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Quint takes in the visual spectacle that is SPEED RACER!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here.
Of course I know of SPEED RACER. I knew the song growing up, I knew the iconography. Who didn’t? But I never really followed the cartoon. I’m sure I’ve seen an episode or two, but definitely not recently and when I’d flip by them on TV as a kid I don’t think I stayed to watch.
It just wasn’t my thing. I was never into that kind of animation and wasn’t caught up with cars or racing. Give me mutants, monsters, swords, lightsabers, dogfights, robots and dinosaurs any day over cars.
So when the Wachowskis signed on I was neither excited or upset. I think the first MATRIX is an absolute work of science fiction genius, but didn’t care much for the sequels. No doubt the visual style of the Wachowskis is second to none, but their failings in the sequels had more to do with character work than their visual flair.
So as I entered the theater, off of an amazing run of awesome movies… one I can’t talk about right now, IRON MAN (twice) and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, I was hoping I’d enjoy the flick.
I did more than enjoy it. I’m amazed at what the Wachowskis have done with this film. It’s a kid’s film through and through, make no mistake. But it’s a kid’s film that succeeded in making me a kid again while watching it. My little brother was with me… he’s 17… not exactly the target audience for the movie, but he said he felt 5 years old again while watching the flick and that’s pretty right on.
The movie is fun and you can tell everybody in the film is having a blast.
The visual style, as witnessed in the trailer, is bizarre. There’s nothing like it. It’s like they figured out how to make celluloid out of melted down Sweet Tarts. You can see the Wachowski fingerprints here and there… in a slow motion shot or in a fight scene… but it’s stylistically about as different from MATRIX as you can get.
The real surprise for me was the incredible heart the film has. The racing is incredible, of course, but the quiet moments were literally a love letter to the family unit. Pops as played by John Goodman, Mom as played by Susan Sarandon, Spritle as played by Paulie Litt, Rex as played by Scott Porter and even Chim-Chim all have their own chemistry that feeds into a loving family.
The film isn’t just a love letter to family, but a valuable lesson on how to treat those that love and support you as well as letting the kids know to look out for those who put on a friendly face when all they want is to use you.
I know I’m going to catch some shit for this, but while I really like INTO THE WILD and think Hirsch is damn good in it, I always thought the adoration for his performance in that was a little over the top. He delivers a good performance, to be sure, but it wasn’t the second coming of Brando that people tried to hype it as when it was released.
I think I prefer his performance in SPEED RACER. It’s a totally different film and he’d never get the same awards attention for a Wachowski kid’s film that he would for a Sean Penn art film, but I think he had a tougher job here. The world is so fucking cartoony and crazy and ADD that if he didn’t ground it with an effortless innocence the family dynamic would not have worked and then we’d be left with hollow spectacle.
I’m sure he shot this movie against a lot of greenscreen and it was probably much more difficult to understand how the Wachowskis were going to edit the footage he shot, so I’m a bit more impressed with what he did here. Crazy, I know. Let the shit-talking begin!
Matthew Fox… this is the first time I’ve seen him ever not be Jack from LOST. He plays Racer X and changes his identity vocally and with body language so I didn’t find myself watching a Lost character in a random movie. He’s very cool in the film and it’s an important step to prove he can go beyond what we know.
Christina Ricci is absolutely adorable as Trixie, Speed’s girlfriend. She has a lot more to do than I thought going in. She’s involved as more than just eye-candy, although I will say I believe there will be a fetishist group that pops up worshipping her and how she looks in this movie.
John Goodman is on fire in this film. He’s so damn good. He’s what could have been a simple one-dimensional character… protective father… but he injects so much personality that when his son is attacked in the middle of the movie and he steps in… the audience was cheering, me along with them.
The movie swept me up. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The racing is a big part of it. It’s hard to really describe it. It’s a reality with its own gravity and its own rules, but it’s about as far removed from our world as possible. I was actually reminded a lot of TRON during some of these sequences.
Sure, there are color similarities, but the action of an unreal world that somehow enthralls you really had me nostalgic for TRON.
There’s a race in the middle of the movie, a rally, that I consider the best piece of action in the flick. It’s violent, full of cars with horrible gadgets of destruction, and of all the races I think it’s the easiest to follow.
There’s a million bits of information during the track races… lights, crazy winding tracks, dozens and dozens of cars… The rally is a cross country type thing, so you’re able to follow the racing dynamic easier, even if the world is just as stylized. It’s just not as distracting.
There is an ADD quality to this film that will turn some people off and I understand that. It’s an overwhelming experience. I think I’m still processing sequences from the opening race and it’s been 6 hours since I saw it.
There is also a sweetness to this movie that I really grabbed on to and that’s what really impressed me. The action is nuts and cool and spectacular and all, but it was the heart of the film that really hooked me.
This is going to be crack mixed with pixie sticks dissolved in Red Bull for kids. For the adults who can let their inner kid enjoy the flick, it’ll have a similar result. The fact that there’s substance beneath the sugar makes it all the better.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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thats right bitches... and honestly i dont care.
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That never happened before.
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This still looks bollocks...
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the MATRIX sequels are as important to THE MATRIX as TESB and ROTJ are to STAR WARS
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Is that how you are able to comment about the picture of Harvey Dent? Not breaking any rules if you just simply post a picture from another site right?
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Anchorman 2 was announced!
http://tinyurl.com/5kxfzm -
You're being post-ironic, right?
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I cannot tell you how completely underwhelmed I am at another Will Ferrel movie, let alone what is obviously going to be an attempt at a cash grab in attempt to capitalize on what is one of his more successful movies.
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IRON MAN really wasn't THAT great...
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they're all epileptic-add-adhd-crazy anyway.
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...the perfect comic-book movie. Good plot, good story, good acting and great fx.That said, if you really think Speed Racer is a more attractive option, then at least experience it properly. Grab yourself a huge bag of Skittles, dose up on Red Bull and enjoy the rush. Knock yourself out, kid...
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A total fucking mess, visually pleasing and Fox is good; but other than that it's complete fucking wank. Hirsch throwing punches will crack you up as well.
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... is not for the too-cool-for-the-room douchebags who are determined to hate it no matter what. It's sweet, sincere, has a huge heart, and it's fun from beginning to end. It's not a comic book movie, either, Biggus, so the comparison makes no sense. It's a cartoon. A gorgeous, crazy cartoon.
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I'd respect your opinion more if A) you hadn't named yourself after the lead singer of Def Leppard and B) you weren't talking bollocks.Popeye? For fuck's sake, lad! It'll be Condorman next...
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Granted, I'm not overly familiar with the cartoon but I liked the look of the trailer. It's a kid’s movie, pure and simple. That may have been what they were going for, but it didn’t float my boat. I always respect your opinion Mori, you’re the best writer on the site; but I’ll have to respectfully disagree here.
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I gave up any hope of Speed Racer being good. The cars float around the neon tracks like they have absolutely no weight or substance and the dialog was awful. Absolutely no-one I have talked to thinks it looks good, and audience reaction to the trailer has been apathetic at best. I predict a huge bomb. That said, I actually do hope that I am wrong. I would far rather have it be a good movie than a bad one.
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but you know, pretty much EVERY action scene had been in the trailers. I think there was literally nothing in the whole movie that WOWed or surprised me in any away, except maybe for the Iron Monger taking off on his rocket boots. add to that the fact that the movie has been (I kid you not) cut for violence in germany and austria (which, of course, one can't blame the movie for). anyway, the whole experience was entertaining but felt like I'd seen it all before. I don't think SPEED RACER is going to feel that way.
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I guess I kind of contradicted myself in that post. Do I have hope? Do I not have hope? I don't even know any more.
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when i read reviews saying stuff like 'you'll really like it if you bring your inner child', then i gets wary. IIRC, that was how Harry sold Phantom Menace, right?
I haven't seen Speed Racer but i fear David Edelstein's review online at New York Magazine is a more accurate take on this film. I don't think Edelstein's a
"too-cool-for-the-room douchebag", do you Mori?
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Never said it was a comic book, fella, merely stated my preference as to the tent-pole flicks out there right now.I understand that you Americans have this huge love for Speed Racer that we Brits simply don't (it never aired over here, or if it did, it never flew), but I wonder how much of this appreciation is mired in childhood nostalgia and how much applies to this film, right here, right now?And if the aim was truly to make what you percieve to be a gorgeous, crazy cartoon, then they seem to have spent an awful lot of money doing so. Why not simply make a gorgeous, crazy cartoon?
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If you change your name to Kate Bush or Siouxsie Sioux, then we'd be in business!As it is, my brain is now stuck with a mental image of B+W Popeye smacking Iron Man's arse to a Bee Gees soundtrack! Thanks for that!
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i remember watching three minutes of this on IGN and being blown away. There will be childish screaming emanating from my seat. The haters need to quit trying to maintain such snobby hatred for all things worth potentially positive reviews and start loving movies again. I was never really a fan of the show but I am prepared for some crazy action soaked in crack and sweet tarts.
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Phew, that was close! (BOOM!)
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THE MATRIX and STAR WARS may make perfect sense on their own... as long as you haven't seen the sequels! once you've seen the rest of the stories, you realize that you didn't know anything after the first parts. Luke is good, Vader is evil, and Leia is Luke's girl. yeah, right. and it's even more so with THE MATRIX. once you realize that The One (= religion) was just another system of control, how can you go back to the first film and not see it with totally different eyes? but, of course, that kind of topic may appeal very differently to different people. personally, I love the concept of religion being a system of control, because that's what it is in reality. religious people, however, may feel that the sequels destroyed their image of the Jesus-like Neo, and therefore dislike the sequels.
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I'm still waiting for the live action "Astro Boy!" Too bad "Speed Racer" had the edge in constant syndication just because it was color!
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so unless the movie gets amazing word-of-mouth friday, it'll spin itself out of the race by monday. And I don't know if this is a good thing with the kids or not, but the trailer - amazing cartoony graphics notwithstanding - promised all the emotional heft of a Nintendo 64-era video game.
joeelliott - opinions are like noses. i saw it twice this weekend. RD Jr. rules in this one. I actually liked it better than the first Spiderman. Or Richard Donner's Superman. -
Thanks for being another 'I Enjoyed Iron Man But Speed Racer Is Not For Me' kinda guy!I was starting to feel outgunned here...
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If you are right about the quieter moments and I manage not to get CG Brain freeze then i might just enjoy it! I think taking my 3 year old kid will help.Not a massive fan of in your face FX for FX sake and no idea what the original cartoon/TV show was and Harrys little animation is piss frightnin! but i will test drive the Speedracer now. Still gotta get my eyes on IronMan goddamn!which i missed yesterday in favour of the 'family friendly' hunk of shit called Nim(rod)s Island! Holy twat! what a sack of Sheeiite that was! even my kid said ''I no like that!'' this might pop his brainsack!!!
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it looked like a Playstation video output projected on a big screen...a severe lack of depth and detail despite the candy color schemes..
there was an appreciable disinterest in the audience...
still could be good... -
Popeye (???ok it looked good but did EVERYONE have to mumble??) and Conan...well come on
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comparing Speed Racer to Doctor Who is like comparing a 2 bit cheap hooker to Einstein...
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It's not being marketed right. They should hang onto it for whenever the kids are on holiday, and market it directly at them.
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And that's what I look for in a movie, something I've never seen before. Personally, I never cared for the Wachowskis and felt vindicated when the Matrix Trilogy failed as I saw glaring character development flaws in the first Matrix film, and thusly, didn't like it, to the ridicule of practically everyone I knew with an IQ not as high as mine. But I think their sensibility may be more suited for something like Speed Racer. It looks like freaking cinematic art, and hope it is so after the disappointment of Iron Man...
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ONE OF THE DIRECTORS IS A TRANSTESTICAL, SO IT HAS GOT TO BE GOOD. TO PARAPHRASE THAT OLD SAYING, "the best ones are crazy."
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with the midnight movie acid crowd. A guy behind me during the preview before IM said distinctly "Shrooms. Opening Day. Im There."
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May 06, 2008 5:27:53 AM CDT
Speed Racer: you have to be either on acid or under 12 to enjoy
by newc0253
is that really the tag-line we want for this film?
i will go to see this in cinemas because, after the Matrix, the Wachowskis get a lifetime free-pass (Matrix Revolutions notwithstanding). I also have no problem with big, fun cartoons and bringing my inner child to enjoy films.
But having read Edelstein's review and Quint and Moriarty soft-selling the movie, i'm going in with my expectations distinctly lowered...
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Damn You Michael Bay
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Fuck that.
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It's been two hours and I've still got a Bee Gees song going round my head accompanied by the occasional image of Popeye smacking Iron Man.Thanks, man.
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...this looks a lot more interesting than IRON MAN.
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Yay! I can't wait for this. So far, though, on RT, its been getting pretty bad reviews. Oh well, whatevs, I'm sure I'll love it. I was born to love it! This was my favorite show ever when I was 5.
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maybe i'm just too cynical for my own good, because 90% of the reviews I read at AICN, never live up to the hype. have you ever noticed on AICN. they either really hate a movie or love it. there's very few so so reviews. if they hate a or love a film. it's always turned up to 11. they gush over a film so much, that they get you excited. when you finally see it, you're like, oh that was ok, or that was a piece a turd. wtf was AICN talking about? maybe they're more passionate about movies than i am or maybe i'm trying to recapture my movie going experience as a youth in a bottle. very few movies impress me these days. movies from my youth were better! maybe i'm getting bitter in my old age, hehe. whatever, the trailers don't have me excited. its all cut with fast edits. i hope the movie isn't all like that. i hope it lets me take it all in.
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hang on, so speed racer is better than doctor who? ok. meanwhile, on earth...
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May 06, 2008 6:17:39 AM CDT
US love fove for Speed Racer versus Brits love for Dr. Who
by shub-wankalot
Now that's an amusing kitschy comparison, that goes well with Red Bull and Jelly Babies. Color me GO when Speed Racer hits the screen. I'm there!
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May 06, 2008 6:19:22 AM CDT
Newsflash: 'Iron Man' is a better kid's film than 'Speed Racer'.
by the tao of joe
...And 'Iron Man' wasn't even a kid's film to begin with. Saw 'Speed Racer' last night, and man oh man, I was disappointed. I am not a too-cool-for-the-room-douche (Mori, a lot of people who are going to hate this film will have valid reasons for doing so). I cheered when the movie began because I was eagerly excited to see a whiz-bang-cool children's racecar movie loaded with bright LSD visuals. At times, the movie delivers that, but I have to say that I have never before seen a racing film that was so disinterested in racing scenes. Nearly all of the races were interrupted by flashbacks, flash fowards,, and exposition scenes for all of the goons (this film made me yearn for the era in kid's filmmaking when goons could simply be goons). Sure, the Washowskis were probably wanting to show off their too cool for school editing prowess, but the flashback/flashforward nonsense happens several times in each racing scene, causing all of them to lose their momentum. Heck, right before Speed heads down the final finish line, they stop that moment to pull a friggin review of the entire movie. I guess they were aware that the nearly 2.5 hour-long movie would put a lot of kids to sleep. I know the ones who sat beside me dozed off a few times. And like 'The Matrix' sequels, this movie makes the terrible filmmaking blunder being all 'tell' and very little 'show'. What they do show has very little to do with what people are talking about, and vice-versa. Plus there are lots of scenes featuring ancillary characters making deals (again, just like the Matrix sequels), that carry no weight or momentum, and thus, should have been sliced to reduce the insanely long running time. 'Speed Racer' isn't a kid's film. It's too boring for that. No, 'Speed Racer' is indulgent crap from a pair of formerly talented storytellers who are too full of themselves to realize that just because they wrote and filmed certain scenes doesn't mean they are too good to be cut out. 'Speed Racer' needs to fail so that the Washowski's can be cut down a peg. It's their only hope at ever being good again. 'Iron Man' is a much better film for kids because it's concise storytelling. No scenes are wasted, all characters get a ticket to ride plus the exact amount of screen time they need, and the action scenes aren't constantly interrupted by this flashback/flashforward nonsense that really turned 'Speed Racer' into the chore that it is sans the Sprittle and Chim-Chim sequences. The worst thing is, there was a pretty good family film inside 'Speed Racer,' it just needed to be edited down to that.
