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Speed Racer - 2008 (Blu Ray)
The biggest bomb of the summer has come home and I’m surprised to say I loved it. Be warned that this IS a kid’s movie so if you are incapable of enjoying movies aimed at that demographic don’t bother. For anyone else, Speed Racer is an amazing ride. This is the Wachowski Brothers first film (not counting V For Vendetta which I still suspect they ghost directed) since The Matrix Revolutions and I’m happy to report that beneath the stunning visuals there is a solid movie.
Speed Racer follows titular adolescent race car driver Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) and his family as they are courted by a nefarious race promoter. During the race sequences multiple cars careen around the track spinning all over the road, jumping over each other, and trying to survive race tracks that are right out of a video game. These sequences are fully computer animated and they look like it. The cars don’t have as much weight as they should, which is about the only bad thing I can say about the race scenes. These races are absolutely spectacular and in high definition the visuals will cause your jaw to drop multiple times.
In fact the entire movie is worth owning simply for the visuals alone. I’ve never seen a better picture on my television than Speed Racer on Blu Ray. If you have a player I cannot recommend renting this one enough. The movie is over 2 hours long but I was never bored. Some of the humor is juvenile but the drama is played well, the plot is interesting, and the way the whole thing is cut together kind of has to be seen to be believed.
This one definitely deserves a second chance at home.
Kingdom of Heaven – 2005 (Blu Ray)
The poster child for Fox meddling now has a Ridley Scott approved director’s cut and the movie is well worth seeing. 20th Century Fox had notoriously cut out over an hour of Scott’s epic film about the defense of Jerusalem by Christian knights in the 1300’s from Muslims attempting to reclaim the city. It came out right after Return of the King and Fox marketed it heavily as a action heavy fantasy story. In actually, it is much closer to Braveheart.
The movie follows Balian (Orlando Bloom) a simple blacksmith who learns he is the descendant of a renowned knight (Liam Neeson) and travels to Jerusalem to defend it from Muslim invaders.
The movie is long but very well acted and beautifully shot. Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Eva Green, and a nearly unrecognizable Brendan Gleeson are just a few of the well known actors here. For most of the 3 hour running time there is not a great deal of action and we see both sides, Christian and Muslim, as the machinations of war begin to unfold. To Scott’s credit the muslim “invaders” are presented very even handedly, not as villains. After all, they were attempting to reclaim a city that the Christians had stolen from them 100 years before, which they in turn had taken from the Romans. The final battle as the knights attempt to hold Jerusalem is breathtaking and easily on par with anything in the Lord of the Rings movies.
Highly recommended for fans of historical epics like Braveheart and Gladiator. 
Baby Mama – 2008
Baby Mama a pretty generic romantic comedy that is buoyed by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and the enormous chemistry the two long time SNL veterans share on screen. Kate (Fey) is a 37 year old career woman and her biological clock has gone off big time. Learning that she is unlikely to be able to conceive naturally she turns to a surrogate service run by Chaffee Bicknet (Sigourney Weaver). There she is hooked up with Angie (Poehler), a white trash surrogate-to-be that agrees to carry Kate’s baby for the $20,000 fee. All manner of hijinks ensue.
There is very little in this movie that comes as a surprise. When Greg Kinnear is introduced as the love interest you can see exactly how it is going to play out. That said, Baby Mama is enjoyable and there are several solid laughs to be had. Well worth watching for fans of Poehler and Fey and an inspired extended cameo from Steve Martin.
Monday, September 22, 2008
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