Movie of the week shot(s) 3 & 4:

Fire


Water

I think i'm turning Japanese...

In order to complete Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek's viewings of all Sean Connery Bond films (she has seen all the good ones) I am suffering through "You Only Live Twice." Oh Sean Connery, I am glad it was a big check.

Movie of the week shot #2

Shot #2:


Air

Final Akbar Cinemas for 2009

This weekend will be the final showing of my successful Saturday night movie series for 2009. 2010 will continue the fine tradition but we decided to ring our 2009 with a classic boom. A big bada boom.

Shot #1: Earth

On Bruno and Silent Bob

Last night Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I watched the 3rd Q&A session with Kevin Smith. For those unfamiliar this series is just him on a stage taking questions from audience members and telling funny and interesting stories about life in the movie biz and randomness in the world of Kevin Smith. If you are a fan of Kevin Smith (and especially like his film commentaries) then I recommend these films.



In last nights viewing he tells of his time working on Die Hard 4 and dealing with Bruce Willis. Bruce has a bit of an ego and is a bit hard to work with and Kevin figured after he was done was over and he wouldn't be dealing with Bruce again. He then mentions later on the 4th of July he got a call from Bruce to which Bruce said "You are from Jersey. I'm from Jersey. You write and direct. I act. We should do something together sometime." Kevin was floored but he figured he had nothing that he could make that Bruce would ever want to be in.

But then it dawned on me. A sequel to Unbreakable written and directed by Kevin Smith. The boy knows how to write some great comic books. And Unbreakable was a great example of how superheroes could exist in the real world. It will probably never see the light of day but this movie geek would love to see it happen. Fate, get to work on that.

final goemon shots

(please click through to see them all big and beautiful)

Todays Goemon

I've upped the res for the rest of the shots I will be posting so I suggest clicking through to see it in full screen awesomness.


(the sword says "Beneath Heaven")


(I am still researching what this sword says)

todays Goemon and a theory.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is simply a remake of Better Off Dead.

Discuss.

Todays Goemon pic

Goemon-Screen cap

I had a great time posting cool screen shots from Blade Runner two weeks ago so I am going to continue with my weekly movie. This weeks Movie: Goemon.(trailer here )



bonus:

New Addition to the Theatre

My home theater is an ever evolving process. Each new step and addition to the overall room adds more levels of awesomeness to my entertainment space. The latest addition is not so much to enhance films but to enhance the room when in between, before and after them. When we don't want to bring up the full house lights, but want to be able to see more than the low level theater light.

I give you, the new light.



This is mounted on the west wall of the theatre between the slider and window.

Here are a couple of close ups of the cool light patterns.







And here is what it looks like in regular light.



This is only v 1.0 of this light. I plan on tweaking it up a bit for better light direction. But overall a success!

Technical specs:
3/4" re-claimed cedar siding cut to 4" x 32" that is french cleated to the wall
Lights: 50 strand blue LED xmas lights mounted on pegs at each end
Cover: 1/8" frosted plastic sheet

Geish eating candy/taking pill on Video Billboard: "Meeeeeeeeeeei koto kyuuuuuuuuuuuuunn*"




*Translation:

Well, really I have no idea what it truly says. But my awesome friend Billy and I would always joke around that what she is really saying is "taaaaaaaaaaake ouuuur druuuuuuuuuuuuugs!"

"Is this to be an empathy test?"

"Death; ah..well that's a little out of my jurisdiction."

To celebrate Blade Runner I am offering a daily quote and screen shot of one of my favorite films of all time.*

Here is yesterdays and todays.

"Have you ever retired a Human by mistake?"



"Lo fa, ne-ko shi-ma, de va-ja Blade... Blade Runner."







*I do prefer the original theatrical cut over any other version, but all have their merits.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars

Last night across the pond our lovely friends at the BBC released the 3rd to last David Tennant episode of Doctor Who (supposedly at xmas we are getting a 2 parter) and I must say that we are once again watching greatness. While I have my issues with RTD and many of his dues ex like endings he pulls out of no where sometimes these last episodes of the Doctor in action have been amazing. I really can't talk about much of the plot or ongoing story without spoiling it at all so I am gonna just say, watch it and you will not be disappointed. David pulls out some of his best work in an amazing script. It is hard hitting and ends up being one of the darkest episodes that is leads us right into the end.

I will add that this latest episode also adds more fuel to the fire of my theory of the future of Doctor Who. More on my theory here. I will add this additional evidence to this theory in this original post at the bottom so don't look if you dont want to be spoiled.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Got a chance to visit (of what I imagine to be the last time) the Battlestar Galactica universe this weekend with a viewing of the new film "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan"



Viewers who have not finished the original series should not watch this movie until they have. While all events in this film take place very early in the series, it reveals all of the Cylon Models and takes away that suprise if you haven't experienced them yet. Also, with out background of much of the Cylon reasoning for their actions, most of the film will be lost.

What we were given was a wonderful Appendix to the Galactica story and one that focuses primarily on the Cylons and their actions. We see more of the attack on the colonies. More of survivors on Caprica and many questions that were left somewhat unanswered are dealt with in acceptable manners. Edward James Olmos (Commander Adama) went behind the camera again and directed a tight piece that at times felt disjointed but at the end it all came together perfectly.

Some fans might consider this appendix to be a retconn or just made up to fill holes that the story was too weak to earlier explain. To them I say hogwash, you guys are just bitter that the ending of Galactica wasn't what you wanted it to be. Me, I felt it was perfect.

mini movie review:

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Well I will say this for sure, it did not fail at being GI Joe.

The military tech was cool. The story was...well, it was. But its GI freaking Joe.

Lack of education scares me

During this weeks Top Chef, Natalie Portman guest starred as a judge. One of the younger chefs in a off camera comment proclaimed:

"Wow I get to cook for Natalie Portman. The only important thing she ever did was Star Wars and really thats all that matters."

o_O

The only important thing she as ever done? How about a little thing in her career called Leon (aka The Professional)?

The state of today's youth. Makes a man weep.

Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek even yelled at the TV "Oh my god... I would totally punch that guy if he said that to me"

Review Dump

Been watching a few random things lately so here two mini reviews.

Adam and Steve

A quirky indie film about a gay couple in NY who had a disastrous* first date in 1987 and then met again in 2004. Way more entertaining than I thought it was going to be and for the first time ever Chris Kattan made me not want to put my fist through his face. The film unfortunately plays into a few too many gay stereotypes but manages to make them fairly funny. It does manage to take a step into surreal territory with a Gay Cowboy Dance Off near the end of the film that still has me wondering what the hell I just saw.

JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out

*I wont spoil how disastrous this date was. Its shocking nature worked in the film and should be experienced with eyes open.


Where the Wild Things Are

Let me get this out of the way right now. If you loved the book when you were a kid, do not fear this film will touch, alter, or change your love of the original book. The book and the film are not even in the same ball game. So in the book we have Max. A difficult child who gets sent to his room and then imagines a world where superb monsters live and he becomes their king and great monstrous things happen. Right there is where the similarities between the two end.

Visually the film does not disappoint. The monsters are exactly as the should be as if Sendak himself drew them on screen. The combination of practical and CGI for the beasts is amazing. The monsters island while quite desolate works perfectly and allows Max and his monsters to frolic as should be. The only thing that bothered me was that none of the monsters sounded like they were beasts. They all sounded like humans inside. At first this bothered me but when I realized what Jonze (director) and Eggers (screen writer) were doing with this story it all fell into place.

The film expands upon the 9 sentence long children's book by taking numerous points of Max's Id and transferring them to each monster. Dealing with many issues that children must face the monsters represent all that Max can't handle. This is not a film for children. At least not young ones that the book is normally targeted to. Whereas Terry Gilliam gave us the Imagination Trilogy with Time Bandits, Brazil and Munchasen I would say that Where the Wild Things are goes hand in hand with Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind as Jonze's own foray into the way mans mind works.

JUST A MOVIE GEEK Recommendation: Check it out but put aside all feelings you may have towards the original book

One of my fellow younger co-workers was severely lacking in some classic geek cinema so I felt I was required to help set him straight.

After loaning him a few titles he came back to me today with an ecstatic grin loving what I had given him.

Film 1: The Last Starfighter

He was amazed at the level of decent CGI for being a film from the 80s and found its innocent plot to be worthy of the praise. Success!

His favorite bit?

Alex Rogan: Wait a minute. We knock out the turret to get the fighters. But to get to the turret, we gotta get THROUGH the fighters. We're dead.
Grig: I'll have it all figured out by the time we reach the Frontier.
[alarm sounds and Grig's face falls]
Alex Rogan: What's that?
Grig: The Frontier.


I will report back on his findings on the other films I have loaned him but it warms this movie geeks heart to be able to share the cinematic love.

For the future of Doctor Who

The following is posted as speculation/theory only. More than likely I am reading way too much into things but I believe I am onto something.

If you are a fan of the new Doctor Who, then you probably know by now that David Tennant only has a few more goes in him this year as the Doctor. Next year we will be given new adventures with the "11th" Doctor.

However, I am not convinced that we will actually be seeing the 11th Doctor at all. My feeling is that we will be seeing the 1st Doctor again and that the BBC is "rebooting" the whole show.

Let's review some facts that have led me to this line of thinking.

FACT 1: "The Doctor's Song is ending" The Ood told him this, as did the psychic woman in "The Planet of the Dead." Now, this can mean many things but it pointing to the Doctor finally dying and not regenerating could easily be considered. And with SPOILER the rumored return of John Simm in the final Tennant episode END SPOILER who else could kill him completely.

FACT 2: The new actor playing the Doctor is the youngest ever. Normally this wouldn't give me pause since the age of the actors from Doctor to Doctor has varied over the last 40+ years. But take a look at the following shot of him from the set:



Wearing what I call a "1950's professor chic" look, Matt Smith gives us an interesting look for this incarnation. It just seems younger and more representative of the time when Doctor Who first aired.

FACT 3: The TARDIS looks shiny and new. Another shot from the set:



Technically, one could easily theorize that the Doctor has repaired the long broken chameleon circuit and makes the box look a bit nicer but still retaining it's classic look. But one could also theorize that this TARDIS was recently stolen from the Time Lords and doesn't have many miles on it.

FACT 4: A certain symbol is back on the TARDIS.

Take a look at this shot of the original first doctor and his TARDIS:



Now, look at this close up of the new TARDIS:



That is the St. Johns Ambulance symbol that was only on the first Doctors TARDIS.

OTHER POINTS OF SPECULATION:

SPECULATION 1: The Sonic Screwdriver looks a bit "retro"



Again, could easily be considered a new Doctor makes a new driver (wouldn't be the first time) but the potential for a younger Doctors tool is there.

SPECULATION 2: It's now the 21st century, everything changes. Captain Jack's famous lines from the opening of Torchwood. And after everything the earth has gone through recently (Cybermen/Dalek, Children of Earth aliens, Daleks moving the earth across the Galaxy) I think it is safe to assume that the earth of Doctor Who is well aware they are no longer alone in the universe. This changes everything in how the story progresses. The Doctor is no longer a secret myth, everyone can know about him. Not much potential for good storytelling there in my opinion. As grand as RTD's stories have been these last few years, they do seem to write themselves into a corner. Moving the show back into "the past" has potential.


SPECULATION 3: If we are to accept the mythos that a Time Lord only has 13 re-gens available that means we only have 3 more Doctors to see. The BBC could very easily be looking ahead at its most popular property and sees a need for a reboot to protect the life of the franchise.


So all in all I have no idea what truly is going to happen. This is all theoretical based off of what I am seeing from set photos only and my own imagination. What ever direction the show goes I am excited to see it and can't wait.


ADDENDUM:

The following additional speculation is based off of the 15/11/09 airing of the episode of Doctor Who "The Waters of Mars" the following is considered spoiler based off of this episode.

SPECULATION 4:

At the end of the episode "The Waters of Mars" the Doctor starts to go a little nutty. He is upset with viewing so many "fixed" points in time and not being able to do anything about it so he decides to take time and fate into his own hands and becoming a walking god. Due to the actions of one "stupid ape" he is then shocked to realize that perhaps he can't change things at all. But I do not see this happening. I feel he is going to continue on this path. With the final episodes being labeled as "The End of Time" and now with confirmed proof of the return of the Master (he who will knock 4 times) I feel we are on course for a major cataclysm in the universe of Doctor Who that can result in a reboot of the franchise. Or something along those lines.

RIP Patrick Swazye

You will be missed Patrick. You taught me how to never put Baby in the corner, guided me to always catch the ultimate wide and passed the greatest knowledge of "its your way...or the highway."

I share with you the best honor ever for any actor. To be honored on the Satellite of Love.

Ponyo. Ponyo. Ponyo.

Miyazaki once again hits one out of the park.




While I tend to love his older films more than his newer ones, Hayao Miyazaki always manages to pull off an amazing feat of an animated film. His latest offering, "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" gives us an interesting take on the whole "little mermaid" story infused with his grand style and amazing visuals. Story wise it is a fairly simple one (especially compared to other deeper films he has done) but it makes up for that in a unique and captivating visual style. I managed to catch the original Japanese version so I can't speak for the english dub that is in theaters right now but for a visual treat alone I highly recommend this film. Just remember, when you see the water in this movie remember that Miyzaki likes to hand draw every key frame. Every one.

Check out this nice little animated gif (courtesy of the FourFour blog) from the film

a grave injustice has occurred....we must correct it.

Came across this last night in Wil Wheaton's blog. Spooky indeed:

(after recanting the strangeness he felt as a 12 year old promoting Stand By Me)

"I've always said that Stand By Me was so successful because Rob cast four young actors who were so much like their characters, but I think it's spooky how the four of us ended up being so much like our characters: River died too young, Corey struggled like crazy to get his personal demons under control, Jerry found success and happiness, and I'm a writer."

Wow.

And then of course I realized that I have never seen all of Stand By Me.

A child of the 80s and I have not reveled in its greatness properly. I am fairly certain I have seen every bit of the film, just never all at once in a proper showing. That will be rectified soon in a future Akbar Cinema showing.

How I got over my fear or I how I learned to stop worrying and embrace the freakin undead

The horror genre has never been one I have really enjoyed. Some of it I can respect but one in general just has never done a thing for me. And I really wouldn't call it a fear of them either. I just never really found any interest in them at all.

I speak of course of the Zombie.

Two films recently have allowed me to actually enjoy a Zombie flick and possibly see what other see and love in the Mortuus Vivens * genre.

Film #1:

Fido (2006)



Check out the opening "educational film" from the movie that sets up the world. After seeing this I knew I was in for a treat.

Fido-Edit-Uncompressed_agk
Uploaded by akbar56. -

From there the movie is your standard "boy and his dog" story about a boy and his pet Zombie (who he of course names Fido.) But when Fido eats the next-door neighbor the boy has to go to the ends of the earth to keep Fido a part of the family.
This black comedy allowed me to experience Zombies on an acceptable level and have a good laugh.

Film #2:
Shaun of the Dead (2004)



After being a huge fan of this groups other outings (Spaced and Hot Fuzz) I still had not ventured into their Zombie parody/homage. Luckily Fido had opened my eyes and I decided it was finally time to see it.

Wow.