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It had be said, true or otherwise.
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May 06, 2008 6:38:21 AM CDT
Err, did someone just try and say Speed Racer was better than Dr
by steve rogers
You fucking MORON! Enjoy your neon turd.
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Literally? So those scenes were just a letter on screen? Sounds pretty arty to me. But not as arty as this other movie I just saw than I can't talk about
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I'm not an Iron Man plant. Just a real guy from NC who saw a movie he really wanted to love and got his heart ripped out. My criticisms of 'Speed' were all valid ones that dealt with specific reasons as to why that film doesn't work. You'll see.
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I DONT WANT TO BELIEVE YOU!!! PLEASE BE A BIG LIAR WITH YOUR PANTS CONSTANTLY ON FIRE!!! No, seriously, you are voicing my fears and I want you to be wrong. Please?!?!
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I wish I was lying. I have dreamed of a live-action 'Speed Racer' since I was 14 and heard the alt-rock band Sponge cover the theme song for 'Saturday Morning Cartoons' Greatest Hits'. Heck, that music video they put out two weeks ago, made me think the Washowskis had delivered just that. Oh well....
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to enjoy it
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I liked this movie. There was a lot to like about it, and I liked it much more than I thought I would. I liked the way the parents supported the kid's talent by believing in him. I liked the style/colors. I didn't love the movie. Too many flashbacks and time shifting. The bad guys' motives were a bit over my head, and completely lost on kids. In fact, sometimes it was hard to figure out who the bad guys really were. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the movie, very entertaining. My daughter, on the other hand, LOVED this movie. If I enjoyed it, and she LOVED it...I'd say that makes good family fare.
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Christina Ricci looks so hot as Trixie! Hope McFarlane does the action figure--he'll do her proud.
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That this movie has that sort of WOW factor that was missing from Iron Man. Don't get me wrong, Iron Man was fucking amazing, but afterward I didn't have that feelings like I NEEDED to see it again like I usually do with most summer blockbusters. Now that may almost be a good thing, because I feel like I have to see it again because MAYBE I missed something, but Iron Man may have been so well done that you get it all on your first shot, i don't know. Anyways looking at Speed Racer it looks like a film I'll want to turn right around and see again?
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The people who are like, well I didn't really watch the show so I don't really want to see it. REALLY? Like being a fan of the Speed Racer TV show is a prerequisite to wanting to see this movie? Its not like we are talking Pokemon or Ben 10 here. I mean you saw Iron Man but you never read the comics? You bought three copies of Alvin and the Chipmunks but you never watched that as a kid, you own a snorks are hip t-shirt and you didn't even realize it was a TV show. Just pisses me off when people say shit like that, I mean if you don't want to see it say that. Not, well I heard it has a lot of neon colors and I can't see yellow. Maybe Speed Racer isn't just VH1 cool enough like Transformers was to people to put their preconcieved notions behind them like they did with Transformers. Seriously, go ask any retard at work about Transformers and they'll tell you they loved it, they won't even realize that the idea that it came from an already realized world from the show. Also thats how I know Speed Racer will probably bomb.
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May 06, 2008 7:25:49 AM CDT
Damn Quint, I see the corporate monsters finally got you too...
by bill brasky
Plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant, plant
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i guess its redundant to even point it out anymore
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... as he guns the car around the track. He's jammin' down the pedal, like he's never commin' back. That is all.
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What makes Speed Racer better than a movie like Shark Boy & Lava Girl or Spy Kids? I am not isulting the flick before I see it, but based on the trailers, the visuals don't look much different. Depending on my son's behavior this week, I may take him, but I'd like to be warned if I'm gonna dislike it.
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Someone needs to tackle Star Blazers. But show it some goddamned respect by not casting Common or Justin Timberlake in it.This summer is just making me realize what an opinionated group of cumbuckets we nerds are. All I'm looking for in films like Speed Racer is that they take the material seriously enough to cast good actors (something NOT done with AvP2) and use a script that feels like it wasn't lifted off the bathroom stall wall of an I-95 truck stop.
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I love stories of redemption. Here's the Wachowski's chance to repay me the cost of one ticket for The Matrix: Reloaded.
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Why does everyone but me get their nostalgia fetish? Why? There is no God.
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I was at the Austin screening last night and he nails it - I wrote up a review and sent it in, so maybe they'll run it - but yeah, what he said.
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Drugged up, twitchy little morons.
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The difference is budget. Go look at the cost for Shark Boy and Spy Kids and compare them to Speed.
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May 06, 2008 8:03:00 AM CDT
Am I the ONLY guy who liked Reloaded and Revolutions?
by hawaiian organ donor
Maybe I was just on a reeeeally long bender but I don't remember buying $1.2 billion worth of movie tickets. Damn, I need to dig up some old bank statements.
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'There is something of the Baz Luhrmann about all of this - that revelling in your own artifice. A strange sort of endeavour for a movie.'
That's like the mark of pure shit to me..which is what the trailer smelt like also
I'll check in on DVD and stay away from the overpriced movie ticket -
Still early, but that's not a good sign.
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I don't see what's wrong with that. I mean it is a MOVIE based on a CARTOON. Makes more sense to revel in the artifice than to try and deny it.
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this looks like a motion sickness extravaganza.
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Speed Racer followed by Liquid Television followed by 120 Minutes with Dave Kendall. And the angels did sing.Btw, to the person who mentioned the Saturday Morning Cartoons CD-- that was a great album, but Matthew Sweet released a Speed Racer cover as a b-side that wiped the floor with the Sponge version.
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May 06, 2008 8:35:35 AM CDT
you should rename AICN "too cool for the room douchebags"
by knowthyself
Cause thats the only kind of person I ever see in the talkbacks. How can a bunch of movie nerds ever be too cool for the room? Ya got me. Speed Racer is going to rock. That is all.
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You are not alone Hawaiian Organ Donor. You are not alone.
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That corner animation of Speed Harry is the least annoying one I've seen in a long time.
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Whats most impressive is that the Wachowskis turned a shit cartoon into an amazing looking movie.
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I was on the fence on this one but I think I will see it now.
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May 06, 2008 8:45:18 AM CDT
No, Hawaiian Organ Donor its not a fair comparison
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
I saw the Matrix 3 times at the cinema and both sequels only once. If you claim that the sequels made more money I put it to you that the first was a HUUUUUUGE hit on DVD and helped swing people to the format. The sequels just pissed people off. I was willing to forgive certain faults with Reloaded hoping the second wouldn't let me down. Yet it devolved into lengthy action scenes with many people I couldn't give a damn about, leaves Neo out of the story for nearly an hour, then cheaply kills Trinity(who then has the worst death scene I had witnessed in years). Oh and then they make peace with the machines.
