Star Trek Beyond

seen on 28 July 2016

The third of the 'new' or 'rebooted' Star Trek franchise is directed by Justin Lin and stars Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Doctor Spock and Karl Urban as 'Bones' McCoy, with Idris Elba as Krall, Simon Pegg as Scottie, Sofia Boutella as Jaylah, and the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov (he receives a dedication in the credits, alongside Leonard Nimoy).

It's all very predictable but nonetheless enjoyable (nb this is the verdict of a non-trekkie). The sets are lit as if artificially, with no sense of any moisture in the atmosphere, and sometimes the backgrounds look far too obviously matte-painted, reminiscent of classic SF paperback covers. One or two of the special effects betray computer simulation in a way that can only be regarded as slapdash considering what is possible these days. Possibly they would look more convincing in 3D, but then it is a technical demerit if the results cannot stand up to 2D viewing as well.

The story is typical action adventure stuff with the brave captain and crew put in grave danger and rescued by Kirk's almost unflappable calm (fiely portrayed by Chris Pine) and the ingenuity of his officers. Luckily the Federation is extraordinarily naive in assessing distress calls from unknown and unexplained ships approaching their R&R planetoid 'Yorktown', or else there would be no story at all, or at least no 'when did you first suspect ... ?' subplot.

The sparring between Spock and McCoy provides the best humour - the Scottishness and nervy panicking style of Scottie (who nevertheless always delivers the technical goods) becomes a bit wearing. Perhaps a stronger editorial hand on Simon Pegg, who was a scriptwriter as well as the actor playing the part, would have been in order. The earnest appeals to the best side of humanity - peace, united action covering individual weakness, devotion to duty, etc, etc, are par for the course, but the evil Krall attacks these ideals with rather clumsy viciousness which is not really vindicated by the denouement of his back story. However, real depth and real moral turpitude were hardly the strengths of the Trek universe, so perhaps this is not at all surprising. Much better to dazzle the enemy and the audience with virtuoso and dimension-shifting motorcycle daredevilry.

Notes on Blindness

seen on 18 July 2016

This film, directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney, documents theologian John Hull's coming to terms with his encroaching blindness in the early 1980s. The directors have used the cassette tapes Professor Hull made at the time, together with recordings of his wife, children and parents, as the basis of all the speech in the film, with actors lip-synching both the conversations (mainly between husband and wife) and Hull's intense analysis of his predicament. Dan Skinner takes the part of John Hull, while Simone Kirby plays Marilyn Hull.

The result is far more of a documentary than a biopic. There are no anguished consultations with doctors and no 'big scenes' of conflict and resolution. Instead, everything revolves around the measured tones of John Hull himself as he analyses and ruminates upon the onset of total blindness in his mid-forties (he had problems with his eyes since adolescence). A severe crisis of confidence one Christmas seems all the more acute amidst the general sense of calm, while a family trip to Australia to visit his parents reveals a poignant inability to connect with the childhood he had left behind. The conversations with his eldest son and second child Thomas are artless and utterly unsentimental, and yet quietly probing as the young child becomes aware of his father's blindness.

The film is constructed almost entirely from John's perspective, often with very subdued lighting in the foreground and a subtle but powerful emphasis on the tactile and aural world which must replace his reliance on the visual. (The mechanics of creating cassette recordings are a great boon here as the clicking of the buttons and the sounds of a tape spooling are often prominent.) There are marvellous scenes in which the hissing of wind or the falling of rain assume a central importance. 

The two main actors give beautifully understated performances; Dan Skinner's face is usually still and its expression hard to read, forcing us to pay attention to the words even more closely than usual, while Simone Kirby exudes a sense of fortitude and deep love. The final scene in which John tells Marilyn about a sense of God's grace is compelling both because John relates it in the slightly hesitant but always precise tones that we have become used to, and also because the couple can laugh affectionately at the telling. This provides a deeply moving conclusion to a remarkable film.