Movie Review Speed Racer

Speed Racer (2008) 

Directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski

Written by Lilly and Lana Wachowski 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Roger Allam

Release Date May 9th, 2008 

Published May 8th, 2008 

The team behind The Matrix, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, are back behind the camera for the first time since the last Matrix sequel lumbered into theaters 4 years ago. They are back with a big budget bang, adapting the boomer anime retro strip Speed Racer into an eye popping effects extravaganza. This candy colored action-racing smorgasbord is a feast for the eyes and a triumph for modern special effects. 

Emile Hirsch stars as Speed Racer, the hottest young driver on the world racing league tour. Coming off a big win, Speed is being pursued by every corporate entity on the globe, but especially by the smarmy head of Royalton International (Roger Allam). Royalton wants Speed on his team and dazzles him with his sprawling car plant.

Speed however, he cannot be bought. With the support of his family, Speed sees no need to take the corporate money. This means Royalton will have to destroy Speed as well as Racer Motors, the independent team run by Pops (John Goodman) and Mom (Susan Surandon) Racer, Speed's parents. The team includes Speed's gal Trixie (Christina Ricci) and his lead mechanic Sparky (Kick Gurry).

Always along for the ride are Speed's little brother Spritle (Paulie Litt) and his pet monkey Chim Chim. Rounding out the cast is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) who has a reputation for causing crashes but more often than not he comes out on the side of good. Fox's performance as Racer X is far more key to the plot and to what is so good about Speed Racer than he first 

From a technological standpoint, Speed Racer is a leap forward in the way computers and movies intertwine. The virtual world that Wachowski's craft for Speed Racer is one of the most impressive visuals ever brought to the screen. Some will complain that it is all too busy and jolting, top video game-esque but those are people who are showing their age.

Speed Racer is a movie made specifically for boys 10 to 14 years old. The humor, the videogame visual style and even the cardboard cut out characters are aimed at a younger, less discriminating audience. Where adults may find the flat performances and flabby script slightly tedious, kids will be taken with the film's quick cuts, candy colors and juvenile humor.

Then there is Matthew Fox as Racer X who could be this generation's Han Solo. A taciturn bad boy with ambiguous intentions, Racer X is the big brother every kid would love to have and fills the same role for the earnest young Speed who evokes Luke Skywalker with great ease. I don't make the Star Wars allusions, lightly, I genuinely believe that Speed Racer has that kind of youth defining appeal. 

Though it was made for the kids, all audiences will be dazzled by the technology of Speed Racer. The extraordinary visuals, the exceptional way real actors are integrated into digital backgrounds, and the exciting action scenes crafted almost entirely with computers are some of the most striking and breathtaking visuals in film history.

As film technology improves Speed Racer will be remembered as a historic leap forward. The visionary Lilly and Lana Wachowski have expanded our collective movie imagination and while many will find the experience jarring, I expect that many more will be blown away. Myself, I was immersed in the visual splendor and overjoyed by the fun and excitement of Speed Racer. The movie may rely on technology to a ludicrous degree but it's so skillful in that use of technology that I really didn't mind. 

As Star Wars was a watershed for my generation, Speed Racer may be for a generation of 10 to 14 year old boys who will no doubt begin a lifelong love of movies thanks to the remarkable work of Lilly and Lana Wachowski. Circumstance may conspire to keep Speed Racer from becoming a true world wide blockbuster but history will recall Speed Racer as a historic stride in the history of film technology. On that alone I can recommend Speed Racer.

Movie Review: Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog (2007) 

Directed by Nick Cassavetes

Written by Nick Cassavetes 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Ben Foster, Bruce Willis

Release Date January 15th, 2006 

Published January 15th, 2006

The true story of small time pot dealer Jesse James Hollywood should never have become a movie. Hollywood was just another punk teenager in the San Fernando Valley selling weed and acting like a gangster. He would have gotten popped by the cops eventually and spent a couple of years in jail and never been heard from at all.