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Armor. That's the only thing the two have in common. Plot, tone, gore, ratings, etc... All completely different.
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you're not the only guy who liked Reloaded. I really dug that film, thought that it introduced a lot of really interesting twists on the original and was really looking forward to seeing how it concluded. I remember at the time wondering why everyone else was so disappointed.
Unfortunately, Revolutions took all the interesting questions raised by Reloaded and pretty much threw them out the window in favour of a couple of big whizz-bang fight sequences. With Revolutions, i finally understood the hate that everyone else had for Reloaded. I still like Reloaded, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to think how all the cool stuff it was pointing towards never eventuated, and the stinkburger that Revolutions delivered instead.
So, yes, you really are the only person who liked Revolutions. -
Because The Matrix gained such a huge following when it was released on DVD. I'm not saying they made more money because they were better. I just don't remember this much hate when they came out. In fact, if it wasn't for the complete festering pile of elephant shit that AICN calls a search engine, I would look up Harry's review of Reloaded. That was the moment I began to lose faith in Harry's opinion on movies. He voiced his extreme disappointment over it and he started talking about werewolves and boogeymen and the TB'ers skewered him. My recollection is of fanboys rabidly defending Reloaded when it first came out. In 6 short years you'd swear the movie had slapped their mother and pissed in their coffee by how they've turned on it.As a cohesive whole, I think the Matrix trilogy works better than [gasp!] the original SW trilogy.
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You'd be lucky to ever find a good word said about them by anyone. I did enjoy Revolutions and Reloaded is my favorite of the three. What sold me is the many layers the trilogy kept peeling away. The fact that the final movie ends with PEACE instead of WAR is a big deal that American audienes just weren't buying. They wanted a big dumb movie. When they got something else they looked the other way.
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That's why it ran on TV for over 30 years, is still a piece of the American pop culture landscape and someone bothered to make a movie of it in the first place.
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and about forty-five minutes into the film I realized the only way I was going to enjoy myself was by making snarky comments to my friends. I was capable of laughing off the next hour and a half but the film itself still failed to deliver.
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May 06, 2008 9:08:07 AM CDT
Speed Racer became one of those things that was so stupid it was
by terry1978
Most people that never grew up with it will admit to liking it, but mostly ironically, because it's one of those cult-type things. WB is hoping to really cash in on that demo as well.
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May 06, 2008 9:11:40 AM CDT
I don't give a shit about Vamps and Werewolves
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
That always struck me as off base by Harry. It wasn't his story for fucks sake. What I had a problem with was 1. The rave sequence. I remember looking around the cinema in disbelief at how long it went and saw that it pissed off many others as well. 2. The ultimate futlity of the Neo vs 100 smith battle. Neo just flew off. huh 3. The final speach with Cl. Sanders. If you thought that was well scripted you are delusional. It was technobabble dressed to appear smarter than it was. I have plenty more gripes, but they mainly pertain to part 3.
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I'm tired of this argument- the first one is nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is- the second is a festering pile of dogshite and the third is an affront to film making. The whole series suffers from the problem that the first one never gets over, and which they spell out in the restaurant scene- Is it better to live in the Matrix or Reality, and on all available evidence I have to say that living in the matrix is by far the better option. However, the second was an exposition laced borefest, and as stupid as Harry's Werewolf comment was, I can see where he was going with it. They did open pandora's box and what they found was...... Lots and lots of Agent Smiths. How shit, and how unimaginitive. And as for when Neo became superpowered in the real world. What a load of bollocks. The whole series is heavily flawed, but don't try to pretend its mixture of cod-philosphy and psuedo intellectualisation was intelligent. It was thicker than a brick sandwich
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The 2nd and 3rd are so bad that they actually slightly spoil the first one (which I generally like)- as they tarnish that fucking magnificent ending.
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fucken typos. Dirtyjokes has just reminded me of Morpheus' nauseatingly awful speech just before that Rave. It was supposed to be such a great call to arms and came off worse than "CAN YOU DIG IT"
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Thats all their is to it. You hated the dialogue I loved it. You thought it went nowhere I thought it went on the path less traveled. You hated the conclusion. I didn't. You think its dumb. So be it. That won't change my mind.
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big bot fights a little bot. at the end of Robocop (or maybe robocop2)he fights a bigger mech/robot thing. thats the comparison. its a lame one which i, too, don't understand.
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I only own part 1 on dvd. When I first got it I was sure it would have the same viewing turnover for me as the Star Wars films and Indy's. After part 3 came out I can count the amount of times I've watched it on one hand.
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forgot about that.
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OK, I'll give everyone that. It should have been removed from the DVD.And I never saw the movies through all that philosophical mumbo jumbo that others did. They were basically just popcorn flicks to me.
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Come on now.
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Was that they were another example of 'telling without showing' - the Washowski's Achilles heel as of late. If there were no werewolves or vampires, why even bring them up? It was pointless.
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if he could see her death through the whole 2nd film, makes a choice to screw the way things were meant to be by saving her life? Why in the fuck did he have no clue in the 3rd? Oh and fuck, how dumb was Neo? If I recall correctly didn't it take like 3 minutes of the Smith-dude saying Mr Anderson for that dumb fuck to catch on?
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It was important to show humanity at it's most organic. It was sweaty, dirty, and sexual. Everything the robots were not. It was an important moment to show the difference before they showed how similar the machines were to the humans in the end.
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May 06, 2008 9:29:02 AM CDT
These films presented themselves as an adult Star Wars
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
hence when they have dialog that flat when meant to be rousing its seen a a flaw. Star Wars are for kids. I know it but I fuckin love them just the same.
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1. In the first film he had to save her. In the third film he had to let her die. In the matrix he can save lives. In the real world death is the reality. She was the reason he made the differnet choice that the other Neo's could not. After that choice was made Trinity had served her purpose and could now die. 2) How could he even fathom that Smith had hacked a human body? Not the first thought that would come to my mind. You have to think of it from the characters point of view, not the audience member. Of course you know..you saw it happen. He didn't.
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The W Bros. hit the sweet spot everytime.
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May 06, 2008 9:33:27 AM CDT
The rave scene was boring shit because it followed
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
that shitty speech I forgot about. It just didn't grab me at all, and I'm pretty easy to impress. Heck, I love all the Rambo's including part 3.
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Hit and miss. They can't all be winners.
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I've never been more psyched about this movie than I am right now!As for the 'Matrix Reloaded' critiques above:1. - RAVE SEQUENCE:
To me, this was a scene of pure audio-visual sensation. Kind of like the extended docking sequences in '2001: A Space Odyssey'. I personally thought it had a great ethereal quality about it that really communicated the 'spirit of Zion' in a very provocative way.2. - BURLY BRAWL:
The whole point of this battle is we expect Neo - the One - will be able to own Smith. But he can't. It's a dramatic reversal that states "Smith is back, and he's an enemy to be reckoned with".3. - ARCHITECT:
As far as I'm concerned, this is on a par with Vader's "Luke, I am your father" in 'The Empire Strikes Back'. It totally takes the rug out from under Neo's (and the audience's) feet. It forces us to re-examine everything we think we know about the story. It's frickin' awesome is what it is. -
May 06, 2008 9:36:13 AM CDT
How many people had called him Mr Anderson
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
in about 3 years. I thought Neo was the One, with powers outside the Matrix.
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May 06, 2008 9:38:39 AM CDT
You can pretty much think of Vendetta as a Wachowski film
by knowthyself
And that was nother great movie. The matrix was no fluke. The brothers are talented and continue to bring fresh new ideas to big budget films.
