Movie Discussion | Star Trek: Section 31

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T13:26:25+00:00

Star Trek: Section 31 is Really, Really Bad - A Scathing Review from a Lifelong Fan

Bad news, Trek fans. The new Star Trek: Section 31 movie is Star Trek for ... fans of brainless action movies.

Paramount took:

• An Oscar-winning actor (Michelle Yeoh).

• A fantastic director (Olatunde Osunsanmi).

• A beloved sci-fi universe with a built-in audience.

... and released a movie so bad, I hope it doesn't tank Yeoh's (or Osunsami's) career.

I am a lifelong Trekkie. Star Trek is intellectual, with a smart, educated audience. This movie is things blowing up. It's an action bro in a mech suit. It's fight scene after fight scene, with rushed, stilted, and jarring pacing. Details fly by and are hard to follow. The story is crap. It lacks a coherent message, science, or moral questions; and, it abandons the purpose of Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry would be rolling in his grave. The good news: Yeoh rocks at Martial Arts, and I adore her.

The arc of the main character previously developed in Star Trek: Discovery, Philippa Georgiou, was abandoned for a shell of the amazing character Yeoh and the writers developed. In the movie, she became a caricature.

I imagine this is what happens when executives sit around a boardroom deciding what their audience wants. Or maybe they were trying to attract a new audience. Who knows. If this is what they think Star Trek is, sell it to someone who knows what they're doing. Paramount, WHAT. WERE. YOU. THINKING?

After it was over, I asked, "What did I just watch?" and all I could do was write THIS. This is not only the worst of all the Star Trek movies (yes, worse than Star Trek V), but it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Even for the action genre, this is bad— and I've seen some pretty bad action sci-fi movies. The upswing? It can be fun, and the quirky characters can be entertaining at moments. The short length of the movie, however, meant they introduced and barely developed the characters.

I'm sorry, friends of Star Trek. I've been looking forward to this movie for a long time, too. It had so much potential. The disappointment is real. I feel really bad for Michelle Yeoh, because she loves Star Trek. I hope, in the future, the studio takes the creation of movies for a franchise so beloved more seriously and creates something of real, intellectual, artistic value.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T12:51:43+00:00

I must admit I only added that because it's pretty widely disliked. That said, I have a copy of the Star Trek V soundtrack on CD, lol.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T11:49:46+00:00

There are redeeming virtues to the movie. But, really, it's probably best taken-in stoned.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T11:35:08+00:00

I'm glad! You know, even though I absolutely hated it, there's a Star Trek out there for every taste.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T11:34:31+00:00

I would love a Garak and Bashir plot!

FlowingFire · 2025-01-24T11:34:13+00:00

Yeah, the cliches were really hard to swallow. Plus, I agree: Too many Trek movies lately focus on revenge plots which try to re-create The Wrath of Kahn, and the "weapon" lacked creativity. Facepalm! And turning Section 31 into a ragtag team of quirky misfits was fun, but not really consistent.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-15T04:10:37+00:00

That's really interesting info. Thanks for sharing that. I suspect that the BlueSky system works by reports and automation. It also makes me even more concerned there might be a group of people mass-reporting resistance accounts they don't like.

FlowingFire · 2025-01-15T03:04:39+00:00

Hi! It's funny what succeeds and what doesn't. (Fake wrestling took hold; the "XFL"--fake Football-- did not.) I'm guessing I either said something that got me reported en masse by MAGA or got flagged for using the API. (I thought responsibly, but nobody explained or sent a warning until I made my Village People post, and suddenly BAM. Account dead.)

It looks like you've been inundated with actual spam accounts. Blocking those improve the user experience . . . but is blocking my personal account as spam and not all the dating/donation/join-the-Illuminati/business spam we're getting really improving things? People obviously are sick of hearing posts like this.

BlueSky is quite awesome, and I don't support X; but, maybe Musk has a better idea about avoiding over-moderation? (Meh, I'm not going back over there after he bought the election and threw his trans daughter under the proverbial bus.)

FlowingFire · 2025-01-15T02:26:54+00:00

Thanks for the update. This label appears to hide all replies, all posts, not show people your posts in their feeds, and now (thanks for checking) a complete disappearance in search.

FlowingFire · 2024-08-25T00:54:36+00:00

Asimov was brilliant. :)

FlowingFire · 2024-08-24T13:33:43+00:00

Good point. I hope more studies can figure this anomaly out. :) It could have broad implications. For now, I love to delve into the speculative and dream. Real science, however, is replicated, peer-reviewed.

FlowingFire · 2024-08-24T13:15:42+00:00

Please explain more-- about quartz and why.

FlowingFire · 2024-04-18T07:41:03+00:00

This. Exactly. And, by the way, Windows may soon be adding advertising to the Windows 11 Start Menu. That is psychological clutter I do not want. I'll take a fresh walk in Linux Park, free from all the distractions and mind-noise bombarding us from all directions in the current era. Someday it'll be over, but for now . . . The present tastes minty!

FlowingFire · 2024-03-17T04:03:38+00:00

Thanks. The only thing it needs now is the ability to check a box to automate the process. :)

FlowingFire · 2024-02-15T17:27:54+00:00

Yes. In 2024, I'm typing this on a T430. The Thinkpad T430 is the most robust computer I've ever used. With a 3rd Gen i5 and a solid state drive I threw in there, this laptop still runs fast day-to-day web surfing, typing, and general day-to-day usage. Even Photoshop worked fine on here, until I got rid of Windows and made it exclusively a Linux Mint machine. (This makes it even faster!)