One fatal decision, one stupid moment, and Jesse James Hollywood went from poser to being the youngest person ever placed on the FBI's most wanted list. How Jesse gained such infamy is the backstory of the movie Alpha Dog from writer-director Nick Cassavetes. Compelling yet pointless, Alpha Dog wants to be a Shakespearean tragedy but acts more like an out of control episode of MTV's Laguna Beach.

Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) was a low level drug dealer in the San Fernando Valley who lived for money, sex and the adulation of his small band of friends and hangers on. Johnny's father Sonny (Bruce Willis) was a successful criminal with rumored ties to the mob. Johnny used his father's connections to make himself a mini empire.

On the periphery of Johnny's little kingdom is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) a tweaked out ex-con with a serious drug problem. Jake owed Johnny 1200 bucks and when he can't come up with the cash a violent encounter leads to a deadly rivalry that escalates eventually to murder. Jake's little brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) gets dragged into the fight when Johnny and his pals Frankie (Justin Timberlake) and TKO (Fernando Vargas) grab him off the street as a hostage.

At first the kidnapping is a bit of a goof. Just a group of teenagers playing gangsters and imitating what they have seen in the movies. As things start to get more and more out of control an air of inevitability settles in and a story that should have ended with Zack heading home and telling his mom and dad he ran away for a few days, ends with murder.

Alpha Dog is a true story. A 20 year old drug dealer named Jesse James James Hollywood is the real life Johnny Truelove. He was a drug dealer and after the death of the younger brother of his rival, he became the youngest person ever on the FBI's most wanted list. What director Nick Cassavetes movie tells us is that we should never have heard of Jesse James Hollywood.

Had Jesse and his pals just let their hostage go, everyone would have walked away unharmed. Sure Jesse and his boys would have ended up in prison eventually but not for this senseless murder.

Writer-director Nick Cassavetes has said that this film is not really about the crime committed as it is about the parents who allowed it to happen. The film is dotted with moments where those who should know better, from Johnny's criminal dad, played by Bruce Willis, to Frankie's pot dealer dad, parents had many opportunities to realize what was going on, but were either too selfish or too clueless to stop it.

One of the sadder moments of Alpha Dog occurs between Dominique Swain as Susan and her mother Tiffany played by Alex Kingston. Susan is the only one of the teens to realize the danger that Zach was in and when she attempted to stop it by speaking to her mother, the blow off she gets is the film's ultimate example of parental neglect.

There are a number of good scenes in Alpha Dog. The one I just mentioned between Swain and Kingston is powerful as are scenes featuring Ben Foster as the crazed Jake Mazursky. Foster is frightening as a tweaked out druggie who is likely more dangerous than anyone else in the story and yet he is more together in the end than Johnny and his crew.

One of the most surprising things about Alpha Dog is the strong performance of pop star Justin Timberlake. With his effortless charm and natural good looks, Timberlake has that “it” quality that defines a star. His Frankie is sympathetic and gregarious and watching Frankie, who takes up more screen time than you expect, makes the film's conclusion seem so devastatingly avoidable.

Anton Yelchin is heartbreaking as Zach Mazursky the kidnapped kid. One of those kids who just aimed to please, Zach never made trouble, even after getting beaten up and tied up and gagged in a strangers bathroom. Zach remained affable and friendly with his captors as they threatened his life. Eventually, his winning innocence won over a few of his captors who made him one of the group, got him high, and helped him meet girls. His acceptance guarantees he never would have talked to the cops about his captors, yet another heartbreaking detail of this horrible story.

The performances in Alpha Dog are, for the most part, quite good. However, the one performance that was needed to really make the film work is missing. Emile Hirsch as Johnny never emerges as the focal point of the picture. Johnny is the driving force of the awful events that take place and yet, too often, he disappears.

Alpha Dog is a sad, awful, terrifying story of what happens when parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. Had one adult injected himself in this story with some authority, that 15 year old kid would still be alive. Unfortunately, the teenagers in the story of Alpha Dog were allowed to run wild in the streets and that kid is dead because of it.

