Movies Starring George Takei
Futurama: Bender's Game
John Di Maggio, Tress MacNeille, Phil LaMarr, Rich Little, George Takei, Frank Welker, Billy West, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom
DIRECTOR:At once a merciless skewering of all things fanboy and an extremely satisfying addition to the Futurama franchise, Bender's Game is among the best of the animated series' feature length adventures. The game in question is Dungeons and Dragons, and Bender wants in—only robots aren't programmed with the necessary imagination. Naturally, Bender's plans to develop one go completely awry and land him in an android asylum. The role-playing plotline later re-emerges—in typically convoluted Futurama fashion—via a subplot involving Professor Farnsworth's conversion of dark matter into spaceship fuel, which created a key to a very D&D-influenced universe where our hapless heroes eventually find themselves. The alternate world storyline allows for much lampooning of fantasy tropes, with Lord of the Rings receiving the lion's share of the tweaks. Seeing as how the writers have already devoted much of the movie's running time to parodying Star Wars and Star Trek (and their Lego offshoots), one might think that Bender's Game might suffer from pop-culture overload, but surprisingly, it all feels fresh and frequently funny, and the writers are wise to ground the story in their eccentric characters rather than pinballing them through an endless string of gags. The result is probably the strongest of the direct-to-DVD Futurama releases to date, and one that newcomers to the show's cracked universe can appreciate as much as longtime fans.As with previous Futurama DVD releases, the extras come fast and furious on Bender's Game: commentary by members of the cast and production team (including Matt Groening) is both informative and funny, while interviews with the writers and producers discuss, among other topics, the influence of Dungeons and Dragons on the series and the 3D models used in the feature. Aspiring animators might appreciate "How To Draw Futurama in 83 Easy Steps and the storyboard animatic for the first part of the story, while the "Genetics Lab" feature allows for some amusing Dr. Moreau-style cross-breeding of the characters. Recording session bloopers and a deleted scene offer their own laughs, but the most enjoyable extra must be the preview for the next Futurama feature, Into the Wild Green Yonder, which suggests a shocking development for one of the show's regulars.
Mulan II
She's primped. She's engaged. She's back.
Ming-Na, Mark Moseley, Lucy Liu, Harvey Fierstein, Sandra Oh, Gedde Watanabe, Lauren Tom, Jerry Tondo, Pat Morita, George Takei, June Foray, Freda Foh Shen, Soon-Tek Oh, Frank Welker
DIRECTOR:Fa Mulan gets the surprise of her young life when her love, Captain (now General) Li Shang asks for her hand in marriage. Before the two can have their happily ever after, the Emperor assigns them a secret mission, to escort three princesses to Chang'an, China. Mushu is determined to drive a wedge between the couple after he learns that he will lose his guardian job if Mulan marries into the Li family. After the princesses unexpectedly fall in love with the Gang of Three, Mulan decides to help them escape the fate of marrying men they do not love. This contradicts the Emperor's orders and forces him to put Mulan's relationship with Shang into question. They are attacked by Mongolians, and the fate of China hangs in the balance.
Eavesdropper, The (aka Patient 14)
What you hear can kill you.
Lucy Jenner, Costas Mandylor, John J. York, John de Lancie, George Takei, Tucker Smallwood, Ben Donovan, John McCann, Billy Rieck, Rafael H. Robledo, Deborah Dir, Iona Morris, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Sam Scarber
DIRECTOR:Andrew Bakalar
Fifteen deaf patients took part in an experimental clinical trail aimed at hearing restoration. Within days, fourteen of the fifteen participants in the trial become violently psychotic, ultimately taking their lives to stop violent side effects brought on by the treatment. This is the story of the sole survivor of the experiment, Patient #14 - Liza Raines, who participation in the experiment gave her super-normal hearing abilities - particularly, the ability to hear the frequency emitted by the brain when it thinks. When her life is suddenly thrown into jeopardy, Liza is forced to use her ability against those set on covering up the fact that she even existed.
Mulan
The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.
