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The Big Bad Star Trek XI Thread


BLUMENKOHL

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Listening to M. Giacchino's Star Trek score and the early impression is while it's not a masterpiece, I wasn't expecting one, it's quite good.

As I said before, and it was mentioned in the FSM Podcast, the new theme is more personal. It feels like it represents Kirk more than anything but can be used to represent the Enterprise and other characters. I'm also guessing the other theme, most present in "That New Car Smell", represents Spock. It shares similarities somewhat with Goldsmith's, Horner's and Eidelman's approach. I really can't tell if that's a voice or an instrument used in the the theme, although I read a review that stated it was some sort of Violin. It receives several lovely performances in the score. The theme for Nero isn't that memorable.

I don't think this score sounds small nor does it feel like a TV score. I have a feeling that the action cues aren't that well represented on the CD.

Is it better than ST:TMP or WOK? No, but very few scores are. It's not the worst ST score either. It's a different approach but based on what I've heard and from what I've seen of some of the clips from the film, the music works well within the film.

This is the impression I'm getting. And I keeping hearing more and more fragments of "Enterprising Young Men" leading up to the statement of the main theme from the first clip...and I'm sorely tempted to just buy the track off iTunes here and now before seeing the film. Argh...

Do it. You know you want to.

I picked up the score yesterday and I love it. To me, "Enterprising Young Men" will prove to be a stand out track, and it definitely won't be a waste of a dollar. ;)

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The only thing holding me back is the movie purist in me...but it's losing. Ah, heck. I'm gonna buy the dang track.

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I'm seeing it in an hour and I haven't listened to the score apart from some of the previews

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I've seen the movie.

Though the Star Trek purist in me has some fairly serious reservations, I have no hesitation in saying that this movie is a truly spectacular piece of entertainment. It's going to inspire heated debate for decades to come, but it's also going to make a fortune and re-enegergize the franchise for decades to come.

And though I've heard it only the once, I thought the score was pretty terrific.

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And though I've heard it only the once, I thought the score was pretty terrific.

You mean the score in the movie, do you? Can you tell how good or bad it's represented on the soundtrack?

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I've seen the movie.

Though the Star Trek purist in me has some fairly serious reservations, I have no hesitation in saying that this movie is a truly spectacular piece of entertainment. It's going to inspire heated debate for decades to come, but it's also going to make a fortune and re-enegergize the franchise for decades to come.

And though I've heard it only the once, I thought the score was pretty terrific.

I'd imagine that's how I'll probably feel about it, too. Glad you enjoyed it! Hopefully my own opinions will be at least as favorable.

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Quick spoiler-free review: It's a blast. Certain nitpicks and occasional missteps aside, it's a boatload of fun with inch-perfect casting. Great effects, very funny. Giacchino's score works really well in the film. Can't remember hearing a lot of material that wasn't on the album, but again, it's very theme heavy.

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Okay, Spoilers. Will blank out stuff for the sake of those who haven't seen it yet.

An absolute blast. Starts off with a bang but doesn't immediately come together

the scene where Kirk is born is a little contrived and pretty cheesy, and the guy who plays Kirk's dad is a terrible actor. The Vulcan stuff showing young Spock is cool, although Winona Ryder is awful. It was cool to see him having a split lip with green blood.

The aforementioned Beastie Boys track comes from the stereo of the Corvette pre-teen Kirk is driving from the trailer. It's a fun sequence, but absolutely pointless story-wise and a little too cringeworthy for my tastes. The kid also sucks. It all really kicks in when we meet adult Kirk and from there on it's just fun on a bun.

Pros: The movie is impeccably cast, eerily so. While Urban and Quinto are (rightfully) getting a lot of plaudits, Pine was the one for me. You can totally see him growing up to be Shatner. Greenwood was very good, and Nimoy brought definite good feelings. The flick is really well paced, and swam past. The production design was great for the most, and the effects were really good. The introduction of the Big E in space was amazing. The humour was very in-character, for instance, McCoy and Kirk and Spock going at it, and while there were many in-jokes/references, they never felt forced

(for example, the Vulcan science test patterned after THE VOYAGE HOME.

It's amazing how dead-on the characters were.

The Kobayashi Maru sequence was absolutely hilarious, and just brilliant.

The score fits the movie like a glove, and it's definitely given me a new outlook on it.

The bit when the Narada burns and the chorus comes out is a bit too much, and the end of the opening scene with the music without dialogue and sound effects seemed a bit cliched (very LOTR).

