Go Speed Racer,hahhah

Ok, so, one of the movies I saw with my friend Mili the other night, was Speed Racer by the Wachowski brothers siblings brothers. The previous statement is totally unnecessary in this review/reaction, but writing it gets the ball rolling, and it takes care of awkwardness of a blank page staring at me. Anyway… Speed Racer. Ok, go. Wait-wait, dont u know theres a cartoon series so-called “MAHA GO!” in SPACE TOON?? hahahahaha…… ok. Go!.

Whats on my mind is, Speed Racer is cleverly nuanced. Spritle Racer buzzing around high on candy like a racer on speed has got to be a take on the title. Speed Racer is a 2-hour long vindication of the Wachowski brothers against their studio. The movie is the Wachowski brothers pointing their fingers at the studio’s big wigs going “ha-ha, you wanna make us do this commercial flick, eh? Based on a Japanese cartoon, huh?” One can’t help but notice the Wachowskis imposing themselves all over the movie.

Which is made concrete by the movie’s theme of filial love against selling-out to the industry. The Wachowskis’ triumph is all-too loudly articulated by their Speed Racer’s, their celluloid avatar, own victory in the final act: in the rat race of global commercialization, everything is a marketing tool. But to rise above the gross prostitution of everything we hold in high regard (“Racing… is our religion.”), the key is to stay sincere, true, real, to what you know you love to do. Doing what you love for no other reasons than loving it makes you do it best. Yes, that sounds much like sex, but this is Speed Racer, and majority of the audience is sensitive to “cooties”.  Point is, if you try to make The Wachowski Brothers do a commercial flick, they’ll do it true to their way of making movies: mind-blowing, crazy shit, and dammit, definitely awesome.

Thank God for stubborn artists.

But whereas the Wachowski’s defiant imposition of their aesthetic imprint succeeds, one can’t help but feel the lack of thematic restraint and consistency of tone in the movie. From the trailers alone, we were warned of an over the top, campy re-interpretation of an 80’s classic, but the opening act where Speed Racer races against the “ghost” of his brother is so complicatedly layered that the sudden shifts in the audience’s gears (excited during the race parts, lost during the flashbacks) is audible like a motor having trouble going uphill. It’s fun for adults, but I wonder how it’s like for kids to watch those parts.

See, while the entire audience finds a very thrilling middle ground during the racing parts, the movie’s all-demographics-encompassing tone failed at getting the best of all ages, and instead, ended up with a double flat: the jokes were too childish to make the adults laugh, and the issues were too sophisticated to reach the kids.

But all in all, Speed Racer is such an awesome eyecandy that one can’t help but surrender to the Wachowski Brothers’ vision of this 80’s racing animation. It’s fast, it’s on track, and, simply, pure fun.

Space Toon Go Go Go!!!

Iron Man

I did Watch movie at Hollywood KC wif my girlf and my buddy Usman last Monday. It’s a great origin story,  a bit formulaic, but what separates it from other superhero movies (aside from Robert Downey, Jr.’s starkly stellar performance which reminds us why we forgive all his substance abuses) is the cleverly worked in social commentary on America’s military policies.

Because it’s near the end of the day, and I’ve pretty much written tons of stuff today, I’m leaving you with a test in essay form as my way reacting to the movie:

1. Discuss the parallelisms between the Iron Man origin story (2008) and the mythical Prometheus who was punished by the gods for bringing the “fire of the gods” to the people. What is the “fire of the gods” in the movie? How is Iron Man “chained” like Prometheus, and how did he resolve this?

2. Hubris is a key element in Greek tragedy. In the movie Iron Man, America’s role as the global reinforcer (key phone here is “force”) of “peace” vis-a-vis weapons smuggling from their very own weapons manufacturing industry is portrayed. Illustrate how Tony Stark’s hubris is shown in this context.

3. Compare and Contrast: Iron Man and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, considering themes involved in both works. How is “life” defined in both instances, and how does this figure in Iron Man’s creation of his armors?

4. When are you getting your lazy asses a copy of ROLES: A Not Quite Unreal Novel ? Are you coming to the event where it will be launched, along with new titles from VPE ?

You have 15 mins. Begin now.

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Oh, also. Totally random shit. I was thinking Gwyneth was too old for her role, coz if it were up to me, I would have gotten Rachel Mc Adams for the Pepper Potts role. Then, I found out in IMDB.com that the roles was indeed offered to Rachel Mc Adams, but she declined. Wow. See, I share my instincts with Hollywood professionals!
hahhah…..!!! lol: