I'm sure you're all going to SPEED RACER. I probably will at some point too. But I have to say that after watching the first seven minutes online, I'm really less than enthused.
The idea of a Speed Racer movie has always struck me as the sort of thing you'd see in some kind of parody movie about the film industry, something Griffin Mill or the cast of FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION would greenlight, as a commentary on how sad blockbusters have become. Realistically, folks, the cartoon was poorly animated, badly dubbed, and as such mostly insufferable except as a curiosity. Nonetheless, the Wachowski siblings appear to have thrown themselves headlong into the task of making it as strange an experience as possible, and since it looks like every review out there references some kind of colorful candy or breakfast cereal brand, I'll refrain from doing so and say that it looks like a good-sized post-birthday party puke.
But there's another visual feast opening this weekend, and that's my real pick: Tarsem Singh's THE FALL. I know there were problems with his first major movie THE CELL, but I truly believe they were part and parcel of the New Line brass at the time. It didn't seem like coincidence that THE CELL, DARK CITY, and SPAWN all came out within a short window, and all had killer visuals but were hampered with a story that felt the need to explain itself again and again via gratuitous expository dialogue.
Tarsem's newest is more independent, a labor of love shot all over the world over the course of four years. Still looks to have amazing visuals, though. Here, just see for yourself:
