Oddly, this all came about because I was rebooking my tickets for The Peony Pavillion, since a fabulous deal came my way - £15 stalls seats for any show, if you use the promotion code pcdchineseopera . For all of the people who've come to this blog looking for info on authentic Chinese cultural presentations, I'd like to encourage you to see this show - it should be top of the line and it's not the thing I've ever had the opportunity to see. Go go go (both of you)!

I also booked tickets for the Sara Baras flamenco show in mid-July (also at Sadlers Wells), and I'm kind of wondering about seeing the English National Ballet's show at the Royal Festival Hall in early July. It's got choreography by three people I've never heard of before, but it's also butting right up against my departure date for the York Early Music festival, so I might be too pressed to catch it. Sadly, I've never been particularly electrified by any performance I've seen by ENB, so this is also making me think I shouldn't go ... but maybe this time things would be ... different.

Closer in, I've got a pile of tickets accumulating in anticipation of my uncle's arrival next week - the Marguerite the Musical set, a quartet of Revenger's Tragedy at a delicious £10 a pop, a trio for Romersholm at the Almeida (I never see discount tickets there - makes me think they must do a better job at picking the right shows for the right length of time, or maybe they've done a good job of cultivating a steady audience) ... now all I need is to have those silly Powder Her Face tickets jump in my hand for the Sunday June 15th performance, and somehow get a few for the Edith Bagnold's Chalk Garden at the Donmar on Wednesday June 11th - but it looks sadly like they are sold out and you can forget my doing standing room for anything these days. Perhaps Afterlife at the National will prove an acceptable substitute, but with my luck it won't even be on that day.

In a final note, I am still beating myself up for not ordering my Jordi Savall tickets for the York Early Music Festival early enough, and am praying to the gods of returned tickets to show me some mercy on this - he's the whole reason I'm going!

The world of Speed Racer is full of dayglo colours and stylised houses, cars and planes. This is where the Racer family lives. Dad (John Goodman) is obsessed with car racing and has his own team with his son Rex driving for him. Younger brother Speed (Emile Hirsch) hopes to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and be a top racer too, but when Rex is killed in an "accident" the family is torn apart by grief. When Speed finally does get to race, he’s approached by the multi-billionaire Royalton (a fantastic performance by Roger Allam) to join his high-tech team, but Speed’s loyalties and heart belong to the his family and he decides to take the big guys on at their own game.

There’s a lot of back story to get through and so the film does suffer from an excessive amount of exposition, but when it comes to the racing scenes, it is truly amazing. Cars skid, jump, loopand crash at eyepopping speed – sometimes it's all so fast it is difficult to keep up with what is going on. However, what keeps everything grounded and very real are the relationships between the characters. There’s dad and understanding mum (Susan Sarandon), the burgeoning love affair between Speed and childhood sweetheart Trixie (Christina Ricci), light relief in the comedy double act of baby brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his pet chimp, and the shadowy mentor figure of fellow driver Racer X (Matthew Fox).

Basically, this is a full-on, updated version of The Wacky Races with cartoon villains, dastardly deeds and lots of axle grease, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.      Dee Pilgrim

Cool enjoyable movie. Suspension of disbelief for me, jadi oke buat detil2 lainnya...

Brapa kali filmnya mengingatkan pada yang lain. Dari awal style-nya udah ditampilin, warna-warni, mengingatkan pada Batman Forever dan Batman & Robin dan kemudian dicampur dengan suburbia-nya Edward Scissorhands. Waktu awal nonton gue sempet mikir, eh? I'm seeing a comic movie...

Begitu titelnya muncul, tiga nada awal dari tema Speed Racer yang lama do-mi-sol muncul, haha Giacchino, music in the safe hands. Temanya muncul brapa kali, skali dalam kunci minor, kalo ga salah untuk menandai "all is not well", skali variasinya, cakep. Di adegan romantis musiknya adalah versi instrumental Bewitched, hampir teriak kesenengan karena itu salah salah satu lagu favorit gue, petikan gitarnya indah banget! Beberapa highlight antara lain musik awal balap Casa apa tuh, adegan brantem dan klimaksnya di adegan balap final. Tapi teuteup ada sedikit keluhan, filmnya rada overscored dan dua kali musiknya overstays, adegannya selesai tapi musiknya masih sangat terasa. Tapi lagi pastinya bukan salah Giacchino semata, ini masalah spotting juga di mana mungkin sutradaranya atau lainnya ingin musiknya masih ada.

