Okay, remember when I said all those good things about director James McTeigue?  I take it back.  All of it.  I found myself at the cinema this past weekend and I, rather inexplicably considering The Road is out in theaters, choose to see Ninja Assassin.  And the movie was terrible.  It was beyond terrible.  It might be the worst movie of 2009… but since I will never see 2012 that is something I will never be able to say.  I will say this, however: Ninja Assassin is the worst thing I’ve seen since that five-minute preview 20^th Century Fox released for 2012.   That says a lot.

Where to begin?

The actors. I guess Rain was okay as Raizo, our ninja hero… as long as he didn’t talk.  Fortunately, he didn’t talk much so I’m cool with him.  Wait… my opinion of him is quickly waning.  Moving on.  Naomie Harris plays the film’s leading lady.  Well… she just shouldn’t be a leading lady.  Ever.  How the hell did she make it through the audition?  You’d think somebody would have noticed, sometime during the production, that she simply can’t act.  At all.  I actually found myself dreading the moments she appeared on screen.  And then there’s Ben Miles as a good-guy/bad-guy/good-guy-again detective.   He should never have more than two lines of dialogue per film.  At least he has a British accent but even that lost its luster after three lines of dialogue.  Put the three of those C-list actors together and you get some of the worst chemistry I have ever spent money to see (along with some of the worst delivered dialogue added for good measure.)

The plot. Yes, I’m including spoilers – because you should never see this movie for yourself.  Understand?  Okay. So the movie opens with a gory scene in which a man tells us about ninjas… and that he was once stabbed by one (fortunately, his heart is on the other side.)  Then through some flashbacks we learn there’s a secret clan that kidnaps little children (kidnapped children are always so eager to learn) and trains them to be the world’s deadliest assassins.  One of these ninja assassins goes rogue and exacts revenge on the clan.  Some chick, played brilliantly by Harris, is randomly investigating the clan at the time, never mind she’s an American working in Germany (whose commander is British.)  Since she’s snooping too deep, the clan tries to kill her (there may have been a “curiosity killed the cat” line in there somewhere.) For some reason Raizo saves her (it’s hinted that he has a thing for chicks.) Then the agency she works for captures them both.  Because they knew about the ninjas all along.   Then the clan tries to kill Razio.  They fail, awkwardly.  Then they try not killing him, instead returning him to their master (back in the mountains of who-knows-where Japan.)  Luckily this gave Raizo time to heal his mortal wounds (super powers, hurray!)  And, of course, the girl planted a homing device on him (technology, hurray!) so just as Razio is about to be killed, the chick arrives with an army at which point the ninjas, who most of the movie were more ghost-like mythical beings (faster than both bullets and flashlights) become completely incompetent and are machine gunned down (note: the ninjas also showed difficulty avoiding on-coming traffic.)   During the massacre heroic rescue, Razio battles his master.  But only after the chick is pseudo-killed (her heart’s on the other side too, hurray!) does Razio finally get angry enough (it’s important ninjas be angry) to defeat his master once and for all.

So… well… that’s it.  That’s the plot.   What would ordinarily fill about 21 minutes of content on a Saturday morning cartoon is bloated to about 100 minutes of crap cinema.  I’d like to tell you the film’s style is cool… but its not.   I’d like to tell you the film’s fight choreography is top-notch… but its not.  I’d love to tell you the access blood and gore is mildly entertaining… but it’s more annoying than anything.   And, like every terrible movie, the audience is left with some puzzling questions: Why the hell can governments (most likely agencies) contact and hire this clan of ninjas to do their dirty work but this government agency, the one the chick works for, can’t find them to save their butts?!  Who the hell is helping Razio before he meets this chick anyway?!  Somebody is.  Somebody freaking calls him and tells him the clan’s next target.  But we’re never told who. Where the hell are all the ninjas-in-training (i.e. kidnapped children) at the end of the movie?  I’d of liked to have seen them gunned down as well.  And how the hell did they drive those Hummers and SUVS all the way up to the clan’s hideout at the end of the movie anyhow?!  This is a secret monetary, right?  Hidden high in the mountains.  Like Shangri-La, right?  Sigh.

What the f*ck happened?

James McTeigue (and the Wachowski Brothers.) I had really high hopes for McTeigue.  V for Vendetta was, and still is, one of my favorite films.  I guess I should feel fortunate to now know that it wasn’t McTeigue who made V for Vendetta so enjoyable but the ever-present, ever-watchful producing (read: forced direction) of the Wachowski Brothers that made that film so cool.   What baffles me though is that the Wachowski Brothers also produced Ninja Assassin.   It must have been in name only because, comparing V for Vendetta to the Matrix, and V foe Vendetta to Ninja Assassin, the film has much more in common, in both direction and style, with the former.  Watching Ninja Assassin, their presence was completely missing… unless, of course, this is just the next step in their downward spiral (Matrix 2 and 3…. Speed Racer.)  I guess only time will truly tell but, in the meantime, I know with absolute certainty that I can’t wait will never spend another dime to see a James McTeigue film.

And that’s that.    Thoughts?

Speed Racer è un adattamento cinematografico statunitense del 2008 di un cartone giapponese del 1960 con lo stesso nome. Il film è scritto e diretto dai fratelli Wachowski.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Andy Wachowski | Larry Wachowski | Emile Hirsch | Christina Ricci | Susan Sarandon | Matthew Fox

Sometimes there are movies that because of high expectations, don’t quite live up to the hype, therefore people and critics shrug it off as a failure. There are also some movies that people just pan or shrug off based on it’s cast or premise. Although there are some occassions where I’ve had such thoughts, I like to give every movie a chance. There are times when I regret it but there are times when there is a true gem that most people just don’t care for without even seeing it, or they just don’t like it for the reasons I’ve mentioned.

My list is compiled of movies that “failed” due to high expectations as well as those that most think are truly horrible. I love all of these movies and I don’t feel ashamed for doing so.

Here are my top 10 most underrated movies of the decade.

10. Australia

Baz Luhrman | 2008

I guess that after the greatness of Moulin Rouge! there were high expectations for Lurhrman’s next project (mine were definitely like that). When it was announced that he would do an epic romance, I guess people thought that he was going to try to bring back the sub-genre, when in fact it was just an homage to those movies. Most people didn’t see it as the latter, which is why they hated it. However, there were a few of us who saw it for what it was and we loved it. The romance is great, the cinematography is amazing, the score fits the story, and the performances are great. Yes, the script had problems, but they can be easily forgiven thanks to the rest of the production.

