Posts Tagged ‘speed racer’

Vindication is wonderful. Speed Racer, the awful-looking action-racing film from the Wachowski brothers, is the first flop of the summer season as it took in only $6.1 million according to Friday box office estimates. According to Box Office Prophets, the movie will take in approximately $20-$21 million over the weekend. No matter how you cut it, a movie that costs between $100-$120 million is expected to open to more than $20 million in its opening weekend, and I would expect a huge 60% drop next weekend. After all, with Chronicles of Narnia and Indiana Jones coming over the next 13 days, Speed Racer will have no place to breath.

This made my weekend.

Beyond Speed Racer, Iron Man will once again win the weekend with just under $40 million, though I’m surprised the hit action film didn’t do better in its second weekend. As good as it is, I was expecting some people to return to theaters this weekend – or for holdouts to be lured in by quality reviews – but $40 million, following a $100 million opening weekend, implies that isn’t the case. Still, no one’s complaining.

What Happens in Vegas earned $7.1 million on Friday, good for a $20 million opening. That’s pretty good for the Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz comedy.

Speed Racer is almost upon us, whether you like it or not. I, personally, am going to see it just to make sure it’s as bad as it looks. My friends feel the same way (though many won’t even go see it). Others, however, are actually looking forward to this Wachowski Brothers film, so it will be interesting to see fan reactions over the next few days. More interesting, however, will be to see how well it does in theaters… will it beat Iron Man in its second week? I’m not so sure.

Regardless, fellow movie reviewer Robert Bell has written a glorious Speed Racer movie review…

As cinema gradually evolves, it becomes increasingly clear that storytelling is becoming less of a priority. Glossy hyper-stylized images and hackneyed, insincere emotional catharsis are the wave of the future, as are indecipherable frenetic action sequences designed to overwhelm the senses with an almost orgasmic glee. Hollow excess and easily digested “wow” moments give a desensitized audience the homogenized escapist crap they so desperately seek; unwilling and unable to pause or reflect on anything with meaning. It’s only logical, given the rapid take-no-prisoners, pop-a-pill-to-stifle-unwelcome-feelings culture we have become. Everything we do is designed to escape from reality: our entertainment, dream vacations and misguided career focus are all just filler, despite the requirements of emotional development, which need downtime and personal reflection in order to find a personal purpose and reason. Then again, isn’t it that much easier to just quash away all of those feelings of confusion and inadequacy by accepting the ideologies and distorted moral codes of the majority? It is. And if we distract ourselves long enough while going through the motions of expectation, we may not even notice how utterly stupid and frivolous our surface driven lives are. Then again, happiness is defined by the individual, and maybe designer sneakers and a fancy new refrigerator is all one needs to feel satisfied in this world.

Read the full Speed Racer movie review…

I’m sorry, but does Speed Racer look like one of the worst movies ever conceived to you? Every time I see a trailer or a commercial or an email or an article about the movie, I cringe. Those poor saps who work at the movie theaters where the commercials are playing on the overhead TVs day in and day out must be on the verge of suicide.

Speed Racer just looks dreadful. I’m no box office expert, and as such I’m not entirely good at predicting how well films will make, but I will be shocked if this film is profitable. I will be highly disappointed if the movie doesn’t flop miserably, though I am trying to not say “shocked” for that result as well. After all, the American public is an unpredictable bunch and can be duped into going to see some pretty bad movies – and I, among them, will certainly go see this picture just to see how God-awful it really is. Still, even with my hesitations that this movie could make some decent money, I will still be pretty surprised if there is a large group of people out there who are eagerly awaiting this film. The special effects look dreadful, the action no better than that from a cheap cartoon and the acting lackluster at best (despite featuring a talented cast).

I’m really starting to think that the Wachowski Brothers are one-hit wonders. The Matrix was phenomenal and trend-setting. The Matrix Reloaded, while overall pretty decent, wasn’t anything great. The Matrix Revolution was plain-out bad at times. And now Speed Racer???

Please tell me if you actually think Speed Racer looks good, and why? Without even seeing this movie I want it to flop so badly, and I have this tingling feeling in my gut that suggests it may actually do so.