Salah satu Giacchino yang terbaik sampai saat ini, lebih oke daripada Mission: Impossible III misalnya, yang terlalu action music. I'm so getting this score, the instrumental version of Bewitched is enough reason to get it. Seandainya saja ada Bewitched versi Rufus Wainwright, misalnya buat end title, rasanya bisa pas banget, tapi ya memang lebih cocok step-up Speed Racer yang lama ya.

Entah di balap kesekian gue keinget sama Tron dan di balap lainnya keinget sama Death Race 2000. Pas adegan tur, yang keinget Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tentunya sama Speed Racer yang lama, gestur si Speed di Casa itu sama persis, kayanya ada lagi yang lain2nya tapi karena gue ngga terlalu nge-fans sama Speed Racer, gue ga tau, mendingan nonton Hayabusa hehehe. Nah Hayabusa ga keinget waktu nonton, tapi pikir2 mobilnya bisa jadi ada miripnya ya?? Yang rada ajaib buat gue sepertinya Shogun: Total War tiba2 muncul di layar, adegannya sama persis. Hehe tapi ada ngga yang pernah main Shogun: Total War di sini... Si adik mengigatkan pada temennya tokoh utama di Monster House, hehehe

Plotnya okelah tapi gue terus terang nungguin balapnya aja hehe.

Kalo ada protes dikit, I can't laugh for violent fights, haven't been able to and surely will not. Hope they stop... Hm nanti siksaan apalagi yang akan dikenakan pada Scrat di Ice Age 3...

D. Herrie R. ada salah2 dikit, komputer jaman jebot Commodore 64 dia pikir nama jalan. Ada satu lagi yang salah gue lupak, something Trix said. Ga selalu gue pratiin mungkin ada lagi, tapi mungkin juga udah oke...

SPEED RACER...GO!!!

Speed memang memiliki darah seorang pembalap. Ambisinya semenjak kecil adalah menjuarai sebuah arena balap bernama The Crucible. Arena balap ini pulalah yang merenggut nyawa kakak Speed, Rex Racer. Adalah ibu dan ayah Speed yang memiliki bisnis balapan. Ayah Speed bahkan sedang merancang sebuah mobil balap bernama The Mach 5. Menyadari hal ini maka semangat Speed untuk ikut serta dalam balapan The Crucible semakin terpacu. Tatkala Royalton Industries, sebuah perusahaan raksasa memberikan tawaran pada keluarga Speed menyangkut Mach 5 namun ditolak oleh keluarga Speed, maka hal ini membawa masalah bagi keluarga Speed. Sang pemilik perusahaan pum menjadi murka. Namun hal ini malahan membuat Speed menyadari adanya ketidak beresan dalam balapan tersebut. Sebaliknya sang pemilik Royalton pun berusaha agar Speed tidak menjadi pemenang dalam The Crucible. Toh, semangat Speed sudah bulat, bahkan orang tua serta kekasih Speed, Trixie pun memberinya semangat penuh. Kini, Speed pun harus berhadapan dengan para rival pembalapnya seperti Taejo Togokhan dan tentu saja Racer X. Akankah Speed berhasil menjuarai the Crucible dan bagaimana juga konflik Speed dengan Royalton Industries...

THE NEW MOVIE FROM THE CREATOR OF THE MATRIX
Andy dan Larry Wachowski dua nama yang seakan lengket dengan trilogi The Matrix. Kini, keduanya mengangkat sebuah film animasi yang tenar di tahun 1960an. Hebatnya sederetan bintang ternama seperti Susan Sarandon (In the Valley of Elah) dan John Goodman (Death Sentence) ikut mendukung film ini untuk berperan sebagai orang tua Speed. Tokoh Speed sendiri di usia dewasa diperankan oleh Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild). Sementara kekasih Speed, Trixie, diperankan oleh Christina Ricci (Home of The Brave). Adapula Matthew Fox (Vantage Point) yang berperan sebagai Racer X serta aktor dan biduan asal Korea Selatan Rain (I`m Not a Cyborg but That`s OK) yang memerankan tokoh pembalap Taejo Togokhan.

