable success. Simply earning back a $180 million does not mean that every cent past that is profit.

To illustrate this point, let us examine Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which grossed $939.8 million dollars worldwide. Despite Harry Potter being one of the most profitable films of the 21st century, Slashfilm reported that a leaked balance sheet from Warner Bros. saw the studio actually come away with a $167.2 million loss. The film's distribution, advertising, print costs, and payments to Warner's partners in funding the production added up to roughly $350 million on top of its $150 million budget.

Further complicating matters, The Atlantic reported that studios typically set up a separate corporation for each film they produce. Like any company, it calculates profits by subtracting expenses from revenues. For accounting purposes, the movie is a money loser if there are no profits to distribute. This is why, to this day, a small $37 million production called Return of the Jedi, which grossed $475 million, has technically not made a profit because of how George Lucas funded the film.

It is unknown how much Beyond ultimately cost Paramount, but the sooner Beyond debuts on television and is released on home video, the better. As Slate reported, television distribution rights are often always more lucrative than box office revenue because it only costs the studio residual payments. Both Star Trek and Into Darkness were first acquired by Epix, a premium channel, for an unspecified sum to show the films months after their release. Shortly after Star Trek's release in 2009, FX and Paramount agreed to a four-year deal worth $24 million for the exclusive rights to broadcast the film beginning in 2011. FX also acquired the rights to exclusively air Into Darkness for an unspecified sum, first airing the sequel in 2015.

Home video sales, while not as profitable as television rights, are valuable as roughly two-thirds of home video earnings are gross profits after production costs are subtracted.

Beyond can still be profitable for Paramount, but there should be no expectation that Star Trek can be a summer box office tentpole, drawing in box office revenue similar to what Marvel films rake in.

Marketing Blitz Thin and Late

Quite simply, Paramount's marketing campaign for Beyond was meager and dilatory, especially compared to its predecessors.

Beyond's much-maligned first trailer, which was released in December 2015, came out 221 days before the film's release date. As we previously reported in a comparison of the marketing timelines of Beyond and Into Darkness, promotion for the film slowly resumed in March 2016 with the release of two major interviews, 10 photos, and two behind-the-scenes videos.

Marketing for Beyond ramped up in late April and throughout May as Paramount released a slew of photos from the film, magazines printed features and interviews, and official signage appeared at the Cannes International Film Festival. Promotion for the film switched into high gear after the debut of the film's first full trailer on the Paramount lot on May 20th.

Shortly thereafter, posters began to appear in theatres and from late June until July 22nd, Paramount released a series of television spots with new footage. Featurettes and interviews appeared in the July editions of various magazines, and a final trailer was released only three days before the film's release.

The lull between the first trailer and the second left this website disappointed with the efforts Paramount had exerted in promoting Beyond. We believe the general audience was not aware that a new Star Trek film was coming out in 2016. In contrast, when Paramount was building up anticipation for Star Trek and Into Darkness, they went where no Star Trek film had gone before: the Super Bowl. Advertising during the NFL's championship game is so expensive because of the sheer number of viewers who tune in, many of whom we would consider to be the general audience who could be intrigued by a Star Trek movie.

For Super Bowl 50, taking place in the franchise's 50th anniversary year and five months before Beyond's release, an advertisement for the movie was conspicuously absent. Some may argue that Star Trek and Into Darkness were featured during the Super Bowl because their release was a short three months away. However, Super Bowl 50 featured ads for Independence Day: Resurgence and Jason Bourne, films that were released in late June and late July, respectively. While it is impossible to quantify how this affected the general audience's interest in Beyond, such a prominent and widely-seen advertisement could only have helped the film at the box office.

Steamrolled by the Competition

Summer 2016 was a relatively weak season at the box office due to the lack of major tentpole films. Major comic book movies, such as Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse were released between March and May. While all three enjoyed long runs in theatres, none threatened Beyond at the time of its release. Other blockbusters released weeks before Beyond, such as Independence Day: Resurgence and Ghostbusters, disappointed at the box office. As a result, many felt that Hollywood was experiencing the weakest summer at the box office in years.

Beyond changed that with its $59.2 million opening weekend. However, the film only had a week without major competition to claim the number one spot at the box office before Jason Bourne was released and subsequently dethroned it. While occupying different genres, Beyond and Bourne were marketed as action films to the general audience. When Jason Bourne was release on July 29th, Beyond's box office numbers plummeted 50.2% over the course of the weekend.

Beyond had little time to recover, as the first weekend in August saw the release of the highly-anticipated Suicide Squad. Beyond's revenue dropped 61.6% from the $24.7 million it earned during its second week in release, grossing only $10 million. The decline continued as Suicide Squad, although panned by critics and audiences, has occupied the number one spot for all four weekends it has been in release.

In our opinion, Paramount needs to realize that Star Trek is not a summer tentpole franchise that can go toe-to-toe with comic book films and action franchises. The franchise would be better off releasing films later in the year when there is less competition.

There Is Hope

Numerous entertainment and media commentators have suggested that, although there are only three films in the Kelvin Timeline, Star Trek is suffering from franchise fatigue. However, reports of Star Trek's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

While Beyond disappointed at the box office, it did not bomb. Paramount can possibly make up for any projected revenue that it failed to make through television distribution rights and home video sales. Star Trek 4 is certain to move forward, but may be given a significantly lower budget. As we have pointed out in numerous articles, Star Trek tends to do best with limited means.

We believe that Star Trek is entering another golden age. Despite Beyond's allegedly disappointing box office numbers, it was a brilliant film. Paramount and partners Skydance and Bad Robot are moving ahead with a fourth film, and Star Trek is only five months away from returning to television after 11 years, with Star Trek: Discovery about to enter production.

Star Trek lives.


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ralfy
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the problem is that it resembles recent action sci-fi movies but with a Star Trek skin.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:30 pm    Post subject: Home Video Release of Beyond Reply with quote

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. The intrepid crew of the USS Enterprise returns in the best action movie of the year (Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood). The highly entertaining (David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter) new installment in the iconic franchise, STAR TREK BEYOND sets a course on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray Combo Packs, DVD and On Demand November 1, 2016 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The sci-fi adventure will also be available as part of the STAR TREK TRILOGY Blu-ray Collection. The film warp speeds to Digital HD four weeks early on October 4, 2016.

Director Justin Lin (Fast & Furious) delivers a fun and thrilling adventure (Eric Eisenberg, Cinemablend) with an incredible all-star cast including Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, as well as newcomers to the STAR TREK universe Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Idris Elba (Pacific Rim). In STAR TREK BEYOND, the Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

The STAR TREK BEYOND 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray Combo Packs are loaded with over an hour of action-packed bonus content, with featurettes from filmmakers and cast, including J.J. Abrams, Justin Lin, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. Go beyond the movie's incredible edge-of-your-seat action and see how an unprecedented 50 new alien species were created, including STAR TREK's newest villain Krall and the rebellious warrior Jaylah. Journey through the iconic franchise in celebration of STAR TREK's 50th Anniversary, enjoy a hilarious gag reel and explore deleted scenes you didn't see in theaters. In addition, the sets include tributes to actors Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin. The film also boasts a Dolby Atmos soundtrack* remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.

