Okay, so I finished Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was pretty freaking awesome. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. I’m amazed at the special effects they were using on a television show in 1987. I can’t even tell if the enterprise is a model or CGI. Did they even have CGI back then? But if you can’t tell what method of special effects they’re using, that’s a good thing. Yes, I could tell when they reused some of the same spaceship shots, but only because I was watching the show in marathons. And yes, most of the aliens are humanoid, but the make-up effects are spectacular!

2. I love the way every show starts off. “We’re on our way to the 3rd planet of the Beta System to investigate a deadly mutant spore that has suddenly appeared blah blah blah.” It cuts right to the chase, so the mystery of the show is introduced before the opening credits, so you get as much bang for your buck. No unnecessary filler.

3. Normally I hate series that focus on “monster-of-the-week” episodes or even stand-alone episodes in continuous story series like Battlestar Galactica, but it really doesn’t bother me here. The individual mysteries and stories are so good that you don’t need an overall story arc to want to keep watching episode after episode.

4. Contrary to popular belief, there wasn’t a single episode where 3 main characters and 1 extra went on a mission, and the extra got killed. Not once in the entire season! Take that nay-sayers!

5. Slightly too much Wesley Crusher saving the day.

6. I love the balance of drama and humor. It’s not afraid to tackle big issues, but at times it can be wonderfully light-hearted and whimsical. Like the time Lieutenant Tasha Yar had sex with Data. Seriously!

7. The chemistry between the entire cast is absolutely undeniable. They all blend into their roles and interact so well. They’re really one in a million.

8. Male crew members in miniskirt Starfleet uniforms!

9. While the phaser doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as the big honking “lock and load!” laser rifles found in most other science fiction, you have to admire the restraint of the designers to keep things simple and logical. Why not have a small hand held phaser? It makes complete sense.

10. Patrick Stewart is awesome. He adds so much gravitas to the role of Captain Picard. Plus he loves Star Trek and isn’t one of those people that tries to distance themselves from the role. In a recent interview, he was asked about weird Star Trek fans and he said: “How many do you know personally? You couldn’t be more wrong. Here’s the thing: if you say the fans are weird, that means there is something essentially weird about the show, and there is nothing weird about it. I’m very passionate when people like you snigger.” Um, how awesome is he?

I’m taking a break from Star Trek: The Next Generation for the time being and switching over to the first season of Babylon 5, another science fiction series I’ve never seen. I’m really excited because it seems to have a great cult following. I’ll probably go back and forth between seasons. One season of Star Trek, then one season of Babylon 5, and so forth and so on. The excitement never ends!

Netflix #25 - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang - Suggested by Michelle and Jeff

Wow. The was by far one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer made an awesome team as a conman and gay private detective respectively. Not only was it hysterical, but the mystery/thriller aspect was hugely engaging. I love when a comedy takes it plot seriously, and doesn’t resort to a cookie cutter plot just as a means to tell some jokes. It also reminded me a lot of Family Guy and 30 Rock with its cutaway flashes of random humor. Plus Robert Downey Jr.’s narration was priceless. You need to see this movie immediately!

Netflix #26 - August Rush - Suggested by Irisgirl

This one took a while to win me over. I watched it for the first hour absolutely unimpressed. My cold, black heart wasn’t budging one bit. I thought it was ridiculously cliche and annoying. Plus Robin Williams’ storyline was not what I expected at all, and I absolutely hated the whole musical Lost Boys thing he had going on. But as the second hour progressed, my heart started to thaw and by the end I enjoyed it. I still don’t think it’s that great of a movie because of the kinda lame first hour and Robin Williams (who I normally love) but it was a cute little movie. Also: How gorgeous is Keri Russell?

Iron Man

What else is there to say about Iron Man that you haven’t already heard? It’s an incredible comic book movie on the same level as Batman Begins (although Batman Begins is still the pinnacle of comic book movies). I guess what I can say about the movie that you may not have heard yet is that it will make you like Gwyneth Paltrow again. I mean, after she nearly ruined the otherwise awesome Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with her atrocious acting and then named her kid Apple, I was all set to be annoyed by her mere presence in the movie. But she came across totally cute and charming. There. Now go see it. Not just for me, for Gwyneth.

My Recommendation to You: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

You guys are nice enough to give me loads of recommendations, so it’s about time I returned the favor. So I gladly present you with a 2001 movie you’ve probably never heard of called The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra. It’s a throwback to the really bad science fiction movies of yesteryear. It’s absolutely ridiculous and wonderful. I’m not sure if it’s exactly laugh-out-loud funny, but I had a huge smile on my face the entire time I watched it. Here’s the trailer so you can get a taste for what you’re in for.

Keep your recommendations coming!

