Film Reviews: Star Trek, Into Darkness

I was a huge Star Trek fan when I was younger, but haven't watched the series in years.   The original series is the one I've seen the least of, so I went to see the previous Star Trek film without much idea of what to expect.   I loved it!   It was very different to the Star Trek I remembered, and I loved the new incarnation.   So I was very eager to see this sequel when it came out, and overall I was impressed.   It had the same sort of flavour as the last film, with impressive visuals, spunky characters, great jokes and lots of nods to the original series for the fans.   Like its prequel, it was also a film for everybody, not just one for the fans, which I thought was great.   The plot is slightly on the forgettable side, but the visuals, script and acting more than make up for it.   Again, Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Chekov, Bones and Scotty are brilliant, and Benedict Cumberbatch is, of course great as Khan.   He's everywhere at the moment, isn't he?   And I loved Spock yelling Khan! at the end!   Even someone like me who has never seen Wrath of Khan knows what a famous scene that is and can appreciate what they did with reversing Spock and Kirk's roles.   I do think, though, that it isn't quite as good as its predecessor.   Still great though, and I hope they make lots more!

TV Reviews: The Big Bang Theory Season 5

I love The Big Bang Theory.   It's definitely one of my favorite tv shows.  I love the characters and the writing is so clever, and it's full of nerdy geeky jokes which I understand!  It's my staple program to watch in bed when I'm ill.   It never fails to cheer me up.   Season 5 did not disappoint!   It followed on seamlessly from the previous seasons and had the same energy and humour.   Sheldon and Howard's girlfriends Amy and Bernadette are by now well established in their roles and make excellent additions to the group.   The series is dominated by the build up to the big season finale, namely Howard and Bernadette's wedding and Howard's trip to space.   There are plenty of mentions of wedding plans throughout and arguments about Howard going into space.   And of course the big event we've all been waiting for happens as well, which is Leonard and Penny getting back together.  We all knew it would!   We all know it's right!   But once again the course of true love does not run smooth for them.   This isn't a fairy tale.   And perhaps my favorite moment of the series was Sheldon and Amy finally becoming an official couple.   It was so cute and funny.   Of course with a group of such "interesting" personalities there are always going to be interpersonal difficulties and this series deals with quite a lot of them.   Both Sheldon and Amy, and Bernadette and Howard encounter difficulties in their relationships, like Sheldon being selfish and Howard's shady past, but they both get through them.  Sheldon and Leonard also have problems with their friendship for the same reason.   The issue of Raj's loneliness is also dealt with pretty thoroughly too, with him falling for Penny, his phone, a gold digger, then asking his parents for help for help finding a wife, then finally getting a dog from Howard and Bernadette.   Poor Raj.   I also enjoyed a cameo from yet another Star Trek actor, this time Brent Spiner.   It made my inner Trekkie child very happy.   All in all a very strong continuation to a great series, and I can't wait to see Season 6 (Yes, I know it's been out for ages!   I'll get to it!)