Star Trek Beyond Blu-ray Combo Pack
The STAR TREK BEYOND Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The combo pack includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film as well as the following:
Blu-ray
Feature film in high definition
Bonus Content:
Deleted Scenes Go Beyond the final cut of the movie with scenes you didn't see in theaters.
o Beyond the Darkness Meet visionary producer J.J. Abrams, director Justin Lin and co-writers Simon Pegg and Doug Jung as they discuss the inspiration for the Star Trek Beyond storyline and how it came to life.
o Enterprise Takedown Experience edge-of-your-seat action and see how a shocking attack destroys the USS Enterprise.
Divided and Conquered Learn how filmmakers pushed the boundaries in Star Trek Beyond by forcing the Enterprise crew into their most challenging situations yet.
o A Warped Sense of Revenge Meet Star Trek's newest villain, Krall, as actor Idris Elba reveals the backstory behind his character's terrifying ambitions.
o Trekking in the Desert Go on set to Dubai and discover how its futuristic architecture became the foundation for the most innovative Starbase yet.
o Exploring Strange New Worlds Tour the incredible production sets of Star Trek Beyond with director Justin Lin.
o New Life, New Civilizations See how special effects designers met the challenge to create an unprecedented 50 new alien species for the film to celebrate Star Trek's 50th Anniversary.
o To Live Long and Prosper Journey through the past 50 years of Star Trek with J.J. Abrams and the cast as they reflect on the evolution of this iconic sci-fi series.
o For Leonard and Anton Watch a touching tribute to the legendary Leonard Nimoy and beloved crew member Anton Yelchin.
o Gag Reel Join in on the fun with this hilarious gag reel of on-set bloopers.
DVD
Feature film in standard definition


Star Trek Beyond Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack
The Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack includes all of the above, as well as a Blu-ray 3D presented in 1080p high definition with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The Blu-ray 3D disc includes the feature film in high definition and 3D. The Combo Pack also includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film.

Star Trek Beyond 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack
Fans can enjoy the ultimate viewing experience with the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which includes the Blu-ray detailed above, as well as an Ultra HD Disc presented in 4K Ultra HD with English Dolby Atmos, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The Combo Pack also includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film.

Star Trek Trilogy Blu-ray Collection
The STAR TREK TRILOGY Blu-ray Collection includes Blu-ray Discs' of STAR TREK (2009), STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS and STAR TREK BEYOND with access to a Digital HD copy of each film.
We finally have an official release date from Paramount Home Entertainment for Star Trek Beyond. It will be available on physical media in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D , standard Blu-ray, and DVD versions on November 1. As is becoming common, the digital version (sold through digital stores like iTunes) will be available to purchase earlier, on October 4. Full details here....
[size=18]Star Trek Beyond comes to home video November 1


The Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack available for purchase include a Digital Version of the film that can be accessed through UltraViolet, a way to collect, access and enjoy movies. With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them reliably and securely to a variety of devices.

Star Trek Beyond Single-Disc DVD
The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The disc includes the feature film in standard definition.


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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 7:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Star Trek Beyond: A Movie That's Constantly At Odds With Itself

Nick Cannata-Bowman, CheatSheet

t's been interesting to watch the trajectory of the Star Trek franchise over the last seven years. When J.J. Abrams rebooted the series back in 2009, it was with a shiny, brand new look to fit with the modern sci-fi aesthetic. The sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness that followed in 2013 more or less picked up the torch, albeit with a far inferior story. For Star Trek Beyond, we took yet another step away from the 2009 film with Fast & Furious director Justin Lin taking the reins. In some ways, Lin did an admirable job delivering a fast-paced and exciting action flick. It's only when you measure it against what makes Star Trek such a unique sci-fi franchise in the first place, you begin to see the cracks in the veneer.

Star Trek has always been the more cerebral, thinking man's alternative to the decidedly more action-oriented Star Wars saga. It's always had the requisite space battles, fight scenes, and exploding starships, but at its core, the Star Trek story has always been about exploration, diplomacy, and the human condition. To Star Trek Beyond's credit, co-writer Simon Pegg's screenplay does everything it can to capture that essence. Where it stumbles is in the constant wrestling between Pegg's adherence to the classic Star Trek aesthetic, and Lin's action-centric approach to directing.

