Why no love for “Speed Racer?”

So, I went to see Speed Racer today with my five year old daughter. I didn’t go late at night with Jonny-Ri, I went on a date with my princess.  Before I went I read some reviews by simply typing the title into Google News and here is what you see: entry after entry about how much the movie sucked. It’s too bad really, because I had a great time. Sure, Cinesnob would think this movie is trifle, but he is asleep until September anyway (He might stretch his legs a little for The Happening) This movie IS creative, it IS groundbreaking, and it IS entertaining. If you don’t think that’s the case, then you probably have a point. I took my kid, and we had a blast. This is a kid’s movie, hence the PG rating, so don’t expect much more. Personally, I loved that the storyline was fairly straightforward and that it was so family affirming.

I asked my daughter while I was tucking her in tonight to give me some words to describe her experience. She said that she loved it because it was “really super exciting when they were racing, and the fighting was funny. Chim-chim was funny too!” (Chim-Chim is the family chimpanzee.) We talked about rating movies with thumbs up or down, and she gives it a thumbs up.

I give it a thumbs up too. I have no idea how they created the crazy saturation of color that permeated every frame. Along with a new focus technique that allows certain areas of the frame to be in our out of focus, the color gave the whole film the feeling of a kinetic comic book. The silly fight scenes, the sublime vaudeville score from composer It-man Michael Giacchino, and Roger Allam in the Tim Curry role of the big, rich, evil, baddie all contribute to a movie that is vastly watchable and entertaining.

Trust me. Go see it. Just don’t go with high expectations.

Iron Man Opening Night

I have been talking about this film for months. When I heard about Jon Favreau being on board I was surprised and excited with the unusual directing choice by Marvel. When Robert Downey Jr. showed up as the the leading man it felt like the perfect pick. But being the skeptic I am I was worried about the outcome all the way until the lights dimmed in the theater last night when I saw it.

To cut with the suspense I’ll just flat out say that I feel the movie was a huge success. Better than Spider-Man’s first attempt, better than the Hulk, Fantastic Four or Daredevil combined and even better than X-Men’s first try at the title.

The movie had a great pace which is key in these origin films. They kept you informed while continuing to move along at a steady speed. The characters were engaging, believable and well scripted. The art direction was fantastic and the visual effects were dazzling yet seamless.

Robert Downey Jr. blew everyone in the audience away with his masterful depiction of Tony Stark. I am really curious to see where this film might take his career in the coming years. I feel like with this film he has hit a new level that if he plays his cards right and stays focused he could use it as a stepping stone into much more substantial movies than in his previous career.

Everyone is confident in not only seeing it as a trilogy starter but also a starter to a good trilogy. I fully recommend this film, it is the perfect opener to your summer film festivities.

Fanboy Squeals while Cinsnob Scoffs

Will it suck? Probably
Will I go? Does the pope poop in the woods?

Cue “The Lonely Man” by Joe Harnell

Marvel just released their first full poster promoting “The Incredible Hulk”. As all of you know, the Fanboy in me is an uber graphic novel fan so the release of this film is pretty exciting in my book for a few reasons.

1) They are totally going the “Batman Begins” route and acting like the Ang Lee movie never existed and instead are redefining the hero in a completely different way.

2) As much as I like Eric Bana, he played a horrible Bruce Banner. Bruce from the comics is a skinny, timid, scared little nerd who is battling with his repressed anger issues that have been given through his gamma radiated alter ego. Bana was about 40 lbs. of muscle too heavy and never really confronted the psychological problems that Banner suppreses. Norton is going to pull off what Bana failed to do.

3)My boy Louis Leterrier is running the show on this one. This is the guy that made The Transporter (a good action flick with Jason Statham that I gave a B+) and Unleashed, the only movie where Jet Li actually does some serious acting alongside Morgan Freeman in between some of the best fight scenes in film history. I’m really curious to see his take on the green man.

4) Two words…Liv Tyler

 

’nuff said!

I am 11 again watching faces melt from Nazi’s

Remember this?  Yeah, me too, I can still hear the scream.  Especially the part where he gurgles on is own melting flesh.  The screaming baddie from Raider’s of The Lost Ark is so vivid in my mind because the first time I saw the movie, my mom wouldn’t let me watch this part.  “You can open your eyes when Indy does.”  So I heard the whole scene from Indy’s perspective.  He shouts “Whatever you do don’t open your eyes!”  Man I really wanted to open my eyes.  Of course when I saw it later I was mesmerized.

