Speed Racer (2008)

What a blast …

I enjoyed this movie for a number of reasons that will be explained as we go along, the basic plot is that there is a kid; surname of Racer, forename of Speed, hence the name of the movie.

For our American cousins surname = last name, forename = first name.

Anyway, he is Speed Racer (played by Emile Hirsch) who is a race car driver like his brother (the brother is is dead), dad runs the garage (played by an aging John Goodman) and mum is the ever hot Susan Sarandon. The love interest is the equally hot Christina Ricci (although she looks like she is in a real cartoon).

This was a cartoon …

I know that this is based on an old cartoon but I have never seen it, from all accounts the quality was somewhat suspect and the stories a bit weak. That cannot be said for this movie (well the graphics anyway), the story is standard fare, the Speed Racer is good and he believes in racing as a sport. He comes down to earth with a bump when the evil business man Royalton (played by Roger Allam) tries to get him to race for him. It comes down to good vs. evil again.

The graphics …

This is probably the main reason to watch the movie, and I suggest that it is at the cinema (that’s the movie theater for you Americans). The colours are bold and brash, the colour pallet is mainly primary which adds to the cartoon feel of the movie as a whole. The directors and the set designers (the term set is probably wrong for this type of movie) must have made this a priority on the movie to give it an out of this world touch, in fact it looks somewhat 60’s style to me.

The races [ not to Formula 1 standards ] …

The real reason for watching the movie is to participate in the experience of the races throughout the movie, the Wachowski brothers have choreographed these to a tee. The track races are so divorced from reality that it is sometimes very hard to know what is going on but it does not matter. There are cars that jump over other cars, make wild turns that are physically impossible, they crash into each other and the only thing that happens to the car is a slight scuff on the paintwork, the drivers never get hurt because there is a system in place that protects them in a ball of bubbles.

On top of that each car has a secret weapon; technically illegal as per the WRL rule book (World Racing League) but it does not stop the teams and the drivers from being devious and creative. Some have rockets, saws, snakes and the like, each weapon matches the drivers personality, a very cool concept, a bit like The Wacky Races but much more violent; I like this :->

The back story …

The races are punctuated with the back story of the dead brother, a law enforcement officer and back stabbing between friends. The younger brother Spritle (played by Paulie Litt) and his chimp add the comic relief to the (sometimes) too serious story for this type of movie.

The Wachowski brother are on the money again …

Andy and Larry are the dudes that gave us the Matrix trilogy, let’s be honest the first one was very very cool, the second was OK and the third was somewhere in the middle. They have a knack of going the whole hog and they have really embraced computer generated movie making. Even the simplest scenes have computer generated effects, that’s why this gets a 10/10 for special effects.

Don’t expect to see photo realism in this movie, obviously the characters are real but the rest of it is probably real only in the computer. It looks like they wanted to make it look like a cartoon, if they did then they succeeded.

Something I didn’t expect …

One that I did not expect was to see so many British actors in the movie, it’s good to see that the Brits are still in demand even for an obviously Hollywood movie, the Wachowski’s know a good thing when they see it (that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it).

Bottom line …

This is a good fantasy movie for all the family, me and my son thoroughly enjoyed it, good use of a couple of hours). It has something for everyone, the comedy of the younger brother, the computer effects for the for the geeks, the cars and the racing for the boy racers and the heart warming back story for the mums.

There is one final problem to consider, you may find yourself driving a bit faster and taking more chances on the road after watching the movie. In our case we got home 5 minutes quicker than we normally do, time well spent

Ratings
Overall rating:	9/10 For Special Effects
Special effects:	10/10 (the best in a while)
Acting:	6/10 (OK I suppose)
Music:	6/10 (fine for this type of movie)
Where seen:	Movie Theater
Perceived length:	Short

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)

About time …

Te To say that I have been waiting for this movie to come out is an understatement, the first one [Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)] was a blast. Now don’t misinterpret what I am saying here, the plots in both movies are 100% stupidity, the characters are larger than life and the situations they get into unbelievable if you think for more than a millisecond.

The setup …

The movie starts where the last one left off, right after the dudes have downed a number of White Castle burgers.

A quick explaination for those people who do not live in the US; White Castle is a fast food chain where the burgers are incredibly small but are very tasty. The only problem is that the meat is … well … not prime and the affects on the body are somewhat random. You usually purchase more than you should eat (along with loads of fries and too much soft drink). They are affectionatly known here as “sliders”, they slide in and they slide out the other end.