I liked the

mind meld sequence as well,

although it got way too expositiony.

Impressive that they just destroyed Vulcan like that.

The space sequences were nice and intense, and only slightly disorientating.

Cons: Some parts of the flick seem like they were done just for the sake of getting the plot along. For example,

Kirk's exile

just seemed really contrived, and just a transparent way for

him to meet old Spock and Scotty. Being the regulation whore that he is, Spock should never have done that when he could have just thrown him in the brig, and the monsters on the planet - while fun - were pointless in the same way the fish in the planet core sequence of TPM were.

I was never really that interested in Nero, he seemed a little boring and the whole

'my wife/planet died and I want revenge'

deal just seemed a little stale.

The scene where Kirk gets Spock to relinquish command troubled me a tad - not only because it was all Old Spock: get him emotionally compromised. Kirk: Hey Spock, you're an unemotional bastard. Spock: Oh no, I'm emotionally compromised, and the way Kirk went about it just seemed a little out of character. But hey, Spock forgave him.

The

fight on the drill

was alright, but not really too exciting.

The relationship between Spock and Uhura seemed slightly out of place - like it was there just to throw a little romance in. It also seemed inappropriate that Uhura's idea of comforting Spock after his entire race had been exterminated was to stick her tongue down his throat.

Other stuff: The whole exposition bit about

an alternate reality is cool, as it makes the old universe safe, but the 'So this is all an alternate reality?' type lines were really cheesy. I don't mind it... but I thought Pine should have been the one to read out the intro at the end, not Nimoy.

But that's a minor nitpick.

All in all, it was awesome, and I can't wait to see what this crew comes up with next.

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The unity that you might expect out of Goldsmith's soundtracks for Trek, or every other composer on Star Trek (except Rosenman, whose score is also a mixture of a lot of diferent styles) is not present.

I heard The Undiscovered Country long before I saw the movie, and even then its music instantly connected with me.

So did I; it's a wonderful score, with a splendid finale.

Those of you who have heard Dennis McCarthy or Jay Chattaway's status quo works for the Star Trek series will easily recognize Giacchino's scoring as an offspring of those composer's methodology. The music is exactly like that. [...] His more emotionally driven cues, such as "Labor of Love" still seem tied down to the small screen, recalling Jay Chattaway's "The Inner Light" rather than something out of a big screen production.

The symphonic version of "The Inner Light" is one of my very best tracks; it's not a matter of power or "bigness", but of melody: Goldsmith's "Ilia's Theme" and "Ba'Ku Village" are just as soft yet powerful; "The Inner Light" is a very nice theme.

I have not heard anything of that kind in Giacchino's Trek; a few bits are promising, but do not reach that level; some of those parts do sound like lost (ah ah :D ) bits from Lost, but lack the beauty and emotion of his Season 1 finale.

McCarthy's themes for Generations are really good ("The Nexus" in a dreamy way").

I also like McCarthy's action bits.

Again when I say I want something big, I don't mean I want Hans Zimmer. I want something like Jerry Goldsmith big or John Williams big. Or even Giacchino's Medal of Honor series big.

One bit (maybe more) sounded Medal of Honor-ish.

I will reserve final judgement until I hear it play out during the movie (and give the album more listens), but as of right now in its album format this is a disappointment

[...]

It's sadly seeming like a missed opportunity. Giacchino is staying in his comfort zone and in a very underwhelming sub-zone of it.

Rather than power or "bigness", I think the score (as presented on the album, granted) lacks memorable themes-- or even easily identifiable ones.

"Ba'Ku Village" cannot be missed; you cannot overlook (hum-- overhear?) the mountain theme at the beginning of Star Trek V nor Horner's theme; Eidelman's "Rura Penthe" and "Assassination" motifs can be perceived and identified as individual themes on a first listen just as easily as his Trek theme.

I have not heard any such thing in Giacchino's Star Trek; there surely are some themes and motifs, but they are not "obvious".

Bashed as it has been, Zimmer/Howard's Batman theme/motif for the first movie was easy to hear and remember, undeveloped as it was (so you can merely argue the Enterprise/crew theme is not fully developed yet).

The only theme I have clearly heard is Alexander Courage's-- too clearly, in fact, with three similar statements within a minute or so (last but one track and beginning of the last track); and it's repeated yet again at the very end; I like Giacchino's arrangement a lot, but this repetition became overbearing.