Earlier this year, when the new trailer for Indy 4 (I’m not linking dude, I’m lazy and you know how to use Google) hit the net, the hairs on my neck stood on end when the rousing John Williams trumpets began to play the familiar fanfare.  A fanfare that the Fanboy has sung from the top of his lungs many times while snapping his brother’s whip over the garage rafters and swinging with one hand on my fedora.

I am stoked about the new Indy on many levels.  There is plenty for both Fanboy and Cinesnob to want to rip his beating heart right out of his chest and feed it to the crocs.  On one hand, this is a conventional, popcorn, thrill a minute, action movie.  It is a formula that has been in place since the first film and in a way is a formula that some cinesnobs would point to as the very reason for the boring blockbuster summers we find ourselves in.  Fanboy eats that crap up though.

On the other hand, this is a movie made by three of the heaviest hitting, most creative guys on earth.  Harrison Ford may be a pain in the arse, but he loves and cares for his craft.  It is what makes him such a pain in the first place.  As for the other two guys, Speilberg and Lucas, are responsible for the way moviemaking of the last 30 years has been done.  They have led every frontier and have created images and stories that are as much a part of our cultural lexicon and identity as Shakespeare or Picasso.

Entertainment Weekly recently published a Q&A with these two and it is a sublime read.  They banter, argue, and get into pissing matches about who is more innovative.  Here is a snippet:

How much did George nag you to shoot film-free, with digital cameras, the way he did on the Star Wars prequels?
SPIELBERG: All through three years of preparation. It’s like he was sending these huge 88 [millimeter artillery] shells to soften the beach, y’know? He never swears at me. He never uses profanity. But he calls me a lot of names. And in his creative name-calling, he topped himself on this one, trying to get me to do this digitally.

What did he call you?
SPIELBERG: I guess the worst thing he ever called me was old-fashioned. But I celebrate that. He knows me like a brother. It’s true, I am old-fashioned.
LUCAS: I think the word ”Luddite” came into it. In a very heated discussion.
SPIELBERG: I said I wasn’t, I was Jewish! [Laughter]
LUCAS: The end of it is, I said, ”Look, Steve, this is your movie. You get to do it your way.” And in the end, I didn’t force Steven to do it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t pester him, and tease him, and get on him all the time.
SPIELBERG: It was all 35-millimeter, chemically processed film…. I like cutting the images on film. I’m the only person left cutting on film.
LUCAS: And I’m the guy that invented digital editing. But we coexist. I mean, I also like widescreen and color. Steven and Marty [Scorsese] have gone back and shot in black-and-white [on Schindler’s List and Raging Bull, respectively]. I don’t get on their case and say, ”Oh my God, this is a terrible thing, why are you going backwards?” I say, ”That’s your choice, and I can appreciate it.”
SPIELBERG: Eventually I’ll have to shoot [and edit] movies digitally, when there is no more film — and I’m willing to accept that. But I will be the last person to shoot and cut on film, y’know?

Read the rest here

I am stoked for this film.  Here’s for hoping for an experience worthy of the first facemelting.

The Truth Is Out There

Or at least it will be July 25th, 2008. The sequel to the 1998 X-Files feature film, “I Want To Believe”, is on its way finally after nearly a decade of struggles, legal disputes and secret production titles. Mulder & Scully are both back in full form but apparently neither will be dealing with aliens in this film. Instead the production team is leading the news to believe they will be following the “monster of the week” format that viewers were used to when the show was on TV and the premiss of the film will actually be based more around the supernatural world. I have never been an uber X-Files fan but the teaser poster they are using caught my eye all the way across the theater lobby earlier this week (probably because it is a big “X” and I assumed it must have something to do with X-Men, my film weakness). Nevertheless I had to check it out and see what all buzz is. I’m a sucker for any good teaser poster that totally hooks you into walking 50 yards across a building just to see what film it is for. Anyways, it’s coming into theaters in a couple of months and I for one am curious to see what a decade of planning and creating can do for this sci-fi veteran.

 

Quantum of Solace (2008)

I just finished watching Casino Royale yesterday, the latest Bond film with new 007 actor, Daniel Craig. It reminded me why, when I originally saw it, I thought it was the best Bond movie yet and watching it recently also got me thinking again about the next one set to release later this year, Quantum of Solace.