Netflix #23 - The Host - Suggested by Michelle, Howard, FDot, and Brett

Not liking this movie wasn’t even in the realm of possibility. What wasn’t to love? It’s a Korean monster movie for goodness sakes! So just imagine how shocked I was when I was let down. Prior to watching The Host, I rewatched Cloverfield (which holds up nicely on the small screen by the way) so I was all set for another awesome monster movie. It started off good enough: humans suck, so they accidentally create a giant mutant monster. But what followed were some pretty serious disappointments. I shouldn’t blame the movie entirely, I just had completely different expectations. Take the monster for example. It bursts out of the water and kicks people’s asses, which is all fine and good, but I assumed that it was going to get bigger as the movie went along, because as far as movie monsters go, this one was downright puny. So everytime the monster appeared on screen and it wasn’t suddenly enormous, it was another disappointment. But it swung around like a monkey, which was neat so I kept watching. The movie kept going and the main characters seemed to be getting picked off one by one. For a brief moment, the unassuming and totally awesome Aunt (who happens to be an archery champion) appears to be emerging as the Ellen Ripley of the movie. The music starts pumping, she’s running with her bow in hand, and I sit up in my seat, super excited at the idea of her charging into the monster’s den and kicking some serious monster ass. But no. She gets knocked out and doesn’t come back until the end of the movie. Another disappointment. And the virus storyline? What was the point of that? Why couldn’t it just be a monster movie? Why did there have to be this completely tacked on government conspiracy subplot? Maybe if I watched it again, I’d be able to enjoy it more, since I won’t have any false expectations, but chances are I won’t.

Netflix #24 - Idiocracy - Suggested by Hayes

I really enjoyed this one. You’ve probably never heard of it, but it’s a science fiction comedy starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, and Dax Shepard made by the same guy who did Office Space. Luke Wilson plays an average guy who goes into cryogenic sleep for 500 years and wakes up in time where everyone on Earth is a complete moron. Not only is it really funny, but it makes some very good cultural points. For example, water has been replaced by a Gatorade-type beverage, and everyone just blindly drinks it (and uses it to water crops) because it has electrolytes, yet no one has a damn clue what an electrolyte is (as a matter of fact, neither do I) but apparently it’s what “crops crave”. There’s also some really great scenes that take place in a future hospital and sadly, the hospital staff doesn’t seem that much dumber than some health care workers I’ve dealt with. It almost reminded me of a live-action South Park in it’s absolute absurdity (don’t forget Maya Rudolph is in this, and she plays a prostitute of course) but still smart enough to be absurd in new and clever ways. I’d definitely recommend this one for a rainy day if you need something different to watch.

Keep your recommendations coming!

Netflix #21 - The Iron Giant - Suggested by no one

No one recommended this one, but it’s one I’ve wanted to see ever since I found out it was directed by Brad Bird. As you may or may not know, Brad Bird was responsible for one of the best (if not the best) Pixar movie The Incredibles (at least until I see Wall-E which I suspect will take the top spot). It was just as good as I had hoped and made me wish they made more traditional animation movies these days. There’s definitely a place for them in the world, just not in the form of Home on the Range. Anyway the movie was really great and sweet. It was refreshing seeing the traditional animation in the 1950’s setting, and not in the hyperkinetic animation style that runs so rampant in other cartoons. Oh, and I may have cried at the end. Shut up.

Netflix #22 - Harold and Maude - Suggested by FDot, GoKitty, Emily, Hayden, Topncal, and Grim Reality Girl

This one was quite a surprise. I’ve never heard of this movie until about a bajillion of you recommended it and I had no idea what to suspect, but it turned out to be really great, quirky and fun. And it was made before quirky was trendy, and people didn’t try too hard to achieve quirkiness. Honest to blog! Even after I added it to my queue, I didn’t realize that there was such an extreme age difference between the two lead characters. Ruth Gordon as Maude was absolutely fantastic as the crazy yet awesome old lady. And Bud Cort was great as the crazy yet potentially awesome Harold, and kinda cute too, but have you seen him lately? Not so much. Did you know he played the priest at Wilhelmina Slater’s wedding in Ugly Betty? Liar. Oh, and the soundtrack by Cat Stevens was awesome. Especially this one, If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out:

I need some fresh recommendations. Even if you’ve already made them, I need a refresher, and going back into all my old comments is too much for my feeble mind to comprehend. Thanks!

Netflix #19 - Justice League: The New Frontier - Suggested by no one

Man I really wanted this to be great, but what a let down. First off, I was hoping the animation would reflect the nature of the old Max Fleischer Superman cartoons, which I love. I think they tried to capture that same spirit, but combined it with more modern day animation techniques, and the two didn’t mesh well together at all. Secondly, like any movie about a group of heroes, they focused too much attention on a few of the characters, rather than the entire group. And in this case, they focused on the wrong characters. Green Lantern and The Flash? Sorry. I want more Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in my Justice League. I didn’t mind the focus on Martian Manhunter, because he was pretty cool, but I would have rathered more of the bigger names. And what was with that awful villain? The Centre? It started off cool and mysterious, but then turned into a stupid floating island with dinosaurs. Um, what? But it did have a few moments of genius. I thought this ending montage was great:

Netflix #20 - Primer - Suggested by Antonio

I was really excited about this movie since it was made for only $7,000. I thought it was going to inspire some genius within myself to emerge and help me create my own extremely low budget yet brilliant movie. But that didn’t happen. My inner genius has been further suppressed. Can someone please use very simple words and explain this movie to me? I have no idea what the hell happened! I don’t think this movie is appropriate for Netflix. I think you’re supposed to watch it a million times and analyze it over and over again until you can figure out what happened. But I sent it back because I’ll just let someone else explain it to me. On a related note, you know how I hate when people say that “you just didn’t get it” when I tell them I hate Blade Runner? Well this just proves they’re wrong. Because I didn’t GET this movie, and I don’t hate it. I can’t even formulate a review of any kind because I don’t have the foggiest idea what this movie was about. It also proves that I’m willing to admit that movies go over my head. So screw you, you elitist Blade Runner bastards! It’s a crappy movie!

1. First off, go to this website called Stuff Queer People Like. It’s kind of like that other website about white people, but not really. It’s run by the same people that write GayCondo, the bloggers who debated Wine versus Beer with me. My favorite is the “Off Color Humor as Told by Awkward White Woman”. We love us some Amy Sedaris.

2. Brian challenged me to read outside my normal science fiction genre. I’m currently reading his recommendation Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. It’s really great so far. I’m laughing on the train, which is a sure fire sign to my fellow commuters that I’m crazy. He offered to read any science fiction novel of my choosing in return. I spared him from reading my favorite Star Wars novel and instead opted for him to read Sphere, which is the best Michael Crichton book out there.

3. The season premiere of Battlestar Galactica last friday was fantastic. Sarah voiced some concern when I said I was going to a viewing party that people might talk during the show. But Meg (at the suggestion of Lance who sadly was unable to attend) was genius enough to bring index cards (with the corners cut off) so we could write down our thoughts as the show was on and discuss our thoughts during commercial breaks and not forget what we wanted to say. Oh, and Michelle made awesome snacks and has an awesome apartment and needs to start an equally awesome blog. Oh right, the show! Yes, the show was awesome. I was so happy to have it back. I love the way they’re handling the final five mystery. It’s an interesting concept knowing that you’re a cylon and knowing the possibility that you could be a sleeper agent. I’m sure it will lead to some interesting storylines dealing with free will. And I loved when Starbuck said: “If you were a cylon, I’d put a bullet in your head.” Fantastic. I love her. Oh, and I don’t believe Ron Moore about the final cylon not being in the Last Supper picture. I think he’s lying to throw us off the scent.

4. Netflix #17 - Dan in Real Life; and Netflix #18 Flags of Our Fathers - I’m not giving these reviews their own post since no one recommended them, and they were pretty mediocre. I was unimpressed with Dan in Real Life, but in it’s defense, I was slightly tipsy and not paying attention because my blog started freaking out so my focus was elsewhere. But would I have been as easily distracted if the movie was better? Perhaps we’ll never know. I know Flags of Our Fathers is pretty random of me, but I’ve wanted to see it since it was out in theaters. It was good, but such a bummer of a movie. Who knew the Battle of Iwo Jima was such a downer? Plus it kept jumping around in time and all the secondary characters kinda looked alike so I couldn’t keep up with who was who, which was pretty annoying, and I wasn’t even tipsy!

Netflix #15 - The Descent - Suggested by Brett and digkv

Wow. This was one scary effing movie. I was leaning forward in complete shock for most of it. I think the worst of it were the claustrophobic moments when they were crawling through these ridiculously tiny tunnels in the rock. One of my biggest fears is getting stuck in tight a place, so I’d say these moments were even scarier than the later scenes where they met the real villains of the movie. My only complaint was that it was hard to tell who was who, especially in the dark cave scenes. Plus it doesn’t help that all white people look alike.

Netflix #16 - Young Frankenstein - Suggested by Jere

I know this is one of those “How have you not seen that yet?” movies, because seriously, how have I not seen this yet? It was really great. It displayed great respect for the source material while still managing to completely make fun of it. Why don’t they make spoof movies like this anymore? Why must all spoof movies these days include idiotic pop culture references that have nothing to do with the genre they’re spoofing? And why must they always include a break dancing scene? Is break dancing funny?

Keep those recommendations coming!

Netflix #13 - Enchanted - Suggested by Steve, Barbra, Dave S, David, and Matt

This is the part where I squeal like a little girl. SQUEAL! I loved this movie. I thought it was completely adorable and wonderful and other longish words for cute. I thought it had the perfect balance of paying homage to, spoofing, and turning Disney traditions on their head. Amy Adams was wonderful and totally should have been nominated for an Oscar. Speaking of Oscars…

Netflix #14 - Crash - Suggested by Karen and Minh

Ugh. Seriously? I hated this movie. Does that make me racist or something? All it was was awful people doing awful things to each other for an awful 2 hours. It reminded me of House of Sand and Fog which I also absolutely hated. Were we supposed to learn something from this? It was like an overblown episode of Three’s Company, loaded with annoying misunderstandings. Except no one ever died because Mr. Furley thought Jack was gay. And it won the Oscar for Best Picture! Not that I’m mad that it beat Brokeback Mountain, because I didn’t like that either. Transamerica (which wasn’t even nominated!) totally should have won that year. God forbid an uplifting movie that actually gives you hope in humanity gets nominated.

The Other Boleyn Girl

I thought this movie was great. I hadn’t really known the Boleyn story (other than Henry VIII being a player) so I was able to go in fresh and I was surprised by all the scandal behind it. My sister was disappointed because she’s used to all the characters on Showtime’s “The Tudors”. But I thought Eric Bana, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansen were wonderful and all had a really great chemistry together. A lot of people complained that it was too soap-opera-like, but that didn’t bother me at all. I thought it was on the same level as the Elizabeth movies and almost seemed like it was made to lead right into them. So if you like the Elizabeth movies, I’d definitely recommend this one. Although Natalie’s Ugly Betty necklace was a bit distracting.

Netflix #11 - The Simpsons Movie - Suggested by Tom

This was totally fun, with some really great laugh out loud moments. The Simpsons always works best when it takes advantage of being a cartoon. Sometimes I feel like they forget that they’re a cartoon and they write it like a regular, wacky sitcom, which doesn’t really work. I love when it goes completely over the top and does stuff that live action shows could never do. My favorite moment was Homer on the dog sled: “Rest! Rest!” My only complaint was that they didn’t do enough with the secondary characters like Mr. Burns and Smithers. And what? No aliens?!

Netflix #12 - Waitress - Suggested by Nick, Drew, Maggie, and digkv

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Just kidding! I bet Nick almost jumped through the computer monitor to strangle me. But seriously, how could anyone not fall in love with this movie? Keri Russell was incredible. That scene were she goes around smiling for five minutes straight was adorable. It made me want to watch August Rush. Has anyone seen that? How was it? And who doesn’t love Nathan Fillion? I was really sad every time Adrienne Shelly was on screen though. But then they showed a pie, and I was happy again. But then I didn’t get to eat the pie, and I was sad again. But then the movie was so good, and I was happy again.

PS - I am so incredibly excited about one of the movies I’m getting this weekend. It’s a movie from the past three years that I can’t believe I never got a chance to see. It practically screams: “Craig! Watch me! You will love me!” Leave your guesses as to which movie it is. Correct guesses will win my love and adoration.

Two things:

1. It would appear that I failed to consult your recommendations when I added the following movies to my Netflix queue. I’ll try and be better about that.

2. This is a special note to Nick: Waitress is the next one on my Netflix queue. So you can stop leaving flaming bags of poop in the comment section about how I’m ignoring you. I still love you though.

Netflix #9 - Blades of Glory - Suggested by No One

It’s hard to review a comedy. Like, what am I supposed to say? The cinematography was incredible! But I really did like this movie. It was a whole lot of fun. And yes, they were both being the same characters that they always are, but whatever. Any movie that vaguely makes fun of Johnny Weir is okay in my book.

Netflix #10 - Superbad - Suggested by No One

I wasn’t crazy about this one. Maybe I heard too many great things about it? I mean, does it really deserve a 87% rating on RottenTomatoes? Doubtful. But in it’s defense, I’m sure it’s a lot better when you’re watching it with a group of friends or in a crowded theater. I was watching it alone in my room. Sigh. I did enjoy seeing Jonah Hill get hit by a car several times though. Oh, and McLovin was funny. But in an amused kinda way, not really a laugh out loud kinda way.

10,000 B.C.

Firstly, how can this be titled 10,000 B.C. if the Earth was created by God (after being intelligently designed in his high tech super laboratory) only 6,000 years ago? That doesn’t make any sense! I kid, I kid. After this was over, I turned to my Dad (yes, I go to movies with my Dad) and said: “I enjoyed it. But I don’t want to tell anyone I enjoyed it.” It was completely idiotic, but a lot of fun too.