The festivities started a half hour late, due to the long slow concession line. Half the theatre was in the line: why not? They were giving everyone two large drinks and a big bucket of popcorn. For free.
They wanted to wait until everyone got seated, but there were still a few stragglers when Michael Moore stood up and took his usual place in the northeast corner of the theatre and welcomed everyone. He said that one reason he was able to get the movie was because he is working with Paramount and his next movie is coming out as a Paramount film. Paramount does some free advance showings as "word of mouth" showings, and we were one of the few places to get one. Cameras and recording devices were strictly banned, and there were several Paramount cops in the corners scanning the audience (with night-vision glasses) to look for recording devices. They took this seriously.
Paramount brought lots of goodies. Before the movie started, they tossed into the audience a lot of hats and t-shirts. Several people leaned over the edge of the balcony to try to catch them as they were tossed. Moore told them to be careful. He did not want anyone to fall off the balcony. He said he did not want a news report on 7&4 News that night: "Michael Moore killed 4 people at the theater tonight: just like we thought he would", with another report the next day on Ron Jolly's radio show. Not only did Paramount provide the free movie and free refreshments, they also provided free Star Trek cups, posters, postcards, and stickers which were handed out after the show. Thank you, Paramount!
Right before the movie aired, they aired a preview for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This was quite good and got some applause.
And the movie?
Quite good, I would say. At this point, I don't know if I would say it is better than Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan or Star Trek: The Voyage Home, but better than most of the rest. I'm not going to give away much in the way of spoilers, but parts of it will be familiar to those who have seen the previous movies with their revenge plots and "giant doomsday device" plots.
The Heroes As everyone knows by now, the Enterprise crew is now played by entirely different actors. This takes some getting used to, as William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and the rest have been indelibly associated with these characters for the past 40 years. Not like Batman or James Bond or Battlestar: Galactica or any other such "franchise" where the actors playing the characters change over time. Not anymore. Now you have new actors, and you will spend time comparing them to the old ones, role by role. And about Scotty. When he shows up, you will hear a tribble. Make sure to look carefully to see it after you hear that sound.
Zachary Quinto is very good as Spock. He played the role his own way, reminding you of Spock, but not imitating him. I think Chris Pine does a good job as Jim Kirk, but I was thinking that no-one can fill Shatner's shoes. He didn't have exactly enough swagger to back up the smirk. Karl Urban channels DeForest Kelley so effectively at times that I looked for the old McCoy actor's face in his sometimes.
The Villains Sometimes, I had trouble telling the main villain and his henchmen apart. Think of the Heat Miser and his little flame-headed heat miser minions, but make them all about the same size. Eric Bana played the villain leader, an angry miner named Nero. The last time I saw an angry miner as a major film villain was in The Incredibles, and that character, the Underminer, only showed up in the last minute. Bald, bulked up, and covered in tattoos, he looks like a member of a Romulan biker-gang. As do, of course, his several minions who run around on his ship with him.
Ranking him with Star Trek villains, well... Nero is no Khan. I'd rank him below the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact. And below Christopher Lloyd's Krug from Star Trek: The Search for Spock. But he is definitely above the villians of the previous two movies (the stretchy-faced guy and bald Picard clone) and better than Spock's "brother" from the unloved Star Trek V. Maybe I'd rank him alongside Christopher Plummer's Shakespeare-spouting Chang from Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country.
Review Rating/Ranking
At the end of the movie, the audience cheered loudly. I don't see this happen at movies too often, and I'm pretty sure that most of this audience was non-Trekkie. I give it 3.5 Eberts: "Very good movie. Definitely worth owning on DVD or taking the time to download." Thanks again, Mike. And thank you, Paramount Pictures.
There's one scene that takes place in with a hero confronting a villain in the villains' big ship. It is in front of a round window. The music seems to "breathe" like Darth Vader at this point, and it reminds of a scene in the Death Star in The Empire Strikes Back. See if you notice this.
The postcard to the right was a sticker-postcard handed out to everyone at the movie (along with other Trek swag). It is my first Star Trek postcard
When it comes to TV shows, I remember "Hawaii Five-O". I remember it being on, but did not watch it, because I've never really been into cop shows. I also remember the theme very well. I had a friend in Junior High who could play the drums and loved trying to play the theme from "Hawaii Five-O".
. He's a rather experienced Shakespearean actor, so I can't imagine they should have paid him too much to do this job. He could probably spout common Shakespeare lines in his sleep. 
The next fishy's were found painted in a huge mural in the alleyway on the other side of the street. This first one is a gar, I think:
One of Ford's other factories was found in 