Such a movie calls for an immediately identifable, memorable, hummable theme, which you have in your heard at the end of the movie or the CD; it may be the case when exiting the theater, but at the end of the album, I had nothing else but Courage's theme in my mind.

It's all the sadder as Giacchino has done just this for Lost; I do not know all the themes, and associate them all precisely (Jack's theme? Kate's theme? I must know them, but could not hum them on demand), but I knew the main ones from the start; Ratatouille was effective.

Star Trek is pretty well done, but right now it leaves me just as cold as dozens of bland scores by lesser composers (Giacchino can write good themes and can orchestrate very well).

:lol:

What I find missing the most is good themes. Giacchino can write good themes, just listen to the Medal of Honor scores and SWON. His main theme for Star Trek is LAME.

I'm not alone!

:lol:

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I don't understand how the themes aren't obvious. The main theme is EVERYWHERE, Nero/The Narada's theme and the Vulcan themes are pretty evident, and even the secondary Trek theme is recognizable.

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I don't understand how the themes aren't obvious. The main theme is EVERYWHERE, Nero/The Narada's theme and the Vulcan themes are pretty evident, and even the secondary Trek theme is recognizable.

Yeah, the themes are easily recognizable. And I really like them. My complaints come in with the ridiculously over the top and non-rythmic chanting in Narada Burns that just comes from nowhere and the fact that there is not really any crescendo or climax to any exciting pieces of action music. It's all very servicable, but not much else.

Enterprising Young Man is great, though.

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Yeah, the theme has grown on me a bunch since I first heard it. I'm not sure when I'll see the movie; I've got a split shift tomorrow and Saturday, I'm busy today...maybe Sunday after Mother's Day activities? I'm definitely encouraged by the non-spoiler parts of the reviews here, though.

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Oh well. I'm humming it like crazy at the moment.

Yeah, don't think of it as a theme that represents Star Trek as a whole but more on a personal level.

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I haven't made a final judgement yet or listened to the soundtrack more than twice. Waiting to see the movie. I'm letting it simmer for a bit.

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I don't care about what Ebert thinks when it comes to sci-fi.

The only two sci-fi films Ebert has liked were Robocop and Serenity. And he only got it 50% right (Robocop).

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The main theme is EVERYWHERE,

yes,it's just not a very memorable theme ,It;s just kind of there

The main theme doesnt really do much for me, but after hearing it just twice it was stuck in my head for 2 days. I don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing.

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This is exactly what I was afraid of....

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...VIEWS/905069997

Honestly, the movie is getting rave reviews all over the place and you was "afraid" of what Ebert might think? Hmm, what a shame...

Serenity.

Good movie. But then I did like Firefly. I preferred it to Star Trek, since it had a fun spring in its step.

Lee - who remains 99% blind to the plot and hype of this reboot and is actually quite looking forward to seeing it, next week.

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This is exactly what I was afraid of....

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...VIEWS/905069997

Honestly, the movie is getting rave reviews all over the place and you was "afraid" of what Ebert might think? Hmm, what a shame...

Serenity.

Good movie. But then I did like Firefly. I preferred it to Star Trek, since it had a fun spring in its step.

Lee - who remains 99% blind to the plot and hype of this reboot and is actually quite looking forward to seeing it, next week.

Reading that review tells me that if you didn't like KOTCS, you're gonna hate this.

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I didn't read the review, but you will be the first to know if I unwittingly agree with Mr Ebert :huh:

I'll wager a friendly bet and say I don't think I will agree, on this occasion. After all, KotCS was doomed from the start.

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This is exactly what I was afraid of....

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...VIEWS/905069997

Ebert shmebert. This movie is getting some of the most consistent raves from 90% of critics since The Dark Knight and Iron Man. So far at RT it has a 94% Fresh rating (111 positive, 8 negative). http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_trek_11/

I'll be seeing it for myself in just a few hours.

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This is exactly what I was afraid of....

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...VIEWS/905069997

I hope he's brought his 10 deserted island CDs with him, he's going to be bored there.

A little over 6 hours and counting. This'll be my first ever digital projector movie too. I'll be picking up the CD tomorrow.

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Well, I liked KotCS, didn't like Batman Begins, am not generally a fan of JJ's whole style and attitude... I would sort of be surprised if I liked the new Star Trek better than 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. Those are the only ones I have seen in full, but I like them. The fact that this thing started off with 100 percent good reviews makes the whole thing seem like Batman Begins all over again. Slowly people are getting over the novelty of that movie, and so it will be with this one. To reboot something with a younger cast and gain from public nostalgia is sort of a cheap way to keep a franchise going. I just want to know, when is anyone going to come up with a NEW series that has resonance without needing an existing fanbase? These characters have already been introduced and fleshed out and indelibly portrayed. Must we redo the same franchises over and over and over again?