9. The Fall

Tarsem | 2008

This movie originally played in the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006 and it was panned, with most critics calling it an inferior copy of anther festival darling from that year, Pan’s Labyrinth. Two year later, it was released independently to bad reviews. There were a few critics like Roger Ebert who actually saw it for what it was, a visual treat supported by a small story. It is a gorgeous movie filled with  remarkable images and featuring great performances by Lee Pace and Catinka Untaru. It may not have a very deep and thought provoking story, but the story confined with the magnificent production makes for a great experience.

8. Across the Universe

Julie Taymor | 2007

Most people who dislike this mostly complain about how “misused” the songs by The Beatles were, about how little story there is to support those historic lyrics. I guess their love for the songs did not allow them to see the beautiful production, the great direction, the great performances, the good arrangements of the songs. They missed out on all the fun.

7. Knowing

Alex Proyas | 2009

Nicolas Cage had not had a good decade. For every Lord of War ,The Weatherman, and Adaptation there are two National Treasures, one Next, one Bangkok Dangerous, one Ghost Rider, and one The Wicker Man. So I guess that when this came out the presence of Cage made most people dismiss it as another one of his attempts to become an action star so late in his career. However, the movie is not just Nicolas Cage. It was directed by one of the most interesting directors out there, the script, despite it’s huge flaws, had some interesting ideas that Proyas takes the most advatage of, and it also features Cage’s best performances since 2005 when he had both Lord of War and The Weatherman

6. Memoirs of a Geisha

Rob Marshall | 2005

The book on which this is based is amazing, so there is no way that the movie was going to live up to it. Despite that, I believe Rob Marshall did a great job in translating the story visually into the screen it is one of the best produced movies of the decade. Yes, the script is rather bad, but the behind-the-scenes people and the actors rise above the material. Should you expect a fast-paced movie? No, you should expect a slow-burning experience and take everything in to enjoy the great ending.

5. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zizzou

Wes Anderson | 2004

It may not be Wes Anderson’s best, but I’d say that it is his most interesting, visually, and it has some really funny moments, as well as plenty of heart felt ones. Plus, it sports Bill Murray’s best post-Lost in Translation performance, Angelica Houston, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Cate Blanchett, and a song by Sigur Ros. What more can you ask for?

4. Monster-in-Law

Robert Luketic | 2005

Does it have the most original story? No. Is It well written and directed? No. So why do I think it is underrated? Well, it is because of the actresses. Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez have great chemistry together, and that alone makes almost every joke work. Plus, there is the always-reliable Wanda Sykes and the always reliable assistant ready with a one liner for every situation.

3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Garth Jennings | 2005

Based on the books by Douglas Adams, I think the movies does a great job of translating the humor, which is not the humor that most people are used to. I does not have jokes that give you belly laughs, but the kind of humor that makes you go, “that’s funny.” Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, and Sam Rockwell are perfectly cast and make everything work.

2. Speed Racer

The Wachowskis | 2008

“It looks like a videogame and it has no story” was the biggest complaint I heard about this movie. This was never supposed to be the next Matrix, it was supposed to be a movie for the whole family to enjoy. And that was what we got. It has a simple good vs. evil, family always sticks together story, combined with great, groundbreaking visual effects, and good performances to boot.

1. The Fountain

Darren Aronofsky | 2005

I guess the main reason why most people don’t like it is because of it’s non-linear narrative. I loved it from the first time I saw it, and has only gotten better with repeat viewings. Hugh Jackman gives what is his best performance to date, and Rachel Weiz is also quite good. Some parts are off-putting and you do wonder what part is actually happening, but that is only part of the beauty of it. This is definitely one of the best movies of the decade.

There are my 10 most underrated movies of the decade. Feel free to offer your opinion in the comments section.

“Nice to meet you,” our driver said, “but I won’t be taking you to Dohuk. This is Serkio, and you will go with him.”  Infused with the excitement of leaving work on a sunny Wednesday afternoon in boots, jeans and a t-shirt, and with the anticipation of touring Dohuk’s sights, I paid the plan change little heed.  The immediate thought of road tripping through most of Iraqi Kurdistan effectively dulled my sensitivity to traveler’s instincts.  I did not know what to expect.

Nor was I familiar in any way with the route.  Five minutes into the trip, I turned to the back and asked Christine if she had a map in her Charles Tripp book on Iraq.  It looked something like this:   

Now, those who know me are aware of my obsession with maps as well as my urgent need to know where the hell I am going.  So things got interesting when, on the way to Erbil, we decided to take what seemed like a random left off the main road.  Literally, Christine said aloud, “well this is interesting…”

And that was when we started driving fast.  The thing about riding in a car that only measures km/hr is you never know exactly how fast you are going.  That compounds the taxi cab paradox best described in Jerry Seinfeld’s stand-up as a lackadaisical attitude toward the driver’s recklessness, “Well I would never try that in my car,” the passenger chuckles, unaware of his impending doom.  Despite this state of ignorance, I feared going to sleep. When the sun eventually fell below the horizon, the trip became a blur of windy roads and small villages whose names registered little more to me than landmarks which went dutifully recorded in my notebook.  I would relay them here, but because they were written in the dark while careening over pothole-filled roads, that page looks more like an abstract painting.

Sometime after Shaqlawa the highway cut through a small town.  While passing a car perusing the wares of this town’s highway souq, our driver hit the leaves of a harvested plant hanging out of the back of a truck with the front of the driver’s side wheel.  Almost instantly, the car smelled like a freshly cut lawn.  The aroma, transcending time and place, brought me back to the suburban sidewalks of Connecticut on a Sunday afternoon.  It was as if I was no longer in a car hurtling through Kurdistan at exhausting speeds.  Then the driver opened the window, and the smell was gone as soon as it came.

We arrived unexpectedly in front of the Sulav Hotel at 7:30pm.  Serkio the Speed Racer finished the trip that normally takes five and a half hours in a harrowing four.  Thoroughly strung out by such an extended trip at high speeds, our nerves took very quickly to the bottle of red wine that beckoned from the bottom of Christine’s bag.  After leaving our effects in the rooms, we found a taxi driver to take us to the Dilshad Palace Hotel restaurant, one of the few places that offered what used to exist among Christine’s belongings.  The attentive waiter informed us that the hotel could not offer wine in a carafe, which, unbeknownst to him, was fine with us.  With it, we ate a dinner of mediocre Lebanese food in a near-empty ballroom, simultaneously thanking the powers for granting us safe passage to Dohuk and attempting to forget the incident altogether.

Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer
He’s a demon on wheels
He’s a demon and he’s gonna be chasing after someone
He’s gaining on you so you better look alive
He’s busy revving up the powerful Mach Five
And when the odds are against him and there’s daaangerous work to do
You bet your life Speed Racer’s gonna see it through

 

 Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer go

He’s off and flying as he guns the car around the track
He’s jamming down the pedal like he’s never coming back
Adventure’s waiting just aheeeeeeeeaaaaad

Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer
Go Speed Racer Go!

 

Astroboy – I can remember watching this show almost religiously each week as Astroboy fought to defend humans from evil robots, such as his nemesis Atlas.

So you can imagine after all the hype of the new movie that I was a little more than curious to see this. After all, this is Astroboy, and if they did the same as they did with Speed Racer and Transformers, I had expectations that this movie would be just as good.

What we think may not always be the case.. Especially when it comes to remaking of a classic. For fans of the comics and the TV show, you are going to be very disappointed.

Directed by David Bowers, it is easy to see just why this movie does not quite cut it. The movie in itself was good in terms of animation, but to say that this film is outstanding would not do justice to the creator Osamui Tezuka.

The film left out a  lot of the original storyline. Gone is the death of Dr Tenma’s son in an auto accident. Gone is the entire issue of Astro’s abandonment by his father who sends him off to a circus where he’s found and raised as a “normal” boy. Gone is Tokyo of the future. Gone is the notion of robots looking like people and the integration into society. Gone is the nemesis of Astro. There is a lot more things wrong with this, but I wont go on. Basically, this classic has been flushed down the sewer by American Studios, and that is putting it bluntly.

The villain of this trash was President Stone, played by Donald Sutherland. WTF?? Where was Atlas? Pook? Inspector Tawashi?

There were some scenes that proved favorable, and it will entertain the new generation of Astro fans, but that is about it.

Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist named Tenma (Nicolas Cage). Powered by positive “blue” energy, Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore) is endowed with super strength, x-ray vision, unbelievable speed and the ability to fly.

Embarking on a journey in search of acceptance, Astro Boy encounters many other colorful characters along the way. Through his adventures, he learns the joys and emotions of being human, and gains the strength to embrace his destiny. Ultimately learning his friends and family are in danger, Astro Boy marshals his awesome super powers and returns to Metro City in a valiant effort to save everything he cares about and to understand what it takes to be a hero

This movie will appeal to the new generation of Astro followers, but for those who remember the original series, this movie is as impressive as watching grass grow.

To quote Bart Simpson, it “sucks and blows”.

God forbid if Hollywood does a 3D animation of Gigantor, or worse yet, a remake of Saiyûki (Monkey)!

For fans of the show, wait til this goes to weekly rental at your local video store.

Thanks to my friends, Justin & Tianna, we were invited to an amazing Halloween party at the home of Carrie and her supercool husband, Jay.

Theirs is a mid-century modern home in north central Phoenix and it was so incredible. Tons of vintage furniture and great decorating thanks to Carrie’s creative eye!

Here are some highlights from the night, Speed Racer and his main squeeze, Trixie…

No introductions needed for this one…

I’m calling this the Bekah and Steve collage!

Charlotte and Bob Harris came all the way from Japan for the occasion

& the out-of-this-world music was supplied by Mix Master Astronaut

This might be my favorite of all time…

And finally some extras of the gorgeous mirrorball and some supercutie dolls that I desperately wanted to take home.

Oh, and one more of me thoroughly enjoying myself!!!

From ReelzChannel.com

The superhero Green Lantern is not as well-known as some of DC Comics’ other characters like Superman and Batman, but Warner Bros. is banking on director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) and lead actor Ryan Reynolds changing that when the live-action Green Lantern movie hits theaters.

So far, Reynolds is the only actor cast in the movie, and principal photography isn’t expected to begin until March. However, that doesn’t mean that work on the movie hasn’t already begun. In a recent interview with Empire, Campbell said that there will be roughly 1,300 visual effects shots and that “the process” of coordinating all of those shots is both “daunting” and “mind-blowing.” He said that most of the effects revolve around the source of Green Lantern’s super powers, stemming from his power ring.

Campbell added “It’s energized by a battery on the planet of Oa, which taps into the willpower of everyone in the universe. From that ring you can form constructs. So if you got into a fight, you could form a giant fist. Or a fighter plane.”

Clay Pinney is the special effects supervisor. Mr. Pinney is known for his work in such films as Independence Day, The Matrix Reloaded,  Star Trek, Angels & Demons as well as Speed Racer.

Amazon Specials!

Author Alexander Chee’s post in May about hot Korean stars, and People magazine’s error in misidentifying Rain as Karl Yune. Profiles and hot photos of so many over-the-top Korean male stars. My life will never be the same.

From top to bottom, Karl Yune, Dennis Oh, and Daniel Henney.

From Alexander Chee’s post: “People Magazine is catching a certain amount of flack this morning for having published an item that misidentifies a photo of Karl Yune as Rain, in the new Speed Racer film. Speed Racer, it’s worth pointing out, has 3 young attractive men of Korean descent on the cast, setting what might be a record for an American film (there’s no statistics on this).”

Plot : In Comet Run, Dickie Trillionaire Radford, a brief British auto-maker with a penchant for Persian credits (apparently based on Richard Branson’s Virgin empire trillionaire leader), revealed the revolutionary Eco-Car. Radford claims the Eco-Car will run 100s of miles on a gallon of gas. Radford is so confident in his new car he sponsors a race. If he loses, he will sign for your company to the winner and walk.

Direct Download links

megaupload.com

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storage.to

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uploading.com

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filebox.com

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bitroad.net

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letitbit.net

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Bob Kessel paintings “BIG CHIN” and “HEAT VISION”

MONDRIANMAN by Bob Kessel

CAPTAIN AMERICA by Bob Kessel

WONDER WOMAN by Bob Kessel

8thMAN by Bob Kessel

SPEED RACER by Bob Kessel

ULTRAMAN by Bob Kessel

HULK by Bob Kessel

BIG PUNCH by Bob Kessel

HANGIN’ AROUND by Bob Kessel

Bob Kessel’s art series “POP UNINTENTIONAL” features pictures based on comic book characters. These pictures are available as signed and numbered limited edition original fine art prints. Contact Bob Kessel for pricing and availability.

Comic characters portrayed in the Pop Unintentional art series are Captain America, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, Wonder Woman, Hulk, Black Panther, Galactus, Superman, DareDevil, Batman and many more.

The Wee One is determined. That sounds better than stubborn, right? He decided the day after Halloween last year that he was going to be Speed Racer this year. Seeing as he was three and that age is naturally capricious, I didn’t believe it would last and didn’t buy the costume on clearance.

Yeah, determined.

Eleven months later, he still wants to be Speed Racer. The costume is not in stores because, let’s face it, Speed did not do well enough in theaters to merchandise into two years. (I’ve watched it with the Wee One about 600 times now. I still can’t follow the plot.) Meanwhile, there’s more Cars cars released every day.

I was going to go simple – a blue shirt, red scarf, white pants, maybe a white jacket if I felt daring.

But then Hobby Lobby had a pattern sale. One week it was Simplicity, one week McCall’s.

McCall’s has a jumpsuit pattern.

(McCall’s also carries Hilary Duff’s line, and some of that stuff is cute! Um, for, like, tweens and stuff. Hey, she’s on Gossip Girl, I can think she’s cool now, right?)

For 99 cents, I’ll buy a pattern. For about $4, I’ll  buy some white and blue broadcloth. Blue and white ribbon came from my stash, and there you have it. A $5 costume.

Well, not just magically. It took about an hour to cut it out and two hours to sew it.

The Wee One helpfully checks the pattern size.

The cat helpfully…well, no. He’s pretty much just a pain. (The Wee One says Tycho wants to be Speed Racer for Halloween, too, causing me to say “We are not making a jumpsuit for the cat.” Words I’d never thought I’d say before having a boy. Wedge wants to be a “Halloween cat” for Halloween. Since he’s already black, I think we’re good.)

Also note my inspiration, Speed Racer. There’s very few pictures online of the full jumpsuit! (Too bad, because Speed’s butt was very… Okay, nevermind on that one…)

I followed the instructions on sewing the jumpsuit – although, obviously, I didn’t have a color contrast in front. I also sewed the outer legs before I was supposed to, so I had a seam to sew the racing stripe to.

It made the sleeves a heck of a lot harder, but it was worth it in the end.

Still need to hem it, and add the collar and belt. Oh, and find a white helmet somewhere…

Atėjo šventė ir į mano kiemą! Tiksliau atsivilkau už plaukų pajėmus, jau ten per prievartą biskį . Rezultatas, aišku, tragedinė padėtis su finansais, bet užtat turiu šituos:

http://www.missselfridge.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=28&viewAllFlag=false&catalogId=20555&storeId=12554&categoryId=71410&parent_category_rn=63788&productId=1292677&langId=-1

Aišku tikrovėj daug gražesnė, beto čia kažkodėl nufotkinta užsegimu į priekį. Na tiesiog daug skirtingų spalvų blizgių grandinėlių ant rankos.

http://www.newlook.co.uk/1779822/177982240/ProductDetails.aspx

Tik darkart kartoju – tikrovėj gražesni, nes čia kažkaip iš perspektyvos fotkinta, tai nesimato žudikiško 12 cemų kulno ir šiaip nelabai matosi tikra forma. Ir juodi dar. Su jais aš virš metro aštuom!

Na ir paskutinis pirkinys – pilkas nusiskalbęs bomžinis oversized bliuzonas. Prie tu visų bling bling labai gerai sueis, bet foto deja neturiu.

Kokia aš laiminga žinokit. Kiek nedaug mergaitei iki pilnos laimės reikia – tik daugybės pinigų ir viso kito! Šiandien, beje, įsikėliau į naujus namus, tai duoduosi po butą su tais savo ortopediniais kulnais, lovą kloju, kabinu sukneles, excited žodžiu. Ar graužia sąžinė, kad neturiu pastovaus darbo, o taškau pinigus į kairę ir į dešinę? Aišku graužia. Ar vien dėl to sveiko proto žmogus liautųsi? Sveiko proto gal taip, o aš tikrai ne.

Ryt, ko gero, į Dorian Concept, o šiandien šitą atsiminiau:

Omg, nuodėmė tokios nuotaikos namie sėdėt. Einu sukt gūžtelę, iki greito.

Vyšnia ant pyragėlio:

CYA!

It was after the 1968 Democratic convention and there was a casting call for a film with several roles for the kind of young people who had disrupted the convention. Two recent graduates of Catholic University in Washington DC, went to the audition in New York for Joe (1970). Chris Sarandon, who had studied to be an actor, was passed over. His wife Susan got a major role.

That role was as Susan Compton, the daughter of ad executive Bill Compton (Dennis Patrick). In the movie Dad Bill kills Susan’s drug dealer boyfriend and next befriends Joe (Peter Boyle)– a bigot who works on an assembly line and who collects guns.

Five years later, Sarandon made the film where fans of cult classics have come to know her as Janet, who gets entangled with transvestite Dr. Frank n Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). More than 15 years after beginning her career Sarandon at last actively campaigned for a great role, Annie in Bull Durham (1988), flying at her own expense from Rome to Los Angeles. “It was such a wonderful script … and did away with a lot of myths and challenged the American definition of success”, she said. “When I got there, I spent some time with Kevin Costner, kissed some ass at the studio and got back on a plane”. Her romance with the Bull Durham (1988) supporting actor, Tim Robbins, had produced two sons by 1992 and put Sarandon in the position of leaving her domestic paradise only to accept roles that really challenged her. The result was four Academy Award nominations in the 1990s and best actress for Dead Man Walking (1995). Her first Academy Award nomination was for Louis Malle’s Atlantic City (1980).

October 5, 2009

Dear readers,

Have I told you already how much I love “Cry-Baby”? Well, I love that movie. I rarely laugh out loud during movies, and I did during “Cry-Baby”.

This weekend has been a writing spree. But now school is back in session and all I can think of is how much I want to be back on a set, or at home writing. This is a wanderlust of a different kind. I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait. Ugh, how many times have you heard me say this? It must be true then, if this feeling keeps returning.

Is this what culture shock is like? When one person experiences something either exceptionally awesome or traumatic, and they can’t connect to anyone about it? When it seems like everyone else is stuck in the mundane while you are going through something super dee duper or horreeebluh.

The oldish music craze continues. Today it is “Wake Me Up When September Ends”. My youngest sister decided she’d help me start my nap this afternoon, and somehow I said “Wake me up when September ends,” and she laughed because it is October. I asked her, and she doesn’t remember the song. I can still remember when they would repeat this song on the radio over and over and over until I got sick of it. For me, it will always be connected to 9/11, probably because of all the memorials that used it. But there’s good reason for her lack of memory – it has been around practically since she was born.

Haha guess what I’m doing? NOT watching a Johnny Depp interview. Some interviewers are still…slightly obnoxious. But after this weekend, I understand what he means when he says his job is done after the shoot. Before it was like, “oh, yes…that’s just something Johnny Depp says all the time” but it’s the truth.

It’s not that life is dull, there is so much happening – too much in fact. I wonder if I will ever be this busy in my life again. A naive thought, yes, but pardon my limited life experience so far. Have you noticed the lack of photos lately? I barely have time to write posts anymore. Today I took a nap after work, which came after fall play auditions. Tomorrow I have orchestra. I have a love-hate relationship with orchestra. I hate the idea of going to yet another class, but once I’m in there playing I’m happy. Not to say I don’t check the clock every ten minutes.

In AP Lang we’re reading Into the Wild, which depresses me just thinking about it. He dies.

But, my book is the one with the movie cover on it, Emile Hirsch sitting on a bus. For me, Emile Hirsch is Speed Racer. Actually, before I saw “Speed Racer” he was “that guy from ‘Into the Wild’”. But then I opened the book and there was a picture of the real guy in front of the real bus, and I became sad again.

Also, the book was shelved under Field Guides at Barnes and Nobles??? Does that encourage imitation of his situation?

Yesterday I mentioned that I was painfully awkward. When I need to be weird I’m painfully quiet and shy, and when I need to be quiet I’m ridiculously weird. I don’t like this. But then Sushi said that I’m awkward even when I’m weird, so…I guess I’m just awkward 24/7. But it’s pretty hilarious relating my awkward situations to Sushi. It’s funny when you look back. But a first impression is a first impression. And being self-conscious is never fun.

Writing a feature screenplay is hard. I’ve been writing for three days and I’ve got ten minutes worth of my latest screenplay. Now I have to duplicate that eight more times to reach 90 minutes. Go go go!

We’ve been watching “12 Angry Men” in contemporary media. I’d already seen it twice before, and didn’t like it. But this time, I watched it in “filmmaker mode”. Haha yes I just made that up. But it really is something when you see it that way. Brilliant. Still wouldn’t watch it on a rainy day. Rainy days are for making tortured sounds as you near the end of PotC 2.

Love,
Katherine

The kids and I re-watched Speed Racer the other day, reigniting the enthusiasm we’ve had for it since last year. Now even Youngest Daughter is transfixed. “I wish we could watch it every day,” she says.

You may think I’m a horrible father. Critics skewered 2008’s Speed Racer for all the reasons you’d expect — it is, after all, a live-action movie based on a 1960s Japanese cartoon. About the only thing worse is a live-action movie based on a video game.

With expectations so low, an average movie goer can either say “Eh, it’s just fluff” and sit back to watch it uncritically, or shout “My childhood has been raped!” (An actual comment I’ve seen on more than one movie message board about this and other nostalgia cash-ins.)

And I won’t be the one to tell you you’re wrong. Not really. Speed Racer is cartoony and loud, full of juiced-up computer effects seemingly drained straight from a Skittles rainbow. The acting is broad, the plot is needlessly messy, and the whole exercise is primarily an excuse to show cars defying physics. (Note: If physics is your thing, you might consider a citizen’s arrest of the entire visual effects team.)

But I love it all the more. That’s because the directors — the Wachowski brothers of Matrix fame — refused to take the lazy way out of what could have been a standard cash-in opportunity: “Loud, colorful, zany cartoon movie. Check, check and check. Speaking of checks, pay us now, please.”

Instead, they looked the tropes in the eye and said, “Hey, let’s embrace all this crazy, sugared-up cartoon nonsense. Let’s give the world the most aggressively crazy, sugared-up cartoon nonsense we can muster. Let’s have fun!” Do you recall Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, how, with its spot-colored palette and theme park set designs, it deliberately re-created a comic strip come to life? Speed Racer took that to the next level — it’s not a “cartoony movie” by accident or laziness, it’s a “cartoony movie” by joyous choice. It’s head-over-heels in love with the source material. With the possibilities of film-making. With experimentation.

It’s a mad scientist bringing dead tissue to life. Speed Racer is Frankenstein’s monster, and it should have rampaged through the village longer before the villagers ran it out with pitchforks and torches.

So fast, he warps reality in his wake.

I originally saw this in an Imax theater with four young boys. Talk about stimulation — on the way home, the car was practically shimmying inside a halo of boyish energy. My sons and their friends were a supernova of post-movie glee, and the Honda Odyssey was its poor, doomed galaxy.

Praising a movie for its ability to excite an audience pre-disposed to irrational exuberance is faint praise indeed. After all, my own boys have gone ape over a number of loud, dim-witted movies that make me roll my eyes.

But Speed Racer is different. Speed Racer took this chance to do something inventive and unusual with every visual, every transition, every detail in the foreground and background (simultaneously). You could call it “headache-inducing” as did Rotten Tomatoes (which gives it a consensus 36% on its Tomatometer … that means no good), or you could marvel at how so much chaos could be achieved so carefully. One critic at RT felt “the Wachowski brothers projectile-vomit their cotton-candy dreams all over the big screen,” but I look at it another way: These guys grabbed their source material by the ball bearings. Cartoons imply a certain amount of cotton candy and projectile vomit, and the Wachowskis used that to their advantage.

I loved the original cartoon — I rode my tricycle up and down Carini Lane singing the classic theme song until the other kids made fun of me. This fanboyish nostalgia certainly helps me enjoy this flick. But even movie-lovers who avoided Japanimation back in the ’70s can, I insist, still enjoy Speed Racer. Take the following 3-minute race segment. It gives me everything I could ask for in a race: it’s tense, it’s zippy, it’s a treat for my eyes, and it uses the theme song to perfect dramatic effect.

Go, Speed, go! I defy anyone to find me a “cartoon movie” that uses makes such bold and inventive visual choices. Did you notice that final homage to the original series? Yeah, I used to try that pose, too.

Sadly, the clip also ends with a reminder of what’s really intolerable about the 2008 movie: a plot that revolves around big business ruining the purity of sports. Scenes of action are intercut with discussions of contracts, mergers and stock prices. The villain even gives a five-minute lecture about how races are fixed because, um, blah blah blah, big business and money and stocks. If he didn’t ramble on so long, we could get back to racing and my kids wouldn’t get bored by this plot. Which they are.

But if you can endure those bits (or ignore them… or skip-button them altogether), you can get back to other visual prestidigitation. When the Wachowskis are having fun, so should we, too. You don’t have to turn off your brain to enjoy this movie — the way so many noisy blockbusters require. Instead, just sit back and watch a Cirque du Soleil of cinema:

The car is called E Wolf. Remember Racer X and Speed’s pet monkey Chim Chim…good times

September 29, 2009

Dear readers,

I am not at school.

I woke up this morning from a three and a half hour sleep and just couldn’t do it. If this were the first three and a half hours then I would have gone.

But the circumstances are like this:

• I haven’t gone to bed before midnight for a week.
• I’ve got a cold and a really persistent cough.
• Four out of five days of the week I don’t get home until after five PM.
• My gardener doesn’t know how to open the gate. Uh, pull the string. You can do it!
• I haven’t had a chance to complete my to-do list. Today is that day!

You should have been in my brain from 6:45 to 7:00 this morning. It was sheer panic in there. I didn’t realize until this morning that our brains are programmed to panic if we are not at school. We have a sense of right and wrong, and in today’s world going to school is a strong right. Which is why, despite the fact that I don’t need to go to school to become a filmmaker, and despite the fact that it takes time away from the things I really want to do, I will be going to college. Even if it my parents allowed me not to go, I would panic.

Much like I did this morning.

I’ve been sick all weekend, but the reason I didn’t stay home until today was simply because I couldn’t. Junior year is not hell, but sometimes at two in the morning you can’t help but think it is. I’ve had a test every single day since the first day of school.

It’s a catch-22. You go to school, get sick, and don’t get enough sleep because of all the homework and extracurriculars, get sicker, but you can’t skip because making up work is even harder.

College is like some looming fear in the back of everyone’s minds, watching their every move. Everything you do is partially motivated by your college application, even if you really love what you’re doing. What I’m trying to say is, everyone is afraid that they’re not doing enough. We add more and more to our plate, even if our health suffers.

It’s not entirely the fault of the system. We’re young, we want to try everything. The world is full of possibilities.

My day off today was freeing. Even if tomorrow I jump back into the cycle. All of the things I haven’t been able to get to haven’t taken this long because I’ve been procrastinating. I have not had enough time. Can you believe that? I’m not procrastinating and there still aren’t enough hours in the day.

Club rush was yesterday; we got 20 members. The next day is Friday – twill be bigger and better. I was a little disappointed but there’s no point dwelling on it and complaining here, right? Although I overestimated the vocabulary of my fellow students. It seems “retrospect” is beyond their grasp.

I still can’t stop listening to Chet Baker. He doesn’t creep me out as much as other old artists. There’s a melancholy tone to his music, but it’s soothing rather than creepy. Plus the pictures of him look surprisingly modern. Someone could have taken them in black and white today. Also, he looks like “Speed Racer”. I mean, Emile Hirsch.

Which reminds me, we’re reading Into the Wild next. I’ve wanted to see that movie for a long time.

You know what is the most telling sign of my (slight) maturity? My increasing lack of dislike for Brad Pitt. Why did I not like him? I can’t answer that either, except that he looked like a pitt bull. But he’s a good actor and seems like a good guy.

I was cleaning out that landfill of clothing on my desk this morning, and I opened my bottom drawer. The one that holds irrelevant things and yet seems the most important place in my entire room. Captain Jack Sparrow was in there – my twelve inch action figure that has the worst, loudest, imposter-est voice if you press that button on his coat. DON’T PRESS THE BUTTON. That is the one rule when you come to my house. Also, DON’T LICK YOUR TEETH, but that’s another story. I don’t know where I’m going with this except, there was a moment. A “hey there, long time no see – we used to have something” moment.

Not like the action figure was my boyfriend – that would merit a stay at the mental hospital.

Sleepily & happily,
Katherine

P.S. For the giveaway, I’ll be sending you an email soon with more details.

P.P.S. Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli was one of my favorite books when I was ten to twelve years old. Definitely check it out if you can. What books did you like when you were little?

P.P.P.S. This…is the armchair…of DOOM.

P.P.P.P.S. I love the weather today.

Name's Racer. Speed Racer.

A swirling, symphonic collage of primary colors based on its anime and manga roots is Speed Racer, a film that was unfairly pummeled by many (if not most) American critics for doing nothing other than trying to be an enjoyable piece of cinematic candy. Ideology is what it is, and though there are bound to be those who criticize Speed Racer’s adherence to the family core and dedication to being the best they can be, this doesn’t seem to be the basis for most of the film’s naysayers. Not only that, but a fairly solid critique of corporate capitalism in favor of the lower class in all its potential might quell allegations of hyper-conservatism. With prolific use of flashback and their best visual style since the first Matrix, the Wachowski brothers created something here that was intended to overwhelm the visual senses, and too many viewers missed this point. It is an imagined world, one not so much seen through the eyes of someone doing ’shrooms as someone wondering what it would be like to live in a world fathered by reality and mothered by a cartoon. It is true that the insertion of the redemption motif into the narrative seems a tad forced and schizophrenic to the film’s meaning. Apparently family is secondary to racing, Rex believes, and the film in the end rather agrees with him. (After all, the family name is, literally, “Racer,” and the main character’s given name “Speed.”) However, to “change racing” feels a pathetic reason to abandon one’s family and then consistently lie to them. Having met at least one man on race track paddocks who later died in an IndyCar (Greg Moore), this author has trouble buying the notion that the flurry of thrills coming from steering a motor vehicle around a track (or in Speed Racer’s case, sometimes above it) holds a candle against active familial connection. Still, this aspect of the film is relatively small compared to the colors, shapes, and movements that justify its existence. This may not quite achieve the antithesis to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that we would like, but at least Speed Racer’s substance can crack through the shell of its shiny gloss instead of drowning beneath it.

Foreshadow, in color

Manga

Biting into the family core

Stills just don't cut it

As you watch the latest crop of Hollywood action movie trailers, you may notice something unusual, something some said would never happen: more and more Korean faces in lead roles.

The year 2009 has been an especially fruitful one for Korean actors who have made it in American film, though no one knows how long their luck will last.

“My Sassy Girl” heroine Jun Ji-hyun starred in her first international action movie, “Blood: The Last Vampire,” which was released in June in Korea. In the action flick, Jun plays the role of a human-vampire hybrid named Saya.

Korean wave stalwart Lee Byung-hun also made his Hollywood debut in the big-budget “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” which opened in August. In this theatrical and colorful action movie, Lee plays Storm Shadow, a Korean martial arts fighter and a member of the villainous organization of the title.

And even more big-budget Hollywood movies with Korean actors in the lead roles are coming soon. In “Laundry Warrior,” his first American film, Jang Dong-gun plays an Asian assassin who has been hiding out in a small American town. Pop superstar Rain made his debut in Hollywood in a supporting role in “Speed Racer” in 2008, but now he is ready to come back as the lead character in the new movie “Ninja Assassin.”

This huge list may seem an unqualified success for Korean actors, but bigger problems often crop up after they land on the shores of Los Angeles.

As previous attempts by Korean actors to break into the American film industry show, the biggest obstacle to overcome is the language barrier. The ability not only to read lines fluently, but also to communicate with the director and the film crew is crucial.

At an interview in May in Seoul, Jun explained the issues she had to deal with while shooting Blood.

“I remember the first shoot very vividly. I could only perform two lines of the script, and I couldn’t understand what the producers wanted from me,” she said.

Because language is a major difficulty for foreign actors, it is inevitable that Korean actors not fluent in English will have limited options for possible roles. Most of the time, Korean actors choose action films and play very dynamic characters, expressing themselves with movement rather than verbally through lengthy conversations or monologues.

Although Lee has a quite big role in G.I. Joe, his character is built up through set pieces and visual qualities rather than lines. Of course, the blockbuster is an excellent start for Lee’s career, raising awareness of him worldwide.

However, the question remains: After the movie’s success, will Lee be able to keep up with the fast pace of Hollywood and take it to the next level? The test for every Korean actor is to be more than just an exotic Asian face and continue to make films.

Being able to speak fluent English is a big plus, but it is also something Korean actors have to overcome in order to take that next step in Hollywood.

Another reason Korean actors have limited role options in action movies has to do with stereotypical ideas about Asians in Western society. Japanese samurai or Chinese kung fu fighters are still the commonly accepted images of Asian culture, particularly Asian men. Films in genres that average Americans identify with the most, like drama or romance, seldom have Asian characters in leading roles.

Stereotypes are unquestionably negative, as they come from the commodification of one’s culture, but they have helped shape individual countries’ identities. Samurai have become representative of Japanese culture, and likewise for kung fu and China. But Korea has no such quick fit in the Western world. Thus, roles for Asian characters often tend to go to Japanese or Chinese. In fact, Jun’s film Blood is based on a Japanese anime.

Meanwhile, Rain’s character in Speed Racer, Taejo Tokokan, and Lee Byung-hun’s character Storm Shadow were originally Japanese, but they both asked the filmmakers to change the nationality of the characters since they are Koreans. Although a lot of the characters’ features may still remind viewers of Japan, that effort should be acknowledged.

It might be inevitable for Korean actors to start their Hollywood careers playing stereotypical Asian characters, but in time the best will be able to build up their own identities. Perhaps the best known example of this is Kim Yun-jin, who played a complex and nuanced Korean character on the American television show “Lost.”

Establishing a positive and strong Korean identity that can be differentiated from previously built images is the key to the globalization of Korean culture – and its biggest challenge

JoongAng Daily

Não sei se vocês concordam, mas essas camisas deixam aquelas do Sheldon parecendo coisa de nerd amador.

Fonte: Likecool.

This past week has been a tremulous sort of waiting period.  Tuesday through Friday I went about my daily business as normal, dressed as Professionally and as Fashionably as I could muster, with the assumption that my Fashion Foe would be around any corner, behind any door, waiting to cast her eyes up and down my outfit with a piercing snort of derision.

But for all of this, Cute Girl did not appear.

I’m not sure whether to consider this a victory or not.  On the one hand, she may have been so impressed by my wardrobe on Monday (I’m not sure she SAW it, but maybe other coworkers had described my visual verve to her with glowing words) that she fled the office, intimidated and destroyed by the electric power of my fashion sense.

Either that or she only works part time and simply hasn’t been in the office in the brief periods where I go from my computer to the fax machine and back.

This is admittedly the more likely option.

Still though, am I supposed to feel as though I have won?  Is this battle on hiatus until I see Cute Girl again?  Have I lost, due to the fact that she doesn’t actually realize we are having a Very Serious War?  I have not yet decided how to feel about this.

In other news, Taylor suggested we watch Speed Racer last night.  My feelings on Speed Racer are absolute.  I could not have been happier if he had suggested we visit his Magical Unicorn Ranch.  “We’ll take my Ferrari,” he’d say.  “The one powered by Skittles and dreams.”

Taylor had never seen Speed racer and so the entire time spent watching was also spent glancing at him to see if he looked appropriately amused, impressed or emotional.  I asked him to sum up his thoughts.

“Uhm…” He grabbed my foot and cracked my toe-knuckles as he thought.  “It was…good?  It was fun.  Worth the eye-bleeding.”

Have you all seen Speed Racer yet?  Go see Speed Racer.

De las muchas características que diferencian al cómic de otros medios, puede que la más representativa sea la forma de abordar el concepto de la hoja en blanco.
En el mundo literario, el mito de la hoja en blanco es algo fuertemente constituido. Sirve como comodín en las entrevistas a escritores y, por lo general, lleva asociado una respuesta que gira en torno a la desesperación, el miedo, el bloqueo y, en definitiva, todo un catálogo de cosas chungas.
En el cómic, por el contrario, la hoja en blanco es un símbolo de libertad creativa.  No es raro que cuando se pregunta sobre las características de la creación de tebeos la respuesta sea que cualquier persona puede hacer cualquier cosa. Basta con tener papel y boli.
Autores como Alan Moore, Grant Morrison o Will Eisner son bien conocidos por su trabajo intentando llevar el medio del cómic lo más lejos posible jugando con todas las posibilidades que ofrece. No es que todos los tebeos estén llenos de experimentación, pero sí es cierto que el lector de tebeos suele estar más abierto y valora más este tipo de cosas que el espectador de cine y pocas veces las ve como una molestia. Aunque, la verdad, seguramente no tiene nada que ver con una especie de naturaleza propia del lector de tebeos. Es muy probable que, simplemente, el aficionado al cómic esté más habituado o que la experimentación en cómic suela ser mucho más llevadera que en el cine por no soler dar la espalda a la diversión.

Un ejemplo de este tipo de experimentación se encuentra en el nº4 de Conan el Bárbaro (el célebre La Torre del Elefante). En la reedición de forum de 1998, el guionista Roy Thomas nos cuenta que:

La misma torre y sus paredes adornadas con joyas fabulosas marcaron el inicio de uno de los rasgos estilísticos más característicos de los números posteriores dibujados por Smith: En la última viñeta de la página 8, Conan se halla delante de una pared tachonada con gemas, cuyas diez mil formas parecen “brotar” de la figura central del cimmerio para expresar la sorpresa de éste. Barry acababa de romper con la tradición kyrbiana de expresar la sorpresa con simples líneas rectas, y siguió empleando recursos de este tipo en todos los episodios que realizó para la revista.

Con la práctica relativamente habitual de experimentar con la narración (incluso dentro de productos muy disfrutados por una parte importante del público), el cómic se erige como un medio en el que se exprimen todas las posibilidades interesándose los creadores por hacer absolutamente todo lo que pueda hacerse.

El cine, en cambio, siendo también un medio visual (y salvo la excepción de la animación, sobre todo la clásica), rechaza de plano esta posibilidad y prácticamente siempre construye sobre una narrativa impersonal que ya ha sido probada y evaluada con anterioridad.

