Star Trek

Trekkies and the uninitiated alike have much to be excited about with the release of Star Trek. This was one of the most critically acclaimed blockbusters of the year, and with good reason -- it is an excellent movie. In an era when great old films, television series and longstanding franchises are regularly pillaged, plundered, remade and rebooted, Star Trek stands out as being a creative re-imagining of a much-loved concept while still thriving as a high-action spectacle in its own right.

The movie opens with the dramatic birth of James Kirk amongst a blaze of heroism and great familial sacrifice and tragedy. Somewhere far, far away, Spock is being born to a human mother and a Vulcan father on a planet suspicious of his mixed heritage. By the time they share their first meeting of mutual disdain and contempt as young recruits in the Starfleet Academy, Kirk (Chris Pine) is a passionate but rebellious ratbag and Spock (Zachary Quinto) is an uptight genius. Oh and Uhura is the hot love interest. It's the Star Trek origin story.

Eventually they stumble across the rest of the gang: Doc "Bones" McCoy (Karl Urban), Chief Pilot Sulu (John Cho), computer whisperer Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and the irrepressible Scotty (Simon Pegg). Fans of the original will great a great kick out of each character's unveiling and the hints of who they are to become. Those of you who haven't a clue get to see some of the better-known lines and references but can otherwise sit back and enjoy well-rounded characters who drive a good story.

Star Trek is funny, gripping, and the action sequences are some of the best to have come out of Hollywood in years. And watching director J. J. Abrams tackle deep space is like watching John Ford make a Western. The man who brought us Alias, Fringe and Lost explores the landscapes and sets as if they are additional characters in the movie. When you first clasp eyes on Nero's (Eric Bana) ship, as it smashes through space defying every law of nature and physics, it is hideously breathtaking -- you just know he is the bad guy.

While true Trekkies will be sparked into deep debates about the film's impact on Trek lore and space continuum do-daddery and guff, the rest of us can just sit on the edge of our seats, punch the air, and enjoy rollicking ride through space.

Trick 'r Treat

Halloween is just around the corner, so why not celebrate by scaring the daylights out of yourself with some quality film terror rather than the usual slasher fare?

Like all good horror films, Trick 'r Treat stands as a warning to all those who break the rules... don't or you will get got! A garish community service announcement, it chronicles the fates of the inhabitants of a small American town who ignore the lores and legends of All Hallows Eve to their peril. As the individual stories of the townsfolk are revealed over this long black night, and craftily entwined, terror and the head count climb.

This is a film for the horror aficionado. Though released straight to DVD, fans and online critics are heralding it, and first time director Michael Dougherty, as natural successors of John Carpenter's Halloween.