It’s interesting to see how sometimes a metaphor can be more powerful than the literal idea. That looks like what we’re about to face this week, when Speed Racer, the story of a boy who’s really into amazing cars goes up against a man who’s lost his heart, and must cover himself in metal in order to find it again.
Looking at the reviews, especially this one, in the New York Times, it’s pretty obvious that things aren’t looking good for the new film from the Wachowskis. That’s not to say that reviews are always right, but sometimes you read line that perfectly captures your fears:
But at least those cars — including Speed’s Mach 5, faithfully replicated from the old cartoons — move. When it comes to storytelling, “Speed Racer” has nothing in common with its title. Not only does it surpass the grinding tedium of “The Matrix Revolutions,” but it does so with far less excuse.
But “Speed Racer” is about a boy driving a car, surely a subject that cries out for linearity, simplicity, velocity. Instead the first half-hour layers flashbacks with portentous foreshadowings, generating pointless confusion about who is doing what and why.
Yow.
As many times as people may tell you to “turn off your brains” I still find it almost unbearable when an action movie starts to drag. It doesn’t need to be wall to wall action, but it’s important that there’s something entertaining happening in between the thrill ride. An audience needs a reason to care, and they need to have a stake in the outcome.
That said I still want to see this film at some point. I’m curious about the camera effects and the unique transitions.
Here’s the second Watchmen video journal.
Lot’s of neat stuff packed in here if you’re a fan of the comic.
First one can be found here.
I was wrong. It turns out the summer of ‘08 has started out with a bang
My one sentence review for Iron Man is as follows:
This is the best possible summer blockbuster you could make about a guy in a hi-tech super suit.
I suppose there could be quibbles, there always are, but it’s really an amazing movie, managing to keep to core premise and internal logic. But more than all of that the film has a tone that it stays true to as well. It has a sense of playfulness that infuses even the most serious moments, and Robert Downey is a master at the self-effacing put-down, managing to make fun of himself and everyone else around him at the same time. That means Tony Stark is kind of a jerk, but he’s our kind of jerk, an American jerk. And there’s a moment when he first appears in public as Iron Man where he proves that for all his faults he is a genuine hero. I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff, and the film really plays it up. I’m looking forward to seeing it again, and seeing if it holds up on a second viewing.
It’s a good start to the year, and sets a high water mark for the other big summer films that are following it up.
This is starting to look really good, adding in complexity to both the hero and the villain:
It’s hard not to get excited about a movie that’s wearing its tortured characters right out on its sleeve.
Batman has always been a platform for both the absurdity and intensity of the superhero archetype. It tilts from one side to the other, but it works best when it has elements of both. Looks like they’ve got that going on here.
HD available here
This looks interesting. If nothing else it feels like they may have made an actual Indiana Jones film.
I’ll be honest and say that I never felt like the second two films lived up to the promise of the first one. Somehow they got bogged down in the cliches of the summer blockbuster (which the franchise helped to invent) and became artifacts of the 80s rather than having that spirit of timeless adventure that the first movie had.
Let’s see if this can bring back the magic.
HD version available here.
It’s interesting to see how sometimes a metaphor can be more powerful than the literal idea. That looks like what we’re about to face this week, when Speed Racer, the story of a boy who’s really into amazing cars goes up against a man who’s lost his heart, and must cover himself in metal in order to find it again.
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