the burning reel

Film 3 (365) Star Trek: Into Darkness Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) gets gratuitously undressed for a scene in "Star Trek: Into Darkness". Hey, you clicked on it didn't you? The first ten seconds of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" provides the viewer with a birds-eye-view kung-fu zoom. This film gives us plenty of interstellar kung-fu zooms much in the vain of the Battlestar Gallactica series. They still feel just as cheap in a multi million dollar franchise. Director J.J. Abrams is also consistent in providing us with his now trademark lens flares [see video below for examples]. I expected nothing less than a good ol' fashioned popcorn adventure ride and that's exactly what I got. In fact I expected it to be full-on action ad nauseum. It wasn't and I'm glad. There are a few moments for the characters to develop, but not many. If I have any beefs with this film it's that we aren't trusted as an audience. We're spoon fed every...

The unique approach of analysis in the films I will be discussing has prompted me to write this article. Firstly, I want you to be aware of what not to expect. This is not a site where you will find simple movie reviews or ratings. It is for critically analyzing motion pictures as a work of art; understanding their individual purpose and place in our culture. However, let me not be so pompous as to exclude the occasional rant or rave. With that being said, let me establish the way in which each film will be analyzed. We must all agree, up front, that motion pictures are art. Granted, there is some really bad art out there, but it is art nonetheless. In order to analyze movies as art we must understand what a critic is, and what his relationship is to art. The first critic of worthy note is often cited as Plato . From there we can examine Aristotle and the many theorists and critics that have come after them. No, I won't be citing each of these men during my critiques. I w...