En una entrada de su blog, Nacho Vigalondo escribe que:

Para bien o para mal, una de las circunstancias más extraordinarias del lenguaje audiovisual es que en dos horas puede aprenderse toda la gramática necesaria para poder ponerla en práctica o desafiarla. En efecto, como diría el manual, usted puede ser director de cine en menos tiempo de lo que dura The Dark Knight. La pregunta es ¿Qué hacemos durante las siguientes dos horas?

…

La gramática se aprende en 120 minutos. Pero encontrar un estilo, una retórica y una temática relevante, intransferible y que resista al paso del tiempo es labor de toda una vida.

En Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace, el personaje de Uma Thurman, dibuja un cuadrado con los dedos tras decir Don’t be a… El cuadrado se dibuja en la pantalla en línea discontinua.
Este hecho, poco acostumbrados a la libertad plástica en el cine, puede resultar chocante. Salvo en animación u otros productos que se perciban como infantiles, claro.

La cuestión es que algo que en realidad es tan simple, que en otros ámbitos no tiene demasiada importancia y, lo que es más importante, no suele tiene importancia para mal, en el cine serio, de imagen real, para una gran parte del público, se siente como algo increíblemente extraño que en ocasiones puede llegar a acabar con la inmersión y, en el peor de los casos, desprestigiar la película. Da igual que el plano pueda servir para verter absolutamente cualquier imagen; simplemente, ya sea por falta de medios, por no querer usar el recurso (aunque se sepa que está ahí y se respete, tampoco es plan usar todas las posibilidades de un medio en todas las obras del medio), por inercia o por temor a desvirtuar la película, es algo que no se hace. De estas razones, las dos últimas son increíblemente tristes pero también muy creíbles. La inercia es algo que se aplica a absolutamente todos los ámbitos existentes y el miedo a que una película no parezca seria se ejemplifica muy bien teniendo en cuenta el caso de (ups, otra vez) The Dark Knihght y la reacción del público. The Dark Knight alcanzó el  puesto nº1 en el Top 250 de IMDB. A estas alturas, tras el flipe generalizado inicial, está unos puestos más abajo, claro. Para algunos, esto puede demostrar que el público adora las películas con aspecto grave y profundo, más que las películas profundas. Las películas deben ser serias o, al menos, deben parecerlo.

Hay casos, en cambio, en los que se rompe con la tendencia. Europa, sin salirse del tono serio (el tema no acompaña), hace que los actores se sitúen junto a imágenes ya grabadas que son proyectadas mezclando color con blanco y negro y creando imágenes artificiales.

Lo que une a este tipo de películas es que los experimentos vienen de la mano de limitaciones presupuestarias, falta de notoriedad o incapacidad para jugar con este tipo de representación de una forma extrema, imposibilitando una auténtica revolución. Por mucho que puedan ser interesantes, nunca llegan a dar el salto.

Y ahí es donde entra Speed Racer. Por ahora, la única película que ha jugado de una forma completamente alocada y desde el presupuesto multimillonario con estos conceptos y que, por suerte, lo hizo realmente bien.

En el aspecto visual, dejando de lado la espectacularidad pura de los colores y movimientos de cámara de las carreras de coches, Speed Racer aporta toneladas de hallazgos visuales mucho más sencillos que construyen un amplísimo conjunto de sensaciones en el espectador. Porque las locuras visuales no están ahí para impactar (aunque con eso sería suficiente) o recargar la imagen sino que tienen metas más específicas. Es difícil saber qué sentido tienen los destellos verticales de algunas escenas de Casshern, si es que tienen alguno, porque como recurso podrían estar a la altura de la compulsión de Homer Simpson por las cortinillas de estrella. En Speed Racer esto no ocurre.

Las ideas vertidas son constantes pero, por poner unos pocos ejemplos (y evitando mencionar cómo se muestran las carreras de los 16 primeros minutos, que son en sí mismos una película completa):

En un momento en el que unos jóvenes Speed Racer y Trixie intercambian miradas, los objetos que quedan fuera de la profundidad de campo (hojas y flores, mayoritariamente) se ven como corazones de colores. Se muestra una imagen edulcorada para observar el mundo interior desde el mundo exterior, algo que se repite en varias ocasiones, sobre todo con los niños.

Una conversación entre conductores es recreada en pantalla sin un solo corte visual, llevando el punto de vista de un conductor a otro dando sensación de urgencia y contribuyendo al ritmo.

¿Recuerdan las líneas de expresión ideadas por Barry Windsor-Smith en La Torre del Elefante? Pues esta es la propuesta de Speed Racer para una pelea en la nieve. Los golpes y movimientos de cámara y personajes interactúan con la nieve para formar líneas de expresión y de movimiento, lo que resta gravedad a la pelea. Algo que viene bien en una película para toda la familia y que se consigue una y otra vez con otro tipo de recursos, ya sean el slapstick o el humo azul en las explosiones de coches.

Para terminar, uno mucho más sencillo:

En el suplemento especial del número de Junio de 2003 de la edición española de la revista Rolling Stone, en una entrevista a John Gaeta (supervisor de efectos especiales en la trilogía The Matrix y en Speed Racer), contestando a cuál es su escena favorita de The Matrix, este dice:

Me encantan las de diálogo. Como cuando Morfeo la da las píldoras a Neo; la escena en la que el agente Smith turtura a Neo… Pero mi favorita es cuando todo el grupo entra en Matrix, el momento en que Neo entiende finalmente dónde se está metiendo. Y ésa en la que están saliendo de un edificio a cámara lenta que, aunque es un efecto muy sencillo, un truco de cámara, el resultado tiene mucha fuerza.

Con Speed Racer pasa algo parecido y se usa algo muy sencillo para narrar un punto clave. La cámara gira alrededor de Speed mientras habla con el dueño de Royalton y, al fondo, se ven las imágenes de lo que va recordando. Llegado un momento, aunque en realidad esté frente a frente con Royalton, parece que mira directamente a un momento decisivo de su vida, consiguiéndose una carga de sensibilidadad situada a un nivel muy difícil de conseguir.

Por si esto fuera poco, Speed Racer va mucho más allá porque su uso de la imagen es magistral pero sus logros no se quedan ahí y despunta en más aspectos. Ofrece un inteligentísimo montaje que juega con varias lineas temporales (no sólo al principio), su sentido del clímax es absolutamente endiablado y la historia que, para algunos, con tanto color y aparente simplicidad, puede parecer cándida y plastificada , se mueve directamente en el terreno mitológico.

Speed Racer, en definitiva, juega en otra liga y puede representar uno de los posibles futuros del cine. Lo único que cabe esperar es que ese futuro no tarde demasiadas décadas en llegar.