"PENMARRIC" (1979) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "PENMARRIC", the BBC's 1979 adaptation of Susan Howatch's 1971 novel. Directed by Tina Wakerell and Derek Martinus, the twelve-part miniseries starred Annabel Leventon, Thomas Ellice, Rupert Frazer and Eric Deacon:

"PENMARRIC" (1979) Photo Gallery

"FRANCHISE RANKING: The STAR TREK Movies"

 

Below is my ranking of the eleven "STAR TREK" movies from my favorite to my least favorite. The movies featured characters from "STAR TREK" (1966-1969) and "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION" (1987-1994) series:

FRANCHISE RANKING: The "STAR TREK" Movies



1. "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986) - Even after so many years, I am still in love with this time travel tale in which the senior officers of the U.S.S. Enterprise go back in time to find a humpback whale, bring it back to 23rd century San Francisco and save the Alpha Quadrant. Leonard Nimoy directed and he co-starred with William Shatner and Catherine Hicks.





2. "Star Trek: First Contact" (1996) - Here is another time travel story that is a major favorite of mine. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E go back to mid-21st Earth to prevent the Borg from conquering it. Director Jonathan Frakes also co-starred with Patrick Stewart, Alfrie Woodward, Alice Kriege and James Cromwell.





3. "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984) - Following Spock's death in "The Wrath of Khan", Kirk and his fellow senior officers steal the U.S.S. Enterprise and return to the planet Genesis in order to find Spock's body and bond it with the half-Vulcan's essence, which is inside Leonard McCoy's body. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, the movie starred William Shatner, DeForest Kelley and Christopher Lloyd.





4. "Star Trek Beyond" (2016) - The U.S.S. Enterprise crew is drawn to a desolate planet and a new enemy with a personal grudge against the Federation. Directed by Justin Lin, the movie stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Elba Idris.





5. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982) - James Kirk and his crew are reunited with an old foe from twenty years earlier, the genetically engineered Khan Noonien Singh. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, the movie starred William Shatner, Leonard McCoy, Ricardo Montalban, Kirstie Alley and Paul Winfield.





6. "Star Trek: Generations" (1994) - In this first movie to feature the "NEXT GENERATION" crew; Picard, with the help of supposedly dead James T. Kirk, must stop a madman willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix. David Carson directed Patrick Stewart, Malcolm McDowell and William Shatner.





7. "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) - Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise must stop a plot to prevent a peace treaty between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, the movie starred William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Kim Cattrall and Brock Peters.





8. "Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013) - After the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within the Federation, Captain James Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. Directed by J.J. Abrams, the movie starred Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch.



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9. "Star Trek: Insurrection" (1998) - When Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E learn of a Federation plot against the inhabitants of a unique planet, they begin an open rebellion. Director Jonathan Frakes co-starred with Patrick Stewart, Donna Murphy and F. Murray Abraham.





10. "Star Trek" (2009) - Directed by J.J. Abrams, this reboot follows a young James T. Kirk and Spock, before they unite aboard the USS Enterprise to combat a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Zoë Saldaña and Bruce Greenwood. The quality of the "TREK" films begin to waver around this point.





11. "Star Trek: Nemesis" (2002) - After the Enterprise-E is diverted to the Romulan planet of Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a truce, the Federation soon find out the Romulans are planning an attack on Earth. Directed by Stuart Baird, the movie starred Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spinner, Tom Hardy and Ron Perlman.





13. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979) - In this lackluster tale, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path and Admiral James T. Kirk assumes command of his old starship—the U.S.S. Enterprise to lead it on a mission to save the planet and determine V'ger's origins. Directed by Robert Wise, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Persis Khambatta and Stephen Collins co-starred.





13. "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) - In what I consider to be the worst "TREK" movie ever, Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's half-brother, who hijacks the Enterprise-A for an obsessive search for God. Director William Shatner co-starred with Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, David Warner and Laurence Luckinbill.

"JUMPER" (2008) Review

 

"JUMPER" (2008) Review

Doug Liman directed this film adaptation of Steven Gould's 1992 science-fiction thriller about a young man who discovers that he has a teleportation ability as a teenager and finds himself the target of a group of bounty hunters known as Paladins. The movie starred Hayden Christensen.

I really did not know what to expect of this movie when I first saw it ten years ago. I had never read Gould's novel and the sequels that followed. The movie trailer had looked promising. When the film was released in February 2008, the critics' response had been lukewarm. And I ended up not expecting much. Yet, lo and behold, I ended up enjoying "JUMPER" more than I had expected.

Liman did a good job in keeping the narrative interesting and well paced. Hayden Christensen (dubbed "wooden" by the critics) gave a subtle, yet entertaining performance as an immature young man named David Rice, who had spent eight years without any parental supervision or a mentor. His experiences with the Paladins forced him to finally grow up. Christensen had good chemistry with his co-stars, Rachel Bilson and Jamie Bell. I have to admit there were times I could not understand Bell's Scottish accent, but at least he gave an entertaining, yet flashy performance. Samuel L. Jackson was particularly scary as Roland Cox, the bounty hunter (also called a Paladin) who belonged to an organization that did not approve of teleporters or "Jumpers". These religious fanatics believed that people like Christensen and Bell had no right to such abilities. Only God. Hmmmm. The movie also featured solid performances by Diane Lane, Michael Rooker, Max Thieriot, and Teddy Dunn. By the way, the film's ending featured an appearance of Kristen Stewart at least nine months before the release of another 2008 film, "TWILIGHT".

Judging from what I had read about Gould's novel, I can see that the film adaptation was not completely faithful. Not that it bothers me. I have never read the novel. And Hollywood - along with other film industries around the world - have rarely been capable of creating a completely faithful adaptation of a literary source. But I must admit that screenwriters David S. Goyer, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg did a pretty good job with their adaptation. Mind you, I believe that the movie could have been a little longer than 90 minutes. But it seems a little clear that the writers have set up a possible sequel in case the movie proves to be successful.

However, I do wish they had cleared up two matters - 1) the fate of David Rice's father after the latter had been assaulted by Cox; and 2) the fate of David's former nemesis - high school bully Mark, after David had left him in a jail. But at least the story did not end in an abrupt manner that had left many moviegoers feeling slightly puzzled.

"JUMPER" was not exactly the best action film or movie adaptation I had ever seen. It was basically a good solid movie that will keep you entertained to the end.

"THAT DARN CAT!" (1965) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "THAT DARN CAT!", Disney's 1965 adaptation of Gordon and Mildred Gordon's 1963 novel, "Undercover Cat". Directed by Robert Stevenson, the movie starred Hayley Mills and Dean Jones:




"THAT DARN CAT!" (1965) Photo Gallery