Star Trek Discovery

The new Star Trek is on our screens and after months of hype from Netflix is it all its cracked up to be or does it continue where Enterprise left of with disappointment ?

Well the first episode did grab me if I'm honest and it is a Star Trek show so expect to see some of the constants that glue the franchise together there. The first officer is a strong character as with other Star Trek shows but unlike Enterprise she doesn't run the ship and the Captain is the driving force.

Another Star Trek trait is to re invent the arch enemy's the Klingons for the STNG they had more pronounced ridges on their heads and were made to look more alien around a human base, with Star Trek Discover this has moved on another step and it works. You will spend a bit of time reading subtitles but its not the heaviest dialogue to follow. They still have the same construct and are the same aliens with just a few tweaks to set them apart from other Star Trek franchises.

Give the first episode a try, hopefully like me you'll think its shaping up to be one of the better series with all the dark energy there to move it forward.

Star Trek, Enterprise

As theres a new Star Trek series on the way I thought now would be a good opportunity to revisit the last one. While I watched The Next Generation, Deep Space nine and Voyager when they were originally aired here in the U.K on BBC 2, Enterprise or Star Trek Enterprise as it was called in the third season escaped me. It had mixed reviews at the time and I'd just started doing shift work so it would have been hard to keep up to date.

While the three series from the late 80's to the early 2000's were at the cutting edge and introduced good actors that had were relatively unknown into their key roles. Enterprise bought in Quantum Leap's Sam Becket to the bridge of the Enterprise and that some how moves it outside of the Star Trek Mould for me and sometimes I wish he would leap in to a new host during as Scott Bakula gives a long steer into the camera lens.

Maybe its because they took the star of a time traveling program and put him in a Star Trek series based heavily on time travel and temporal flux.

Where the other three always had the prospect of some gritty acting and leaders making hard decisions that would effect the galaxy with a little input from there senior staff, Archer always turns to his Vulcan first officer and comes across as a figurehead to her leadership as he stubbles his way across the expanse. Other Captains made mistakes but they went on a crusade to fix them and along the way secured our admiration. Archer makes a cockup and his Vulcan first officer effectively tells him i told you so.

Then theres the enemies, in the next generation there were the Romulans, Borg, Klingons, Ferengi and a whole host of others. In Deep Space Nine there were the Cardasians, Dominion and a very dynamic political situation at times. Voyager had the Borg and Species 8472 along with everyone else they met along the way. Enterprise has some meek enemies and bear in mind its a prequel they're enemies no one has herd of, did we discover them and forget their address ? Its not very good and perhaps should be avoided before the new one starts so we can judge Star Trek Discovery purely on its merits.

Expeditionary Force, Book One Columbus Day By Craig Alanson

Having finished We Are many on audible I used last months credit to download Book one of Craig Alanson's Expeditionary Force Novels.

So you guys can tell I'm in to Sci-Fi hence the reason Audible recommended this title to me and It is good. You can tell right from the start that there was a big universe mapped in the writers mind when he sat down to pen this novel so you have to give it a bit of time to introduce all the elements. But once you're in, You're in and the book picks up pace with you following a US Army sergeant as he adapts to the new universal order thats been presented to him and tries to make sense of the new political dynamics he and the rest of humanity have been thrown into.

The book has been written in the style of a soldier so expect swearing and military acronyms but they are explained as if the character was talking to a friend. The writer has great descriptive skills and as a reader you get a true sense of what its like to be on an alien world surrounded by humanity's greatest threat. The plot twists are good and you never know whats going to happen next.

John Wick

Browsing on Amazon prime for a good film to watch and one of the recomendations Amazon threw in the mix was John Wick. It was a really good surprise and had me hooked from the beginning.

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a retired enforcer for the mafia, with Ju-Jitsu, cat like reflexes and a knowledge of firearms Wick is dangerous and a man not to be crossed. Whist out to fill his Shelby Mustang with fuel he gains the attention of Russian Mafia who want to buy his Mustang, Wick refuses and takes his car to an airfield to blow off some steam. That night the Russian Hoods break into his home steel his car and kill his beloved beagle and leave Wick beaten.

What happens over the next hour can only be described as a roller coster of action with martial arts and huge shoot outs. John takes a meticulous approach to exacting revenge whilst you as the viewer learn of the depths and the personal struggle he's been through to bring him to this episode in his life.

Its well worth a watch and I can't wait to watch the sequel to see if it lives up too the the first.

Smoking

It hasn't been a fruitless two months since i've been gone, I have given up smoking and its been six weeks since i last smoked. After all the vaping and micro tab products I've tried I went back to a tried and tested method for my self and used the gum.

Theres a little bit of getting used to it but now my breaks at work are spent watching Netfiix or reading. With the added benefit that I can now breath freely and my asthma hasn't risen up at all

Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions, while the death of Paul Walker was a sad thing he was hardly the finest of actors it has to be said. But then he never went for the deep roles and stuck mainly to action films and his highlight was the Fast and Furious brand. This film is a great action film with aspects of Escape from L.A, The Rock and with a nod to some performance driving.

Expect lots of action with a plot that isn't too bad compared to some films I've seen in this genre. with some good driving, free running and martial arts this should keep you going through 90 mins and take you on a good journey along the way.

Its also a Nice advert for the new Ford Mustang which must have been released around this time.

A Walk Among The Tombstones

I came across this one on Prime and while the synopsis lead me to think it was a rehashed Taken it actually turned out to be a very good detective story.

Liam Neeson plays a Ex New York police officer who's now an unlicensed private detective. When a member of his AA group approaches him to take on a case he has reservations, The case is looking for the kidnappers and murderers of his brothers wife. It turns out his brother is a major drug trafficker and after some pleading to his heart he takes one the job and a complex story unravels before you.

A good story backed with great acting this is a great film for a Friday/Saturday night and a thriller that will keep you on the edge.