The result: A movie that's constant at odds with its own tone. In one moment, we're treated to a quiet, introspective commentary on the vast frontier of space. The next, Chris Pine is riding a motorcycle during a shaky-cam fight scene where we can barely keep track of where anybody is in relation to each other.

In fairness to Lin, this is exactly the sort of movie he was tasked with directing. If someone were to ask, What is a Justin Lin Star Trek movie supposed to look like? this would be it. Frenetic, often thrilling action sequences are kind of his thing. There's no sense in faulting Lin as an artist for making a film in line with his own personal style. In a vacuum, Star Trek Beyond is a passably exciting action movie with just enough to keep you engaged for the full two hours. Unfortunately, that's not how the third installment in a well-loved series gets evaluated.

Measured up against the rest of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek Beyond Beyond ventures a long way from home. We get not one, but two Beastie Boys songs prominently featured as actual plot devices, enough computer generated imagery to make your head spin, and a commitment to things exploding on a scale we've rarely seen in a Star Trek film. There were certainly moments where Pegg's writing tried to drag the story kicking and screaming back toward a quiet corner, but those moments were tragically brief.

Critic Josh Larsen summed it all up perfectly in his own review, citing the film's inoffensive and uninspiring feel throughout. The third film in the franchise reboot that began in 2009, Star Trek Beyond has the feel of an obligatory installment, an effort aimed mostly at meeting a summer release date and fulfilling cast contracts, he wrote.

It's difficult to shake the feeling that Star Trek Beyond is merely going through the motions. The story starts during a failed diplomatic mission, transitioning quickly into a monologue from Captain Kirk about the monotony of exploring the infinite reaches of space. A distress call then leads the crew of the Enterprise through an uncharted nebula and straight into a trap set by villain, Krall, who is played by what remains of actor, Idris Elba under six tons of prosthetics and makeup.

(An aside: The trend of burying world-class actors under prosthetics really needs to stop. ....

From there, the story runs paper-thin. The villain's motivations are never really made clear, and much of the latter plot movement hinges on forced --aha-- moments concerning futuristic technology that every character is inherently a genius at operating. And sure, much of the original Star Trek aesthetic is rooted in gloriously pseudo-scientific techno-babble, but when your film's dialogue is practically a super-cut of just that, it's hard for the viewer to get invested in the story.

In the greater scheme of the sci-fi and fantasy genre, we've seen a strange differing in philosophies between Star Trek and Star Wars. While the latter has found its groove by leaning toward a classic feel, the former has started to lean away. Star Trek Beyond eschews the depth of its source material in favor of a summer popcorn flick feel. All the while, Lucasfilm is doing everything it can to show a commitment to the original series. Perhaps CBS's new TV show will take Star Trek back to its roots, but in the meantime, it's clear that the saga has strayed far from its origins.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of Star Trek Beyond will depend on what you look for in a Star Trek movie. If you want a light-hearted, easy-to-digest action movie, then sure, this one might be for you. But if you're a stalwart of the franchise (particularly The Next Generation audience), you'll probably find yourself walking out of the theater scratching your head. For what its worth, the movie is currently rating in the high 80s to low 90s on Rotten Tomatoes, so take that for what you will. Just don't expect too much of the classic Star Trek you know and love when heading into the theatre.

LINK:http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/star-trek-beyond-review.html/?ref=YF&yptr=yahoo


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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Having finished watching Beyond, my survey is ready for publication. I now have the answers to the following two questions:

Q1. What is the emergency response measure most frequently used on ships of Starfleet?

A1. Rerouting power.

Q2. What is the second most frequently used measure?

A2. Modulating frequencies.

