Two more Star Trek movies were aired these past two Sundays by GMA-7.

Following Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were the sequels Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

The latter is my favorite of the lot so far, because it had great humor and adventure, wherein the crew of the now-destroyed Enterprise starship went back in time, specifically into the 20th century. Their mission was to retrieve humpback whales, the only sentient form that could communicate with a space probe entity that was slowly ripping the planet Earth apart.

The Enterprise met its death in a self-destruct sequence activated by Admiral Kirk, Jackal and Scottie in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock to prevent alien terrorists from getting data on Project: Genesis.

I particularly loved The Voyage Home because of the depth it showed in the character of my favorite Star Trek character, Spock. He was the only non-human on the crew when they went into the time warp. Spock had to travel on land with Kirk in 20th-century San Francisco wearing a bandanna to cover his unusual eyebrows and ears, not to mention having a priestly-looking white robe as his daily garb.

This movie showed that he had knowledge of the 1900s earth from “(as) memory (serves)” as well as the ability to speak (telepathically) with whales, presumably among many other creatures. This special talent was demonstrated when Spock dove into a large aquarium and conversed with a whale couple, only to find out that the female was pregnant.

I very much envy that whale. She had Spock as her gyno.

Quite an interesting week. I watched two movies last Tuesday afternoon and got a new computer the day after.

My new PC has a 56X CD-ROM drive, 128 MB RAM and a 40G memory. This alien is very pleased.

I caught The Powerpuff Girls Movie and Killing Me Softly successively. The first one I got to watch twice. The second one I caught right from the beginning, but was not able to watch again because it was late and I wanted to catch the last jeepney trip home.

The Powerpuff Girls Movie was short and sweet, a retelling of the girls’ origin and the rise of Mojo Jojo to power with the building of his superstructure in Townsville.

This was the first time I got to hear the real American/Cartoon Network voice actors and I was very satisfied. E.G. Daily, who plays Buttercup, is simply terrific. I also loved the movie’s soundtrack and the new syntho-remix of the show’s Bis ending theme, Saves the Day.

Here is the skinny on the PPG movie from Amazon.com:

This full-length adventure features an animated epic so big so funny and so spectacular that only the Powerpuff Girls can handle it!

Created by a perfectly powerful experiment Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup explode into action as the new kids in Townsville! But after one enthusiastic game of tag they nearly destroy their beloved city.

Now called social freaks they turn to the mysterious Mojo Jojo for help but this sinister simian has other plans – big plans – like leading an army of evil monkeys to destroy the world!

Join the celebration as the Powerpuff Girls save Townsville and the world – for the very first time…before bedtime!

Killing Me Softly is a mystery story of sorts, with a potent sexual flavor.

The chemistry of Heather Graham, the CD-ROM editor Alice, and Joseph Fiennes, the slightly violent mountain-climbing hero Adam Taliss, was simply incredible. They practically set the whole screen on fire.

The movie takes off with the two lead characters’ steamy first meeting, then moves on into their very passionate physical and romantic relationship.

Their whirlwind courtship leads to marriage, which opens doors into Adam’s mysterious and dangerous history.

My only complaint about the movie was that the ending was not on an explosive note, but a despairing whimper against the winter air.

Amazon.com gives the following film summary:

Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) and Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) sizzle like never before in this steamy sexual odyssey about the addictive and deadly powers of illicit passion. Too much of a good thing can be deadly.

When Alice (Graham), an American living in London, meets Adam (Fiennes), a handsome adventurer, she’s lured out of her safe, mundane life to pursue an affair that brings her to the heights of excitement and ecstasy.

But when Adam’s mysterious and violent past begins to surface, Alice investigates and learns that Adam’s past and her future may both point to murder!

The first day of September hailed the last Semifinals match of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, between the Alaska Aces and Talk-and-Text. Said game is the fifth, “sudden death” one in the two teams’ harrowing Best-of-Five series.

Much to my dismay, and that is putting it VERY mildly, my beloved Aces lost. Just one more game to win to make it to the Finals, but no. It breaks the heart, after their valiant efforts to keep the team alive by winning the previous two games.

It was rather obvious early in the game that Talk-and-Text was on a roll, piling up a lead as high as 18 points. In spite of the Aces’ attempt at a rally led by import AJ Williams, it was too late to cut down the lead to a single digit. Thus, Talk-and-Text will be the one to face Red Bull in the upcoming Commy Cup Finals.

My current obsession is the magnificent animé and manga series Petshop of Horrors.

Count D, whom they called Hakushaku in the Filipino dub done by GMA Network dub a couple of months ago, is one of the most alluring, compelling, intriguing characters I have ever come across.

I plan on spreading the whole PSH mania throughout my computer and other peoples’ machines I could invade in the days to come.

Earlier this evening, GMA aired the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

It was classically absorbing in true Star Trek fashion, complete with space action and interpersonal drama. In my humble opinion, The Wrath of Khan is one of the best space-themed movies produced in its time, before CG sprucing was in vogue.

The highlight was the sacrifice of my favorite character in the series, the ever so poised Spock. Leonard Nimoy is just so debonair, not only in this series but also in the original Mission: Impossible.

Here is a summary of The Wrath of Khan from Amazon.com:

Inspired by the “Space Seed” episode of the original TV series, the film reunites newly promoted Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) with his nemesis from the earlier episode – the genetically superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban), who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet.

Their battle ensues over control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk’s estranged and now-adult son.

While Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (Kirstie Alley), Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk’s closest friend.