Nick Cassavetes tells this story with urgency and purpose. Parents pay attention to your kids. If you don't stupid, stupid things happen and innocence dies.

Movie Review The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door (2004) 

Directed by Luke Greenfield

Written by Luke Greenfield, Stuart Bloomberg, 3 Other Screenwriters

Starring Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Paul Dano 

Release Date April 9th, 2004 

Published April 10th, 2004

When do you think Hollywood ran out of original ideas? It's been awhile I know that, but I never imagined just how bad things were until I saw the latest commercial campaign for the teen sex comedy The Girl Next Door. The ad campaign actually touts the film’s lack of an original idea, calling the film American Pie meets Risky Business. This isn't the first unoriginal idea but it's the rare example of a film that doesn't try to hide it in some way. The Girl Next Door comes right out and admits that it has not one original idea and watching the film reinforces just that.

Emile Hirsch stars as Matthew. He’s class president, valedictorian and on his way to law school at Georgetown University. That is until he meets the titular girl next door, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert). The two kids meet cute as Matthew spies on Danielle from his bedroom window. She catches him and turns the tables on him, taking him out for some public humiliation, the funniest moment in the film.

From there begins a rather dull movie courtship where the straight-laced Matthew comes out of his shell with the help of the wild child Danielle. Like every romantic comedy, there is a roadblock and this one is a doozy. It seems that in a previous life, Danielle was a pornstar and her past is catching up with her in the form of her former director Kelly (Timothy Olyphant). Kelly wants her back in front of the camera and will do anything to get her back. It's up to Matthew and a pair of his high school buddies to help her find a way out.

I will give the ad campaign of the film a little credit, it doesn't lie. The film does indeed lift liberally from both American Pie and Risky Business. In fact, Risky's writer-director Paul Brickman should be seeking a writing credit and some compensation for the direct rip-offs employed by director Luke Greenfield and writers David Wagner and Brent Goldberg. Simply switch the film’s porno storyline with Risky's hooker storyline and you have nearly the same film. 

Whereas Tom Cruise's character becomes a pimp in order to pay off Rebecca Demornay's debt to Joe Pantoliano, Emile Hirsch's Matthew directs a porn film with the help of Danielle's porn star friends to pay off her debt to Timothy Olyphant’s Kelly. Where Cruise and Demornay have sex on the subway, Hirsch and Cuthbert have sex in a limousine. And on and on.

There was one good thing about Girl Next Door and that was the lovely Elisha Cuthbert who, despite a weak script that does her few favors, manages to shine with a sweet and sexy performance. Cuthbert helps Hirsch's rather weak performance when they are on screen together, but when it's just Hirsch, the star of the terrific indie film The Secret Lives Of Altar Boys, he and the film struggle mightily. Hirsch may have a bright future ahead of him but he needs to choose his scripts better. More Alter Boys style stuff and no more teen sex comedies.

The Girl Next Door is yet another example of cynical Hollywood filmmaking that puts demographics ahead of actual filmmaking. This is a film that was approved in the pitch meeting by executives who didn't care if there was a good script as long as they had the right amount of T&A; to parade in front of the camera and enough familiar elements to lull audiences into mindless nostalgia. I can't register honest surprise about this film but I can lament it and decry it.

Movie Review: The Emperor's Club

The Emperor's Club (2002)

Directed by Michael Hoffman

Written by Neil Tolkin 

Starring Kevin Kline, Steven Culp, Embeth Davidtz, Patrick Dempsey, Emile Hirsch, Rob Morrow 

Release Date November 22nd, 2002 

Published November 22nd, 2002 

In Life as A House, Kevin Kline pandered unsuccessfully to Oscar voters with a character that begged to be loved. Why an actor as talented as Kline felt the need to beg for an Oscar nomination is beyond me because, with his roles in the highly underrated comedy Dave and the forgotten cop thriller The January Man (which is a personal favorite of mine), Kline has proved he can act as well as anyone. In his latest film, The Emperor's Club, Kline takes on yet another role that seems to scream for Oscar attention while not deserving it.

