Power Rangers Trailer Analysis

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going

Edited by Robert Beach 

Something that’s been nagging me as we inch ever close to the release of Power Rangers 2017 is the question: who is this film for? We’ve had a ton of ill-advised ‘90s revival flicks lately. While they were all garbage, I at least understood why most of them were made. Independence Day: Resurgence and Jurassic World were bad movies, but, from a marketing standpoint, I get that their progenitors made a ton of cash and are still regarded by many as unassailable classics. 

If you’re an older fan who grew up with the Power Rangers show, I don’t really see what’s meant to be enticing about the new film. The steps it has taken to betray the series's core identity of sincerity and fun, the two things that made the original show worth watching.  

If you’re a younger fan, there’s already a version of this on TV right now that’s far more imaginative and consumable for free.  It’s the same situation that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Amazing Spider-Man were in, so I guess it’s fitting that this first trailer for Power Rangers draws so heavily from those sources. 

5 O'Clock Shuffle - August 8th

Welcome to the latest installment of the site's news broadcast the 5 O'Clock Shuffle, coming to you every Monday with the news you may have missed over the weekend and a look at what's to come, all in just under 10 minutes.

This week I take a look at Suicide Squad's controversy and box office returns, Man of Steel 2, the prospect of new Marvel and Star Wars TV Shows, and a look at all the hot new DC Comics hitting the store this Wednesday.  

Cover Story - Top 15 Star Trek Covers

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going

So, today’s the day, the release of Star Trek Beyond.  I’ll have already seen it by the time this article goes up but for now consider me psyched, especially because a lot of people I trust are telling me it’s great.  For now, though, I thought we’d celebrate Star Trek one more time before the new film’s release as, after all, this is the 50^th anniversary of the series; that’s worth doing something special.  

So, I dug through dozens of old issues to bring you the top 15 Star Trek covers from across the multitude of Trek comics that have been published over the years.  For this list, I’m sticking to covers featuring the original series crew, but there’s still a lot to get to so, let’s dive into the shallow end and get the cover story on the top 15 Star Trek comic covers. 

Week of Review - Star Trek Film Ranking

If you liked this article, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and please consider Donating to keep the blog going

This really doesn’t require any kind of a thesis at this point right?  I mean, at time of writing the Star Trek film franchise boasts a robust 13 movies and counting, spanning several decades, crews, directors, and quality.  In a weird way Star Trek has become a constant of the pop cultural landscape, always existing in one form or another throughout every decade.  

Though there have been dips and peaks in the franchise’s popularity it’s always had some standard barer in every decade from the original series in the ‘60s to the animated show in the ‘70s, the first six film series in the ‘80s, the triple threat of ‘90s TV shows with Next Generation, Deep Space 9, and Voyager, the 2000s Next Gen films and Enterprise, and then the revival series in the 2010s.  

It’s transcended from simply a franchise into an institution, to the point that the real test of quality for each new Star Trek film as become where it stacks up against the rest of the franchise.  As such, let’s rank all 13 of the Star Trek films (yes, I saw Star Trek Beyond at a midnight screening for this.)

Week of Review - Top 12 Next Generation Episodes

If you like this post or want to support the blog, please consider donating

It’s day 3 of the countdown till Star Trek Beyond and I’ve moved on to looking at the third Star Trek show: The Next Generation.  Launching in 1989, Star Trek: The Next Generation revitalized the franchise and really changed how nerd properties were perpetuated.  Previously, every iteration of Trek had come with the same characters; it was always Kirk, always Spock, always McCoy.  Now, for the first time, there was a new series with the Star Trek name but no returning heroes, a new crew with a new status quo and new dangers. 

This is the show that would launch Star Trek’s renaissance, eventually leading to two spin-off shows and a full series of movies all its own.  The ‘90s was the decade of Star Trek and this show is the reason why.  As befits such a monumental series, I’m celebrating it here with a top 12 list as, even though the show is really good, its quality is much more limited to characters and short episodes than an overarching kind of quality in the vein of Deep Space Nine or Voyager. 

