Speed Racer Trailer, and other news...

I wouldn't normally subject others to an unwanted drug trip, but I feel as if the damage done to my brain should be shared. The trailer for the newest Wachowski brothers' flick Speed Racer... yes, *that* Speed Racer:

I love Emile Hirsch (if you want to know how much, look at the Into the Wild review), I love Matthew Fox, I enjoy John Goodman and Susan Sarandon... but this? This movie just looks like the biggest piece of shit ever made. It truly does.

And if things couldn't be any worse for the movies these days, the fucktards behind the Sex and the City movie have decided to make it into a goddamn trilogy. Trilogy. Of Sex and the City. Three movies with Sarah Jessica Parker. The movie industry hates me. This fact is supported by the horrible news that Wes Anderson (he of The Royal Tenenbaums, A Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and other movies about dysfunctional families accompanied by quirky soundtracks) is helming an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Fantastic Mr. Fox. I... no... this... bad... mary... upset... no words... screaming.... forgive me while I use all caps for a moment, but REALLY COME ON NOW. WES ANDERSON YOU ARE ON MY SHIT LIST IF THIS MOVIE SUCKS. At least it's going to be an animated film. BUT, take a gander as to who's voicing the aforementioned "fantastic" Mr. Fox... George Clooney. GEORGE. FUCKING. CLOONEY.

Can't... process... childhood memories... ruined...

Into the Wild

I realise I haven't updated in about a month and a half, which means I am the worst blogger in the world, but no one really reads this anyway, so my care factor is pretty low.

For once, I've actually managed to get ahead of the game and see a movie two weeks before it gets released to the public. My mother and I were lucky enough to get free passes to see Into the Wild last week and, seeing as it was free and I'm rather fond of Emile Hirsch, we decided to go.

Directed by Sean Penn and based on the novel by Jon Krakauer, the story follows Christopher McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, a recent graduate who donates all his savings to charity and takes off into the country in pursuit of his final goal: to live in the wild in Alaska. Along the way, he meets various people (Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook) who feed him and often provide him with objects he probably should have procured before heading to Alaska in the first place. If you've read the book, or heard about McCandless' story at all, you know how it ends. And it really can't end any other way. But the journey to the end is entertaining, amusing and fairly touching.

Although the story drags a bit in the middle, the film is visually stimulating enough to distract from the lagging storyline. Sweeping shots of the Alaskan tundra, sunsets in the midwest and even just shots of McCandless sitting on the bus he finds or a broken sofa make the movie, and the story, as fascinating as McCandless himself. The soundtrack also adds to the feel of the film, as it's mostly just a man and his guitar. Surprisingly, Eddie Vedder does the entire soundtrack, and I've never really enjoyed Pearl Jam all that much, but I love this soundtrack. The guitar is fantastic, and it's even better when put in the context of the film.

There are very few critics who are bashing this movie at the moment, and I don't think that will change much once it's released on October 5th. It's a great story, with great music and incredible acting, and probably one of the best I've seen in a while.

So here's the trailer: