Cartoon-Based “Speed Racer” promises to be “Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen Before”

Having just returned from Las Vegas, I was pleased to find a story on mtv.com about the upcoming “Speed Racer” movie that was reported from Sin City itself.  The film’s star, Emile Hirsch, said the film based on the 1960’s animated series “has all these visuals and elements to it that you’ve never seen before.”

Matthew Fox, of “Lost” fame, who plays Racer X in the movie, echoed Hirsch’s sentiments.  “Larry and Andy [Wachowski] are huge fans of the material,” he said, ”so they’re going to pay homage to that and respect that in their version of ‘Speed Racer.’ But the world that they’re defining is so unique to itself.”

 

The brothers Wachowski are structuring the live-action movie like a cartoon as best they can, right down to a revolutionary new visual style that keeps the foreground and background of every shot in focus.  “There isn’t a film that’s been edited in this particular way,” said Christina Ricci, who plays Trixie.

“With this movie, they’re layering, layering, layering,” Ricci elaborated. “They’re layering these 2-D images in order to create depth, and that allows you to just sweep one image across the screen, the way that a cartoon does. It allows you to edit in a style that’s never been seen before, and they’re also using digital effects that no one has seen before. It’s just crazy.”

“Speed Racer” will be released nationwide in the U.S. on May 9.

 Photo by: Warner Brothers

Ledger’s Last Film Resumes Production

Several weeks ago, I read on fellow moviegoer Matt Brown’s blog that Heath Ledger’s final film, “The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus,” may not be completed due to Ledger’s untimely death.  Today, WENN released an update to this story via IMDB.

The movie WILL continue production. Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Johnny Depp have all signed on to feature in the film in Ledger’s stead (yes, all of them), ensuring that the film will indeed be finished.  Director Terry Gilliam has promised Ledger’s performance will remain intact and unaltered, and that each of the actors hired to replace him “is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing.”

“I am delighted that Heath’s brilliant performance can be shared with the world,” Gilliam said.  “We are looking forward to finishing the movie and, through the film, with a modicum of humility, being able to touch people’s hearts and souls as Heath was able to do.”

“Ghost” Star Diagnosed with Cancer

Patrick Swayze, noted for his performances in movies like “Ghost,” “Dirty Dancing” and “Donnie Darko,” has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

According to an article on AOL News, Swayze only has a small amount of the disease and is responding well to treatment.

Dr. George Fisher, Swayze’s physician, insists “all of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue.”  Swayze is keeping his regular schedule as he undergoes treatment, including working on new projects.

Image: Bryan Bedder, Getty Images

New “Iron Man” Trailer

I just saw the newest trailer for the upcoming “Iron Man” movie and I felt compelled to share it with you.  It’s actually getting me pretty excited, and I was never a really big fan of Iron Man growing up.

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

“Iron Man” will hit theaters on May 2nd.  It looks look like it’s going to be awesome.

The Bourne…Redundancy?

In a Variety.com article detailing the latest pursuits of Universal Studios, one little blurb caught my eye:

“More recently, Shmuger and Linde landed Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon for a fourth ‘Bourne’ movie, even though the director and star seemed ready to wrap it up after three pics.”

Ok, I understand it’s good business to milk a franchse for all it’s worth, and I’m sure the “Bourne” series is a cash cow for Universal.  However, making a fourth “Bourne” film bothers me for one key reason: there is no novel behind it.

Few people may be aware of this, but the three existing “Bourne” films are actually based on a book trilogy by Robert Ludlum; but that’s all Ludlum wrote, a trilogy.  My fear is that without the same novelistic base as the trilogy, a fourth “Bourne” film will lose the essence of the series; that certain aura that makes the series unique and interesting could get lost in Hollywood hype and overbudget chase scenes.

Time will tell, I suppose. I am a fan of the “Bourne” movies so far, and I would hate to see them marred by mediocrity in the form of a sub-par sequel (remember “X-Men: The Last Stand?”)

Casting News for Next “X-Men” Flick

Usually, when I log into my Instant Messenger account, I get really annoyed by the browser window that automatically pops up displaying AIM Today. Today, however, it turned out to be a blessing (if you’re a movie buff and “X-Men” fan, that is).

IMDB confirms the small blurb on the AIM site: The next “X-Men” film, titled “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” will feature two characters long-considered to be fan favorites.   Ryan Reynolds (“Van Wilder,” “The Amityville Horror”) will play Deadpool, while Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights”) will play the heavily-anticipated Gambit.  Hugh Jackman will reprise the role of Wolverine.

According to IMDB’s preliminary plot summary, in this film Wolverine will learn “the full truth of his origin, while also heading in a bold, new direction.”

Vague? Yes.  Exciting? Absolutely!

No More HD-DVD. Blast…

It appears Murphy’s Law is upheld once more.  Not more than six months after I finally gave in to my materialistic desires and bought an HD-DVD player, this happens:

Toshiba announced this week that it will cease production of all HD-DVD discs and players by the end of March, effectively yielding the market to Sony’s Blu-Ray Disc format.

