My Little Princess: June 2009

I know this is a few days late but I still wanted to say a few things about the fathers in my life.

I love my daddy so much. He is such a wonderful father and grandfather. He is so caring and he is by the far the most giving person that I know. I am so lucky to have him as my father. He has shown me so much love throughout my life, even when I was a punk. My dad sacrifices so much for his family and for the people around him. Thank you for being my father and for teaching me how to love and how to give. I love you daddy!

My father in law is such an amazing man. He has raised 8 wonderful children and I feel so blessed to be a part of the Goodman family. I never thought that I would be so lucky to gain so many wonderful and spiritual in-laws. I know that Curtis is the man that he his in many respects because of his father. Thank you for all that you have done for us and continue to do. I love you!

I love Curtis so so much. He just amazes me every single day. He is so so giving and loving. He loves Chloe and I more than anything and shows it everyday. Curtis is a hard worker and I know that he will always provide for our family's needs. Chloe and our future children are so lucky to have Curtis as their earthly father. He has so many wonderful spiritual qualities. He is patient, kind, loving, a worthy priesthood holder, a return missionary, respectful and giving. And that's just a few of his amazing qualities! I am so grateful that I have been blessed to be his wife and the mother of his children. I can't wait to bring more children into this world and to see Curtis be the wonderful daddy to them that he already is to Chloe. I love you Curtis!

We have spent the last two weeks watching all of the Star Trek movies in order. It was quite the experience and we really enjoyed ourselves! The following are our ratings for the 10 movies. (We did not have access to Star Trek: Nemesis, so there is no rating for that one)

Star Trek: the Motion Picture - Lead

Curtis: As I watched this movie, it was as if the filmmakers were trying their hardest to show that this is NOT like Star Wars, which had just come out 2 years earlier. They try to be much more intellectual and "deep." But unfortunately it just comes off as slow and boring. Too much reliance is placed on knowledge of the original T.V. series and the characters are not introduced properly so newcomers can't care about them. For long extended scenes, the only thing the actors are doing is looking at what's outside the Enterprise, showing as many different expressions of "what's that?" and "that's interesting" as they can. Good music though.
Jenni: I almost wanted to give this movie the Aluminum Foil rating but decided that it wasn't as painful to watch as "2001 Space Odyssey" was. However it came very close. The movie was SO SLOW! For example, when Captain Kirk is on his way to the Enterprise he is on a shuttle and it takes fifteen minutes for him to get inside the ship. The shuttle goes around and around the Enterprise showing off every possible angle. It was awful. The acting was also very poor. The actors were trying WAY to hard. I don't know if it was because they had only been on the silly TV show or if they just wanted to be extra dramatic because they finally got to be in a movie. Who knows.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Silver

Curtis: It only took a couple of minutes watching Wrath of Khan before realizing this was going to be a much better movie. Things were actually happening! The plot and villain were clearly established and there was finally real action on screen. The story and characters are also much more interesting. I can clearly see why this is considered to be one of the better Star Trek films. It's exciting, engaging, and fun to watch.
Jenni: This movie was like night and day compared to the first. It was plainly obvious within the first few minutes. However after watching some of the later movies this one is not high on my list. I'm not sure why many people rate this one as one of the best of all of the Star Trek movies, because I don't agree.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - Silver

Curtis: The Search for Spock is definitely a "middle" movie, but it's pretty good. It continues right where the previous film left off, although the title sort of gives everything away. Admiral Kirk and the crew have to steal the Enterprise in order to restore Spock's consciousness, which is living inside McCoy, with his newly restored body on the newly formed, quickly evolving, and unstable planet Genesis. That's pretty much the whole movie, so there's not much story, but it's still entertaining. Plus it's nice to have Spock back at the end.
Jenni: I actually liked this movie. Spock is a really great character so it was nice to have him back in the game. Plus having him die and then come back made him that much more interesting. The concept of creating a world was also interesting and not ridiculous like some of the other main ideas in the other movies (like I, IV, V). This movie is not the best but it connects the dots betwen II and IV which was necessary to make IV as awesome as it is.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Gold

Curtis: The Voyage Home, aka "the one with the whales", has always been my favorite Star Trek film. The beginning makes a lot more sense having watched Star Trek III, which this story directly follows completing a trilogy of sorts. Watching this one again, I can't believe how funny it is! Having the crew of the Enterprise roaming around 1980's San Fransisco has endless comic possibilities which are fully capitalized upon. True it's a little weird that a strange probe comes to destroy Earth because it lost communication with humpback whales. But it creates a great opportunity for Kirk and the rest to save the world. I also liked how each member of the crew is given the opportunity to shine as they complete different missions to help them get back home. A very fun and entertaining movie.
Jenni: Out of the first six Star Trek movies this is by far my favorite. The movie is hilarious and the characters really stand out. The acting is by far the best in this movie. Everything about this movie is great (except for the Probe looking to talk with humpback whales. What the crap?!) I love that they travel back in time and interact with 20th century people. The best part of this movie is Spock and Chekov. Their characters really come out in this movie and it's so entertaining. If you only see one of the original Star Trek movies, definately see this one. You won't regret it.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier -Bronze