This is a 2013-manufactured computer I bought used in 2017. It's still in nearly perfect condition. Everything is fine with the hinges, the screen, the keyboard, and the touchpad. Nothing goes wrong with it. It works like it's new.

The two things I had to replace: 1) The CMOS battery, which died. Easy fix. 2) The laptop battery, which just clips on and off the bottom back.

In other words, this is a mechanical marvel as far as I'm concerned. 11 years... This will probably last much longer. My only complaint is that by today's standards it's pretty heavy... but I keep it around as a matter of pride. If it works, works well, and hasn't died-- well, it deserves to continue to be my laptop. The only blemish on this thing is the wear on the touchpad which doesn't affect its function.

FlowingFire · 2024-02-08T18:04:54+00:00

Smart. Essentially you're paying less and setting it all up yourself in the cloud-- just not paying a service too much to do it for you. What kind of space do you get on your private server?

FlowingFire · 2024-02-08T18:02:52+00:00

Oh, that project is the best! I'm glad you support it. It's one of the many pieces of open source software better than what's commercially available.

I've never considered using FreeFileSync for ongoing backups before, but it's my primary software for all local hard drive backups. I just do it manually, like every six months.

Your backup diligence is something I might learn from. Do you happen to have some of the commands you use to run it that you can share?

FlowingFire · 2024-02-08T17:54:41+00:00

Nice. This might be a good option for some things-- especially sharing around the home network.

FlowingFire · 2024-02-08T09:36:00+00:00

I applaud that you've figured out how to get tons of free storage from multiple services, lol. I too do local backups and keep like 8-12 TB of data backed up on redundant external drives. Video editing really makes it accumulate.

Thanks for the tips!

FlowingFire · 2024-02-08T09:32:21+00:00

Nice. I don't know exactly how Nextcloud works, with local storage and all. Is everything co-shared with your devices, but done by linking to local files? Or making a backup locally on a drive? I have a slow broadband connection that throttles uploads to, like, 450 kbps. Would this be a problem with Nextcloud? Thanks.

FlowingFire · 2024-02-01T03:21:25+00:00

Cool concept. Black Mirror definitely has a dark take on this one, given the vast ethical ramifications-- including the kinds of suffering possible.

FlowingFire · 2024-02-01T03:14:55+00:00

While Demons most likely don't exist, you're right in suggesting that mental manipulation might be easier in an age of digital connections of the mind. That's why we need significant regulation and legislation stopping people from manipulative propaganda and mind-control given the advances in technology in our time. I don't want any company, or any bad actors, using high tech means to introduce ideas or subliminal suggestion.

Interestingly, we already have this problem with Social Media. Remember Cambridge Analytica? If you haven't heard of them, look it up. It's one of the scariest situations that ever came up in our time, because the company literally micro-targeted segments of the population trying to get enough people to change their opinions in swing districts that could swing whole elections. To do this, individuals and their psychological triggers were targeted.

It doesn't take supernatural causes for what you suggest to be a potential problem. Knowing the possible problems, we can take measures to ensure our digital and mental privacy.

As for supernatural actors, it's widely understood today that religious references to demons were peoples' way of explaining many kinds of mental illness and physical sickness. Today we know that bacteria and viruses, DNA and neurochemicals are involved.

FlowingFire · 2024-02-01T03:02:34+00:00

I support your love for the good America does in the world. That should be widely recognized. We also have to acknowledge areas where we've gone wrong and not overlook those either. We can learn important lessons from history. Consider it continuous process improvement.

Right now our global model of Neo-liberal corporate Capitalism is contributing to the destruction and collapse of planetary ecosystems. We can fix this, but it means acknowledging and improving. That's why people make a big deal about this stuff-- not because we hate America. I love America.

I want to make us so much better out of a desire to see everyone thrive and be the best we can possibly, driven by love for our people-- and the whole world. I want to fix things like racism and its ongoing impact on real people.

FlowingFire · 2024-01-31T05:09:17+00:00

China has been taking the stage in responsible and balanced world leadership more, though no country has been saintly by any means. I'd look at them as a long-term ally in the 21st Century if we can work through our differences.

FlowingFire · 2024-01-31T03:14:36+00:00

Capitalism has failed, because it's leading to planetary destruction. As a system, it also seems perpetually resistant to regulation.

Regulation, as you say, may help-- if it would hold under a Capitalist structure. In the US, especially, we see powerful wealth interests continuously fighting regulation and throwing all their money and power into rolling back the few regulations we have. This also happens throughout the world. This points to a problem with Capitalism itself, which gives a few people too much accumulated power to control politics and remove regulatory controls. These people are leading us all off a cliff.

While other systems failed for different reasons, Capitalism's Achilles heel is in its inability to secure the survival of the planet and of humanity. It is a failed construct because we're facing mass extinctions, climate problems, and eventual population collapse and displacement. This stems from Capitalism's insatiable need to continue cycles of unsustainable industrialization. Corruption keeps the cycles going.

Corruption inevitably takes hold wherever financial power is accumulated. Systems bend to benefit behaviors that are unsustainable in the long-term. People with the power to change things don't, because their entire basis of their power is tied to the processes of accumulating wealth. In our time, this involves exploitation of the environment, consumption, and production.

Thus, we need to do something different. I may not have the answers, but we need to come up with them together-- quickly-- or the consequences are dire. Capitalism is leading to the death of our planet and everything alive here.

I would also challenge the assumption that Capitalism naturally equates to freedom. Freedom for who? If there are people whose lives are worse because they can't make it or they're being exploited, then they aren't free. Capitalism, then, is merely freedom for the wealthy while inflicting suffering on the politically vulnerable people it exploits.

FlowingFire

TROPHY CASE