Week in Review - Star Trek TOS Episode Guide

If you like this post or want to support the blog, please consider donating

Edited by Robert Beach

A week from today we’ll be seeing the latest entry in the Star Trek franchise. Normally this wouldn’t be that big deal. After all, Star Trek hasn’t been relevant since Star Trek: First Contact. However, this is also the 50^th anniversary of Star Trek as a franchise and the beginning of our movement towards a new Star Trek show in the real Star Trek continuity run by Bryan Fuller. That makes this a bigger deal, even if Star Trek Beyond only looks decent as opposed to “50^th anniversary special” good. 

Then again, we’ve had a ton of big anniversaries lately, and it’s not as if the celebrations for Batman, Superman, Doctor Who, or Wonder Woman were all that much more impressive. For the next seven days, I celebrate Star Trek across its history starting with the one that started it all: the original series. Rather than a full review of the show (which wouldn’t fit the show’s format), this is an episode guide. I’ll mainly be looking at the mythos episodes; the ones that make up the core of the original series along with a recommendation on whether or not they’re worth watching.

 

Sulu to Be Gay in Star Trek Beyond

If you like this post or want to support the blog, please consider donating

Edited by Robert Beach

As we continue our drive towards the release of Star Trek Beyond, Paramount continues to worry over whether or not they’ll have another viable franchise beyond Transformers.  In addition to that, or possibly because of it, the people behind Star Trek Beyond are ramping up the build up to it, and their latest bid for audience attention in a summer that’s been notoriously lacking in it is announcing that Hikaru Sulu is gay in the new film.  The framing of the statement is a little strange, but that’s the big news, that Star Trek Beyond will feature a scene confirming original crewmember and helmsman Sulu is gay.  Apparently, this comes with a lot of fallout and lot to go over what this means.

 

Star Trek Beyond News Round-Up

If you like this post or want to support the blog, please consider donating

Edited by Robert Beach

Each summer season brings its own crop of questions for the blockbuster season. This year, we had questions like “can WB finally get its act together to make good movie?” (so far: no); “can Marvel produce a movie that’s part solo outing and part Avengers flick and have it work?” (yes) “is there enough ‘90s nostalgia for a new Independence Day? (a definite no)”

One of the few questions still looming over the season is whether or not Paramount’s Star Trek franchise can finally escape the ghetto of directionless mediocrity it’s been stranded in since the 2009 reboot. After Star Trek Into Darkness’s underperformed and lackluster audience response, the “Paramount” forces brought in Justin Lin to try and revive the Trek magic and bring the series back to the dynamite franchise it was 20 years ago. That attempt is Star Trek Beyond, and it’s coming later this month. Let’s see what we know. 

Star Trek Beyond Trailer

In case my various previous articles weren’t enough of an indicator I am a massive and unapologetic Star Trek fan.  I was first introduced to the franchise through the serviceable if not terribly great 2009 reboot movie but since then I’ve made my way through all the films, nearly all the shows (still not done with Enterprise,) Star Trek: Online, and several interesting EU novels.  However, being a fan is a double edged sword because it means I’ve developed a sense of what I want Star Trek to be, a definition informed more by my own personal likes and ideas about the various series rather than strict adherence to canon.  For instance, I think Star Trek should be driven by character drama and emotion above all else but that doesn’t change the fact the original series was predominately informed by setting up occasions for flights of insanity, wrestling, sword fights, and laser battles. 

So going into the trailer for Star Trek Beyond I’m more than a little hesitant to jump on the proclamations of whether this IS or ISN’T Star Trek.  After all, my own definitions of what Star Trek IS have changed significantly over my time as a fan so it’s not like there’s a hard and firm definition and at the same time the question of definition is ultimately secondary to the question of quality.  So, while I will talk about the Trekkiness of this trailer eventually for now my question is; is it any good, to which the answer is a resounding “not really.”