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It took a few times, so sue him. Once he became blind he was able to see Smith completely.
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May 06, 2008 9:43:22 AM CDT
I'll admit their talent. I thought Bound was great
by nomoredirtyjokespleaseweareyanks
and it was the reason I saw the Matrix. I also thought that Vendetta was fantastic and have hope for Speed Racer. This review says a lot of positives with it's character development and I'm keen to see it. I just think they got bored with the concept, or wrote themselves into a hole and didn't have time to change it.
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I saw both sequels at the cinaplex and the first one I saw twice on back to back days (I am not big into repeat viewings in theaters, probably because I had a bad experience with Batman and Robin, I got suckered into seeing it twice in theaters). I didn't really care for the squels that much. But when I watched them (even on a small screen) on the DVD's two years later I thought they were amazing. I wondered if they had made these DVD films I wonder how big they would have been? But they play well on the small screen and I was really surprised because I thought it would just suck. Also my biggest problem was in the third one when all the squids are about the attack their strong hold in the real world. And its just like Ms. Smith and two other guys and one gun. Like they were going to do anything.
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Saw Pineapple Express???? Where are those reviews? Come on its not AICN unless there is an Apatow review every 24 hours.
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I'm shocked nobody is talking about this.
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popcorn movie, but don't try to pretend it is intelligent. It isn't.
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May 06, 2008 10:08:57 AM CDT
When it come to forgiveness, nerds can't be beat
by hawaiian organ donor
We're willing to forgive stuff we saw when we were younger that we loved at the time but that hasn't aged well at all. The original Terminator, Star Wars, Aliens, Conan, Ghostbusters, Rocky III...every one of these films (and more of your beloved days of yore movies) has some exceptionally bad acting, WTF plot points and dialogue that has been known to cause excessive ear bleeding.In preparation for Rambo IV, I watched First Blood for the first time in 20 years this past weekend and I couldn't believe how much I loved this thing as a kid. I watched it every single time it was on HBO. It hasn't aged well at all. Not at all and that point is not open to discussion.So I just take what guys around here say with a grain of salt. Somebody who thinks that Tron, The Black Hole and Dragonslayer are all classic movies but wouldn't piss on the last remaining reel of I Am Legend if it was on fire is somebody I ain't seeing eye to eye with.
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Neo spends the whole 2nd movie trying to save her, only to have her die in the 3rd movie in the stupidest, most mawkishly written death scene ever. Frakking stupid.
Similarly, the 2nd movie raises the prospect of the Matrix being filled with all manner of strange and outlandish things, yet in the 3rd movie, it's just wall-to-wall Smiths.
Getting back on-topic, has anyone who has seen Speed Racer think the Wachowskis are moving forward? or are they regressing? -
Its also the better movie because it has a kick ass theme song. I don't know why Iron Man just didn't fucking play IRON MAN like in the credits. They pussy footed around with some lame ass score (Ramin Djawadi?????), could they not get the rights to play more of the song? You know if they just played Iron Man during the action scenes or the final fight it would have been bad ass.
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I did the same for Rambo and I felt that same about First Blood. Like the whole we don't like him because he is a war vet? Was retarded. And it was not as action packed as I remembered. I thought Rambo IV was unfuckingbelievable. I think the difference between then is now, is sites like this. Before nerds actually had to find each other. Now we don't ever have to meet to bitch. Because lets face it, 99.9% of the conversations you have on this site you could never have with a co-worker or friend (if you are a cubicle clown like me, making all your friends cubicle boners as well). And a majority of the film going public has no idea about what they are watching.
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If the search engine here wasn't as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike then I'd go and find it. What I find astounding about that review is that Harry gave the film a "meh" and then when revolutions came out the first paragraph of that review was basically "I know everyone thinks I hater reloadded, but I didn't I loved it. But this one is better" and its worse. Not Harry's finest hour. I think that was his animal fetish period, as didn't he also mention something about Dead raped deer?
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These damn TBs have prevented me from doing any actual work the past 3 weeks. No wonder I held off creating an account on AICN for the first 8 years I was coming here.
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This movie is 2 hours and 15 minutes long. OK. Yeah this movie is going to bomb. Every adult I know doesn't want to see this and I bet kids aren't going to want to sit for 2 hours. Narnia 1 and 2 are over 2 hours you say, but they have a much broader fan base and appeal, and i bet all those fun loving bible readers saw the previews and thought they could sit through it with their kids (thank allah for the kick ass animal fight at the end or I would've been pissed). But I don't see many parents opting to sit through this for 2 hours, it has that "What's a DVD?" your too old to get it feel about it. And parents will just tune it out. Excpet my mom, but she likes the most random crap and was a Next Generation Fan. Also all those people saying that they'll wait for DVD, something tells me that if this movie is going to be any good at all, its going to be because its on the big screen (then again I enjoyed the Matrices 2 + 3 better on my computer). Too bad they shut down the local IMAX here, but seriously WTF do you do with an IMAX after its shut down and is in the nice museum part of town? Its not like they can turn it into a gruge concert joint like they did with another movie theater that closed around here. And you can't make it resturante. I wonder what they'll do with it.
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pah. Don't swear.
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Seriously, what's the oldest review of Harry's the search engine turns up? Rise of the Silver Surfer maybe? It's sad really. Never understood why he doesn't alphabetize every one of his reviews on his movie review page.
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I heard he liked it (much to the amusement of the gallery)
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Yeah there hasn't been a good theme song in a while. Even the Burton/Elfman duo haven't done anything memerable since Scissorhands. I remember i think it was Harry's review of Batman Begins saying that he didn't like the music for because there was no theme. Which is true, there is no like 5 notes that you associated with that movie, but the score is pretty kick ass, mainly the part where he is driving the Battank around, put that on in your car and see if you don't speed up. But there was no solid BAM! The 80's had the best theme songs. Now the best music comes from Arty movies (Atonment made me grow a vagina, but the music was really good and very under used, it was the best part of the movie). I wonder if anyone can get Clint Mansell to do a summer movie score? Lets see if they came up with anything for the Hulk.... probably not.
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as someone said the other day. That any subset of people can thump the comic book superhero film as the "sophisticated choice" is frankly amazing. No offense Quint, but man...
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I'm glad to hear a good review for SPEED RACER, because the trailers make me want to vomit. As for A NEW HOPE & THE MATRIX. They definately stand on their own. I hate to be the Ciff Claven in the room, but anyone who feels other wise doesn't understand the idea of a film being able to stand on it's own.
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Did he suck as badly as I expected him to?
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I feel you on the worried about getting in trouble at work because of this. Yeah I didn't start an account until last year and I've been using this site since Godzilla. As for finding Harry's reviews in the shit search, I know I've found some old ass ones like Deep Impact, just type in the movie name. Speaking of updating, i don't care if the search engine sucks, if they get a new one it would probably mean a whole site upgrade and I was looking at other movie sites this morning and they are sooo fucking irritating. I like the basic story then picture simple layout then basic TB with no stupid pictures of fucking gay ass quotes with every post. Or like IMDB having to fucking open the thread to flat every time.
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I hear you with that one, I like the way the site is laid out- simple and easy to read.
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I still remember Harry's review of that pile. I would love to read it again.
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i know i've seen him somewhere before. can anyone help me out with this one? anyway, i'l check this one out mainly because the t.v show was the shizznit.
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Attack of the Clones. Harry should write us all an apology for the phrase "people will criticise Haydn, but here he just works for me". Mind you, Harry should also apoogise for "mesa like" Jar Jar Stinks.
