Speed Racer: The Movie

[mabudon]

not blaming you at all dude, but if you don't post a tychonian rant about how awesome it is when you've finally seen it, I'll be pretty surprised, there are literally SO many awesome things in the film and I'm sure discussing them will bring out stuff that was missed by each other (awkward sentence but you should get what I mean)

[Ran]

So when I finally get around to finally seeing it, will I get it if I haven't seen the cartoons?

[mabudon]

Well, I would think so, but it might not be AS heavy for you overall- for instance the stuff I said about Racer X might be lost on a non-fan. (Hint- in the series, Racer X is actually Speeds long-"dead" brother, that's all you need to know but the impact of the way they dealt with it will be nowhere NEAR the same if you never watched the show, I can't WAIT to hear what Anarky says about it)
I would check out a few clips on youtube to get a rough idea of what it was all about cos as Nark said above somewheres every episode is the same fuckin thing with different cars and villains


You might think it's a tad silly, but it's totally supposed to be exactly like it is

[anarky]

My rant won't be Tychonian either way. I plan to not have it ignored.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I think it's not doing so well because all the advance info was reviews by pros who need to get the sticks out of their asses. Word of mouth will definitely help this one. I can't believe it almost lost to that fucking stupid Asshole Kutcher movie.

Indubitably that is the case. Lisa Shwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly clearly had a joyless childhood. I don't know how she keeps drawing all the fun comic movies to review, but it's fun and shes missing the point entirely. Cow.

[anarky]

Everyone bitched about the lack of character development and a strong story, and the emphasis on racing. A few complained about dumb shit like the guy actually being named Speed Racer.

Do you fucktards understand what an adaptation is?

Are you like the studio exec who was reading the proposal for the 30 Days of Night adaptation and asked why it had to be set in Alaska instead of one of the continental states? (I've not seen that movie, and it looks bad, but, fuck, that has got to be one of the dumbest comments ever made!)

[Double_G]

I saw the movie tonight. I didn't go ape-shit over it, but I thought it was pretty good. I've only seen about three or so episodes of the cartoon as a kid, but I barely remember anything about them besides the theme song. Though here's an interesting note that some of you may find cool. About six years ago, when my mom worked as a Hospice nurse, she took care of the mother of Pete Fernandez, the voice of Speed and Racer X in the original series (and the first race announcer in this movie). I was given an autographed copy of a Speed Racer book (an episode guide with production notes, I believe) by him. I actually spoke with him on the phone as well to thank him. Really nice guy. Anyways, on to the movie:

I loved Racer X. He was the ultimate badass in this movie. I enjoyed every second of his screentime. It sucks that there may not be a sequel due to its poor box office gross, but I would have loved to see his story arc continue.

All of the race scenes kicked ass, but I especially loved the Casa Cristo race through the desert and the canyons. The Grand Prix race at the end was cool too.

The cast did a spectacular job. The ones that stood out most for me were John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox. Seriously, after how badass he was as Racer X, he needs to be in a superhero movie. He would have made a good Batman, but Christian Bale's already got that down pat. Captain America, perhaps?

The only thing I didn't like about the movie, surprisingly, was not the running time. No, it was goddamn Royalton monologuing to Speed about boring goddamn business for ten minutes. Jesus, this is a kid's movie! Nobody even wants to hear that monotonous dialogue in R-rated movies!

Spritle was close to Jake Lloyd levels of annoyingness at times, but I'm willing to forgive that due to the scene where he flipped off Royalton. And Chim-Chim was the balls.

I can't believe it almost lost to that fucking stupid Asshole Kutcher movie.

Actually...it did.

http://www.imdb.com/chart/

[anarky]

So, uh, what are the real numbers? Different sites are reporting different takes.

[Double_G]

So, uh, what are the real numbers? Different sites are reporting different takes.

I'm guessing somewhere between $18-$20 million.

[anarky]

I see that now. So the first estimates were wrong, and then the second estimates were wrong. If these goddamned numbers are so important, how about waiting to report them until you know something?

I really loathe the exaggerated importance of first-week sales. Yeah, movies aren't around in the theaters as long as they could be, because 28 of the 30 screens at the multiplex have to show the same first-week movie , but don't DVD sales count for a lot?

