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FLICKS: Indignation, The Bride & Star Trek Beyond

Posted on 04 August 2016 by LeslieM

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

As history has revealed with the opening of the two-week miniseries known as The Olympics, the motion picture box office is anticipated to suffer. Forty summers ago, America listened to Jim McKay host the Montreal Olympics on the ABC Network that featured Nadia Comaneci, Sugar Ray Leonard, the Spinks brothers and Bruce Jenner, when John Wayne’s last movie, The Shootist was released. Cinematic History has also shown that classic gems seem to get lost during these international games.

Based on the novel written by Phillip Roth, Indignation opens tomorrow. The author of Goodbye Columbus, Portnoy’s Complaint and The Human Stain, Indignation offers another perspective of Roth’s familiar themes: Jewish-American culture, conformity and alienation. With the Korean War as a backdrop, we meet a New Jersey working-class student who transfers to a small Ohio college.

Having screened at the Miami International Film Festival last Spring, The Bride opens tomorrow in neighborhood cinemas. A Spanish film with English subtitles, The Bride is based on the play Bodas de sangre by Federico García Lorca. This melodrama opens with a wedding being interrupted by a man on a white horse. The Bride follows the destructive course of a love triangle between two men and one woman.

For good old Saturday matinee popcorn-eating fun, Star Trek Beyond will fit your bill. While acknowledging the 50 year anniversary of the television show, this new Star Trek is a stand-alone movie about the Starship Enterprise’s fabled five year mission.

On day 966 (yes, this day is a significant “Easter egg”), the Enterprise crew is planning shore leave. The crew is suffering from boredom of routine. While Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) is seeking promotion, Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura’s (Zoe Saldana) relationship has reached a standstill. When a distress call is heard, the Enterprise crew cancel shore leave.

Buckle your seat belts, because this adventure takes on a bumpy ride as the Enterprise is decimated by a new enemy named Krall (Idris Elba), a lizard-like villain with a deep hatred for Captain Kirk’s employer, the Federation. As the Enterprise crew faces disaster after disaster, the individuals unite to fight a powerful enemy.

Co-written by Simon Pegg (who plays Chief Engineer “Scotty”), this 12th big screen Star Trek is filled with humor and fantastic visual action, whether epic space battles, vicious fist fights or cliffhanging escapes. Star Trek Beyond will also be remembered for quiet scenes involving the stoic Spock grieving over a lost mentor.

There is no denying the spectacle of the Olympics opening. However, for those seeking an alternative distraction from the outside heat, Star Trek Beyond provides summer shade. For those seeking more serious fare, The Bride or Indignation may be the film for you.

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