Change Your Image
Polaris01313-1
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Starship Exeter: The Tressaurian Intersection (2005)
Act IV - ten years later
The wonders of the universe. The dangers of space. The challenges of the unknown. The courage of a brave warrior and his loyal crew. The vengeance of an old enemy. The plan of a xenophobic race. The hand of death being dealt by the misuse of an alien technology.
An adventure from the dawn of creation to the edge of the galaxy.
In the life of every warrior, there is a battle destined to be his greatest or his last. A battle that will re-unite a haunted starship captain and an ancient enemy. A battle that will ignite the cosmos with a vengeance. A battle between the starship Exeter and The Tressaurian Intersection....
While a number of production setbacks caused a decade long delay in the release of Starship Exeter's final 4th Act(the economic recession, some very unprofessional workers - i.e. the SFX artist leaving after a dispute that would be classified as 'creative differences', some artistic differences among the cast and other production crew members, writer Dennis Bailey's mishandling of the production and his uncalled for rudeness and disrespect to those fans who made inquiries and justifiable speculations about the delay in the final release), The Tressaurian Intersection can now be finally seen in its entirety.
And it is the ultimate passport to action and adventure.
The fundamental clash between good versus evil is clearly depicted as the captain and crew of the U.S.S. Exeter put everything, even their own lives, on the line to prevent a colossal disaster of intergalactic proportions from erupting.
Star Trek has always been a science fiction adventure that has dealt with moral and ethical dilemmas in a social allegorical format. One where esoteric problems were addressed within a 23rd Century framework. Philosophical underpinnings aside, Gene Roddenberry's original space odyssey has endured because of its ability to tackle controversial socio-political issues through the creative tracking of science fiction writing.
Despite the fact that Dennis Russell Bailey - an arrogant and close- minded political liberal with a strong contempt for authority and those of staunch conservative politics, as well as an associate of Farragut Films(an independent film company that has seen better days since its controversial activities were brought to light in late 2011 AD) - wrote this episode, the second episode of Starship Exeter, entitled, 'The Tressaurian Intersection' does just that.
If this is to be the final voyage of the Starship Exeter, a Federation starship that has been sadly cursed since the heavy-handed events depicted in TOS second season episode 'The Omega Glory', then the following thanks and congratulations to the cast and 'some' of the crew for an excellent Star Trek adventure.
To James Culhane, Holly Guess, Michael Buford, Joshua Caleb, Jospeh Azzato, Cody Hammock, Curtis Stiller, and Elizabeth Wheat, thank you for your wonderful performances and all the best to you in whatever future paths that you will undertake.
To director Scott Johnson, Maurice Molyneaux, and the production crew at Exeter Studios, thanks for what you were able to contribute, despite the unforeseen setbacks caused by some people and events.
And if by some chance this is not the end, hopefully we see the starship Exeter continue its mission to 'brave the darkness of the last, great unknown'.
Star Trek Continues (2013)
A sagging old rust busket designed like a garbage scow.
If anything, it is a garbage scow that should be hauled away as garbage. Star Trek Continues is certainly a reminder of the dark side of Star Trek fandom taking physical form. It's latest episode was certainly heavy-handed, painful, and disappointing to view
It also really boggles the mind as to why the Farragut Films staff would partner themselves with someone who has utterly tarnished, ruined, and decimated whatever credibility and reputation Farragut Films has. Especially after Mignogna's unauthorized release of the Phase 2 episode 'Kitumba'. An incident that made fan headlines last year and certainly did not help matters much for the Washington D.C. based film company. In fact, it pretty much was the final nail in their proverbial photon burial tube.
Like I said before about Vic Mignogna's performance as the heroic Jim Kirk is nothing more than a belch from a bad onion. Seriously, he doesn't even have the voice for such a strong, heroic lead.
William Shatner, James Cawley, Christopher Pine, and Brian J. Gross certainly give better performances as James Kirk than this slab of rotten Fisher's Ham(i.e. Mignogna).
And that is only scratching the surface and putting a gloss on this situation.
Todd Haberkorn's performance as Spock was certainly dull, dry, and regretfully one-dimensional. If anything, he could have learned a few things or more from Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, and Brandon Stacey. Those aforementioned three gave better performances as our favorite and beloved Vulcan. Haberkorn would have been better off in a different role. Maybe he could play Hikaru Sulu, again. Who knows?
Wyatt Lenart's performance as every Star Trek fans favorite nationalistic Russian navigator, Pavel Chekov, was not all that great, either. For starters, his eye color was all wrong(Chekov was brown-eyed, NOT blue-eyed). Second, his Russian accent just was not convincing enough. Lenart, for all intenets and purposes, was seriously miscast. Better luck next time, Wyatt. Walter Koenig, Anton Yelchin, and Jonathan Zungre are the better versions of Pavel Andreivich Chekov.