Kline stars as Mr. Hundert, a professor at an all-boys private school named St. Benedictus. Mr Hundert teaches the classics and Roman history, to a group of kids who will grow up to be politicians and the future captains of industry. At first, he is simply dealing with a group of bright kids who are just there to learn. Things change when the troublemaking son of a senator named Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch) joins the class and begins to disrupt things. At first, Mr. Hundert is at a loss as to how to teach Sedgewick since the kid simply refuses to do anything. However after speaking to Sedgewick's father (character actor Harris Yulin, in a typically villainous role), Hundert sees a way to reach the young boy.

The culmination of the school year is a competition between students to become Mr. Julius Caesar, a crown bestowed on the student who has the greatest knowledge of Roman history. Sedgewick begins taking part in class and earns a spot in the contest finals for Mr. Julius Caesar. Though Sedgewick didn't truly earn his spot, Mr. Hundert increased Sedgewick's score on a test, just enough to get him in the contest. Whether he felt sorry for Sedgewick or felt his hard work warranted the extra couple points, Mr. Hundert's decision will come to haunt him when he catches Sedgewick trying to cheat in the contest.

The film begins with an older Mr. Hundert reuniting with his class of 1976, the class which incluses Sedgewick and his friends, and ends with the actual reunion which was organized by Sedgewick as a rematch of the Mr. Julius Caesar contest.

The Emperor's Club is notable for its simplistic scale. This is not meant to be a broad inspirational tale, but rather, a straightforward, earnest character study. It is a movie that seems dedicated to the one teacher that everyone remembers fondly, but instead is a study of one man and his decisions and morals. Mr. Hundert is a good man whose bad decisions haunt him for a long time, but never overwhelm him.

This is not Mr. Holland's Opus or Dead Poets Society; this film isn't that broad. The Emperor's Club is a simple character study. If only that character were more interesting than this one. The Emperor's Club could have been pretty good. Kevin Kline has natural charisma and intelligence yet his Mr. Hundert is an endlessly dull character, as are his students.

Anyone who has never been to a private school and could care less for its rites and traditions will find that The Emperor's Club does little to make them interesting. I expected the film to illustrate the exhilaration of learning. Learning even the most obscure knowledge can be exciting, but the film fails to show this. Instead, the film glosses over the teaching and learning in favor of its morality play.

I have yet to see a film that really expressed the joy of learning. Stand & Deliver came close, but was more concerned with racial politics than with learning. The Emperor's Club had the opportunity and missed. Still I believe someday a film will truly show the joy of learning and that will be one great film.

Movie Review The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002) 

Directed by Peter Care 

Written by Michael Petroni 

Starring Kieran Culkin, Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Jodie Foster 

Release Date June 14th, 2002 

Published November 10th, 2002 

What is your favorite childhood memory? For me it was making out with my first girlfriend Dawn. I was 12; she was 11 and every Tuesday her mother would bring her over while she played cards with my parents. Dawn and I would sneak off to a gorgeous spot right on the Mississippi River bank. The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys is one of those films that will make you nostalgic for your childhood, your first love, your best friends, and those moments that only you and those childhood friends will remember.

The film centers around four friends, Tim (Kieran Culkin), Francis (Emile Hirsch), Wade (Jake Richardson) and Joey (Tyler Long). The focus is on their love of comic books and their loathing of their catholic school teacher Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster). The boys visualize themselves as comic book superheroes and their fantasies are played out in cartoon vignettes throughout the film. Things begin to change for the boys as Francis begins his first relationship with a girl, Margie, played by the lovely Jena Malone. As Francis and Margie's relationship grows, his friends’ sense they are losing their best friend, Tim especially feels he is losing his best friend.

As a way of reasserting their friendship, Tim gets an idea to take revenge on Sister Assumpta for all the trouble she has caused them. The elaborate plan calls for the guys to steal a cougar from a local zoo and unleash it in Sister Assumpta's office. Francis, Wade and Joey go along at first not realizing how serious Tim is about his over the top revenge scheme. In the meantime, Francis is dealing with Margie and her very serious home issues including alleged sexual abuse by her older brother who is a classmate of Francis.

The shocking details of the abuse would seem to be more than any teenager could deal with but Francis isn't an average teenager. Francis reacts to the many revelations from Margie at first like anyone would but his limitless kindness and gentle nature lead him to more philosophical conclusions than you would expect from someone his age. For the most part Francis retreats into his comic fantasies, incorporating his real life torments into his comic drawings and stories.

The film travels a twisted road of comedy and drama and is quite reminiscent of the movie Stand By Me in it's camaraderie between these four young guys and their ever quickening emotional growth. A tragedy near the end of the film makes sense emotionally and intellectually rather than seeming like a shallow heart string tug.

In the hands of a less skilled director, this material could have been a treacle mess. Veteran video director Peter Care, who has worked with the likes of REM, treads the line between smart comedy and drama very carefully. Care never allows his teenage characters to seem smarter than the adult types we get in so many other teen comedies and especially on TV.

Hirsch’s performance really made an impact on me. Looking like the younger brother of Adrien Grenier with his round soulful eyes and olive skin, Hirsch's look projects a budding intelligence necessary to make characters like Francis work. It is a great time for Independent film. My top ten end of the year list is likely to be dominated by them. Will The Dangerous Lives Of Altar Boys be on that list? We will see, it will surely come close.

Movie Review Taking Woodstock

Taking Woodstock (2009) 

Directed by Ang Lee 

Written by James Schamus 

Starring Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Eugene Levy, Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Groff

Release Date August 28th, 2009 

Published August 28th, 2009 

The cultural touchstone that is Woodstock has been examined and reexamined in many different forms. Books, TV shows, movies, documentaries, records, have been used to cover every possible angle of this iconic moment in recent American history. So, it is quite notable that director Ang Lee and his writing partner James Schamus have found something of a new angle for their take on Woodstock.

In Taking Woodstock the festival of peace, love and music provides the background for the self exploration of Elliott Teichberg, played by comedian Demetri Martin. Using the concert as the backdrop for a character based story isn't new but the character and the approach to him is something kind of revelatory.

In early August 1969 the organizers of Woodstock found themselves run out of Wallkill New York. Locals pulled the group's festival permit. Luckily for them a young man named Elliott Teichberg happened to have a festival permit and as chairman of the chamber of commerce in tiny Whitelake New York, he had the power to keep it.

A partnership was forged that would change history. Elliott was not meant to be in Whiteside. His parents Sonia (Imelda Staunton) and Jake (Henry Goodman) have run a failing resort in the area for years while Elliott has moved to New York City. When it looked like the place was finally going under, Elliott moved back home.

He became a part of the town and the youngest chamber of commerce chairman in history when he took the risk to bring Woodstock to Whiteside and with it a life changing experience that he could never have envisioned.

I am making Taking Woodstock out to be a little bigger than it is. It's big for Elliott but the story's scale is exceptionally small. Tiny, well observed moments of Elliott Teichberg finding out little things about himself, taking small but escalating risks and dragging his parents, especially his stingy, entrenched mother, along as well.

Some, maybe most, will find Taking Woodstock to be slow, even meandering. For me, the pace was slow but my interest never seemed to wane. Taking Woodstock is a gentle, immersive experience that floats along on a cloud of marijuana smoke and good vibes.

Comic Demetri Martin perfectly captures Elliott's lost soul innocence and longing. He has a wonderful playful spirit hidden behind a nebbish reserve. When he lets loose it's a gentle catharsis perfectly pitched to Ang Lee's waves lapping against the shore pacing.

Yes, Taking Woodstock is slow but it is intended to be slow. It's intended as a gentle study of a gentle man. In that it is highly successful and for me a warm wonderful moviegoing experience. I don't recommend this one to fans of Transformers 2, but for those who enjoy their movies with a little more leisure, Taking Woodstock is the movie for you.

