Summer Fluff #1

Since I got up early to run the 5k, I'm relaxing and don't feel like doing anything productive. Thus, I'm updating the blog with an off-topic post on a popcorn movie. (And for those who wonder, yes I did run the whole time, and yes, I did get a travel pack to wear around my waist. It worked great!)

Last night, Juston and I saw "Speed Racer." As a kid that watched the "Speed Racer" cartoon revival in the early '90s, I was intrigued by the idea of a big-screen adaptation. I was also interested in the Wachowski's idea of a family film, what with their catalog containing only a few films, all of which are most decidedly for adults. Another thing about the Wachowski Brothers - all of their films, the first "Matrix" film excepted, are pretty terrible. And don't get me started on their writing/producing disaster, "V for Vendetta." (P.S. It was awful When Natalie Portman actually kissed the dude in his mask I almost lost it, even though I kind of already had lost it at that point.) Back to the film in question. I actually liked it...surprise! It's gotten really mixed reviews from the 'legit' critics, so I wasn't sure what to expect, even though I've had some of my best film experiences with films that fall in the middle critically (think "Palindromes.")

Story-wise, I felt that "Speed Racer" relied a lot on the cartoon's basis and I feel like my knowledge of the cartoon helped my enjoyment of the movie, because I knew what to expect from the characters and didn't expect any more dimensionality. It was paced like a cartoon, and visually tried to stay within the realm of a cartoon. The world was completely out of place in our world, and thus it made it okay for the races to look like a video game. Where movies like, say, anything by George Lucas in the past ten years (I'm looking at you, Star Wars 1, 2, and 3) try to create a realistic universe and populate it with human actors, this movie didn't try to have realistic-looking sets or create a realistic alternate universe. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it didn't take itself seriously, so it was able to play with its false surrounds and, in effect, actually populate its cartoon realm instead of stilting the actors with green-screens; Lucas has this gift of making his actors seem like furniture instead of living, breathing people. The visual effects were awesome. I even told Juston that I was expecting the equivalent of an acid trip when the opening credits were a technicolor mess on the screen (fyi, I was speaking theoretically because I've never had an acid trip - I'm not that kind of girl.) The car racing scenes were very much like a video game - kind of like a tricked-out version of "Mario Kart." The best comparision I have for "Speed Racer" is "Tron," the 1981 box-office bomb about a man sucked into a computer system. While "Tron" was basically rejected when it was released, it's fallen into something like a cult status and has since been hailed as a groundbreaking in its visual effects. (It's also the only Jeff Bridges film that I can stand to watch because I have a really hard time watching Jeff Bridges act. It's kind of painful.) The film editing was almost all wipes, which is something that you don't see very often, and the story was told in broken flashbacks. The film was put together in what I think is actually a very fresh way and although it did suffer from about an extra half hour in length, overall, it was fun to watch and felt innovative. I had moments during the film where I thought that someday, in a digital media history class, students will watch "Tron" followed by "Speed Racer" because I think it will follow the same trajectory as its predecessor. It may not do well at the box office, but I think it will be discovered later and be seen as somewhat revolutionary in its visual storytelling tactics. I also don't recommend it for everyone; I think the target being twelve-year-old boys is probably correct, as well as crazy fans of the cartoon, and I sadly fit into the second demographic.

I'm always looking for movie recommendations, so if you see anything good, let me know! I hope to write a few reviews of summer fluff films on my blog, but it really depends on how many I see. Let me know what you thought if you end up forking over the $10 to see fluff #1!