Star Trek
pg-13, 126 minutes
Director J.J. Abrams has breathed new life into the “Star Trek” franchise.
Long-time Trek fans, along with new ones, will be pleased with this take on the series and its beloved characters. Chris Pine plays a rebellious young version of the Captain Kirk that fans know so well. Zachary Quinto plays the iconic, pointy-eared Spock whose rivalry/ friendship with Kirk is both engaging and realistic. Leonard Nimoy, who originally played Spock, reprises his role as an older Spock from the future.
Meanwhile, everyone else is perfect in their roles. Karl Urban is great as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and the beautiful Zoe Saldana is perfect as Nyota Uhura. John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg and Anton Yelchin serve as comedic characters for the most part, but are so enjoyable that it never stoops to the point of being ridiculous. Eric Bana plays Captain Nero, the main bad guy.
This film is far better than I expected, and is bound to spawn a bunch of sequels. There’s tons of CGI here, but it never bothers me like it usually does. This probably is because you get sucked into the film from the very beginning. I suggest you head to see “Star Trek” as soon as you possibly can. Personally, I can’t wait to see more adventures on the Starship Enterprise and see what happens to its crew as it travels the final frontier.
>>Alex Perez, Schurz
‘Numb3rs’
9 p.m. Fridays, CBS
Unlike many crime-fighting dramas, the hero of this show is a mathematician.
FBI special agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his brother Charlie (David Krumholtz), a mathematical genius, work side by side helping the FBI fight crimes whose solutions usually rely heavily on Charlie’s knowledge of complex mathematical concepts.
“Numb3rs” strikes an even balance between The Discovery Channel and crime-fighting shows such as “CSI,” and “Law & Order.” The computations on the show are proven by mathematicians to be accurate.
My primary attraction to this show is the fact that it keeps you on your toes — the job of a crime-fighting show — but it also provides jargon-free explanations of how the concepts being used apply to their situation. Many of the methods and procedures on the show are actually used by FBI agents in the real world.
This show is one of the few exceptions to my mom’s axiom that “TV makes you dumb.” The show is currently in its fifth season, and is expected to return for a sixth season.
The show easily resembles “Bones” but instead of a huge emphasis on anthropology, “Numb3rs” emphasizes math.
>>Zahra Lalani, Northside
‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’
pg-13, 100 minutes
Matthew McConaughey stars as Connor Mead, an infamous bachelor and photographer. Mead preys on beautiful women on a regular basis, but dumps them as soon as he finds his next love interest. His relationships never grow outside the bedroom, and as a result, he cannot understand why his younger brother Paul has decided to get married.
At the wedding rehearsal, Mead encounters Uncle Wayne, played by Michael Douglas. Uncle Wayne tells Mead he will be visited by three ghosts who will help him figure out how he came to be such a player. In order to do this, Mead and the ghosts must travel back to the past, explore the present and look ahead to a lonesome future.
Watching Mead mature and recognize that Jenny Perotti, played by Jennifer Garner, is his one true love was touching. Also, Mead’s efforts to try fixing his brother’s wedding — which he indirectly ruined — was moving and made the movie worthwhile.
I recommend seeing this film, but only if you’re up for another romantic comedy that serves up a lot of cheesy lines and a predictable plot. It’s a great movie to see with your girlfriends, though.
>>Monica Bator, Whitney Young
DVDs
Taken
PG-13, $29.98-$39.99
MUSIC
21st Century Breakdown
Green Day
GAMES
Battlestations Pacific
EidosXbox 360, Windows/Vista XP
BILLBOARD
HOT 100
1. Boom Boom Pow
The Black Eyed Peas
2. Blame it
Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain
3. Poker Face
Lady GaGa
4. Day ‘N’ Nite
Kid Cudi
5. Sugar
Flo Rida featuring Wynter
Source: Nielsen/SoundScan
TOP BOX OFFICE
1. Star Trek
$72.5 million
2. X-Men Origins
$27 million
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
$10.4 million
4. Obsessed
$6.6 million
5. 17 Again
$4.4 million
Chris Pine stars as James T. Kirk in the new summer blockbuster “Star Trek.” Paramount Pictures