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Well, I liked KotCS, didn't like Batman Begins, am not generally a fan of JJ's whole style and attitude... I would sort of be surprised if I liked the new Star Trek better than 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. Those are the only ones I have seen in full, but I like them. The fact that this thing started off with 100 percent good reviews makes the whole thing seem like Batman Begins all over again. Slowly people are getting over the novelty of that movie, and so it will be with this one. To reboot something with a younger cast and gain from public nostalgia is sort of a cheap way to keep a franchise going. I just want to know, when is anyone going to come up with a NEW series that has resonance without needing an existing fanbase? Must we redo the same franchises over and over and over again?

Yes...because it's fun!

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Well, I liked KotCS, didn't like Batman Begins, am not generally a fan of JJ's whole style and attitude... I would sort of be surprised if I liked the new Star Trek better than 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. Those are the only ones I have seen in full, but I like them. The fact that this thing started off with 100 percent good reviews makes the whole thing seem like Batman Begins all over again. Slowly people are getting over the novelty of that movie, and so it will be with this one. To reboot something with a younger cast and gain from public nostalgia is sort of a cheap way to keep a franchise going. I just want to know, when is anyone going to come up with a NEW series that has resonance without needing an existing fanbase? Must we redo the same franchises over and over and over again?

Yes...because it's fun!

Well considering the films with the older original cast members, to include Batman, seemed to be getting worse as the films chugged on, why not try something new?

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I just want to know, when is anyone going to come up with a NEW series that has resonance without needing an existing fanbase?

Firefly?

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I never really got into the whole Firefly deal. I saw a couple of episodes and the movie, but like most Whedon properties (S3 of Buffy and S1 of Angel), it never connected with me at all.

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The movie is terrific, and I'm going to buy my first Giacchino score because David really liked it. I personally thought it was LOUD. He's definately not in Goldsmith, Horner, or Rosenman's league but I didn't expect him too be. I won't go so far to say he's an inferior composer, he's not, but he's definately not bigtime in the way I've been reading here for the last several years. Hopefully it, the score, will grow on me in time, maybe if I go tomorrow, or Sunday (IMAX). Still it saddens me to see a film of such high caliber not be given a score that would to phrase a pun, go boldly where Giacchino's never gone before. Dark Knight and Star Trek both would be better with better scores.

I urge Vosk to go see this movie, its a movie that should be experienced where it was meant to be experienced...on the big screen. All the principals involved are very good. There is real emotion in this film, and it manages to capture what the best moments of Star Trek have captured, the comraderie and loyalty that has been found in each and every version of Star Trek.

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I saw the film .Loved it

The score was LOUD .I wish recent JW scores had gotten this mix.

The main theme works better in the film than on the c.d.

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I've seen the movie three times now, and it was better each successive time.

There is so much in the movie that works that I find it almost totally irrelevant to even think about the few things I don't love. There may be almost nothing I don't like; just a few things I can't quite love. When that's the worst thing I can think of to say about a movie, I know I've seen a good movie.

You other folks who saw it tonight, was it well-attended? Attendance at my theatre was surprisingly light.

I think -- THINK -- I still prefer both I and II, but that may simply be because I've had three decades to become attached to them.

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attendance was light here as well BB.

One problem I did have with the film is the production design of engineering, it was F***ING HORRIBLE. If 300 years in the future they are putting corrigated metal silo bins on warp driven starships, they have fraking morons for engineers.

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There is one cue that absolutely worked in the film ... "Labor of Love" . The scene it scored was very Lost like.

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The only two sci-fi films Ebert has liked were Robocop and Serenity.

Really? Ebert is a huge sci-fi fan--he grew up reading Heinlein, Minority Report was his top film of 2002, Dark City was his top film in '98, he reveres 2001, Blade Runner's one of his Great Movies; he gave Watchmen 4/4 stars and in addition to his review wrote an essay on his blog about Dr. Manhattan and quantum mechanics. Hell, he even gave positive reviews to every Matrix movie (3, 3.5, and 3 stars). Taste aside, the man knows his sci-fi.

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It's definitely gratifying to hear all the positive word-of-mouth about this film. I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Perhaps over the weekend...

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