As was the case for many Star Trek fans, I took the opportunity to check out JJ Abrams latest film “Star Trek” on its opening night last Friday.  Although a few months ago I was cautiously optimistic about this fresh take on the Star Trek franchise, as the movie’s release date drew near, I found I was more and more eager to see this latest interpretation.  After watching Abrams’ “Star Trek”, I feel a sense of elation and satisfaction that those very elements that drew me to Star Trek in the first place have finally returned in full force.

Obviously, as a review piece, there are going to be a few spoilers coming up.  So if you haven’t seen the film yet, do yourself a favour and read this review after you’ve had a chance to watch it.  As was the case with my review of BSG’s series finale, this review is a long piece, in part because there is so much to point out, but also because it’s the first time in a long while there’s been something new and noteworthy in the Star Trek universe worth discussing at length.  Also, like my reviews of BSG, my focus is not on attempting to explain, rationalize or dissect the technological aspects of the work, but instead the character drama seen within it as that’s what is of particular interest to me.  So if you’re ready, click on the read more link to find out what I thought of JJ Abrams take on the Star Trek universe. Click here to continue reading »”Star Trek XI Review – Star Trek Finds Its Bearings Again”

In the first part of my review of the BSG finale, “Daybreak, Part 2”, I examined the conclusion of the story arcs for some of the characters that we’ve been following for a good part of the series run. To start this next part of the review, I want to take a look one character whose internal driving force was only revealed to us in these final episodes of BSG to see whether we got the necessary closure for this particular plot line.

John/Cavil – The Cylon with a plan

In the episode “No Exit”, in addition to the information dump provided by the reawakening of Anders’ original memories of Cylon Earth, we were also given some interesting insight into the John/Cavil character and his unmistakable hatred for both his Cylon creators and the inherent limitations imposed on him thanks to their encasing him in a human body. In the scenes between Ellen and John/Cavil, we learn that John/Cavil is driven in large part by his rage against his creators and the subsequent desire to make each of them endure as much pain and hardship as he can create. The ideas presented in that episode carried on into “Daybreak, Part 1” where we see that John/Cavil clearly relishes how his plan to kidnap Hera would inflict much pain on Ellen to the point where he wishes he could have been there to witness it first-hand. While we’ve always understood that the Cylons saw Hera as being the key to their future – even more so in light of the loss of the Resurrection Hub – these scenes help us to understand that John/Cavil’s drive is also fuelled by his seeking revenge against those he believes have wronged him.

It’s for this reason I found something noticeably lacking in the showdown scene between John/Cavil and the Colonial/rebel Cylon alliance in the CIC. Although the exchange of Cylon resurrection technology for Hera made sense for addressing Click here to continue reading »”BSG “Daybreak, Part 2” – My Final BSG Review, Part 2″

When I sat down to start writing this review, I realized that it was going to be a hard one to do, in part because of how much there is to discuss about the BSG series finale, but also due to the reality that this would be my last time writing about this incredible series. After thinking about the various aspects of this finale that I wanted to write about, I realized that it would be best to divide this up into a multi-part review so that I could really delve into the episode’s various storylines and yet still keep the piece from becoming too weighty a read. To start off this first part of my review of “Daybreak, Part 2”, I want to touch base on two elements of BSG I haven’t mentioned previously, the work of the VFX team and the music score of Bear McCreary.

Gary Hutzel’s VFX Team and Bear McCreary – The magic behind the cameras

One of the common complaints about the last few episodes of BSG has been the minimal presence of its hallmark CG animation from the team lead by visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel. In “Daybreak, Part 2”, it’s clear that Ron Moore and David Eick wanted to save the CG effects budget so as to create the visual feast seen in this two hour finale. Indeed, there were times where the CG sequences had more Click here to continue reading »”BSG “Daybreak, Part 2” – My Final BSG Review, Part 1″

For those who have been mesmerized by Ron Moore and David Eick’s series “Battlestar Galactica”, today is a day that is certainly filled with contradicting emotions of happiness and sorrow as expressed by Juliet at Romeo’s departure. The sadness felt by BSG fans is obvious as today marks the end of that journey we all undertook with these characters four years ago in their search for a new home and with it, a new life and beginning. On the other hand, the sweet aspect of tonight’s airing will be the culmination of all the events that we’ve witnessed so far into the final outcome, along with the expectation of addressing the numerous questions this series has wrought over its duration. With tonight’s finale, the writers will finally be bringing out the dessert carts so we can at last see what choices they’ve made for how they want to end this resplendent meal.

I wanted to write this piece before watching tonight’s episode because I do expect these emotions to percolate up to the surface, as it should if the drama and the story told therein are to live up to the expectations fans understandably have of this series’ finale, if not the legacy of storytelling this series has fostered over the course of its four seasons. And while I’m sure that there will be much for BSG fans to discuss and theorize about at the conclusion of tonight’s episode, I wanted to share my own personal thoughts before I watch the end of this series.

I’m sure it’s become evident to those of you who have been reading my reviews of these final episodes of BSG that one element I’ve enjoyed in this series is the examination of the internal drives and motivations that propel the series characters in their actions. In particular, I’ve enjoyed how BSG challenged its viewers to think and question not only Click here to continue reading »”BSG – Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow”