Speed Racer!!

Mr.S will be the first to admit that he was never a full-tilt gung-ho must-see watcher of the Speed Racer cartoons. However, he saw enough of them to be a little geeked about the movie. Mr. and Mrs.S made their way to the IMAX last night, and what a ride it was...

Keep in mind that this movie was made by the brothers that gave us the Matrix, so the action is fast, faster, and fastest. And on the five story IMAX screen, that's a lot of fast. We liked the casting especially - some great actors doing their thing. And it walked the line well between action movie and campy animation.

The visuals are stunning, in all respects. Lots of color, lots of goodies to look at, and great integration between live actors and the environment around them. The score by Michael Giacchino (he of The Incredibles fame) is lovely (Mr.S will be picking up a copy in the near future), and overall the total package of music and movie is great.

Language? A few A-bombs dropped, one S-bomb, but nothing else. Intensity? Huge. Immense. Ridiculously big. If you saw it on the "small screen" and don't agree, go see it in IMAX. If your head is still attached, that'll take it off.

Ezzie? Race up to the finish line and take us out...

Ezzie gives this one three spinning tails, one of which is festively adorned with a checkered flag.

So, dear reader - make like Speed Racer, and GO!!!!!

Prince Caspian

Mrs. S and I went to Prince Caspian tonight, and the short review is "fabulous!" For the long review, we must pause for the following:

Mr. Simpleton's Law Of Movies Based On Books
It's like this... Yes, there is ALWAYS going to be stuff omitted from any movie that was in the book. And yes, you will ALWAYS find stuff added to the movie that wasn't in the book. News flash: they're two different forms of media!

So what the Simple One says about it is, if the movie makes sense on its own, and doesn't involve any MAJOR infractions of characters or storyline, then it's ok for it not to be the book with moving pictures.

HOWEVER, if there is stuff left out or added to that leaves one who read the book crying, "what in the name of Fats Waller are you doing???", then that's a problem.

For example, in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, let's say it out loud: CHARLIE NEVER BREAKS THE RULES!!! And that is enough to make Mr.S yell out loud and call for Ezzie to deliver a fresh load of steamy piles.

But I digress...

There is some added stuff in Prince Caspian. And some stuff left out. But, the story is coherent and works without any major character or story infractions. So it's a good one. Disagree? Tough. :-D My blog - my rules. :-D

(that last bit was joking. Really.)

Ezzie, c'mon up here and do that voodoo that you do so well...

Ezzie gives this three spinning tails, and we add a couple of newly-restored mouse tails in honor of Reepicheep.