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But I'd agree that the problem with it is is that the entire story is split up... In order to appreciate it you have to consider: 1) The matrix Reloaded and Revolutions as one movie.2)Have played 'Enter the Matrix'3) This one is especially important, you must have watched Animatrix, especially 'The Second Renaissance' to know why Revolutions ended the way it did.For fans who loved the marketing and the game and anime, it was an amazing ride. However msot people will have ignored the game and the anime. As a stand alone film the matrix sequels don't really hold up. In fact splitting them up was unfortunately to their detriment. Reloaded is a set-up without a conclusion, and Revolutions was pretty much the conclusion and climax without a beginning. But taken as a whole it was a grand achievement and together with the game and anime it was an unprecedented method of franchise making that will probably never be attempted again. And for that I thank the Wachowskis! I loved it all the way!
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During some downtime at the office last week, I searched out random stuff on this site. I found the day when Harry switched to the current layout. Boy howdy the geeks went crazy that day. You'd think Harry killed their dog and banged that childhood friend they've had a secret crush on since third grade.Chewyou, don't get me wrong, I'll stick by the original SW trilogy out of morose principal, but if a movie ages poorly, it ages poorly. When you watch a movie like Jaws or Back to the Future or L.A. Confidential, you see how they'll stand the test of time. Every actor was perfect, the scripts were perfect, the pacing and edits were perfect. These movies were made to be perfect. Watching beloved movies from my childhood is something I try to avoid. I've sat through too many turn-your-head-and-wince moments during those unfortunate revisits that I've learned to leave them in the past.
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At first, he reminded me a lot of Dr. Jack Shepherd from LOST (especially, the dark suit and tie like he wore in the LOST pilot). But... ...it was a shock to see him play a villain and a traitor. I really didn't see that coming! VANTAGE POINT was certainly interesting with its seperate takes on the same situation. After a while, it got a little old. However, those did provide a nice set of clues to figure out the ending -- which was still surprisingly different than what I expected. Good stuff. I am looking forward to SPEED RACER. The cartoon was a little before my time, but I did see a few reruns back in the day.
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was frikkin' amazing. It is still the ONLY movie I can think of in fifteen years, aside from maybe Fight Club (also in 1999), that truly surprised me with every single frame . . . For example, hmm, okay, this movie is definitely sci-fi, wow, the world is run by machines, oh wow . . . then suddenly, out of nowhere, "I KNOW KUNG FU." Goddam yeah! It's also the only movie in fifteen years where I wanted to turn back around and see it again, right then.
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...make a -NEW- Matrix 2 and 3? They could dismiss the original sequel and threequel as a "dream" and then make a new set of movies that better resemble the first one. Just a thought.
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Don't you mean W brother and sister team?
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so what you are basically saying is that 2 & 3 were fucking terrible UNLESS you'd played the game and watched the Animatrix? No thanks, that just makes them terrible. I don't want to devote weeks of my life to watching a film- it's entertainment not study.
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...and a spectacular film! If only the W bros had not tried to infuse so much blatant liberalism -- like multiple homosexual scenes and anecdotes that were not in the original comic. I know that Andy W. may or may not be turning himself into a woman, but did we really need a social sermon in a film already serving as a social parable? THE MATRIX (part 1) was probably one of the few films from the turn of the century that would register as "iconic." However, now we have to remember the first film without thinking about how dull the sequels were. ...kindof like the first ROCKY film, if you ask me.
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I can tell it is going to have the typical moral conventional story arc, but I dont care. The visuals and its hyper-real atmosphere are going to be great. For nerds with no imagination and small penises, this movie will not please. For the rest of us, get ready to have a blast. Just dont see it in a full theatre, a bunch of annoying cock sucker kids and parents will only distract. Oh and do any drug before you go.
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I watched the Animatrix (I think I even saw one of them in the theater?) and like there was only one little part that you had to know to get something about the end. But I think most people were too busy getting their head around everything else they didn't even notice.
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While at the office, I might as well pull up Zhura and continue working on my screenplay so that it can one day be made into a movie and every guy on this site can drop trou and dump all over it.Having a movie trashed by talkbackers? That's when you know you've hit the big time!
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Seriously, how did Harry and gang ever get this site started before it got big enough for them to not have to have a day job, or got them a much better job?
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in see-through nylon in front of a bunch of horny sailors that gave me the power to turn back time, I've have been submitting reviews to Harry 10 years ago so that I could have joined the ranks of Mori, Quint and Massa and been fodder for you guys over my reviews of Reloaded and T3. Now there's a gig worth shoving a hepatitis covered No. 2 pencil in your neck for.
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"Christina Ricci...I believe there will be a fetishist group that pops up worshiping her and how she looks in this movie."
Yeah, I think I had that since I first saw her in Addams Family (we're the same age, so it's nothing too pervy) -
Black Snake Moan. I said "Gawddaaaaamn!"
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Great turn around for her. Even though she's all skin and bones she's managed to be hot again. As Trixie she's a super hot fantasy haha.
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Dark Knight or Hulk?! spill it bone!
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Just like Homer in that Simpsons episode.
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ON WEREWOLVES AND ALIENS:Persephone shot those two guys with "silver bullets". They were vampires. And some of the dudes in the chateau fight scene were werewolves. And the Twins were of course ghosts.ON TRINITY'S DEATH SCENE:Trinity's death in 'The Matrix Revolutions' had a tragic irony about it. In the Matrix, he could just pull the bullet out of her wound and restart her heart. But in the real world, he simply doesn't have those powers. I thought it was tragically poetic.
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Well done!
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I always thought it was just a caricature, but for a good laugh everyone ought to read Anthony Lane's review... damn... I mean sure there's going to be people who won't like the movie but damn... it's too funny!
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And i'm not one to hate a movie for no reason, I went in wanting to be entertained. But after 30 minutes, once the thrill of the effects wore off, i was left just completely aghast at how overlong and needlessly overplotted it was. If kids enjoy this movie about fixed car races and scams to raise stock prices, that's great. I'll be over here, watching Spy Kids.
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yes they ARE as smart as they think.
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I think Matrix 2 and 3 taken together as Acts 1 and 2 in Reloaded and Act 3 in Revolutions work when you consider them together. However there are indeed moments in the film that seem random but do make sense if you've played the videogame. It was a pretty neat idea but I agree that doing so in such a way would confuse the audience. A lot of people complain about the ending about peace and stuff and this was of course a post 9/11 world and everyone was all hard about bombing Iraq. I do believe that this sentiment didn't jive with audiences, to them for all intents and purposes the machines are the bad guys through and through, although in the films themselves Neo sees a reason to make peace as the programs like the Oracle and Seraph and Sati etc. are 'good' and they need the Matrix to survive. However I will recommend that everyone check out the Animatrix and The Second Renaissance shorts. Hell, both those short film are made available on the official website for free! It is a bit like commentary about how in conflict we often associate the enemy or race as being so set apart as to be completely unhuman and we treat them as such. Of course it requires one to believe that machines can indeed become sentient, but that's classic sci-fi on its own and like the real world it doesn't end perfectly, just that in the face of a common enemy everyone found a reason for a treaty as long as it lasts. So it's not a happy everything's resolved ending. In a way it's much like the real world we live in today. In other words it was something in direct contrast to 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' which was indeed the blockbuster hit of that year during such a time. But in the end I would agree that separating the Matrix story into multiple mediums hurts it overall, but it's not hard nor does it require some deep thought to wrap around at its basic level. If anyone's fine watching 2 back to back sequels, I don't think it's that hard a step to try renting the game or watching Animatrix either, especially when the necessary stuff is free online at their website. Give it a shot. The game itself is pretty blah compared to other major game titles but easy enough for the masses to get through in a couple of hours.I believe the Wachowskis might've intended to make more out of it too the online game was another example but I don't know anything about that but it's witty in that since the ending of Revolutions places the fate of the world in the hands of human beings that the online game then gives it directly to us with sides to choose from. Anyway the Wachowskis were pretty much trying to make the Matrix a franchise much like Star Wars with it's trilogy, it's prequels, it's cartoon show, it's novels, comics, countless games etc. I don't think Star Wars fans are complaining about the variety of content and the depth that it gives it. When the Wachowskis set out to make the sequels and other media they blatantly siad that it was being made for the fans, those of us who do nothing but talk about it on forums and read the comics and are precisely that kind of geeky audience. So for us there's no problems dealing with a grand story told in multiple mediums.