[vynsane]

nothing to be said that hasn't already been said. it was a blast! i still find iron man a tad more fun, but i'm by no means upset that i spent the money on it. nice escapism. and racer x was the balls.

sprittle and chim chim were supposed to be annoying, and they did the job.

from the wife's perspective she said it was a "weird movie" and a "boys movie" and liked iron man much more.

[Rollo Tomassi]

I see that now. So the first estimates were wrong, and then the second estimates were wrong. If these goddamned numbers are so important, how about waiting to report them until you know something?

I really loathe the exaggerated importance of first-week sales. Yeah, movies aren't around in the theaters as long as they could be, because 28 of the 30 screens at the multiplex have to show the same first-week movie , but don't DVD sales count for a lot?

Hollywood is very anachronistic when reporting reciepts and whether a movie is "successful". They look at the cost of the Production vs. the cost of the Domestic Box office, which goes back to a time when the only place you could see movies was in the theatre. They are literally DECADES behind the times. They don't factor marketing into the final cost of the film(because in the olden day, marketing was a few dozen posters printed which probably set the studio back a couple grand at most), and they don't take post cinema sales into account ( DVD, downloads, cable/basic TV rights). And until VERY recently, they considered a movie that grossed $100 mil over the entire theatre run a "blockbuster". It's all a bit silly.

[anarky]

About eight hours to the race....

The local theater cut this back to five showings in one auditorium. Iron Man appears to still be in three, and Prince Caspian is in three. What Happened to Fucking Stupid-Ass Asshole Kutcher is in two theaters.

It's kinda odd, if you think about it. WHIV isn't going to pick up viewers this week. Speed Racer, however, seems to be getting largely positive buzz from normal people who aren't critics. However, it can't improve too much overall, since the number of showings is cut down. While WHIV is probably going to be close to empty in every showing.

Rollo, you're right about how fucking stupid this business is. They're obviously basing the number of showings on last week's numbers. I'm willing to bet Speed outdoes those two fugly bitches (one of whom is supposedly a dude who bangs Demi Moore, proving that she's a lesbian) and that the Top Four will be this:

1) Prince Caspian (or possibly Iron Man)
2) Iron Man (or possibly Prince Caspian)
3) Speed Racer
4) maybe What Happens in Vegas -- I dunno if anything else is opening to go up against it and knock it into fourth

[Double_G]

Analysts are predicting "Prince Caspian" will open in the $70-$80 million range, so I think it's a safe bet to say that will knock "Iron Man" from the top spot. As for "Speed Racer", I'm curious to see what business it does this weekend. But it doesn't really matter in the long run. They're all fucked when "Indy" comes out next week.

[anarky]

Finally saw this tonight, as you all know.

This did not meet with my expectations. Sorry.

I expected this movie to be good.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THIS MOVIE IS THE MOST FUN I'VE HAD IN THE THEATER SINCE RETURN OF THE JEDI IN 198MOTHERFUCKING3!!

If I were told I could watch this again, but I'd first have to cut off my left foot and feed it to a crocodile, brother, I'd spend the rest of my life with a limp. Even Mrs A, who went in somewhat grudgingly and knowing next to nothing about Speed Racer, came out immediately saying she wanted to see it again in the theater! And I've told you what a rigamarole and expense that is!

Fuck, this is the way to make an adaptation!

Are we okay to spoilerize now?

I really loved the angle they took with Racer X. It makes Speed less of a moron to figure things out on his own. Not a moron at all, in fact. And it makes Rex's tale more tragic while actually giving him a reason to wear the mask. Even up to the end, I was wondering if he'd reveal the truth to his family as part of the happy ending.

I cannot think of a single part of the film I would change. It is that good. Scratch that, it is that perfect. Among other things, it had the best action sequences I think I've ever seen, the absolutely best fight scene ever made (it wasn't realistic, but who cares? it fucking ROCKED!!), and probably some of the best cinematography ever committed to film. The Matrix movies were just warmup. This is the Wachowskis shining.

I think every critic who panned this movie needs to be killed. I'm not going to mince words and say something clever about them. They are wasting my oxygen with their stupidity. They should play in traffic.

When I was done, I turned to the guy next to me. He was moshing right there. I said, "You liked this movie?" He said, "Fuck yeah! I created the goddamn universe and this here is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Then I looked, and it was Jesus. And he headbutted me. And I headbutted him back. This movie kicked so much that I headbutted the supreme being!

One question though: I noticed Karbala in the credits, but didn't see him. Where was he?