Larry Nemecek did the best that he could as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. Unfortunately, his weakness in his performance was the lack of a mild Southern accent(which the late DeForest Kelley wonderfully displayed)and the strong one-liners that were brilliantly conveyed by Karl Urban in the two Star Trek prequel/reboots. Larry's greatest strengths are that of being a writer and a columnist concerning Star Trek. Sadly, acting is not one of them.
Christopher Doohan is probably the only shining light in this production. Sadly, it is a shining light that has severely faded by being part of this demented 'French Farce' of a Star Trek fan film. While he certainly recaptures the qualities of Montgomery Scott(who was played brilliantly by his late father and honored World War II veteran, James Doohan), it doesn't help matters much that his talents are regretfully wasted in this less than productive endeavor. Frankly, his talents would be put to much better usage in either Star Trek – Phase 2 or the J.J. Abrams films(for which he has clearly demonstrated).
Kim Stinger's performance as Nyota Uhura was better suited when she played the same role on Star Trek – New Voyages/Phase II. Especially when it comes to her singing voice. One wonders how much she was paid in silver to jump ship over to a production that she knew that would bring her some serious controversy. Judas would have obviously approved.
As for Grant Imahara's performance as Hikaru Sulu
well, he worked for Lucasfilm during the making of the less than popular Star Wars prequel trilogy. He should keep his day job with Mythbusters or something better.
Michelle Specht's performance as Dr. Elise McKenna is clear statement as to why she is even in the film. While she is a very lovely woman and an actress who seems to display some talent, her only reason for being there is just to be a symbol of nepotism. Being Vic Mignogna's soon to be wife, her role as a ship's counselor(a rank and position that did not start until the NG era some twenty- five years past)is merely window dressing.
I seem to recall that the name Elise McKenna was the name of the 19th Century stage actress played by British thespian Jane Seymour in the 1980 time travel fantasy 'Somewhere In Time'. Not only do we know where the entire sets from Star Trek Continues was taken from, we now know where Mignogna hijacked the name for Michelle's character from. Unoriginality indeed!
The bottom line is this. Star Trek Continues definitely does not have the potential to be all that entertaining. As a result, Star Trek Continues is a faulty and controversial fan film production that makes the bad points of Star Trek Into Darkness look pale in comparison.
Spare yourself this flop of a Star Trek fan film and stick with the original series, the animated series, first six films, J.J. Abrams prequel reboot, and Star Trek-New Voyages/Phase 2. The latter being the ONLY Star Trek fan film for the fans, by the fans, with professional experience in cinema/television production, acting, SFX, and quality artistic craftmanship and integrity.
UFO: Target Earth (1974)
Cerebral '70's science fiction film
WARNING! THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! I can remember watching this film for the first time. It was on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and my mother and I were visiting one of our neighbors(who was bed-ridden with pneumonia). While my mother and I were speaking with the neighbor's wife, the husband was watching this unusual science fiction film on the local independent station. When I caught the film, I was pretty surprised and haunted at the same time.
Years later, after having viewed the film twice on the same station, I told the local pharmacist about it. When she saw it, she said the film blew her mind away.
To sum up UFO: Target Earth the best, it was a cerebral '70's science fiction film.
Like George Romero, Dan O'Bannon, and John Carpenter did for independent films concerning the science fiction/horror genre(i.e. the original Night Of The Living Dead, Dark Star, and Halloween), Michael DeGaetano does the same thing with the subject about UFOs.
The plot follows a university communications researcher/electronics expert, Alan Grimes on his quest to find a UFO that apparently crashed into a remote, back country lake near a power plant many years past. Residents of a small community remember strange and bright lights that appeared in the night sky. The population of the small town also begins to suffer from what appears to be communal flashbacks. Soon there are citizens who believe that the cause for this disturbing phenomenon might be from the same UFO that crash landed in the lake. When the electronics specialist accidentally intercepts a military call about UFO sightings and accidentally overhears two military types authorizing a scramble of jets to investigate, he decides to investigate the phenomenon near the lake. The young man stares out of the window for a long time then phones someone else to make an appointment.
Meeting with the local college's resident astronomer, Alan inquires about the logical possibility of flying saucers, an idea the professor quickly shoots down as anything but scientific. The professor lectures him at great length about the possibility of Life in the Universe. He goes to see 'Dr Mansfield and they have a conversation. A chance encounter with a mysterious psychic woman, Vivian fuels Alan's questioning, as she feels a strong electrical pull to a nearby reservoir. It turns out she has a mental connection to alien presences. After being denied access to the military's communication equipment, an undaunted Alan finds help from his fellow colleagues, who along with Vivian, set out for the body of water that some believe hides the long forgotten crashed Alien craft. While searching for evidence of aliens, he picks up signals that he believes are being emitted from the alien spacecraft--and they are coming from under the depths of the lake near the small town. Unknown to the town's residents, themselves. Could it be that the aliens within are still alive? If so, is this also a possible government cover-up? Hoping to discover the source of the mysterious signals and the secrets contained within the alien ship(SPOILER ALERT), Alan wanders about with the small group of scientists into a forest before they encounter some aliens that are able to get their ship airborne again, thanks to the power of Alan's imagination. As a result, Alan grows old as he is exposed to the alien presence as the UFO takes off into a brilliant starfield.