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Look, I've played Enter the Matrix and I've seen the Animatrix (which is the only other Matrix I own other than the original). The sequels just don't deliver. I tolerated Reloaded because I knew that it was the 1st part of one long sequel, but Revolutions blew donkey nuts!
And Hawaiian Organ Donor, I admire your standing for your beliefs, but I'll have to respectfully disagree. I still say A New Hope stands on it's own just as the original Matrix does (as well as BTTF and L.A. CONFIDENTIAL). But I'll also say that as to the film not aging well I believe that's due to the look & feel of the film having that 70's feel to it (ANH). I should also add that I feel that sort of thing is unavoidable with Sci-fi films due to their dependence on special effects. Even the best are going to look a bit aged (even in wonderful 1080p). -
Hirsch was overrated. And I know I'm in the minority on this, but I think Into The Wild in general was very overrated. It was merely a pretentious overlong melodrama in my eyes.
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A New Hope doesn't hold up well because as much a visionary as Lucas is, the guy cannot write good dialogue and he is unable to get acceptable performances out of his actors, even the talented ones. If I had watched SW as a 30 year old back in 1977, I would have been in awe of it's freshness and revolutionary effects, but I would've cringed at the chop-socky dialogue and wooden performances.I watched Jaws for the first time 25 years after it was released and the cheap looking mechanical shark didn't bother me because the movie as a whole was stunning. The disco era haircuts and clothing didn't ruin it either. Same goes with Jurassic Park. In 50 years when even those effects look dated, the T-Rex attack will still have viewers clutching their armrests. So dated effects have little, if anything, to do with a movie aging well. It all comes down to the script and the director. An excellent script in the hands of a gifted director will be here for as long as people are.I'm an apologist though. I forgive even Jedi for all it's foibles. So I'm willing to look past Mark Hamill's hambone acting, the clunky dialogue that pops up every other scene and the inconsistencies that Lucas glossed over.Check back with me in other 10 years. Maybe I'll be talking about how poorly Reloaded and Revolutions aged.
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retard and your better of going to see Iron Man for the second time with the rest of America instead of paying to watch a 1 trick pony fall on its ass again. If you have to feel 5 and stupid again to enjoy a movie that movie's got a fucking problem. When the fuck are these two morons going to stop getting work?
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are the same as the type of "physics" a 5 year old would use while playing with his two favorite Matchbox cars as they race down the banister and onto the back of the couch to the table and back up the stairs. It's not about mirroring reality, it's about evoking wide eyed wonder in the minds of those that haven't had (or are unwilling to have) their imaginations corrupted by the realities of the grown up world. The Wachowski's are geniuses for being able to recreate that feeling outside the medium of animation. Also, The Matix sequels are SEVERELY under rated.
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looking forward to watching this with my nephews and neices and seeing them enjoy it like i did with my uncle when i watched Tron, ET, TESB, ROTJ, Goonies ETC..it may not live up to any of them films..but soo fucking what it'll be a visual feast and the kiddies will love it!!!
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I watched T2 on acid at the cinema...shiiiiit that was good!!
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well, everyone I know when they see the ad says it looks awful. I think it looks interesting. Maybe not amazing, but I like that x-treme visual style. It is getting alot of hate from, well, everybody, though.
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and Revolutions STILL didn't hold up. If anything, it made it worse: I thought Reloaded and 'Second Renaissance' were really cool, so it sucked even harder for the trilogy to go out on such a bum note.
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It's interesting people are finally starting to post their love (or at least extreme like) for the entire Matrix trilogy. I'm one of those who sees its flaws, but still enjoys the experience. I understand some of the argumants against it, but I'm able to overlook stuff like that and still have fun.
I'm stunned at this undercurrent of disdain for Iron Man. People comparing it to Robocop, but not as good. Look, I love Robocop, but come on. Iron Man was about as perfect as a superhero movie can get. I think some of you people complain just because you want to stand out and feel cool, like you aren't just one in the crowd. Grow up. Iron Man is one of the best, if not THE best superhero movie made to date. I realize everybody has their own opinion, but there just were not any holes in the movie. It was so frikken good!
As far as Speed Racer goes, I think I'm in a good spot. I'm not dying to see it, because I have some reservations about it, but I'm intrigued enough that I want to check it out. If the movie is as good as some people are going on about, it should be a welcome surprise for me. I guess we'll see. -
this weekend. Bank it!
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and one of the "positives" should've been a negative. Which sits it squarely at 25%. That sounds like a real thrill a minute movie right there. Can you hear the sound of this movie flopping yet? Watch it slide into oblivion folks.
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I have friends coming to visit on Memorial Day weekend. We're going to see Speed Racer, Iron Man and Indy IV on the same day. I have GOT to believe that even if some of the movies are a let down, the sheer geekgasm factor alone will make the event stand out for years to come.
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when you can take the time to pull your head out of Quints asshole, take a look at how your precious anime bullshit is doing so far. I couldn't give a fuck what's number 1 next week shit stain. As long as it's not this fucking tripe. By default it will be IM though.
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If your watching it with friends then fuck it, SR is the only real POS out of the three. Indy will probably overcome the shortfall of the Beefer simply because its Indy. At least I hope so. 1 outta 3 ain't bad though, especially when that 1 is Iron Man.
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I mean, this movie is silly and ridiculous and at the same time I was thoroughly entertained. I just couldn't help it. Visually, it's amazing, and though after the intro and before the cross country race, things drag a bit, once they hit that race, it's just so entertaining. Dialogue was silly at times, but there was alot of heart to the performances, which kind of surprised me. Also, I was tremendously impressed with the score. It maintained the theme from the show, had a little tokyo pop to it, but then became suitably epic when it had to be. The final moments of the last race, with it's explosions of color and sweeping score are some of the coolest moments i've seen in a film in a long time. I also feel like this movie will be outrageous in HD when it comes out on blu-ray in a few months.
One thing, though. I realize this film is being marketed towards kids (though some spots seem decidedly adult) but the basic plotline involves alot of race fixing and stock prices that i was sort of surprised by. Ultimately it made sense to me but I'm 23 years old, and I could absolutely see kids not getting why they need to win the races they're involved in. But, then again, they don't have to. The kids will love this movie for the color and the explosions and the sounds and the monkey. And this movie delivers all of that in spades. -
and racing tragedy... It all ties together.
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This should be awesome!
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I'm seeing this at the Imax on Friday for sure. Looks fucking amazing.
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...what some of the wet rags here say. I'm looking forward to feeling like a kid in a candy store when I go to see this.
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May 06, 2008 3:46:41 PM CDT
Poor Advance Reviews Won't Sway Me! I NEED TO SEE IT IN IMAX!
by laserpants
My inner 5 year old screams for it.
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So far it looks like just another green screen movie, but Joel Silver keeps promising that the Wachowskis "raised the bar" (doesn't he always?). Here's hoping. John Goodman will make me watch this.
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for 7 year olds...
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to make this a good film.