2 Reasons Why I’m Looking Forward To This Bond Film:

Daniel Craig is back. The crazy brit who resurrected the original bond persona and went a step further to perfect it even more in a modern view. Pierce Brosnin, by the time he made his last Bond film, had slughtered the authenticity of the 007 persona and, with the help of horrible writing feeding him some of the worst lines in film history, drove the quality of the film series into the ground. Even my inner Fanboy didn’t give a rats ass about seeing another one with him in it. Daniel Craig however gave James a makeover and relaunched the character back into action with more style and class than you could fit into a dry martini (shaken, not stirred).

Also, Marc Forster, the man with the plan who brought us movies like Finding Neverland, Stay & Stranger Than Fiction, is directing the 22nd Bond film. After naming off those films in his repertoire need I say more? The dude will always blow your mind while at the same time making you fall in love with his characters and he never shies away from rule number one in film, content is king. Action films like the Bond series often forget that and I am very curious to see what he will bring to the series with his directing styles.

Upcoming: The Spirit (2009)

As I was lurking around my usual film blogs and forums I stumbled across a movie poster release for The Spirit which is set to release next January. Any one who knows me knows I am in love with Frank Miller. The dude brought us Sin City and 300, ’nuff said. And from the looks of what info has been released thus far, Spirit has all the elements needed for another Miller knockout. The Spirit as a graphic novel is one of the most historic titles of its kind so there is a lot to live up to with this movie title but the cast looks good an the director has a great running streak so far so I am very curious to hear more about this one as the year progresses.

the underdog of summer

I am an avid movie fan. I am also an avid comic book fan. Two things I will geek out on any day with little warning. Therefore, as far as math is concerned, if you were to put those two elements together logic states that it should make a good combo and I should be very well pleased. Unfortunately, as far as the majority goes, I have not been very happy with the comic book film industry. For every Batman Begins we have a Spider-man, Fantastic Four & Ghost Rider to push the scales back to crappy movies being in favor. In fact, it is more likely to get an actual good comic book movie from a sequel than from a first attempt (i.e. going from X-Men to X-Men II). So I am going to be honest with you, when they released the announcement that Iron Man was in the making I was conflicted. The fanboy in me was excited to get to geek out at another super hero flick and the cinesnob in me was grumbling with angst because I knew that the chances of it actually being good were slim to none. But now, after closer speculation & despite the fact that it is going to have to contend against the return of Batman and Indiana, Iron Man is looking quite promising. Here’ why:

1) The people at Marvel took a very odd but potentially very smart chance and named John Favreau, the genius who brought Elf into our lives, as director.

2) Probably the best casting choice yet in comic book films (right next to Mr. Bale obviously) was made and Robert Downey Jr. was appointed the role of Tony Stark. The dude is channeling Iron Man straight from the pages.

3) The trailers actually make it look like the movie is going to not only be true to the themes & characters of the original comci book but it will also actually be in good taste and believable. (Did anybody understand why in Spider-Man 3 that getting an alien symbiote attached to you equaled turning emo and learning classical dancing moves?) The witty quips recited by Mr. Downey are humorous but not corny, unlike the majority of the script in FF4’s first film.

All in all, I may actually let me inner fanboy get totally excited and not keep him restrained like I planned on so he wouldn’t get disappointed again like after seeing The Hulk (i know, the graphics kicked ass but that movie sucked the big one).

Where AFI is the American Film Institute (not an emo band)

This was Adam’s idea really.

When I choose a movie, I have two conflicting guys inside me…one is Fanboy; he likes loud geeky movies about things like superheroes and monsters and wizards. They are usually creating a lot of internet buzz after ComiCon and although the movies he chooses are sometimes amazing (Yay 300!), for the most part they are underwhelming.
Then there is Cinesnob; he likes arty, important movies that are not, by definition, entertaining. He likes his flicks thought provoking, symbolic…and always having something to say. His choices are usually in line with snobby Oscar critics and he can bore your for an hour on the merits of the focus technique of Citizen Kane.

Fanboy is more fun at parties.

And if you read his post on TEB last night, you would see that we both satisfied our snobs last night with some Daniel Day-Lewis action and then followed that by the decision to make this blog.

So there’s the story, who knows if anyone will be able to read through our movie-nerdiness but at least we’ll get to talk to each other and anyone else who cares through this place.