So we get the picture of Harold (the Asian dude) (played by John Cho) in the shower feeling good about himself because the connected with the hottie in the lift (elevator for our US cousins), smooth music and slow motion, probably the most artistic shot in the whole movie. Luckily this does not last long because Kumar (the Indian dude) (played by Kal Penn) punctuates the moment by taking a dump of mammoth proportions and shattering Harold’s moment.

Guantanamo Bay here we come …

As the title of the movie suggests the pair end up in Guantanamo Bay through a series of events that are just classic, Kumar tries to get into the Mile High club, not in the biblical sense, think of it as more as the Mile High As a Kite Club, he has even invented a battery powered bong to get the most out of the weed, what a guy!

Another aspect of the pot is Kumar’s lost love who they meet when they are at the airport, we see that there is a spark there but the plot takes a twist when we find out that she is marry Kumar’s mortal enemy from college. This dude (Colton played by Eric Winter) is your run of the mill slime ball who you just want to slap, be patient and everything will work itself out

They get on the plane and get arrested by sky marshalls, taken back to the US and interrogated by a secret service offical who is wonderfully played by Rob Corddry, he is an idiotic simpleton who cannot see past his pressed shirt and stupid tie. I just hope that his character is not based on fact but I feel that may not be the case.

So they get to Guantanamo Bay and after a short spell in the cells and some interesting dialogue with the other inmates and guards they get out and back to the US, thus ensures a road trip like the previous movie but with the added suspense of being hunted down by the government.

Where now …

They end up in Miami Florida where they meet a friend who they ask for assistance, this is a great scene, the dude drop in while there is a party going on. Ok, here is where the smut level hits 10, it is not a topless party (which would have been fun) but bottomless, there are some very interesting designs where most men will be looking when the opportunity arrises, I saw a mohawk and a US flag, very creative. The scariest thing here is their friend who is also bottomless, that dude needs a haircut, not on his head.

So the guys borrow a bright yellow open top Mustang and are dressed like Crocket and Tubbs from Miami Vice, so they start their trip, as you can imagine they lose the car are end up with the KKK. This is a short scene that does a great job of making the KKK out to be a bunch of simple, stupid wankers, I don’t think the writers had to make up much stuff here.

The creepy house …

They end up in a hunters lodge with a hottie wife and a cyclopes kid, this is reminisent of the scene with Freakshow in the last movie, it plays out Ok but I felt that it was a bit forced.

Neil Patrick Harris is a God …

What a guy, he is such a sport and a mental at the same time. We meet him as the guys flag down a car and (what a surprise) it’s NPH. He is munching on magic mushrooms, swilling beer and Jack Daniels and still drives better than most people. The scene where he sees the unicorn talking to the FBI man is wonderful, the only problem is that he takes an exit too early in the film.

The final reel …

So it comes down to Harold and Kumar meeting up with good ole George Bush, the movie makes him out to be a pot head (pretty accurate from my perspective) and they get a pardon and a trip to Kumar’s ex-girlfriends wedding. The bottom lines is that Kumar gets the girl, they go to Amsterdam and Harold gets his girl, the last montage is worth sitting through some of the credits for.

Bottom line …

This movie had a lot to live up to, the writers did a good job getting all the things you (now) expect from a Harold and Kumar movie, they did not hold back on the bad taste and everyone gets their just desserts (except NPH).

As you have probably worked out I liked this movie and am giving it a 9 out of 10 because it lived up to the hype and it did make me laugh (boy do I need that at the moment). I don’t have any inside information but I really really hope that they come out with another one sooner rather than later, there is so much that they could take the piss out of, here are some suggestions.

• Harold and Kumar run for President
• Harold and Kumar buy a House and don’t get it Repossessed
• Harold and Kumar run the Federal Reserve
• Harold and Kumar stick it to the Oil Companies
• Harold and Kumar run the United Nations

The possibilities are endless, put these guys in charge of something big, give them a big bag of weed and see whether they can cock it up any better than the guys running it now, I think not.

Ratings
Overall rating:	9/10 For making me laugh
Special effects:	6/10 (not much really)
Acting:	5/10 (par for the course)
Music:	6/10 (fine for this type of movie)
Where seen:	Movie Theater
Perceived length:	Short