| speed racer |
[01 May 2008|05:41am] |
speed racer is great fun.
it's not the most cohesive in keeping you tacked to the story, and it feels like all that matters is fun and flash. at times, i felt like i was watching a very long trailer.
i haven't seen mach gogogo, so i'm not sure if the movie was just merely keep it true in its story style, or it's just the wachowkis having a day's fun with it.
to me, as a movie for story engagement and character credibility, it's low in the pits. as a piece of entertainment, i got hit.
i felt like an excited kid, almost shouting "whooooo!!!" at many points. trying to stop smiling was a challenge for sure.
the style was particularly sexy to me, almost arousal. it's a personal thing, but i love the whole kitsch vibe about it. everything is plasticky, over-hyped, and just essentially bubblegum. nothing is apologetic.
speaking of sexy, the choice of female looks is tops too, with maybe the exception of the asians in it.
i found myself mouthing "wow" several times at christina ricci. i'm sure i wasn't the only one, as my classmate – luis from spain – kept elbowing me with gust when ricci radiated the screen. she's incredibly magnetic in this one!
i thought the costume designer aced it for sure. the outfits were oozing strawberry and vanilla for the eyes. and again on ricci, her outfits were eye-poppingly refreshing and they fused with her to a T.
on the way to the movie, i was joking that we should be given freebies and that a speed racer jacket would come in handy for me. after the movie ended, i ended up really wanting the jacket. lol.
joel silver screened this for us at the warner house in london, and i think it's easily one of the sharpest projections i've ever seen. for the first few minutes, the visual fidelity was so intensely high that i almost couldn't concentrate on the story. if you can, watch this in 4K digital.
the warner house was pretty posh. past the stringent security, and after a corridor, there is a cushy lounge with a bar that serves free drinks right outside its theatre. why can't every cinema be like that? haha. then again, the warner house is an invite-only venue, so i suppose it's not fair to compare.
the sound design was brilliant. again, ketch-up with cheese wrapped in jelly. no apologies.
luis found the playback too loud, but i felt it was just right. my only complaint is that perhaps the theatre's speakers were not reproducing some of the low frequencies entirely, but i'm really just being academic on that one and that little lacking doesn't really matter.
the masterclass with silver was good too. apparently, it's very rare for people like him to appear in london for a session like this, so there was this precious quality to the session even though what he shared was perhaps the pragmatism in his work choices, rather than the revealing of any 'magic tricks'.
however, i didn't really like how some asked him things to which answers could easily be gotten from articles online – those people obviously haven't done their 'homework'. while i'm a matrix fan, i also found it tiring when people asked him about the matrix.
enjoyed the evening today. i felt a little lousy in the day because i woke up in the afternoon and didn't go to school to get any work done, but after speed racer, it was all set right.
i wish i can see speed racer in a cinema again.
meanwhile, the speed racer wallpaper and the speed racer theme song (as ring tone too) should keep me amused for a while more.
as a student in a film school, i'll probably get some flake for getting into speed racer like i do now, but.. but.. speed racer.. so cool..
time for bed. hope i wake up in time for the 1 pm recording session.
did i mention that ricci is super hot in the movie? like her character says:hubba hubba..! major thumbs for her.
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