Visual efek dan set design tentu saja merupakan unsur utama bagi film aksi fantasi ini. Dengan permainan warna yang menarik membuat kita seakan-akan sedang menyaksikan sebuah film kartun atau komik yang hidup. Adegan aksinya sendiri menurut saya biasa-biasa saja, justru yang dinantikan adalah adegan balapan yang tentu saja sangat menarik untuk disaksikan. Sayangnya, saya sendiri merasakan adegan balap yang ditampilkan agak mirip dengan adegan pod race dalam Star Wars episode I. Namun, tentu saja kendati begitu adegan ini patut dinantikan karena merupakan trade mark bagi film fantasi ini. Dengan teknik editing yang pas dan ilustrasi musik menggebu garapan Michael Giacchino (Cars, M:I-III) membuat film ini pun semakin asyik untuk disaksikan. Namun, apabila mau dinilai dari segi cerita, terasa bahwa cerita yang ditampilkan sangat biasa-biasa saja atau standar, begitu juga halnya dengan penampilan akting para bintangnya. Namun, kehadiran Rain dalam film ini sudah barang tentu akan menarik perhatian para penonton dari kaum hawa terutama remaja.

Nampaknya The Wachowski Brothers kali ini berusaha menampilkan sebuah film yang gampang dicerna dan hanya untuk konsumsi hiburan belaka. Kita tidak usah mengernyitkan dahi untuk mengikuti alur ceritanya, seperti film-film karya mereka terdahulu, The Matrix Trilogy dan V For Vendetta. Kendati dengan cerita yang standar namun lewat adegan penuh visual efek dan set design penuh warna plus penampilan para bintangnya terutama Rain, maka Speed Racer sangat sayang rasanya bila Anda lewatkan. Ditambah lagi bagi Anda yang sudah sempat menyaksikan versi film kartun jadulnya, maka rasanya kehadiran film live action Speed Racer ini akan mengingatkan kembali pada masa kecil Anda.

MONKEY RATING: TWO MONKEYS

(For a brief explanation of the Monkey Review rating system, click here.)

Direção: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

Roteiro: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski

Elenco: Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Christina Ricci, Nicholas Elia, Scott Porter, Paulie Litt

A emoção toma conta do meu ser nesse momento, ouso até falar que "Speed Racer" é melhor que "A vingança dos Sith".

Dirigido pelos irmãos Wachowski, que não faziam nada, além de contar a grana, desde a trilogia "Matrix", "Speed Racer" é uma mega produção repleta de efeitos especiais de primeira qualidade. E é com certeza esse o grande trunfo do filme, pois todas as cenas de corrida foram feitas através do computador, deixando as disputas mais eletrizantes, com cenários fantásticos e batidas espetaculares. O irmão de Speed, o Gorducho e seu macaco Zequinha, dão os momentos cômicos ao filme.

Baseado no desenho japonês, o filme conta a história da família Racer e sua paixão pelas corridas. Desde cedo, Speed só pensava em correr e tinha no seu irmão Rex, um ídolo e exemplo. Speed cresce e vai se tornando um excelente piloto, conseguindo superar a perda de Rex em um acidente de corrida. Depois de vencer uma prova, Speed recebe uma tentadora proposta da Companhia Royalton, mas decide recusar e continuar correndo pela equipe da família. É nessa hora que o inescrupuloso presidente da Royalton conta toda a verdade sobre o mundo das corridas, que as provas são armadas e os vencedores são escolhidos pelos empresários em acordos prévios. Speed decide continuar correndo pela equipe da família , mas agora com o intuito de derrubar as farsas nas corridas e conta com a ajuda do misterioso Corredor X.

É sem duvida nenhuma um dos melhores filmes do ano, com corridas de tirar o fôlego, efeitos muito bem trabalhados e uma bela Christina Ricci.

(tratto da Nuovo Oggi di giovedì 8 maggio 2008) - Andy Wachowski e Larry Wachowski tornano alla regia dopo aver firmato l'ormai famosissima trilogia di Matrix. 'Speed Racer' è l'adattamento cinematografico di un 'manga' (fumetto) giapponese degli anni '80 che fu anche un 'anime' (cartone animato) di successo, non solo nella terra del sol levante, ma anche nel resto del mondo (Italia compresa). I nostalgici dei cartoons televisivi di quegli anni, si ricorderanno senza alcun dubbio le avventura dello spericolato Go alla guida della Mach 5, una macchina da corsa progettata dal padre, piena di trucchi e gadget elettronici. Nel film dei fratelli Wachowski, 'Speed Racer' è il nome del giovane pilota protagonista della storia. Fatto per la competizione, corre a mille Speed Racer (Emile Hirsh), che nell'auto è come se fosse a casa sua. Nato per la corsa, Speed è aggressivo, istintivo e, soprattutto, senza paura. L'unica, reale lotta per lui è nel pensare al fratello che idolatrava - il leggendario Rex Racer - la cui morte in una corsa ha lasciato un'ombra che proprio Speed intende cancellare. Speed è leale al business delle corse della propria famiglia, guidato da suo padre Pops Racer (John Goodman), il creatore del magnifico veicolo di Speed, la Mach 5. Quando Speed rifiuta un'ottima offerta dalla Royalton Industries, non solo getta su tutte le furie il proprietario (Roger Allam), ma scopre un terribile segreto: alcune delle gare più importanti al mondo vengono decise a tavolino da una manciata di persone influenti che manipolano i principali concorrenti per avere profitti maggiori. Se Speed non correrà per la Royalton, Royalton impedirà alla Mach 5 di superare un'altra finish line.L'unico modo per Speed di salvare il business della propria famiglia - e lo sport che ama - è di combarrere la Royalton con le stesse carte: con il supporto della sua famiglia e della sua fidanzata Trixi (Christina Ricci), Speed si allea con il misterioso Racer X (Matthew Fox) per vincere la stessa gara che aveva tolto la vita al fratello, il terribile rally attraverso il Paese, chiamato Casa Cristo.
Si tratta di un action-movie adrenalinico che molto poggia sulle corse delle auto e di conseguenza sugli effetti speciali assolutamente innovativi. Perchè 'Speed Racer' è un caleidoscopio di colori in movimento, che avvolgono i protagonisti a bordo delle loro vetture super-tecnologiche. In alcuni momenti sembra che i fratelli Wachowski vogliano richiamare gli effetti psichedelici prodotti da qualche droga allucinogena. Tutti quelle variazioni cromatiche ci colpiscono, ci catturano e ci avvolgono. Il film non è solo questo, è a tratti una commedia molto divertente (grazie alla bravura di attori come Goodman e Susan Sarandon nel ruolo della mamma di Speed). Non manca una fitta sceneggiatura, composta verso la metà del film da dialoghi intensi e corposi. Su questo si discuterà certamente a lungo. Se era giusto basarsi su uno script così intenso (si vede l'esperienza di Matrix) per creare un action-movie che poggia la sua forza sulle scariche di adrenalina. Non bisogna però dimenticare che 'Speed Racer' è un blockbuster ma vuol lanciare anche dei messaggi importanti: l'importanza della famiglia, delle persone che ci vogliono bene e della giustizia nello sport, che deve essere competizione animata da sano fair-play. Una lezione che al giorno d'oggi dovrebbero imparare in molti.

Trailer Ufficiale del film

Vale, esto ya mola mucho...

Bi entrevistado por una periodista española para La Sexta. Mola!

¿Alguien la conoce? ¿Para qué programa será? Jooooo...

Fue el 26 de abril, en el Nokia Theatre de Los Angeles, por la premiere de Speed racer.

Productor Joel Silver, Roger Allam, Hiroyuki Sanada, Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Christian Oliver, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon, Rain y John Goodman, Nicholas Elia, Ariel Winter, Paulie Litt, Scott Porter, y Kick Gurry

En una de las entrevistas a Rain promocionando la película, aseguró que todo el casting de SR era como una familia para él, pero que se sentía especialmente cercano a Susan Sarandon y Matthew Fox (sí!)

Mírala cómo se agarra... No sabe na' la Sarandon...

Debo decir, por mucho que me pese, que Bi está horrible! A ver, con todos los looks que se ha puesto, por qué escoge el más feo para estrenarse en occidente?? Ainss...

Aun así, tengo ganas de ver la peli en España... pero qué miedo me da el doblaje que le pondrán! (espero que no le pongan hablando con la L, por favor... ¬¬)

Otras imágenes:

Bueno, cómo está nuestro amigo Matthew...

Hiroyuki Sanda y Rain

Rain, Christian Oliver y Paulie Litt

]]> http://dvdplay.wordpress.com/?p=814 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:49:15 +0000 Mr. Anderson http://dvdplay.pt-br.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/speed-racer-el-videoclip/

Gracias al maléfico líder de el Salón del Mal, podemos ver este buenísimo videoclip con escenas nuevas y música cover de la versión animada sesentera de Meteoro, que viene a servir de promo a la versión siglo XXI en hipertechnicolor de Speed Racer de Andy y Larry Wachowski. A mi me encantó, incluyendo el pedazo de reggaeton que suena de fondo, ya que se complementa perfectamente con el estilo visual y las escenas que nos hacen ver. A cargo de Ali Dee & The Deekompressors les dejo a continuación el videoclip de Speed Racer... ¡GO!

"GO SPEED RACER GO" de Ali Dee & The Deekompressors

[dailymotion id=x57klo]

Protagonizada por Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox y Roger Allam, se estrenará el 9 de Mayo en EE.UU.

DESCARGA DIRECTA ALTA DEFINICIÓN

But in reality, I haven't watched a Speed Racer cartoon in ages.  In fact, I'd forgotten all about the Mach 5 and Speed, Trixie and the gang until I heard that the Wachowski brothers, the duo behind the Matrix trilogy, were bringing the ‘60s Japanese anime to the big screen in a live action feature in May.

At the time, I was intrigued by the resurrection of a childhood favorite.  After seeing the two new international trailers just released, I am a lot more that intrigued.  I am eagerly anticipating the May 9 release date.

At let me tell you, from what I saw in the trailer, this movie isn't the cartoon of my youth.  Wow!  If the trailers are any indication this movie is going to be action packed with a Mach 5 that will blow your mind.

And the characters are not stuck in the ‘60s either.  In fact, the Racer universe seems a bit futuristic and very colorful.

I've followed the casting news for the movie, but wasn't sure how the actors where going to fill the shoes of the cartoon images.  Let's just say, hats off to the casting and wardrobe because I was blown away the resemblances.

Emile Hirsh is perfect for the role of Speed, right down to the spit curl on his forehead.  Although Speed is a little older than I remember in the cartoon.  And Christina Ricci looked great as Speed's loyal girlfriend, Trixie.

The Speed family is rounded out with John Goodman as Pops, Susan Sarandon as Ma and Paulie Litt as little brother Spittle.  Although we didn't get to see him in the trailer Scott Porter will play Speed's older brother, Rex and Kick Gurry will fill the shoes of the quirky mechanic, Sparky.

But we did get a look at Speed's one-time nemesis, Matthew Fox as Racer X.  (Loyal fans of the series might have a question here.  But I don't want to spoil the movie for newcomers, so let's just say you've got to watch the movie to understand).

In the movie, Speed is going to team with Racer X to win the Crucible, a dangerous cross-country race that took the life of Rex.  But Speed has to do more than avenge his brother; he must defeat the rich and powerful Royalton (Roger Allam) who is behind the fixing of races and the plan to stop Speed at all costs.

This summer is going to be a very popular summer at the theater.

Are you looking forward to the Speed Racer movie?

Summary of the high-octane family adventure “Speed Racer.” Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer—whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.

Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won’t drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.

The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother’s life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live-action “Speed Racer” will showcase the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowski brothers’ films. “Speed Racer” is a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Silver Pictures Production.