Just saw the
trailer for Speed Racer. I think it may finally be time to turn in my geek cred because I just don't get the fuss.
One - enough with the remakes, reboots and comic book movies already. I realize the writers are on strike right now but, once that's settled, if there's still a film industry left in Hollywood, buy a fucking clue and a new idea or three.
Two - the only thing George Lucas proved with the Star Wars prequels is that green screen movies look like shit. For upwards of 2 million dollars per minute, all you get is a set that looks flat and fake and a bunch of performances that match. Movies like
The Lord of the Rings and
Gladiator work and
Attack of the Clones and
The Matrix: Revolutions tank for the same reasons Costner put up a baseball diamond in a cornfield - if you build it they will come. Real world sets not only look better on film, they draw better performances from the actors because instead of spending all their time imagining what Coruscant looks like, they're actually
acting. This is film, not a PoMo theatre arts club in the Village. It's a literal genre and most film actors simply don't have to toolkit to do their best work in a vacuum (see Natalie Portman, the entire cast of
Revolutions), they need the framework that set, props and costume provide.
Three - Matthew Fox looks like a tool in that outfit.
Four -
Speed Racer? Are you shitting me? Is there really anyone outside the Aintitcool talkbacks page who's been breathlessly waiting for a
Speed Racer movie? No wonder
Hollywood's losing money.
