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Post by General Silliness on May 12, 2008 4:52:36 GMT -8
Every time I leave the cinema, I have to lose my wanted level. like you´re brother.damn irish...
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 12, 2008 12:39:17 GMT -8
Haha, the Dugans ARE a little bit like the McCreedys.
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Post by Jockolantern on May 12, 2008 22:56:54 GMT -8
I particularly enjoyed the moments where one character is expressing some type of emotion to another character where they are both on the screen, yet in two entirely different scenes. Examples would be Royalton yelling a Speed while Speed appears to be on the receiving end of his rant, until it is revealed he's really already on the race track. Another one would be where Snake Oiler gives a grin of excitment at the thought of getting paid to go after Speed, who we see at the bottom of the screen racing across the desert in Casa Cristo. It almost looks as if he is trying to swallow him up. Sequences like these really help put it in the realm of "awesome" for me. David Poland has a great review of the movie that's worth reading here - www.mcnblogs.com/thehotbutton/2008/05/speed_racer_review.htmlSaw the movie a second time with some friends to solidify my thoughts on it and catch up on a few more of the thousands of sidenotes the Wachowskis sent firing across the screen at all times. Sitting back a few rows in the theatre helped a great deal in getting a more complete view of the story. As you already stated, Chris, I loved the way Andy and Larry decided to use transitions in the film; one of my favorite shots in the film is when Royalton and one of his underlings are talking as they watch cars being manufactured. They are standing side-by-side but the Wachowski's slide their faces across the screen and to either side of the frame to give the appearance that they are talking directly to one another, face-to-face. The accentuating colors coming from the sparks in the background (also mirrored for affect) makes a simple dialogue scene more engaging. Even during the action scenes, the Wachowski's really seemed intent on plumbing the racers' heads with all the straight-up face shots, pan-arounds, and reactionary movement from one character to the next; Tattersall's photography is amazingly detailed and really helps underscore the characters' emotional responses amongst even the most chaotic action scenes. It was a great touch to have brief flashbacks for each group of headhunters being paid off to kill Speed Racer even as they're busy racing across the desert. Having the initial storyline told through interlaced flashbacks during the Thunderhead race was also handled with a great deal of urgency and excitement. Again, the transitioning methods Andy and Larry chose were sublime and wonderful to follow. Color me firmly in the category of people who absolutely loved this film and somehow... "got" it. It didn't hurt that the movie was quite faithful to the original content, character, and style of the original show, but even what the Wachowski's did to extend the scope of the picture felt natural, well within the realm of the original show's campiness. This seems to be a film with a well-established "love it or hate it" following and I'm pleased to say that I am immensely pleased with what the Wachowski Bros. bothered to do with this picture. Where other directors might have tinkered around safely and produced a marginally faithful picture with some interesting set-pieces, Andy and Larry pulled out all the stops and really let the heart of the original show frame itself out as a full-blown 21st century envisioning. And where CGI got quite distracting in their latter two Matrix films, it somehow felt right at home here. The fact that they didn't go for ultra-realism helped out immensely, no doubt, and actually does a great deal to envelop the audience in Speed's world without overselling it. Also, I have to confess that I haven't been this obsessed with listening to a score since... I can't really remember when. You and Michael truly outdid yourselves here! The music is just stunning from beginning to end: Thunderhead, Casa Cristo, Grand Ol' Prix, Reboot, Let Us Drink Milk, the Speed Racer credits suite... outstanding compositional work. The final minute of Reboot still leaves me breathless each time I listen to it. Bravo! -Jockolantern
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 12, 2008 23:35:23 GMT -8
Worst moviegoing experience I've had since Transformers. Came out of the theater with both a massive headache and at least temporary ADD. Alternates dull and overwritten exposition with incomprehensibly frenetic racing scenes. Whenever the film actually comes close to being poignant or relatable all that is quickly undercut by the single worst comic relief characters of all time (give me Jar Jar Binks any day of the week over that fucking kid and monkey). The guitar solo of Freebird has forever been spoiled for me by its use in the scooter chase, and the film even went so far as to rip-off the final joke of The Princess Bride for one last, pathetic attempt at humor before the end credits.
Did I already mention that at a running time of two and a half days, the film is AT LEAST a day too long?
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 12, 2008 23:39:34 GMT -8
Oh, and that droning, endless Wachowski brothers dialogue! Good God, that scene where Royalton explains, in depth, the business side of racing, the history of the Grand Prix and his evil offer made me flash back to the Architect's speech from Matrix Reloaded. It just goes on forever!
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Post by indy2003 on May 13, 2008 11:03:52 GMT -8
Worst moviegoing experience I've had since Transformers. Came out of the theater with both a massive headache and at least temporary ADD. Alternates dull and overwritten exposition with incomprehensibly frenetic racing scenes. Whenever the film actually comes close to being poignant or relatable all that is quickly undercut by the single worst comic relief characters of all time (give me Jar Jar Binks any day of the week over that fucking kid and monkey). The guitar solo of Freebird has forever been spoiled for me by its use in the scooter chase, and the film even went so far as to rip-off the final joke of The Princess Bride for one last, pathetic attempt at humor before the end credits. Did I already mention that at a running time of two and a half days, the film is AT LEAST a day too long? ^What he said. Well, except the "worst experience since Transformers" bit. "Speed Racer" didn't make my head hurt quite as bad as "Doomsday". Back at ya later
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 13, 2008 11:49:17 GMT -8
I haven't seen Doomsday yet, so I can stand by my comments.
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Post by Joseph Bat on May 17, 2008 9:19:38 GMT -8
Losing out not only to Iron Man, but also to What Happens In Vegas? How embarrassing for The Wachowski's.
Joe
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Post by chollman on May 18, 2008 14:52:50 GMT -8
My girlfriend and I went and saw What Happens in Vegas and I was very surprised at how funny it was, much more so than any preview made it out to be. I quite liked it.
Still haven't seen Speed Racer, though. But I want to...
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Post by Doublehex on May 21, 2008 18:50:45 GMT -8
I have to agree with Jackolantern. This is definatley one of the most fun experiences at a movie theater I had since Transformers. It really does capture the feel of the show, and its just such a blast to watch. An instant buy when it comes out on DVD.
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 21, 2008 18:56:09 GMT -8
This is definatley one of the most fun experiences at a movie theater I had since Transformers. I don't know who you are, but I hate you.
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Post by General Silliness on May 21, 2008 19:05:09 GMT -8
This is definatley one of the most fun experiences at a movie theater I had since Transformers. I don't know who you are, but I hate you. transformers was awesome, shut up jens.but speedracer was too much to handle even for me.
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 21, 2008 19:06:50 GMT -8
transformers was awesome. No.
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Post by Doublehex on May 21, 2008 19:11:17 GMT -8
As far as I'm concerned, that guy would of hated it no matter what was done. I loved it. I was a Transformers fan when I was a kid, and indeed, I got exactly what I expected - a bunch of giant robots beating the crap out of each other. And it rocked in doing it . It was a hell of a roller coaster, and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel.
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Post by Jens Dietrich on May 21, 2008 19:12:56 GMT -8
As far as I'm concerned, that guy would of hated it no matter what was done. I take it you didn't actually take the time to read the review.
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