Summer Movie Season, Another Manly Thing

A while back I posted a list of my guilty, and not so guilty, manly pleasures. Since then I've found another.

I like summer movies. After the deep and fantastic winter movies and those that come out of the independent studios, I need to see some stuff blown up. I also need to see some pointless and gratuitous sex and nudity.

Last night I went to Star Trek. I grew up on The Original Series (called TOS by trekkies) and loved it for its edginess for its time, its optimism, and its corny special effects and over-the-top acting. With each new Star Trek series that came out, I grew less interested. The same thing with the movies. The only two movies that hold anything for me were Star Treks 2 and 4, Wrath of Khan, and The Voyage Home. Both movies came out in my teens and were fun escapes from the summer heat and the challenges of puberty.

The new Star Trek movie is great, but not perfect. I will not go into story or discuss the mythology and the importance of this in the Star Trek legend. I liked it because it was a fun buddy movie with great special effects, sexy actors (the young Uhura is as beautiful as the original played by Nichelle Nichols). It was the perfect escape for a warm Sunday evening.

Uhura - Nichelle Nichols

Uhura - Zoe Saldana

The summer movies have always attracted me ever since Star Wars came out when I was eight. I still get nostalgic going to a summer movie and thinking of my younger years. My brother or my friends and I would go to the matinees to escape the oppressive mid-day heat. We would get a coke and popcorn, enter the theater and find the perfect seats. I swear they kept the air conditioning set to "Arctic," which was perfect for me. For about two hours we would escape into the visual and auditory world of James Bond, Luke Skywalker, Captain Kirk, Indiana Jones, Marty McFly, and many other summer heroes. That evening we would go out and play with our friends reenacting the scenes.

Once I graduated from high school, my summer movie outings dwindled. During my twenties and thirties, I went to one or two movies a year at most. I lost touch with that total sensory experience of escaping and being in somebody else's story.

Last night I felt like a 13 year old again. We shared a popcorn and a coke. It was a perfect night. I really want to see another movie soon, but sadly I saw the ads for upcoming features and none really looked good. Who knows though, maybe the total experience is more important the quality of the movie seen.