Speed Racer (Widescreen Edition) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I can understand why some people might dislike this movie (just look at its box-office) but the one undeniable fact is that it perfectly captures the spirit of the TV show which was never really associated with profound human feelings. It's amazing how everyone involved in it simply decided to give it their all. Just look at the conviction with which Susan Sarandon and John Goodman recited lines that clearly feel out of a cartoon. Usually I hate movies with quick cuts and gratuitous CG effects and SPEED RACER is 135 minutes of quick cuts and CG so I guess nostalgia goes a long way. I was so glad they included the sound effect of the Mach 5 jumping over and over again. My only real complaint about the movie is that there was a little bit too much of the chimp for my taste.
I can't blame anyone for complaining on leaving the theater with a headache. The world outside the theater I saw SPEED RACER in looked so slow once the movie ended, this is one exhausting film but certainly worth it.


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Start your engines and fasten your seatbelts for the high-octane adventure Speed Racer, combining heartfelt family humor and groundbreaking visual effects. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel of his thunderous Mach 5. With support from Pops and Mom Racer (John Goodman and Susan Sarandon), girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci), younger brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), Speed takes on fierce competitors to save his family\'s business and protect the sport he loves. When Speed steps onto the track, it\'s not just a race. It\'s an adrenaline-fueled, high-speed charge to the finish. Go, Speed Racer, go!!

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Death Sentence (Unrated Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)DEATH SENTENCE is a tough movie to watch, not because it is a poorly made film, but because of the degree of violence that, once started, is mayhem on a roller coaster ride. Though based on a novel by Brian Garfield, the script by Ian Jeffers is a patchwork quilt - the holes show whenever the police arrive on the scene. James Wan, of the 'Saw' movies fame, directs with a keen eye for breathless action sequences and almost intolerable suspense timing that makes the film fly through the 111 minutes of the Unrated version.
During the opening credits we are introduced to the perfect family via home movies and domestic scenes: Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is the devoted father, Helen (Kelly Preston) his bright and loving wife, Brendan (Stuart Lafferty) is the golden boy son with all the hockey laurels, and Lucas (Jordan Garrett) the younger 'also ran' son. The glitch in this family's happiness happens one night when, out of gas while driving home from a hockey game, Nick stops at a gas station and while Brendan is in the convenience store a gang comes in and murders the store owner and Brendan: the reason for the killing is not robbery but an initiation rite into a gang accomplished by young Joe Darley (Matt O'Leary) and the demand of his older brother Billy (Garrett Hedlund, in a very out of character role from his usual 'Troy', 'Friday Night Lights', 'Eragon', 'Georgia Rule' persona). Nick witnesses the killing and when the lawyers and police work with him in the aftermath to 'arrange a deal' instead of a murder trial, Nick decides to take matters in hi s own hands.
The Darley brothers are part of a ruthless gang sponsored by their own father Bones Darley (John Goodman, in a very dark and well-realized role). Nick stalks Joe Darley and murders him, and once the deed (that happens to begin a gang war against Nick) is done the terror begins. The gang is out to kill not only Nick but Nick's family also. How this pursued and pursuers game works out furnishes the remainder of the film. It is the old eye for an eye story that ends in tragedy for everyone concerned.
When the film is dealing with the 'family' and the 'gang' the dialog sparkles, but when the police, headed by Detective Wallis (Aisha Tyler), become involved the aid from the police becomes as ludicrous as the dialog placed in their mouths. Kevin Bacon gives a bravura performance as the gentle father driven to murderous madness and Garrett Hedlund matches him as the ruthless and terrifying gang leader Billy. There are enough sidebars about father/son relationships on both sides of the plot line to make the movie have a message. But in the end it is the wildly frantic camera action and directorial decisions by Wan that make this a horrifying and arresting film. Not for the queasy viewer. Grady Harp, January 08

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