Star Trek (2009)

 Star Trek is known as one of the most popular franchises. This movie shows how James T. Kirk became captain of the Enterprise. James Kirk was given birth to the day that George Kirk was granted command of the ship when the captain was requested to board Narada, which came out of a black hole and heavily damaged the USS Kelvin. George saves many lives as he stays behind during the evacuation and protects the shuttles from oncoming missiles. Just before the USS Kelvin collides with Narada, George’s wife gives birth to James.

James is now grown up and runs into Captain Pike, who tries to persuade James to enter Starfleet and possibly become captain of the Enterprise in around 8 years of studying. However, James laughs at the idea of joining Starfleet. Pike then states that James’s father saved 800 lives in 12 minutes of command and challenges him to do better. James considers this, and decides to join Starfleet the next day.

Now being a student at Starfleet for about 3 years, James attempts to pass the Kobayashi Maru a third time, which has never been done before, and this time he finally passes. However, he is being accused of cheating by alternating the computer in order to win. James meets his accuser, Spock, a Vulcan student who is half human. During the official inquiry, a rescue mission interrupted the hearing. Although Kirk has been grounded and could not join the mission, McCoy helps get him into the Enterprise on medical grounds by injecting him with a vaccine.

It turns out that the lightning storm that the Enterprise is approaching is the same lightning storm that the USS Kelvin encountered before the Narada emerged from the black hole. He informs Captain Pike and Spock confirms that he is correct. As the Narada approaches them and attacks, lowering the Enterprise’s shield percentage, Nero orders Captain Pike to come aboard. Spock is given command of the ship and Kirk is now first officer.
Spock beams down to Vulcan to save the council, including his parents, just before Vulcan implodes but in the process of beaming them back to the ship, Spock lost his mother. Millions of Vulcans died and very few of them survived. Now that Nero’s objective is complete, he heads for Earth with the help of Captain Pike. Now the Enterprise must do their best to save Earth and Captain Pike.

I just recently saw Star Trek in the IMAX theater and I was amazed by the spectacular visuals and sound effects. The actors did a superb job at portraying the characters. The script was well written and the action was continuous. This movie captured the audiences’ attention with a mixture of humor, action, suspense, and mystery and is a must see.

For people who are considering watching the original Star Trek movies, if you are looking for nonstop action, don’t watch it. However, Star Trek fans find these movies interesting for their plot and story. The plots of the original Star Trek movies are very fascinating and although the movie is older, its visuals are also breathtaking.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, is a well-rounded movie that was released in theaters in 1994. It is an ultimate combination of comedy, drama, romance, war, and action and earned Tom Hanks an Oscar as best actor. Although it is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, the film captures the audiences' attention and the next thing you know, you're watching the end credits.

Most of the movie takes place on a bench where Forrest tells the story of his life to several strangers who happen to sit next to him. Forrest Gump is an unintelligent boy who meets Jenny, the love of his life, on the first day of school on the bus. from that day until the end of college, they were very close friends. While narrating the story, Forrest mentions twice that "Jenny and I were like peas and carrots." However, throughout the story, the two are being separated several times such as when Jenny leaves to San Francisco and Forrest becomes a soldier in the Vietnam war but no matter what, they always find a way to reunite. During his lifetime, Forrest Gump has been present in many historical events and has made many friends along the way such as Lt. Dan Taylor and Bubba.

There are many memorable quotes in the movie. Some of my favorite are:
"My momma told me that life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
"Jenny and I were like peas and carrots."
"Stupid is as stupid does."
"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going."

Another great thing about this movie is the soundtracks. There is almost a different song for every single scene! The selections are also well done and they go perfectly with the movie. I also loved how they put Forrest in past videos of John Lennon, President Nixon, and President Kennedy!