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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Box Office: 'Star Trek Beyond' Was Caught Between Its Fans And Its Budget
Scott Mendelson , Forbes



Star Trek Beyond arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD this morning. The film is the 13th theatrical feature in the long-running sci-fi franchise, as well as the third in the “rebooted universe” variation. It is Paramount/Viacom Inc.’s biggest grossing movie of the year, with $340 million worldwide. Yet, with a budget of $185m, that wasn’t enough for the Paramount/Skydance/Bad Robot sequel.
The interesting thing about the domestic box office for Star Trek Beyond is that it was right in the middle of the franchise’s domestic grosses when you play the “adjusted for inflation” game. Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond, scripted by Simon Pegg, was conceived and sold as something akin to a “back to basics” old-school Star Trek adventure after the origin story reboot and the “dark and important” Star Trek into Darkness.

The second film was about “old Trek versus new Trek” with “old Trek” coming out on top, the fan consensus was that the J.J. Abrams-directed blockbuster was too much of a conventional hard-action blockbuster in Star Trek clothing. Star Trek Beyond went out of its way to play and feel like a multi-part Star Trek episode. That was a perfectly okay goal if only to separate itself from the “Not your father’s Star Trek!” shtick of the first two films.

While the marketing campaign certainly made a play for the Fast and the Furious and Guardians of the Galaxy crowd with that initial “rock-n-roll” teaser that debuted with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the emphasis to the fans was that this was very much in the vein of the 1966-1969 television series that started it all. In terms of the film itself, that was mostly true.

Sure, there were a few big actions sequences. But the film’s scale was smaller, with a middle chunk that split up its seven main Enterprise crew members and forced them to survive alongside each other without their ship. Without going into spoiler-y details, Star Trek Beyond indeed played like a three-part episode of the original Star Trek series before ending on a lovely grace note that arguably worked as a possible farewell.

Yet, part of the reason that Star Trek Beyond didn’t quite match its predecessors at the domestic box office was because of its comparative ordinariness. It presented itself as “just another Star Trek movie,” in an era filled with big-budget sci-fi blockbusters, with less to entice casual moviegoers to make another theatrical go-around. It was, regardless of where it fits on your “best/worst Star Trek movies” list, an explicitly middle-of-the-road Star Trek film. And to casual moviegoers, it had little to sell beyond “Hey, it’s another one of those newfangled Star Trek movies!”
As such, even with mostly positive reviews, the film earned $158 million in North American theaters. That was well below the $256m of Star Trek in 2009 and the $228m of Star Trek into Darkness in 2013. While that’s the third-biggest domestic gross for a Star Trek movie, it was eighth out of 13 Star Trek feature films when adjusted for inflation.
That is not a slam, as my favorite of the bunch (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) sits in fourth-to-last place ahead of Star Trek Insurrection (another glorified television episode playing out on the big screen) and the justly maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis. Point being, it was a middle-of-the-road Star Trek, meant to play like the opposite of a “super-duper-important-you-must-see-this-in-a-theater!” blockbuster.
In that sense, it wasn’t that different from the domestic performance of Sony’s Spectre this time last year. The 25th 007 film pitched itself as an ode to the Roger Moore era James Bond movies (with late Sean Connery-era Blofeld tossed in for good measure). So, it shouldn’t have been surprising when it ended up just above the various lower-grossing Roger Moore entries in terms of “tickets sold.”
Moore may be a defining Bond for a generation of moviegoers. I would argue that The Spy Who Loved Me is perhaps the definitive 007 film. But six of the bottom ten 007 films are Roger Moore movies along with two Timothy Dalton entries, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and series starter Dr. No.
But Star Trek has never been an overseas player. The reboot earned a whopping $256 million domestic but just $127m overseas for a $385m worldwide total on a $150m budget. Star Trek into Darkness went out with a 3D conversion and earned a series high of $238m overseas for a $467m worldwide total on a $190m budget. Star Trek Beyond earned $183m overseas, which coupled with its $158m domestic cume gave it a $340m gross on a $185m budget.

That hope, that this time a Star Trek movie will go nuts overseas, is what keeps the franchise alive and keeps those budgets so bloody high. But it won’t, because it has had every chance to do so without success. Star Trek Beyond faltered because it cost too much, far too much, to just be seen (and play) as a quality middle-of-the-road Star Trek movie.

The thing that made it most appealing to the fans, that it played like a smaller-scale 50th-anniversary homage to the spirit and tone of the original show, was the thing that arguably doomed it in terms of blockbuster success. Star Trek Beyond was what its fans wanted it to be. There is value in that over the long run. But Paramount and friends need to realize that Star Trek is never going to be a Guardians of the Galaxy-level success and plan accordingly.
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LINK for full story: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/11/01/box-office-star-trek-beyond-was-caught-between-its-fans-and-its-budget/#6d7d46ce7ac5


Last edited by bulldogtrekker on Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:32 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 10:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________

I'm not sure my comments below qualify as spoilers, since I didn't understand the plot well enough to give much away. That said, here's my rant about this movie.

Star Trek Beyond starts right off thumbing its nose at what made TOS exciting and interesting. In all the TV series, mankind yearned to boldy go were no man had gone before!

This movie immediately presents the idea that after three years in space, Kirk and his crew are bored to death and wondering why they're wandering around in space.

To quote Kirk at the 5:30 mark, The further out we go, the more I find myself wondering what it is we're trying to accomplish.

And this pathetic proclamation is delivered amidst scenes of the bright and beautiful sets for various areas of the ship, all of which inspired me yearn for a future in which mankind does indeed venture out among the stars and meets alien beings.

However, the scenes of Starbase Yorktown, the magnificent city in space the Enterprise docks with, turn this whole idea around and tantalizes us with the most inspirational images of mankind's potential future I have ever seen! Those scenes are in direct opposition to the earlier narration by Kirk, and I wondered just what the hell this movie was trying to say.






A classic example of a mixed message.

How could a starship captain be bored with space exploration in a universe that had miracles like that orbiting city? It would be like a kid with a sweet tooth standing in the middle of a candy store and wishing he could just go home!

This movie is a visual feast . . . but also an intellectual can of worms. It dangles a tasty carrot that makes the future look like something Heaven would take second place to then it shows us inhabitants who wish they were somewhere else.

Example: Kirk applies for a desk job (as a Vice Admiral, no less) because he's bored with being a captain. Shocked

And he does this even when Starfleet offers him a more advanced ship than the Enterprise, and a rescue mission to a planet to retrieve a crew of aliens who are stranded.

Gee, who wouldn't turn down a dull job like that, eh? Rolling Eyes

But poor Jim's request is denied, and he has to go on the mission anyway, so he soldiers on bravely and captains the Enterprise to a dangerous and unknown region.

However, before you can say, Let's trash the Enterprise yet again!, a swarm of mechanical locust eat the Enterprise alive in about 90 seconds flat.

Oh, hell . . . none of us liked the damned JJ Abrams design anyway, so good riddance. Sad

The Enterprise is torn to piece by the hi-tech swarm, which seems to be the sad tradition of far too many Star Trek movies, for reasons that have mystified me for decades. For a life-long Trekker like me, watching this happen was about as much fun as observing the autopsy on Marylyn Monroe's remains.

If I had to say something good about all this, it would be that the special effects for this unpleasant mutilation were magnificent. (In other words, Miss Monroe's autopsy was presented in hi-definition so we could enjoy every gory detail. Sad )

The next thirty minutes were all about . . . I'm-not-sure-what, but it had something to do with . . . okay, I got no clue. Several aliens species wanted something-or-other, and they did a lot of shooting while trying to get it.

Kirk and company were the preferred targets, and they shot back. Big surprise.

By the one hour mark I was so lost it would have taken a Boy Scout with a compass and a Merit Badge to help me find the basic thread of this convoluted plot. The scene with Spock and McCoy lamenting the death of Spock's older self (a wacky idea to say the least) was a welcome semi-lucid moment.

