Musings from the basement...

Star Trek: Insurrection is a glorified TV episode and does not belong on the big screen. Fact

April 28, 2016 43 Comments

The danger of relying on your television creative team to craft a major motion picture is that your major motion picture may come across as more suited for the small screen rather than the big. Such is the case with Star Trek: Insurrection, which feels not so much like another Star Trek movie as it does like a two-part episode with a slight (very slight) increase in the special effects budget. Which is to say, it’s a disappointment that often borders on being a bore. The fact that it opens in some throwback village and then immediately descends into Data Has Gone Stark Raving Mad insanity as a way to create intrigue is an early red flag that this movie is going to go astray….
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , ,

Star Trek: First Contact isn’t a classic, but it’s worthy of the big screen

April 27, 2016 42 Comments

The Next Generation crew’s first jump onto the big screen was a capable yet flawed disappointment, but that’s no reflection on the strength of the cast. They may not be icons like the original crew, but with seven successful seasons under their belt they’ve more than earned their place in the Trek canon. It’s welcome to discover, then, that First Contact does them justice where Generations did not. Here we have a movie that mixes together parts of The Wrath of Khan (a relentless returning enemy and some reliance on TV Trek lore) and The Voyage Home (time travel to an earlier Earth and the cheeky humor that results), and blends them together in a new story that manages to mine Trek lore in a…
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , ,

Star Trek: Generations is an adequate movie, and that’s about it

April 25, 2016 11 Comments

Two words. Often, you’re asked to sum something up in two words. It’s some sort of weird cultural shorthand we have that seems to be a substitute for thinking too hard about something. Regardless, it seems like a good way to begin. And, well, “perfectly adequate” sums up Star Trek: Generations about as well as two words can. Not a train wreck you want to look away from, nor a fantastic jump to the big screen by the Next Generation crew, Generations is merely … fine. In some ways, that makes this movie a failure. As the film that bridges the gap from the original Enterprise crew to the new, it has to carry some major weight for the franchise. The original Trek was not only…
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , , ,

Check out the gorgeous cyberpunk art of Ian Sokoliwski, with a soundtrack by yours truly

April 24, 2016 0 Comments

I love the art and photography of Ian Sokoliwski. His sense for color, staging, and composition is outstanding, and his cyberpunk, gothic and steampunk art brings new worlds to life. I was honored to work with him on a story in Pitched 2, and just as thrilled when he asked if some of my music could accompany montages of his work. I happily said yes. Take a look at his killer artwork, accompanied by “Without Waking” and “Spinning Lecterns,” both from my m2 project:    

Comics & Graphic Novels, Music, Videos, Works by Eric

, , ,

Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country is a surprising but fitting ending for the original crew

April 22, 2016 15 Comments

There is something compelling about the idea of a franchise that has always been about exploring new frontiers ending its run by exploring a truly undiscovered frontier: peace in our time. It would have been easy (and obvious) to end things with a grand space adventure, with a galactic war or massive alien threat that puts Vygr to shame or with the Enterprise in some far-flung corner of the universe seeing sights we’ve never seen before. Instead, The Undiscovered Country centers around diplomatic missions, peace talks, and political negotiations. When talks go astray, it becomes equal parts prison story and police procedural, with a heaping helping of Hitchcockian spy-movie intrigue to keep the audience guessing until the big climax. This being Star Trek, that sounds…
Read more

Films, Geek Stuff

, , , , , , ,