Star Trek 2009 (not really spoilery, but avoid if you're worried)
I stuck my “Fully Functional” pin on my jacket and headed out to see Star Trek today. On the way, the first random track out of my mp3 player was The Picard Song, so that seemed to be a good omen from the Great Bird Roddenberry himself.

It was Cool. Cool with a capital C like none of the other films have been. Swashbuckling, dazzling, sexy, nostalgia-inducing. Zachary Quinto was a brilliant Spock. He had that underlying intensity that Spock has. And he sports those eyebrows just as well as Nimoy does! I prefer them to his normal ones, in any case.

I did find myself grinning a lot with geeky fan-glee. I adore the giant white glare that IS the Enterprise bridge. And oh my goodness -- Captain Pike! The Kobayashi Maru! Nurse Chapel! Well, she only got a lightning-quick mention. By necessity, managing to work in every main character led to a few contrivances, but it would have been disappointing to leave anyone out. Not enough of Dr. McCoy - my traditional favorite - but at least he got more to do than Sulu. Not that I know anything about Simon Pegg's personal life, but I have the feeling that he was living out a childhood fantasy playing Scotty. The not-so-subtle Spock/Uhura shipping was amusing. Nice set-up for Amok Time, guys. Yeah, we caught that.

The film’s a bit…commercialized? Softened to reach a broader audience? It’s a little hollowed out like Star Trek hasn’t been since the film with the whales. Number 4. Don’t get me wrong; I could watch that one a zillion times, but it is rather fluffy. Nor does this one feel particularly epic. But that’s fine. (oh, but i wouldn't call this one fluffy.) What I do find extremely charming is all the emphasis on Kirk and Spock getting to know each other. At its heart, it’s a great vehicle for the Kirk-Spock dynamic. Head vs. heart -- the theme which rules all humans. (And Vulcans too.)

That’s the beauty of science fiction -- the exploration of our struggles with humanity.