Miguel Ferrer, Harvey Fierstein, Freda Foh Shen, Marni Nixon, James Hong, Miriam Margolyes, Pat Morita, Eddie Murphy, Soon-Tek Oh, Donny Osmond, Lea Salonga, James Shigeta, George Takei, Jerry Tondo
DIRECTORS:Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
Mulan is a girl, the only child of her honored family. When the Huns invade China, one man from every family is called to arms. Mulan's father, who has an old wound and cannot walk properly, decides to fight for his country and the honor of his family though it is clear that he will not survive an enemy encounter. Mulan, who just got rejected by the matchmaker because she had set her on fire, decides to prove that she is worth something and steals away to fit her father's place in the Chinese army. She prays to her family's ancestors for protection and luck before leaving as a man in her father's armor with her family's horse. The ancestors awake and decide to send Mushu, a little dishonored dragon to aid Mulan in her quest. Weeks later, Mulan and the other troopers have survived the training camp and are on the way north to stop the huns. After being spotted and pursued by the enemies, an impass situation in the mountains forces Mulan to come up with an idea. But then, her real gender will no longer be a secret. She decides to risk everything in order to save China.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
The battle for peace has begun
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Kim Cattrall, Mark Lenard, Grace Lee Whitney, Brock Peters, Leon Russom, Kurtwood Smith, Christopher Plummer, Rosanna DeSoto
DIRECTOR:An accident on the Klingon moon Praxis forces the reluctant Klingon Empire into a peace treaty with the Federation. Kirk, despite his mistrust of the Klingons after they murdered his son at Genesis, is forced to escort a Klingon cruiser carrying the Klingon Chancellor to Earth for the meetings. During the voyage the Klingon cruiser is attacked, and Kirk & McCoy are taken prisoner after the Chancellor is murdered by two Starfleet crewmen. Spock immediately begins an investigation, while Kirk & McCoy are sentenced to life on Rura Penthe - a deep-frozen asteroid. Spock, meanwhile, has discovered that a Klingon Bird of Prey - one that can fire when cloaked, and under the command of Kingon General Chang - is the ship responsible for firing on the Chancellor, and the 2 assassins came from the Enterprise. A rescue of Kirk & McCoy is successful, after which they discover a conspiracy among Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan officials whose plan is to incite a full-blown war! The Enterprise & Excelsior - under the command of Hikaru Sulu - head for a deadly rendezvous with General Chang at the peace summit to prevent war from breaking out...but will they be too late?
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
The Enterprise is back. This time, have they gone too far?
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, David Warner, Laurence Luckinbill, Charles Cooper, Cynthia Gouw, Todd Bryant, Spice Williams-Crosby, Rex Holman, George Murdock
DIRECTOR:William Shatner
It's Stardate 8454.130 and vacationing Captain Kirk faces two challenges: climbing Yosemite's El Capitan and teaching campfire songs to Spock. But vacations are cut short when a renegade Vulcan hijacks the Enterprise, and pilots it on a journey to uncover the universe's innermost secrets.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Beaming down to Earth December 12 1986
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Jane Wyatt, Catherine Hicks, Mark Lenard, Robin Curtis, Robert Ellenstein, John Schuck, Brock Peters
DIRECTOR:Leonard Nimoy
Admiral Kirk and his crew vow to return to Earth after rescuing Captain Spock to face criminal charges after his unauthorized mission and theft of the U.S.S. Enterprise. After rescuing two humpback whales, Kirk is found guilty of disobeying a Starfleet superior officer and is demoted to Captain and given command of the U.S.S. Enterprise-A.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Join the search
William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Merritt Butrick, Phil Morris, Scott McGinnis, Robert Hooks, Robin Curtis, Carl Steven, Vadia Potenza
Admiral Kirk's defeat of Khan and the creation of the Genesis planet are empty victories. Spock is dead and McCoy is, seemingly inexplicably, being driven insane. Then an unexpected visit from Sarek, Spock's father, provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence. With one friend alive and one not, but both in pain, Kirk attempts to help his friends by stealing the Enterprise and defying Starfleet's Genesis quarantine. But the Klingons have also learned of Genesis and race to meet Kirk in a deadly rendezvous.
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
At the end of the universe lies the beginning of vengeance.
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Jeff McBride, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalban, Ike Eisenmann, John Vargas
DIRECTOR:It is the 23rd Century. The Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise is on routine training maneuvers, and Admiral James T. Kirk seems resigned to the fact that this may well be the last space mission of his career. But Khan is back. Aided by his exiled band of genetic supermen, Khan—brilliant renegade of 20th Century Earth—has raided Space Station Regula One, stolen a top secret device called Project Genesis, wrested control of another Federation starship, and now schemes to set a most deadly trap for his old enemy Kirk . . . with the threat of a universal Armageddon!
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The human adventure is just beginning
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Majel Barrett, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, Grace Lee Whitney, Mark Lenard, Billy Van Zandt, Roger Aaron Brown, Gary Faga
DIRECTOR:A strange cloud descends upon Klingon vessels and eradicates them with an energy bolt. The Epsilon IX space station alerts the Federation, but they too are wiped out by the entity. The starship assigned to the case is, what else, the NCC-1701. That would be the registration number for the U.S.S. Enterprise, which has been rebuilt. Thus, the entire original crew you knew from the TV show returns. Although they are prepared to face the entity, nothing will prepare them for the ride to come. The film asks the question Paul Gauguin asks in a painting bearing this name: "Where do [I] come from? What [am I]? Where [am I] going?" Trekkers, note the appearance of Will Decker, the son of Matt Decker, who killed himself in the TV episode, "The Doomsday Machine". The film can be summed up in a single word: beautiful.
