More From the Final Frontier

Star Trek Into Darkness continues rejuvenation of formerly stale franchise

The rebooting of Star Trek four years ago by director J.J. Abrams was a much-needed shot in the arm for an endangered franchise. The last film in the series, Star Trek: Nemesis, had come out in 2002, and Star Trek: Enterprise, a TV show on UPN, had petered out in 2005.

Balanced nicely with nods to the past, great action scenes and a compelling story, the new Star Trek was a bold new start. The challenge for the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, was to build on that momentum and not just repeat the same formula.

Consider that goal mostly met. Into Darkness finds Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise dealing — as usual — with issues that take them all across the universe.

For the most part, the film hums along nicely and delivers a few stellar action sequences to keep the adrenaline pumping.

The main thrust is a rogue Starfleet member named John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch), who takes it upon himself to wreak havoc on the rest of Starfleet.

It’s a poorly kept secret that John Harrison is not the villain’s real name, but for the sake of propriety, I won’t reveal it here.

Suffice it to say that he is a person who holds tremendous power and is willing to use it any way necessary to reach his goals. And he’s capable of quite a lot, if the destruction he single-handedly achieves is any indication.

For the most part, the film hums along nicely. Pine, Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg and Anton Yelchin already have great chemistry as a crew, and the film delivers a few stellar action sequences to keep the adrenaline pumping.

Things do get a bit muddled with the introduction of a second villain who’s at odds with both Kirk and Harrison. It’s never entirely clear why this person is so angry or what the ultimate objective is. It’s a twist that comes out of nowhere and therefore isn’t sold as properly as it should be.

Abrams and the trio of writers maintain little retro flourishes like references to redshirts; random people getting thrown back by a phaser shot hitting the Enterprise; or Bones McCoy complaining, “Dammit, man, I’m a doctor, not a [insert a thing he is not here].” While those are still fun now, they’ll have to make sure not to be too reliant on them in future installments.

Stylistically, the film looks great. The effects are seamless no matter what environment the film encounters, and Abrams thankfully keeps his obsession with camera flares to a relative minimum this time around.

Aside from the regular crew, who all come off well, Cumberbatch is a fantastic addition. His understated demeanor serves to underline how threatening Harrison is and also makes the few times he erupts truly powerful. Peter Weller and Alice Eve are good in limited roles, but their characters aren’t involved enough to make huge impacts.

The end of the film seems to point to a dovetailing with the timeline of the original series, so it’ll be interesting to see where the filmmakers take things from here, especially considering Abrams is moving to another galaxy by directing the next Star Wars.

Into Darkness doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor, but it’s still a solid outing that more than justifies the continued existence of the Star Trek franchise.

Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine in Star Trek Into Darkness.

Movie review

Adam Scott gets creeped out exploring eerie Irish hotel in Hokum

Adam Scott in Hokum

Photo courtesy of Neon

Adam Scott in Hokum.

There are relatively few actors who can switch back and forth between comedy and drama easily, but Adam Scott is the rare exception. He’s equally as well known for starring in comedy projects like Parks & Recreation, Party Down, and Step Brothers as he is for dramas like Big Little Lies and Severance. He’s going the latter route again in the new horror film, Hokum.

Scott plays author Ohm Bauman, who’s trying to finish his latest book. In an effort to avoid distractions and also pay tribute to his parents, he retreats to an Irish hotel where his mom and dad spent their honeymoon. Bauman, who is about as stand-offish as you can get, and the staff of the hotel are at odds almost right away, although Bauman finds a kind of kinship with Jerry (David Wilmot), a seemingly-homeless man he meets in a nearby forest.

Bauman becomes intrigued with the story of the hotel’s closed-off honeymoon suite, which is said to be haunted. His curiosity, though, seems to trigger a variety of strange things, one of which ends with him in an extended stay at the hospital. He returns to the hotel determined more than ever to discover what’s really happening in the honeymoon suite, with things both normal and supernatural blocking his way at every turn.

Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy, the film’s approach to horror is both subtle and overt. On the good side is Bauman’s story, which gradually gets deeper as more is revealed about his past, especially the premature death of his mother. Bauman’s trauma over her loss influences his thinking and actions, and a possible connection between his current situation and his personal history broadens the scope of the plot.

There is plenty of creepiness to be found in the film, starting with the dark and decrepit nature of the hotel itself. Any building where a particular room is off-limits naturally inspires intrigue, and McCarthy does a solid job of building tension. That’s why it’s strange and disappointing that he gives in to the lamest of horror tropes - a sudden appearance by an odd-looking person accompanied by a big screeching noise - on multiple occasions.

The film is at its best when it features weird moments that are never or only slightly explained. A dead body in a rabbit suit is echoed by the unexplained broadcast from Bauman’s youth featuring a terrifying TV host with bulging eyes and rabbit ears. Bauman’s explorations take him into the hotel’s basement via a dumbwaiter, where he encounters all manner of strange things, including what seem to be witches. Because most of these things are left to the audience’s imagination, they hit harder in the moment.

Scott is known to be understated in his acting, and that skill works well in this particular role. Although he clearly plays Bauman as freaked out, he never indicates panic, and that level-headedness makes his character someone you want to follow no matter how dark the path might be. The mostly-Irish supporting cast is not well-known, but Wilmot and Florence Ordesh make the most of their short time on screen.

Hokum - a title that is also not explained - is a horror film that earns its bona fides through mood more than action. Even though not much of consequence happens throughout the film, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next.

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Hokum is now playing in theaters.

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