By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Back in the 1960s, I became an avid fan of Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek,” which not only boldly explored new worlds but also set forth challenging concepts, tackling relevant social issues with philosophical ingenuity and inventive diplomacy.
Yes, the sci-fi sets were tacky but provocative ideas and redemptive life-lessons flourished.
Several movie franchises continued in that vein but, under the stewardship of J.J. Abrams, character complexity has become secondary to continual conflict and spectacle, sacrificing much of the emotional satisfaction.
In “Star Trek: Beyond,” there’s Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), Dr. “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), along with Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) and Pavel Chekhov (the late Anton Yelchin, who tragically died at age 27).
They’re all on-board as this installment begins in the enormous Yorktown Spaceport. Three years into a five-year tour, they embark on a rescue mission through a dangerous, uncharted nebula.
After the Enterprise is disabled by an evil enemy, reptilian megalomaniac Krall (Idris Elba), the crew is stranded on planet Altamid, where they’re befriended by Jaylah (Sofia Boutella), a vengeful, rebel warrior who has taken up residence inside a shipwrecked, century-old Federation vessel.
Generically scripted by Simon Pegg (who plays chief engineer Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott) and Don Jung, it’s formulaically directed by noise-and-action obsessed Justin Lin (“Fast & Furious”).
Unfortunately, the narrative quest for a powerful artifact is diluted by far too many frantic skirmishes, quick edits and vertiginous CGI battles, including one in which multiple Kirks ride multiple motorcycles.
Thankfully, ever-logical Spock and grumpy, acerbic Bones still banter so actors Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban deliver much-needed comedy relief, along with the timely use of the Beastie Boys’ song “Sabotage.” Plus there’s a fleeting moment of nostalgia, a glimpse of the seven original Starfleet crew.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Star Trek: Beyond” is an explosive, shoot ‘em up 7. Although there’s too much hardware and too little heart, the franchise should “Live long and prosper.”
Based on Akimi Yoshida’s popular graphic novel “Umimachi Diary,” Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Nobody Knows,” “I Wish,” “Like Father, Like Son”) has created “Our Little Sister,” a wistful, episodic melodrama about families.
When the three twentysomething Koda sisters – Sachi, Yoshino and Chika – travel to Yamagata for the funeral of their estranged father, they discover that they have a teenage half-sister (Suzu Hirose) from his second marriage.
Impulsively, Sachi invites shy, soccer-loving Suzu to come live with them in their late grandmother’s dilapidated family house in Kamakura, a small, seaside town, south of Tokyo.
Ever since their mother (Shinobu Ohtake) deserted them, dutiful Sachi has been the matriarch; a dedicated nurse, she’s having an affair with a married pediatrician at the local hospital.
The middle sister, Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa), is a hard-partying bank clerk, while kooky Chika (Kaho) works in a sporting-goods store, flirting with a mountaineer who lost six toes climbing Mt. Everest.
In addition to the sisters’ romantic angst, there are many culinary interludes, including catching and preparing freshly-caught seafood, along with the multi-generational ritual of making plum wine using fruit harvested from an old tree in their yard.
As seasons pass over the course of a year, the kind and generous sisters bond, relating to each other in different ways, coping with a cantankerous great-aunt, marveling at a fireworks display and relishing the traditional pink cherry blossoms.
As this gradual intertwining occurs, it affectionately reinforces their grandmother’s oft-quoted belief that “every living thing takes time and effort.”
In Japanese with English subtitles, on the Granger Gauge, “Our Little Sister” is a slight, serene, sweet 6; it’s a subtle, calming interlude.
On BBC-TV, off-and-on from 1992 to 2004, the cult sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” was just that. As a full-length feature film, it’s only fair.
First of all, you’ve got to know who’s who and what’s what in order to understand anything. Otherwise, it’s like coming into the middle of a stranger’s glitzy party, knowing no one.
The plot revolves around the misadventures of two bawdy, Bollinger-boozing, middle-aged fashionistas. Enlisting the help of her BFF Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), British publicist Edina “Eddy” Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) is determined to sign a new client: supermodel Kate Moss.
Edina lives in a palatial West London house which she shares with her elderly mother (90 year old June Whitfield), her prim, now-divorced daughter Saffron (Julia Sawalha) and 13 year-old grand-daughter Lola (model Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness).
With Edina’s personal assistant Bubble (Jane Horrocks) overpaying herself, times are tough. Her roster has dwindled to only two clients: singer Lulu and “Spice Girl” Emma Bunton. And no one wants to publish her memoir. So snagging Kate Moss is of utmost importance.
Predictably, everything goes wrong at the splashy launch party for designer Huki Muki (Janette Tough, a.k.a. Janet Krankie), forcing them to flee to the glittering, glamorous French Riviera, perhaps forever.
Saddled with little originality, screenwriter Jennifer Saunders and director Mandie Fletcher rely on campy vulgarity and lots of starry, self-reverential cameos, including Jerry Hall, Joan Collins, Rebel Wilson, Dame Edna (Barry Humphries), Stella McCartney, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Chris Colfer and John Hamm, who confesses he lost his virginity at age 15 to Patsy.
On the Granger Gauge, “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” is farcical 5. It’s frothy but far from fabulous.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