Their homage/parody style was well defined for me by Hot Fuzz so I was ready for that. So many details are layered in this film you can just see they put forth maximum effort. For example, early on in the film while the main character is riding the bus a kid sits in front of him listening to techno on his walkman. The song? Zombie Nation by kernkraft 400. Cute.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the basic plot:

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

While I had been enjoying the film all along the way, there was one point later on that fully sold me on it's awesomeness. I will let you enjoy the scene in it's entirety. Spoiler I guess for those who haven't seen it, the main cast does have to fight against zombies. There, I ruined it for you ;)

(Unfortunately, Youtube and Dailymotion both seem to not want to show my nice HQ verison of this scene so all I can offer you is this low res/bad audio version. It will still suffice.)



After that moment I was sold.

Unfortunately, shortly after this scene the beyond believable gore started. It was then I discovered what I don't like about zombies (and most horror) is. I wouldn't really call myself squeamish, but there is just something about horror gore that turns me away from it. However, I was able to look past it and enjoy the rest of the film quite well.


Spoiler for end of the film: Now, for those who have seen Shaun of the Dead you may be looking at the opening intro to Fido and thinking that looks very familiar. Yes, SotD does end very similarly. It would be silly to think Fido wasn't influenced by that but I would like to think they took the general concept in a great direction on their own. Coupling it with a 1950s idyllic life and the "red/zombie" scare was genius.








*Yes Mom, the latin for Zombies is technically wrong.

damn you copyright infringement

Well there would have been a big update today but youtube decided that one of my clips was too copyrighted so they pulled it. Hopefully I can find somewhere else that will allow me to host the video and not take it down and I can continue the post.

Quick review time:

Young Guns- Decent, but no where near as good as I remembered it from when I was 13. A viewing of Young Guns II will have to take place.

Pump up the Volume- I had never seen it before (I still don't know how that happened) and for the most part I found it enjoyable when viewed as a film from the early 90s. But today it's message seems still vital but our technological jumps in the last 17 years really date the film.

Legend of 1900- Got a chance to watch the full directors cut. Still a great film and the directors cut fleshes out so much more. Got to share it with a good friend and it was a fun treat to watch her totally get sucked into the narrative. If you have only seen the 2 hour US cut of the film, you are missing about 40 minutes of film. I highly recommend seeing it if you have a chance.

Men With Brooms- Yes, I have watched this film a thousand times but I still stand by it's awesomeness. Curling is truly the greatest sport. I offer this quote from the main character:

"It's forty-two pounds of polished granite, beveled under belly and a handle a human being can hold. And it may have no practical purpose in itself...but it is a repository of human possibility...and if it's handled just right, it will exact a kind of poetry..."

A moment of silence please

A great auteur has left us.

-You let me see Molly Ringwalds panties.
-You gave me the confidence that even dorky geeks can get girls (via a computer created lifeform of course)
-You gave me the great life advice that when sharing a bed with a stranger, your hand is probably NEVER between two pillows.

You will be missed John Hughes

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

no relief in sight

For the first time ever, watching "Mystery, Alaska" failed to psychosomatically make me cooler in this August heat.

Perhaps I have grown immune to its magical cooling power. Still a great underdog sports movie.

The last four days have been a wonderful blur. A one night visit by one of my most awesomest friends (the Unstoppable force known as Hudson) turned into a four day visit. This extra visit allowed me to share some awesome entertainment.

1. Green Lantern: First Flight



DC comics lately has been doing some direct to video, PG13ish rated comic book animated movies. This new outing has continued the excellence. If you are familiar at all with the tale of the Green Lantern (and espcially Hal Jordan) then nothing here will be new, but it will be very well presented and is a great ride. I will let the trailer speak for the rest of this.



Green Lantern has always been to me the ultimate blend of Comic Book hero and Sci Fi world. Green Lantern: First Flight is a great tale and I hope that DC actually continues with more stories in this world.

2. Time Crimes (Los Cronocrímenes)



We here at Just Another Movie Geek headquarters are huge fans of time travel. As much as Quantum Mechanics sometimes gives me a headache, I thoroughly enjoy the discussions Dr. Mrs J.A.M.G. and I have afterwards. So it seemed appropriate that I choose a time travel movie to open up Akbar Cinemas.

This is one of those time travel movies that really just has to be experienced. In fact, I don't even recommend checking out the trailers (since they give way too much away) and just check it out. I would put it on par with 12 Monkeys but with a European slant to it's story. Warning: Some of the crowd last night thought it was a slight bit too suspense/thriller so keep that in mind.

Cross one more off of the "why have I never seen this?" list

Didn't watch many new movies this last week. Most of this week was spent elsewhere, or enjoying high def versions of older films (Highlander has NEVER looked this good, Speed Racer continues to be awesome.) Dr Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I did happen to watch one new to us film, and it is one that I am ashamed to admit I had never seen.*

The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen



Terry Gilliams final film in his loosely connected "state of imagination" trilogy (Time Bandits and Brazil being the others) we are given one more grand adventure where the lines between what is real and what is fantasy are constantly crossed and blurred. A fun film but at the same time it took a serious look at what it means to become old and still wish one was useful. As usual Gilliam creates a fantastic world that is a joy to experience. Excellent cast and great cameos from Robin Williams, Oliver Reed and even a very young Uma Thurman.


*I am not quite sure why I never saw this one. The only thing I can figure is it came out at that awkward time in my teenage years (I was 13) when I thought I had to put away childish things and be an adult. Glad that idea didn't stick.

Akbar Cinemas 2.0 leads to cuddly supernovas

Another quick lengthy update here at Just Another Movie Geek re-capping what was enjoyed over the weekend. As some of you know Akbar Cinemas upgraded late last week to a 52" rear projection HDtv. This weekend I wanted to put the unit through it's paces and ran a wide gamut of entertainment through it.

Movie #1:Stir Crazy


Growing up the parents were always fans of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. Silver Streak got alot of airplay and random solo gigs from each did as well, but there was one earlier film of theirs that I had never seen. After viewing the film, I can tell why. A large amount of foul language and some nudity (ah the late 70's, my favorite decade for on screen boobies) would have already kept my parents from sharing it with me but in the end I realized it would have mostly been that this was not a film my parents would have enjoyed. And that is just sad because it was a laugh riot. It was clear that the script was just a loose guideline for filming and Gene and Richard were just allowed to ad-lib much of their performance.

Media viewing specs: DVD through upscaled DVD player connected with Component outputs. Result: Probably the best a 30 year old film with a fairly basic transfer rate could possibly look.

Movie #2: Wing Commander


I make no apologies, this film is not good. It was a huge endeavor to turn a huge video game franchise into a film franchise. it failed badly, but for it's noble effort (and the production design I really dig) I enjoy it. High upon my guilty pleasure list, it seemed like a fitting film to watch at midnight on a friday night.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: Looked really decent actually. The blackness of space came across fairly clear and not muddled.

Show #1: Torchwood-Children of Earth


I am not going to spoil this one at all for those who haven't seen it yet (maybe next week I will do some deep analysis) but they really hit it out of the park on this one. Deciding instead of a full season and doing a 5 part mini-series, the BBC gave us a fantastic SciFi story. Everything I have come to love about this darker spin off of Doctor Who got covered here. Humor, dark scifi, drama, pathos, and everything else that comes with hanging around Captain Jack Harkness was brought together very well.

Media viewing specs: 720p avi files through DVI connection on computer. Result: Who knew Gwen Cooper had so many freckles!

Movie #3: Sharpe's Peril


Episode 16 in a long line of action/adventure films based upon a series of novels set in the Napoleonic Wars (and beyond). 2 films ago saw what we thought would be the end of the characters film story. Ending with the defeat of Napoleon would have been appropriate but the producers decided to keep going and tell us some tales of Sharpe in India in 1817. While this and the last film had their share of good action and an excellent performance (as always) from Sean Beane, the story in these has been a bit lacking. The character is getting old and isn't bringing to the table what he always did. There is talk of doing at least one more Sharpe film and I would hope they make it the last and send him out appropriately.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: Source already was a bit washed out and compressing it down didn't help any. However, it looked quite good and artifacting was kept to a minimum.

Show #3: Stargate Atlantis


While I was doing some computer work and Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek wanted to play with some Lego, I threw on this scifi staple of ours as background.

Media viewing specs: Compressed avi through DVI connection on computer. Result: These episodes are a little more compressed than others and artifacts were noticeable. However, not so much that is a bother and the quality of the image was just fine.

Movie #4: Speed Racer


After we got done with Sharpe's Peril sunday evening, the Mrs. decided to go read in bed and I decided to stay up some more. I needed some more background film material that I could leave running and dive into it at any moment in between the little projects I was working on. Well, that didn't work so well as I once again got sucked into this magnificent film.

Now, (for those who haven't seen it) you might be saying: Magnificent film you say? But its only Speed Racer! How can something as simple and cheesy as Speed Racer be magnificent? All I can say is, trust me... this film is pure genius. I would even put it up on my top 5 greatest films of all time list. It is such a good film, that it has allowed me to forgive the Wachosk'is for the 2nd and 3rd Matrix films. It is that good.

Reasoning for being such a fine film:
1: It is the perfect adaptation.
When jumping mediums (ie comic book to film, stage to film, etc.) you always run a certain amount of risk that something from it's primary medium is not going to translate well. Some film makers try too hard to make it work and we are given mediocre results. Or, in an attempt to make the world more "real" certain aspects from the original source are missing or just plain don't work in the new medium. In this, Speed Racer excels. Nothing was changed from the original anime concept, all the characters and themes presented before were re-created to a delicious level. Sure most characters were over the top to begin with, but that is part of their beauty. Even the littlest of details (like how Pops Racer used to be a champion professional Greco-Roman wrestler or how SPOILER how we all know Racer X is actually Speed's older brother but the story requires us to always pretend he isn't and allow him to hide) are portrayed properly. In addition to the characters, the world created is so outlandish and colorful it exists truly in an animated realm. However, the level of attention and detail presented works on every level possible.

2: Not a plot hole in sight.
Now, if you are a regular reader you know I take plot holes fairly seriously. (see my rant about the new Star Trek for an example) I can forgive some minor plot holes but huge holes that pull me out of the movie when simple logic fails the narrative really bother me. I have yet to find fault in this films plot. Some might claim that since it is Speed Racer it has a really simple plot but the script actually has some depth to it.

3. It's a visual treat.
Films are primarily a visual medium. It's up to the director to keep it minimal, realistic or hyper realistic. Where as Star Trek went over the top with the shaky cam and forcing lights into your face at ever turn, Speed Racer went with the hyper-realistic approach and gave us such a vivid colorful world that every frame is filled with goodness and beauty. This beauty gives the viewer the desire to see the film again to soak in all of the little details and feel the love that went into its creation. (for example, a military themed racing team's sponsor is "Semper Fi-ber Dietary Supplements)

4. Casting.
Spot on. There is not a single character in the film who is out of place and does not distract. Even (actually especially) ChimChim the helper monkey.

I could continue to gush about this film, but Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek has reminded me that I am a bit obsessed with it so I will leave it at that.

Media viewing specs: Blueray disc through DVI connection to computer. Result: Holy hell, its like my eyes were painted with candy fueled by the power of cuddly supernovas dipped in Sake and served by red-headed, green skinned wenches wearing lederhosen.

Writers Block becomes Johnny Love

This post was supposed to be a huge recap of my birthday movie marathon. Unfortunately, every time I sat down to write it writers block would get the best of me.

For now, just a quick update from yesterdays cinema* outing:

Public Enemies



Took Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek to see her number one Boyfriend Johnny Depp (back off ladies, he belongs to her.) Directed by Micheal Mann we were given a very fascinating look into the life of John Dillinger. The film hits upon all of the "high" points of his famous bank robbing career (even if it takes some liberties with a few historical details.) However, for Mann I felt this was a rather subdued effort from him.** Christian Bale pops up as the FBI agent leading the hunt for Dillinger but manages to give a rather non-memorable performance. Don't take that badly though, I feel he and the director did that on purpose for the single fact alone that this is Johnny's movie, and he shines throughout. Even for Mann I felt there was an abundance of extreme close ups on Mr. Depp and allowed us to just fall into his man beauty***. And boy have those lips have never been more succulent. First thing I mentioned to Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek walking out of the film was "yep...I would go totally gay for him." The only draw back I felt in the film was within the script itself. In a desire to cover as much detail in Dillinger's life, I felt his standing as a almost Robin Hood like character were glossed over. SPOILER (kinda): At one point in the film Dillinger is arrested and being driven to the prison. The streets are lined with his fans cheering him on but at no point in the film are we ever given any reason as to why this is. For anyone unfamiliar with the actual history of this case, the script falls short.


Dr. Mrs Just Another Movie Geek adds:

I agree, the script could have gone into more detail as to why the public loved him. There could have been more to the love scene or more of them.

There was this beautiful line: (paraphrased)

(seeing girl in the bathtub)

Johnny: You look like you could use some company?
Girl: Why dont you and Prince Albert get in here then?

I also agree this film was all about Johnny, and I think that is a good thing. If one is looking for an action movie I would not say that this is it. Yes there were quite a few shoot outs, but that was not the intention of the movie. I think if you are an adult and like more subtlety and finesse to your movie going experience, this is a great choice.



*I will admit that I have fallen out of love with the "cinema" experience for all the usual cases (price, commercials, people, etc..) and most discussions here at JAMG are from my home theater experience. However, the local AMC at the mall has early (before 10am) showings for cheaper so I have decided that is the only way I will actually go to a theater for the most part. (The Big Picture (for booze) and Cinerama (for "big" films) witstanding)

**After Miami Vice I think he felt he needed to dial things back a bit and let this one carry itself. It was a fine film, but it just didn't have that normal "oomph" that I usually get from Mr. Mann.

***Oh man the closeups. Mann is still in love with his HD cameras and it truly shows. If you ever wanted to be able to count the pores on Johnny's nose, or see Christian Bale's razor burn ...this is the film for you.

What a weekend!

Just Another Movie Geek Headquarters was proud this weekend to partner with Akbar Cinemas (aka my redesigned living room) to host the first annual Movie Marathon.

12 hours.
5 movies.
10 people (total spread out over the day)

Perfection was met.

Pictures of the "theater" and a more detailed review/crowd reaction of each film will follow here later this week. For now, just wanted to throw up quick post as to what we watched. The overall unifying theme to my marathon was "Fun" As it turns out (as we will review later) there were alot of unplanned but amazing sychronicity between the films.

Films: (presented in their viewing order)

Castle of Cagliostro


(one of my all time favorite Animes)


Big Trouble in Little China


(easily one of the greatest action films ever made)

The Good, The Bad and The Weird


(my new obsession film)

Iron Man


(comic book personified perfection)

Mystery Film:

????

I think I am going to reserve revealing this until the full review comes up. It was well received at the marathon so that made me very happy.


Then on Sunday, Dr. Mrs. Just Another Movie Geek and I gave the theater a second run and watched:

Galaxy Quest


Still hilarious and STILL a better Star Trek film than that recent waste of celluloid.

Outlander


Way better than its concept should have let it be. Alien Monster, Spaceman and Vikings. Really, what more could you have asked for?

The Muppet Movie


We decided to bring the Lego out and needed some back ground noise to carry us along. The film seemed like a perfect way to go.