The Wachowskis aspire for something unusual and awfully contradictory with “Speed Racer.” They want an intentionally animated live action film, but a film that also looks as realistic as possible. They want a family film, but this is a film that may not be appealing to all children, and they want a story that simple but also quite complicated. Just when you think you’ve seen all of Spritle and his monkey, there’s an unusual tale about corporate corruption. Maybe it’s because of all the contradictions and hapless surrealism that I responded to “Speed Racer” with such enthusiasm. I know it won’t be for everyone, and it definitely has its own flaws present, but speaking as someone willing to meet the Wachowskis halfway, everything involving Speed and Racer X made for some interesting drama.
Tag Archives: Martial Arts
Doomsday (2008)
Marshall is perhaps one of the most underrated, unnoticed, wildly creative directors of our time, and it sucks when I can watch something like “Doomsday” and frown that not many chose to see it with me. Currently one of my favorite directors in film, Marshall is 3 for 3 with a slyly tongue in cheek post-apocalyptic thriller that takes place during the end of a destructive disease called The Reaper which took most of the civilization in Glasgow. Closed off from society, the government’s plan to quarantine the country forever turned on them as the world suffered from over population and now the Reaper is back. “Doomsday” has elicited many comparisons to classics like “Mad Max,” and “Escape from New York,” and even fans of the film have agreed to these very apt comparisons.
The Ninja Always Rings Once (2007)
I really wanted to like this. I really wanted to like it to the point where I was almost forcing myself to enjoy it, but damn it, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have or should have. Comedy is a tough thing to create and surely enough “The Ninja Always Rings Once” proves that rule with a short story that not only really made no sense, but never sparked a laugh from yours truly.
Jopog Manura, (My Wife is a Gangster) (2001)
Jin-Gyu Cho‘s film is a very unusual little entry. It’s basically all over the map in terms of the genres, and is really never what you expect it to be. The premise reads like a sitcom, except with violence and mystery a la “La Femme Nikita.” Sure, in some places that could lead to an awfully messy film, but “My Wife is a Gangster” surprisingly works. Eun Jin is a mob boss named Big Brother, who was given the tag of a legend after taking on a group of men to defend a friend in combat. But after so many years of acting like a man and grimacing, she finds her long lost little sister and now must stick by her while she dies. Her sister wants one thing for her: she wants her to get married.
Human Weapon
One of the great aspects of “Human Weapon” is not so much that it’s different, but that it takes a unique perspective on the usual History Channel programming. Rather than explore man made weapons, the two charismatic hosts explore human weapons who use deadly and strong forms of fighting to battle opponents. Imagine “Dirty Jobs” but in a different format. Much like Mike Rowe, our two hosts are very experienced in platform they’re studying, explore these different art forms, and even involve themselves in it.
Versus (2000)
Okay, so I admit it, I’m a little late to the party. I’m about seven years late to the party that is “Versus,” but cut me some slack, I’m busy. “Versus” is an action zombie film, and one that I really consider a guilty pleasure in the end. Granted, the zombies are cheesy, and I was forced to watch the dubbed version, but overall, “Versus” is a B horror entry that borders on action more often than it does horror. A small group of criminals out in the middle of the woods discover that the woods actually can resurrect the dead, and really have no idea what to do. Do they fight one another, do they band together, do they seek others, warn the world, escape, or take on the walking dead to prevent the spread? Decisions, decisions.
Stan Lee Presents: The Condor (2007)
What Stan Lee has basically done here is create his very own Spider-Man. With the Condor, we have a basically privileged young man whose life is really in need of a boost. When his parents die, he is rendered basically crippled after being attacked, and becomes a superhero. One that talks the villains to death to piss them off. The Condor is basically the equivalent of the Spider-Man rogue Rocket Racer with a mixture of that lame superhero from the nineties: MANTIS.