Curtis: This movie is definitely a weaker link in the series. It starts a little odd with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy spending shore leave in Yosemite singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" around a campfire. This is Star Trek? Anyway, the oddity continues as they embark on a voyage to the center of the galaxy in search of God, who turns out to be just some powerful alien trapped and in need of a starship. And that's about it. There's not much to this one.
Jenni: This movie was wierd. The crew and ship is taken over by some pyscho Vulcan who has embraced emotion, can make people confront their pain, freeing them from it and is searching for God. Yeah. Um what? So he takes the ship to the middle of the Galaxy a place that no one has returned from and they meet "God". Except its not God. Its some crazy dude who wants the Enterprise to escape his prison on the planet in the middle of the Universe. Yeah its dumb. Don't waste your time on this one, it is just too wierd.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Silver

Curtis: This movie is a huge improvement over its predesessor and continued the tradition of great even-numbered Star Trek films. It features a sort of murder mystery plot with Kirk and McCoy getting framed and sent to some horrible remote prison on an icy asteroid. But they have to escape in order to stop an assasination that would threaten inter-galactic war. It has a really great story that's fast paced, exciting, and keeps you guessing. Plus the main Klingon villain likes to quote Shakespeare. I really enjoyed this one.
Jenni: I enjoyed this movie. It was a little different because it addressed some political issues between the Klingons and the Federation. It also addressed issues of prejudice between Klingons and members of the Federation. Kirk's son was killed by Klingons so he was very untrustworthy and prejudiced against all of them. So it was interesting to see him deal with those feelings. It kind of made me think about the racial prejudice between white and black in our country. It takes time to overcome those feelings because often they run really deep. The movie resolves really well and I think that it gives a really great message. Good movie. Definately one to see.

Star Trek: Generations - Bronze

Curtis: This is the first film with the "Next Generation" crew, and they kind of got off to a slow start. The movie shares a similar weakness with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in that the characters are not introduced properly because of reliance on knowledge of the T.V. show. Jenni had to explain many things to me, including why the crew is on a 19th century sailing ship when we first see them. Anyway, it is fun to see Kirk and Picard work together to defeat the villain before he destroys the planet the Enterprise crashed onto. Seriously, that ship is destroyed over and over again!
Jenni: I had seen this movie multiple times before but it had been a long time. I like this one but it has one MAJOR flaw which is the main reason that we decided to give it a Bronze rating instead of a Silver one. The movie starts out assuming that the audience knows who the crew is. Which means that to understand anything you would have to be pretty familiar with the TV series. I even had a hard time following the new crew because I couldn't remember who they were! Anyways other than that it is not a bad movie. I like that they had Captain Kirk in it again. It was a great way to officially "retire" William Shatner's James T. Kirk.

Star Trek: First Contact - Gold

Curtis: This one got off to a quick start with an awesome battle with the Borg. The special effects are the best of the series until the newest film. Then the Enterprise has to follow the Borg back in time to stop them from assimilating Earth and the entire human race. But then some Borg get on board the Enterprise and start assimilating the ship and crew. The Borg are a great villain: scary, cold, and unstoppable. It was also cool to see how humans first discover they are not alone in the universe, and of course its Vulcans they meet first. First Contact is one of the best of the series.
Jenni: First Contact is a great movie. The music is fabulous. As soon as the main theme started I was singing along. It is very powerful. The Borg are an awesome foe and the time travel thing was also kind of cool. My only beef with this movie is that the time travel thing had already been done in Star Trek IV and I personally think that that one is a better story over all.

Star Trek: Insurrection -Silver

Curtis: This was a very interesting movie, very different from the rest. Most of the story takes place on a peaceful utopian planet rather than flying and battling in space. It also seemed to me to be more like an extended episode with a higher than normal budget rather than a feature film. But it was still enjoyable.
Jenni: Insurrection isn't really an action movie. It deals more with ethical issues. However I still really enjoyed this one. You also get a feel for the new Crew more and they aren't so unfamiliar so I think that it is easier to enjoy and to understand. And Data is awesome. That is all.

Star Trek -Gold

Curtis: When I heard that a reboot of Star Trek was being attempted with new actors playing the original crew when they were younger, I thought it was going to flop for sure. Then when the release date kept getting changed I knew it was in trouble. But my worries couldn't have been more wrong! This movie was awesome! It has a very different feel than the previous films, they really changed things up quite a bit. And it paid off big time. I was also very impressed with the actors at how they were able to capture these long-established characters. The story really has a massive scale that is matched with amazing visuals and strong characters, plus it is newcomer friendly. With time travel again playing a major role, it seems that all the best Star Trek movies have time travel as part of the plot. Very well done and highly recommended.
Jenni: WOW. Can you really say anymore about this movie? It was powerful, funny, and visually amazing. In the first 10 minutes your crying. How many movies can do that? Not many! This movie is pending review in three years where it may very likely recieve a Platinum rating. (Movies cannot recieve the Platium rating until they are at least three years old). The acting was really great. I was very skeptical because I did not think that anyone could possibly do a good job with characters that have already been firmly established by other actors. However they proved me wrong! Kirk and Spock were especially great. This is definately, without a doubt the BEST of all of the Star Trek movies. You MUST go see this one! You will not regret a single minute (or dollar spent)!