The format war between the two companies has waged for nearly three years, often being compared to the battle between VHS and Betamax during the 1980s.

According to an article in The New York Times, Toshiba is expected to suffer hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from the discontinuation of HD-DVD and all things related.

Personally, I managed to accumulate five films and two seasons of popular television series on HD-DVD before this lovely news broke.  I still plan to watch them all.  A lot.  Call me stubborn, but I’m going to get my money’s worth.

My Review: “Jumper”

I know I promised this review would be posted by last Friday at the latest, but I didn’t count on life and my own laziness getting in the way as much as they did.  Oh well.

Based on the novel by Stephen Gould, “Jumper” is the story of David Rice.  In the course of being an angsty high school student, David discovers he has the power to teleport himself anywhere on Earth in the blink of an eye.  After eight years of reaping all the benefits of his ability and none of the consequences, David finds himself in the middle of a war between teleporters, a.k.a. jumpers, and a group of religious radicals called paladins, bent on ridding the world of the jumper abominations.

Hayden Christensen plays the lead role passably; I felt his acting was better than it was in the “Star Wars” movies, for what it’s worth (which may not be much).  Samuel L. Jackson plays Roland; an elite, very dangerous paladin and all-around evil badass, with his sights set on David.  The two actors play off of each other well, though Jackson clearly has to carry them through some scenes.

The special effects in this movie are impressive and intriguing; I never got tired of watching jumpers spontaneously pop in and out of shots, leaving little tears in space-time behind them (which, by the way, are called “jump-scars”).  One of my favorite moments is during a fight scene, when fellow jumper Griffin (Jamie Bell) simultaneously sprints and teleports in short bursts towards a paladin.  It’s hard to explain textually, but trust me, it was awesome.

The plot is lacking.  A very simple good versus evil conflict plays out expectantly, complete with the damsel in distress (Rachel Bilson) in desperate need of rescuing.  A side plot regarding David’s mother attempts to add some depth to the story, but it just ends up feeling forced and tacked on.

Overall, I would label “Jumper” as average; it isn’t horrible, but much better movies have been made.  If you’re a sci-fi fan it’s definitely worth seeing just for the cool jumper effects.  In the end, I award “Jumper” a three out of five.

Later: My Take on “Jumper.” Now, Someone Else’s

My plan for this installment of my blog was to review “Jumper,” the new movie starring Hayden Christensen, made by the same folks as the “Bourne” films. Unfortunately, today just HAD to be a Thursday, meaning that I just HAD to be in class instead of a movie theater. Thus, my review will come later, hopefully tonight. Until then, here is the Studio Briefing review as posted on IMDB:

“Hayden Christensen might legitimately conclude that all the major critics have suddenly morphed into his most famous character when he reads their reviews of his latest movie, Jumper. Listen for the heavy breathing as you read the words of Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News: ‘Given its uninvolving story, uninteresting characters and the presence of half-man/half-tree Hayden Christensen, the movie is wholly dependent on special effects, which I rate only so-so.’ ‘Christensen was no doubt tapped for the role to pull in Star Wars fans,’ writes Walter Addiego in the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘and this comic book material isn’t much of a test of whatever talent he may possess.’ (Hayden’s co-star is Samuel L. Jackson, who played Star Wars‘ Mace Windu.) Describing the film as ‘a barely coherent genre mishmash,’ Manohla Dargis in the New York Times concludes that it is ‘all bad, from the subliterate dialogue to the chaotic direction and heavily edited points in between.’ Lou Lumenick in the New York Post says that most of the film is simply ‘a badly edited, hourlong chase sequence with some of the cheesiest special effects seen in a major studio release of late.’ (Lumenick’s colleague, Kyle Smith, gives the film half a star on his blog on the Post’s website — but the responses to his review on his blog suggest how effective he may be in discouraging his readers from watching it. One from ‘hurt fan’ reads: ‘I was looking forward to this movie man and now youve completely destroyed it for me. I can only pray that I find another artical that completely contradicts your argument.’ Another writes: ‘They only hate it because Hayden Christensen is in it. he’s still being punished for star wars.’) The film does receive a few so-so reviews. Peter Howell in the Toronto Star (perhaps giving Torontonian Christensen the benefit of a doubt) writes: ‘The movie is something of an abomination in narrative terms. But it does have its moments.’”

New Line Hasn’t Paid a Dime for “Rings”

I’m sure the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien was happy to let New Line Cinema make “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy into an epic movie experience.  After all, certainly Tolkien’s estate would share in the $6 billion in profits from the films, right?  Apparently not.

According to a story on Yahoo News, Tolkien’s estate hasn’t seen a cent’s worth of the profits from the phenomenally successful films.  The estate has filed a lawsuit, stating that New Line Cinema agreed to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts, including everything from ticket sales to DVD and merchandise profits.

The plaintiffs also seek a court order that would give the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any of New Line’s movie rights to other works by the author. This includes “The Hobbit,” for which the two-film adaptation was set to be released in 2010 and 2011.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers said they have been spending the past three years trying to receive payment from New Line.