Abrams set to direct Star Wars

Well, it’s official! J.J. Abrams won’t be directing the next Star Trek film, and is now set to direct the upcoming Star Wars flick. Apparently the fans are rejoicing with this news. I am not exactly sure why! Maybe it’s fans of Star Trek that are rejoicing? Since now, they will actually be able to watch the next Star Trek movie without having to squint through a barrage of lens flares. Perhaps the rejoicing fans are fans of Lens Flares in general! Maybe, they are so excited about the idea of a possible light saber duel that can’t be seen because it’s entirely blotted out by one giant lens flare!

Surely the rejoicing fans can’t be fans of Star Wars right?  Apparently they are! Again, I am not sure why the rejoicing! Am I the only one who seriously finds Abrams over-use of Lens Flares to be more than a little annoying? Sure, his directing isn’t bad in general! I mean, I genuinely enjoyed LOST, but that was before the whole flare fetish thing kicked in. It’s now gotten to the point where his love of all things bright has ruined his actual talent as a director. At least to me, and judging by response of the Star Wars community, I maybe the only one in this mind-set.

I just think they could have went with better directors. Zemeckis would have been good,  Jackson would have been great, as would Spielberg! Hell, I would have even settled for Burton, granted I would have to tolerate Johnny Depp as a sith lord, with claymation troopers doing his bidding on a planet with a bunch of curly leafless trees, but it’s infinitely better than lens flares!

I’m not saying Abrams is the worst possible choice! There are plenty of worse directors for Star Wars! They could have stuck us with Woody Allen or Quentin Tarantino. However, just because there are worse choices, does not make the current choice a good one! Will he ruin Star Wars for me? Doubtful! If he didn’t completely ruin Star Trek for me, I doubt if he could possibly ruin Star Wars. He could however make the experience of watching it, highly unenjoyable.

Related articles

• Star Wars Episode VII: New Director Revealed (news.sky.com)
• J.J. Abrams: Being A Part Of The Next Star Wars Is ‘An Absolute Honor’ (kotaku.com)
• Disney says JJ Abrams to direct next ‘Star Wars’ (miamiherald.com)

I love it when a plan comes together!

I rented the movie The A-Team the other day through VUDU, and while I wasn’t overly impressed with it, it was still enjoyable! However, not enjoyable enough to watch a second time. Although, it was enjoyable enough to watch a sequel if one ever pops up.

So, what flaws were in the movie? Well, to be honest; Not many! In fact, the few “Flaws” that exist aren’t even really flaws, just personal tastes. For instance, I didn’t feel the movie had an “A-Team” feel.

I also wasn’t too fond of the cast, although Liam Neeson did manage to surprise me. At first, I scoffed at the idea of Liam playing Hanibal but after watching the movie, it turns out I was wrong, and he does an excellent job portraying the character that George Peppard made famous back in the ’80s.

As far as Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson goes, he did a better B.A. Baracus than Mr. T ever did! As far as I am concerned, B.A. belongs to Quinton.

The rest of the cast though? Not quite so impressive. Bradley Cooper was tolerable as the Faceman, but Sharlto Copley was a horrible Murdock, at least in my opinion.

You know who might have made a good Murdock though? Johnny Depp. I know, it sounds lame, but I think he could probably pull it off, at least better than Sharlto did.

Why Depp you ask? See, Dwight Schultz and Mr. Depp have something in common. Their Eyes. Their eyes are quite similar, and they have that crazy man gleam in them. It’s that gleam that made Schultz a perfect Murdock, and he shares that gleam with Depp.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, I urge you to check it out, because while it might not be perfect; It still has an enjoyment factor, coupled with a nostalgia factor.