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I'm sorry there's no 4th Pirates movie or Spider-Man to bitch about this year. Instead we have what could be the craziest experimental original movie to hit the screen in years. Let's just hate it so Hollywood can go back to making shitty sequels every summer. I don't know about you but I will gladly take a chance with Speed Racer. It's a lot more unknown and exciting than walking into Transformers 2!
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. . . and it hurt.
::rimshot:: -
Because they still feel betrayed by the Wachowskis for making them all look like asses with the Matrix sequels after drumming the Bros. up as the Second Coming following the first film...
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And David Edelstein seems to have fired the first shot...
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Once I saw the trailer and then the 3 minutes, I just couldn't help but feel like it was going to be corny.
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and i am too
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I watch reloaded and revolutions back to back every couple months. I rarely rewatch the matrix because the movie is stand alone and the filter color scheme is gray as opposed to the green tones of the sequels. Stop laughing at me, its true.
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May 06, 2008 9:02:57 PM CDT
National critics have spent all their good graces on Iron Man...
by chishu_ryu
Now they're out looking for something to kill, and it looks like poor Speed Racer is going to have to fit the bill. All I have to say is...GO, SPEED RACER!! GO!!!
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is the idea of the machines needing us for power. Any one of the open pools of lava in Zion would give off more energy than all the humans wired into the Matrix. The machines had some kickass drilling technology - they could have gone totally geothermal.
Besides, you gotta feed the humans to keep them alive and tap their electricity. There would be a net loss of energy, not a gain. Tapping humans as 'batteries' is the stupidest idea in the entire long sad history of bad sci-fi ideas. -
Unless the reviewer is 10 years old. This is a kid's movie and that's the audience that will make or break it. This is the first big family friendly PG rated summer movie and that alone will ensure a big opening weekend. Wedged between the PG-13 Iron Man and the epic borefest that is Prince Caspian I think Speed will have legs (or wheels) this weekend...HA HA...Get it?
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and almost puked up my lunch...im serious, i felt sick afterward...and its untrue that everyone hated speed...when i was 6, i loved it...that and kimba and then ultraman, and johnny socko and his flying robot....
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RACER X IS REX.......HAHAHAHAHAHA....I FUCKED UP THE ENTIRE MOVIE FOR ALL OF YOU
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for the same reason that adults dont enjoy rollercoasters the same way that they did as kids...im serious, try and go on a roller coaster at 40...it has something to do with the deterioration of the inner ear...its also the reason why so many elderly fall down, and cant get back up...from what ive seen of the movie, its like taking a roller coaster ride, when you are all hopped up on acid...and trust me, that aint fun for some 40 something critic...i hope the old geezers review the movie...i want to hear lorenzo tell how he puked his guts up in the first 30 seconds
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And I watch the original episodes with my son every weekend. He loves the show just like I did watching the reruns in the mid 70's. My biggest concern isn't the colors or plot, but the movie looks really "busy" in every scene. I tend to get annoyed by that (I'm talking to you new Star Wars trilogy). When they cram 100 things in motion into every frame. I do however appreciate the retro sets and costumes I've seen so far as well as the Racer X scenes. I will judge it based on my son's reaction because he's the target audience.
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Judging from what I've seen in the trailer, Speed Racer seems to have a pretty dark sensibility beneath all the razzle dazzle. The images and the acting seem to have a hyper-real moder-pop/ultra-retro Warholian feel that only an adult could truly appreciate. I think kids would dig it for the chimp, the fast cars, and the video game look.
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"It’s an eyesore, a shambles, with incoherent action and ear-buckling dialogue." I think that pretty much says it all. Although, I think they found a new target audience, artsy women and effeminate men!! Who knew? The twating of America continues.
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this movie will probably fail is because its 2 hours 15 minutes. Seriously, most college 20 somethings feel that this movie is too childish for them, that or they didn't like the cartoon show (like that really is going to matter) and I don't think parents are going to be willing to sit through 2 hours of what they are going to deem torture. Personally I can't wait to see this. This is going to be the American Casshern, which I thought was really cool but way too long, which may end up being the problem with Speed. Everyone who was on the "I've never heard of Ironman so I won't see it" is probably conviced by now that its a good movie and will go out and see it this weekend. I wouldn't be surprised if Ironman held top spot. Plus I bet there are a lot of people who feel hurt by Matrix 2 and 3 and will probably hold it against them. Also no major stars doesn't help. Hirsh and Ricci are all over the late night though this week. This movie is going to end up being the lowest grossing movie of May, had the reviews been better it may have had a chance. I bet it ends up either a complete failure or somewhere between 100-150 total. I don't know its the real toss up for this month, everything else is a pretty sure shot (anyone that said Ironman may flop was fucking retarded, if you couldn't see that movie was going to be big then you no nothing about the box office). This may have the potential to be Alvin and the Chipmunks, but it also could be Underdog.
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I've learned over the years that if AICN is raving about something and rottentomatoes says it blows, rottentomatoes is always right. The fact that it's a pussy, faggot children's movie doesn't help either. I've never seen the cartoon but I thought the movie might be worth a look. After seeing the early reviews, though, I think I might look for something else this weekend. By the way, I've heard CRYSTAL SKULL isn't that great either. I think IRON MAN is the one good popcorn movie we're going to get this season.
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well, average DUMB moviegoers can't really understand what the last two matrixes are really about you have to have played through enter the matrix all the way through to understand the uhh guhhh biblical metaphor of the creation of the machine world and watch all the animatrixes even the one by that aeon flux asshole and then you have to play the online game and have cybersex with at least three players using your matrix avatars (to truly comprehend how technology augments human relationships) and then you have to know about the underlying philosophy of the architect, huh all you haters are way stupid saying that he's just some dude who looks like colonel sanders, HE WAS MADE THAT WAY BY THE WATCHOWSKIS to embody colonial slavery imagery, compounded with plato's theory of the shadows on the cave wall, coupled with cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk transhuman dialectic, and, and smith represents the infintely replicating..AGHHHAAHAHAGHHH. if picasso's guernica required you to buy the animated series and play the online game to understand it, it's not art, because it doesn't speak to the viewer, it's a fucking advertisement to buy other pieces of shit. the watchowski's are master jackoffs. i hardly ever comment, but jesus, you matrix defenders need to fucking hit puberty already.
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release your anger. Only then can your journey to the Dark Side be complete. Me? I think all 3 Matrix movies are fun, but especially the first one. Sometimes I wish I could lose my memory, just so I can sit through the original for the first time again. Does that mean the Matrix is Art? Nah . . . I also feel the same way about The Beastmaster.
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aka The Kiddie Borefest.
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This sounds like the type of movie that is perfect for that. I don't do it often. A few times a year. I think this is one of the those occasions.
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and it is NOT clever. As I said above, it is cod-philosophy that is so badly thought through they give a definitive answer in an early scene. However, in the first one, there are still so many cool moments I can just forget about it. The other 2 are absolutey awful. They commit a number of cardinal sins (lengthy, rubbish exposition + pointless side characters that you don't care about= rancid pile of turd), and then get beyond the pale stupid (Transfer of powers into the real world). And people still call them clever!
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His small role in that was the highlight of that movie for me.
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I thought it was great too but best comic book movie ever?...Remember everyone said that about Spiderman too and now we all look back at how goofy the Goblin suit was. Raimi nailed such a good ending to that movie with the kiss at the funeral and Peter's voice over walking away from MJ and really grounded it in the characters, so we all walked away with that aspect lingering in our minds. Iron Man ending with Pepper switching all those controls while the battle raged above had no tension at all. I liked it overall though. I was thoroughly entertained. Repeated viewings over he next 2 yrs really has a way of re shuffling the 'best ever' list.
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