Author Archive: Eric San Juan

Star Trek: The Voyage Home is the best thing since Hot Pockets

“Save the Whales.” It’s kind of a shame that the unofficial slogan of a noble cause such as not killing a bunch of shit that doesn’t need killing has over the years turned into an object of ridicule, but it has. Now you mockingly reference the save the whales movement to insult people who are earnest in their support of the environment and protecting endangered animals. It’s simple, direct, and everyone knows you’re being snarky when you say it. Weird. Also weird is that the Star Trek franchise devoted an entire movie to an often cringe-inducing, heavy-handed lecture on why pollution is bad and hunting whales is even worse. But you know what the weirdest thing of all is? It’s how against all odds this movie managed to be so…
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Star Trek: The Search For Spock (aka the Search for a Good Movie)

On the surface, it may seem like a bad idea to devote a feature-length film to a slightly convoluted, comic booky story about bringing a popular character back from the dead, but the truth is … Who am I kidding? It IS a bad idea. The stakes have gotten more personal with each consecutive Star Trek movie, first with a threat that could destroy Earth and potentially endanger the entire galaxy, then a tale of personal revenge that also includes a device that could destroy a planet, and finally this story about a man’s sacrifice for a dear friend. That shouldn’t be a bad thing. People love Star Trek for the characters, after all, so a movie exploring the more intimate side of this crew’s…
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Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is ridiculously awesome

If Star Trek: The Motion Picture is universally considered a misguided misstep for the beloved franchise, The Wrath of Khan is the opposite, a universally beloved movie that almost every Trek fan considers the best. That feeling extends outside of Trek fandom, too. Even non-Trek fans concede that The Wrath of Khan is not just good Trek, it’s just plain good, a movie that transcends its franchise and is simply one of the best of the sci-fi genre. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ranked list of these movies that didn’t place it on top. Sure, there are some bullshit measurements that don’t make a ton of sense. IMDB has Star Trek Into Darkness rated higher than Khan, which is so absurdly…
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