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

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)

I saw this movie again this week at home and enjoyed it as much as I did when I saw it at the movie theater with my son. The basic plot is that a lonely boy finds an egg on a Scottish Loch (now what could the name of Loch be ….. hmmmmmm …. Ness), it hatches and hilarity ensues as the young Nessie (named Crusoe for some reason) reeks havoc on the household.

Maybe he was called Crusoe because like the character in the novel he is also stranded in a strange place.

Set during the second world war the arrival of an army unit adds to the mix, it just so happens that these soldiers are preparing for a submarine attack by the enemy and they setup a net across the Loch and a couple of large guns. It is obvious that these elements will play a large part in the story.

Do I look like I’m bothered, well I am …

The major thing that bothered me about the plot is that Loch Ness does not have access to the sea in any way so how a German submarine could get into the Loch is a mystery to me; they would have to be some very clever subs. That aside, the plot device is there to add tension and a great final reel.

The good old day, buzz bombs, rickets …

One of the other things I found interesting was the recreation of 1940’s Scotland, they did a good job with the sets, costumes and hardware (military and civil) and captured the essence of the time using period music. The supporting cast added a lot to the movie, the mother (Emily Watson), sister (Priyanka Xi) and the handyman (Ben Chaplin) all helped in getting you into the story in a way that was not forced or sugar coated.

The main character could be the young boy (Alex Etel) or the computer generated Water Horse (make up your own minds). Alex Etel was perfectly cast, he looks like he was ill through the whole movie (Scots do look like they are near to death most of the time due to their lack of access to sunlight and nutritional food), the boy should get a medal for being such a good method actor.

You sick Nasty …

There are a couple of nasty characters that are there to drive the plot forward, Churchill (the army cooks dog) goes from being the aggressor to being put in his place, Joel Tobec plays the evil private (they lit him from below and he gives a stare that would leave you having to change you underwear), excellent. David Morrissey plays the Captain and he is tough enough and also caring enough so that you don’t hate him at the end of the movie; although you want to kick his butt during the mid section because his is such a pompous twit.

I liked Ben Chaplin in this movie, he plays the handyman (war hero) who has a healthy disrespect for the captain. He helps the main characters throughout the film by keeping the Water Horse under wraps from the mum. Ben is an underestimated actor, he has been around the block a while now and has never really made it big.

The bottom line …

Anyway, the bottom line is that Crusoe gets away and everyone is happy, there are a couple of twists at the end of the movie, not too big but both will put a smile on your face.

Highly recommended where you just want to feel good and get transported to a fantasy world, even if it’s set in Scotland!

Ratings
Overall rating:	8/10
Special effects:	8/10
Acting:	7/10
Music:	7/10
Where seen:	Movie Theater and DVD at home
Perceived length:	Medium

//*Eggbox

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007)

OK, I’ll have to admit that I was looking forward to this movie, how could it miss, Jason Statham kicking butt and set it a mythical world of honor. The basic plot is that there are two bad guys (played by Matthew Lillard and Ray Liotta) who are trying to gain power from the king played by Burt Reynolds using troll type beings to do their evil bidding.

So the scene is set, Jason just wants to be left alone tending his turnips (Baldrick from Black Adder would be pleased) and working with his young son and hottie wife. All this tranquility comes to an end when the village is attacked, his son gets killed and his wife kidnapped.

So who is this farmer? Why is he such a good swordsman and a kick ass fighter? Will he be able to get his wife back and get revenge? Well all of this is explained as we go though the movie. The problem is that it seems to take ages to get to the interesting part of the plot that does the explaining. It is just too slow and unbelievable, don’t get me wrong you are rooting for Jason (note that I cannot remember his characters name!) and you know that he will prevail in the end.

The dialog is sketchy at best and the acting takes second place to action, pomp and circumstance and we are asked to believe that Burt Reynolds is a king! Supporting cast includes John Rhys-Davies and Ron Perlman who are along for the ride but add little to the plot. Claire Forlani as the farmers wife is pathetic and shows little emotion, Kristanna Loken (of Terminator fame) adds some interest in the forest with her band of merry women, she also seems to have access to a Wonderbra that distracts you from the plot (not a bad thing)

As we get through the final reel we everything comes together and everyone gets what they deserve unfortunately this is the best part of the movie, the end!

While I sort of enjoyed seeing Jason doing what he does best (kicking butt) I felt that the production as a while was straining at the seams and everything was much too forced asking the viewer to enter the world of make believe that it did not explain adequately.

In hindsight I would leave this one on the shelf of your local video store.

Ratings
Overall rating:	4/10
Special effects:	6/10
Acting:	3/10
Music:	6/10
Where seen:	DVD at home
Perceived length:	Long

//*Eggbox