It was like Mark Twain saying, Rumors of my death are both premature and retroactive. Gee, ain't life funny?"

Anytime I'm watching a science fiction movie whose story seems to have gotten Lost in Space (figuratively speaking) by the halfway point, I'm prone to just declare the plot dead and hold funeral surfaces after notifying the next of kin. In this case, the corpse had a noticeable odor by the 1:15 mark, and I was afraid I'd have to watch the rest of it while holding my nose.

However, things slowed down long enough to allow some comprehensible plot exposition by the characters, and I realized that everybody desperately wanted to acquire an ancient octagonal object that fit into an ancient control panel.

Great Scott, Marty, why didn't I see this all along? It's the old ancient-octagonal-object-that-blah-blah-blah. And that just never gets old . . . apparently. Shocked

The good guys then mount a rescue attempt for the captured crewmen (no surprise there), using a diversion which Kirk creates, thanks to the convenient presence of an old motorcycle the find in the mess hall of a wrecked Federation starship on the planet's surface. And why was it there? Again, not a clue.

(The ship looks better in this picture than the wrecked one in the movie).






As for Kirk suddenly turning into Easy Rider, I certainly did see that coming . . . . especially when he goes dirt biking like a bat out of hell right into the enemy's rock-bound stronghold and suddenly multiplies into a motorcycle gang because he was able to . . . okay, again I have no clue. Confused

We saw the hot alien, Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) creating fighting duplicates of herself earlier, but that revelation was just tossed in and quickly forgotten, too. Oh well . . .






But the next part made perfect sense. The ancient wrecked starship is hastily repaired by Scotty (another plot device with infinite lives), then they launch it by running it off a cliff, falling headlong into the Road Runner's canyon, and pulling out of a suicide dive using the same engines that weren't strong enough to lift it up gently from the planet's surface.

Like I said . . . perfect sense. Rolling Eyes

After that scene, the method they used to disrupt the swarm of small ships that were attacking the beautiful starbase was just icing on the cake: Kirk and company somehow figured out that they could broadcast Heavy Metal rock music from a boom box on an FM radio frequency and cause the zillions of indestructible locust-like ships to start blowing up.

Seriously.

The next twenty minutes were just one long dazzling special effects show. But I'll be damned if I understood what was really happening, and there was still thirty minutes to go! I got the impression that director Justin Lin figured if he made it all extremely noisy and kept everything moving around real fast, nobody would notice that the story was two hours of concentrated confusion.

All in all, I'd have to call this movie a hot mess.
Confused
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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Jan 02, 2018 8:57 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My God! I'm happy to see that I wasn't the only one who didn't have a clue what was going on!

I first watched it on a lower rez bootleg version with muddled sound and couldn't make out just what the heck was going on! I watched the Blu-ray copy today, and aside from it being a visual feast it was still incomprehensible.

Pine's Kirk was also out of character for what had been established for him, but what the hey-----This is a different universe.

Unfortunately it's not a "Star Trek" universe.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, what a great review. I hope Star Trek Beyond will be easier to follow at the next viewing.

Did the new Enterprise look different than the Enterprise that was destroyed?
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Custer
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
I can enjoy this highly successful movie for what it is, without obsessing about what it isn't. Very Happy

It does have its weaknesses, that's true. It's good to have the franchise still running, though, and there are some suitably flashy special effects. Having the repaired old starship dropped off a cliff edge is a bit corny, for sure, and using the local gravity to get up to a speed at which the engines will start isn't entirely original... the underside of the craft, should, ideally, just brush the top of some conveniently placed trees. It's lucky they left the "broadcasting Heavy Metal music to blow up the alien swarm" to the end, as there wasn't much they could do to follow that!
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bulldogtrekker wrote:
Did the new Enterprise look different than the Enterprise that was destroyed?

The scene of the new Enterprise was a quick "time lapse" of it being constructed, then it was suddenly completed and it warped out.

You don't get a good look at it.

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