MUSIC: CSPhil – Star Trek: The Final Frontier

Colorado Springs Philharmonic Conductor: Josep Caballé Domenech Date: October 29, 2016 As someone who has only seen a smattering of Star Trek episodes and movies, I wasn't sure what to expect for this night of orchestrated music. Up until about Deep Space 9, I could recognize the opening themes for the different series, but anything after that would be new to me. I am a fan of a few of the early Star Trek films, as well as a few of the reboot ones (not Beyond, though), but only the newer ones have captivated me musically. Of course, that's probably because I enjoy the musical stylings of Michael Giacchino. While I can understand the heavier reliance on the music from the Star Trek movies, due to their ease of orchestration, the music from some of the episodes was equally as moving. This consistency and range really drove home that Star Trek isn't about the action for which Star Wars is best known, but more...
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MOVIE: Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond Year: 2016 Rating: PG-13 Length: 122 minutes / 2.03 hours First off, I want to admit that I am more of a Star Wars fan than a Star Trek fan. As a result, I have enjoyed the first two of the Star Trek reboot titles because they are structured more like a Star Wars film than a Star Trek one. Of course, this may also be due to my bias toward J.J. Abrams and everything that he directs. For this third installment in the reboot series, we no longer have Abrams, but rather Justin Lin (known for the Fast & Furious franchise). Maybe because of this, I didn't really think this film stood up to the previous two. Sure, there were segments that I thought were interesting and deep, but they were merely bookends in a confusing hodgepodge of action and "buddy up" subplots. I appreciated the beginning, with its humanizing narrative that made sense for the captain's current state of affairs....
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