A real oddity this one - made for peanuts (reputedly $70,000), it's an ambitious attempt to translate the mid-70s passion for ufology to the big screen that writer/director Michael DeGaetano had the resources, imagination, or ability to carry off his lofty ambitions. Three years later, Steven Spielberg would come along and show him how it should be done with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Still, for an independent movie released in 1974(and re-released in 1978), that's made this cheaply, it certainly doesn't lack ambition. It's one that tries to tap in to the mystical qualities of certain aspects of UFOlogy. I can't really say the movie is successful; there's something about the eccentric use of music, the oddball pacing and characters, and the confused plotting that is more likely to get you scratching your head than anything else.
Still, there's a quality to this movie that I find quite unique, and as a result, I can't quite bring myself to just dismiss the movie. Maybe it's just because the movie took me somewhere that I've never been before, and given how many movies I've seen that seem like rehashes of other movies, I've learned to value that. And even though I found the computer-generated abstract special effects to be somewhat laser light show and psychedelic in origin, they were rather hypnotic all the same. Action and thriller fans will definitely be disappointed, but those looking for something a little different with a mystical edge, there's something to be appreciated here.
Crusade (1999)
Another series canceled before its time
I just recently finished watching all 13 episodes of Crusade, and I must say, it had potential. I liked the design of the Excalibur(which reminded me of the rockets used in The Martian Chronicles mini-series). Most of all, I liked the main characters and some of the guest stars that were on the show.
It's a shame that TNT had to be pig-headed about the show. Sometimes major networks don't know artistic freedom, integrity, quality, or originality, period. I can understand J. Michael Straczynski's frustration over the entire incident.
It may not be Babylon 5, but it was a decent sequel to that show, and it had potential.
Here is to hoping that, like Futurama, we'll see the return of Crusade and the crew of the starship Excalibur.
Jackals (1986)
Action thriller with a serious social/political commentary and the Simon brothers!!!
Warning! This contains spoilers!!!
During the late 70's and early 80's, illegal immigration from Mexico was a hot topic/hot-button political issue, and films were made to cash-in on the subject. This independent film, American JUSTICE, originally known as JACKALS (a term for people who guide the illegals across the border), was one of those films.
And it is just as good. If not better than any other that has addressed this particular topic.
The story involves Ex-cop Joseph Case, (Jack Lucarelli)who comes to an unnamed Arizona border town (actually filmed in Nogales, Arizona) to visit his ex-partner David Buchanon (Jameson Parker), a U.S. Border Patrol cop, and his wife Jess (Jeannie Wilson). While riding a horse alone in the desert, Joseph watches as crooked U.S. Border Patrol cop Jake Wheeler (Gerald McRaney) shoots and kills a female wetback as she tries to escape after Jake has sexually assaulted her. Joseph and Dave go to headquarters to report the killing to Sheriff Lawrence Mitchell (Wilford Brimley), but Jake is in the room (and it's at this time that Joe realizes that Jake is a cop). Joe tells Dave that Jake is the killer and when they go to the scene of the crime, the body is missing (Jake had one of his cronies rebury the body in another location). With no victim to be found, it's Joe's word against Jake's and even Dave has a hard time believing it. Just to be sure, Dave has his friend Warner (Warner Glenn), an expert tracker, go over the crime scene again. He finds a trail to follow and they find the girl buried in a new grave. Warner tracks the guy that reburied her and Dave arrests him, but Jake kills him with automatic sniper fire to keep him from talking. Sheriff Mitchell begins to suspect Jake when his alibi for the girl's murder doesn't pan out, but he can't do anything without more proof (among other reasons to be disclosed later). Joe and Dave cross the border to get proof of Jake's illegal women-selling business, where we learn that Sheriff Mitchell was Jake's business partner. When Jake threatens Jess' life and then kills Dave (in a scene that's shocking, surprising, and pretty hard to watch), a wounded Joe must find a way to bring Jake down. Joe travels down to Mexico on a tip from a remorseful Sheriff Mitchell to get revenge the old-fashioned way, using the same shotgun to kill Jake that Jake used to kill Dave. It takes three blasts to kill Jake, but Joe seem to relish every pull of the trigger.
This is a pretty decent low-budget action flick/sleeper hit that got some minor notoriety when it was made because both Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney were starring at the time(and as brothers, no less)on the successful comedy detective TV series SIMON & SIMON (1981 - 1988). Made during the summer hiatus in 1985, this film must have come as a shock to fans of the series, especially Buchannon's(Parker)death at the hands of Wheeler(McRaney). Gerald McRaney, at the time, wasn't really known for playing bad guys. Even though Wilford Brimley gets top billing, he has very little to do here besides looking concerned, remorseful, and trying to atone for his past sins in the end.
The script, by Dennis A. Pratt (who also plays the role of Connie, one of Jake's men), concentrates on Gerald McRaney's and Jack Lucarelli's characters, making this a study in contrasts. The gauntlet in the apartment building that Jameson Parker and Lucarelli (who are both the Producers on this) have to shoot their way through, resulting in Parker's death at McRaney's hands, is expertly filmed and a nail-biter.
Director Gary Grillo (in his only movie directorial credit, did direct an episode of SIMON and SIMON and was Assistant Director on many films) keeps things moving at a brisk pace and films nearly every scene with an over-abundance of a dusty, modern day western atmosphere. Basically, it makes you want a cold drink just by watching it. Something the late Sam Peckinpah would have been proud of.
I enjoyed this film, thanks to McRaney's villainous performance and some well-staged gunfights and death scenes. Also starring are Rick Hurst(of The Dukes Of Hazzard)and Rosanna DeSoto.
Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy (1969)
Garth Of Izar in the Star Trek novels
Garth makes a return to the Star Trek universe in a sequel novel, where, having been cured of his insanity, returns to the planet where "SPOLIER ALERT" he was made insane after his accident. With the help of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the Enterprise crew, Garth tries to stop another disaster from erupting on Antos IV.
Set during the fifth year of the Enterprise's original five year mission, this was definitely an one of the better Star Trek novels and by far, an excellent sequel to the third season episode "Whom Gods Destroy". It would have been cool to have seen this sequel set after the events in Star Trek-The Motion Picture. Somehow, I can actually see Garth wearing one of those pastel-blue, pajama like uniforms.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Late Sixties Space Opera still has a powerful message.
The 1968 film details the adventures of NASA astronaut George Taylor who crash-lands on a seemingly barren planet while on an interstellar mission. Though his total trip time has only been eighteen months, nearly two millenniums have passed back on Earth as a result of a relativity-type effect. He quickly discovers that he is not alone on this alien world, and that the evolutionary ladder has been turned upside down, with mute humans being hunted by talking apes. After surviving a hunter's bullet, Taylor is taken into Ape City where he is caged like an animal and the subject of 'animal psychology' experiments. Fortunately, Taylor is befriended by Nova, a mute but fetching human woman, and catches the attention of chimpanzee scientist Dr. Zira and her archaeologist fiancé Cornelius. Zira and Cornelius are shocked to discover that Taylor is unlike any other human they have seen, possessing both intelligence and the power of speech. Despite attempts by Dr. Zaius, the head of the Ape Assembly, to protect the status quo by having him destroyed, Taylor escapes, and rides off into the sunset with Nova. It is here that the film makes its earth-shattering and sobering revelation-- "SPOILER ALERT!" The cynical, misanthropic astronaut finds the upper half of the Statue of Liberty on a deserted beach, proof that he had returned to Earth and the 'upside-down' world he found was a result of man's own folly.
Taking into consideration the cultural context in the film was made, it is not surprising the number of subtle allegories that can be found in "Planet of the Apes". A film that was a cinematic statement of the times, reflecting the climate of instability and discord of the late Sixties.
It has been over four decades since "Planet of the Apes" stunned audiences with its grim portrayal of a world devastated by the scourge of intolerance and paranoia. The popularity of the film has continued to grow, making it a permanent fixture in the pantheon of popular culture. Including a number of the sobering themes found in the film, which still ring true today. Man's ability to inflict pain and suffering on his neighbor continues to be demonstrated, whether it be in Los Angeles in 1992, the former Yugoslavia for the bulk of the gloomier Nineties, Chechnya, or in Iraq. Like the hellish nightmare presented in the film, the planet of man is a world where the ideals of the few are still often silenced by the madness of many.
Blue Thunder (1983)
The Skies will never be the same!
Recently remastered and fully loaded with non-stop action, the Special Edition of Blue Thunder, in widescreen, is just as explosive and thrilling as it was on the big screen back in 1983. 25 years after the Columbia Pictures release, Blue Thunder still has a message to send out to its audience on the political and social levels.
Not only is the commentary by director John Badham, editor Frank Morriss, and actor Roy Scheider really good, the various documentaries on the DVD are really excellent and informative. Plus, a few other surprises are also really entertaining.
If you're a fan of this classic action/thriller, be sure to check out the Special Edition. You won't be disappointed.
Also, be sure to check out the two an fiction sequels at the Blue Thunder website. They're just as excellent, too.