Movie Review Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown (2005) 

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

Written by Stacy Peralta 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Heath Ledger, Michael Angarano 

Release Date June 3rd, 2005 

Published June 2nd, 2005 

If there is one character trait that defines the southern California surf kids turned skateboard legends profiled so memorably in the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys and now in the film Lords of Dogtown it is an uncompromising will to do whatever they want. However, compromise is exactly what Lords of Dogtown is. Compromised to achieve maximum mainstream appeal at the expense of the colorful characters that so obviously populate its cast.

Lords of Dogtown is the autobiographical account of the rise of skateboard culture in Southern California in the 1970s and the leaders of this new sport's aesthetic. Written by Z-Boy Stacey Perralta we know the story is authentic but it's also obviously compromised for mainstream appeal by director Catherine Hardwicke and a glut of suits from Columbia Pictures eager to tap the rebellious cool of skateboard culture for a quick buck.

John Robinson, so memorable in Gus Van Sant's indie flick Elephant, plays Peralta as a straight arrow kid whose only personality seems to come from his skateboarding. With his friends Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch; Secret Lives Of Altar Boys) and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk; Raising Victor Vargas), Perralta grabbed his skateboard just to have a good time after school and ended up finding a calling that would last the rest of his life.

It is the life arcs of these three characters that are the thrust of the drama of Lords Of Dogtown, unfortunately scenes that might expand and deepen those arcs are left on the cutting room floor seemingly to give the film a more marketable run time of just under two hours and to make room for more skating scenes, also a nod to the marketing department.

It's a shame because anyone who saw the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys Directed by Mr. Perralta knows that these kids' lives were just as fascinating as their athleticism. In Lords Of Dogtown there are a number of nods in the direction of these characters and the moments that would change and define their lives but they too often get cut short.

I do not blame director Catherine Hardwicke entirely for the compromised nature of Lords of Dogtown. It seems all throughout the film that she is trying to dig deeper but is constantly being undermined by the studio and its final say in the film's cut.

Everything from the look of the film-- this gorgeous amber hue that captures the heat of the streets of Santa Monica-- to the casting of hot young indie talents like Hirsch and Rasuk to even the hiring of Ms. Hardwicke has the feel of indie barbarians crashing the gates of corporate Hollywood. Sadly you can't fight city hall and you damn sure can't fight the marketing department of a major corporate studio.

Jay Adams' story is the kind of tragedy that great drama is made of. While Stacey Perralta and Tony Alva traveled the world on their skateboards, Adams stayed behind in Dogtown, the nickname for the shoreside ghetto of Santa Monica California, and fell into all of the typical traps: gangs, drugs and violence. Watching the impetuous and impish Adams in the person of the terrific Emile Hirsch go from beach blonde skateboarder to bald headed tattooed gangster and eventually on to prison is a very dramatic arc that gets merely glossed over in the film so that we can get to see more skateboarding.

Perralta and Alva get equally glossed over treatments. The only impression the film leaves of Stacey Perralta is that of a straight arrow, almost nerdy child saint who is about as rebellious as a Hanson concert. As for Alva, his legendary ego is well played by Victor Rasuk but that seems to be his only character trait aside from his astonishing skills on a skateboard.

Skateboarders and fans of the sport will find a lot to love about Lords of Dogtown. The skateboarding is pretty spectacular and terrifically filmed. Though it's not nearly as breathtaking as it is in the documentary footage in Dogtown and Z Boys, it's still quite good and will appeal to fans of the sport.

The film also features a very entertaining performance by Heath Ledger as the skate shop owner and Z-Boys guru Skip Engblom. Ledger does not nearly get the screen time he needs to fully flesh out this character but fans of the actor may find this to be some of his best work.

Lords of Dogtown is a disappointment for fans of the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys who realized while watching the doc what an extraordinary story could be told about these characters. It would have to have been a sprawling three hour multi-character piece in the Paul Thomas Anderson spirit to work, but it definitely could have worked. Instead, Lords Of Dogtown is yet another compromised product of the Hollywood corporate mindset. Well acted and professionally directed but nearly as shallow as the swimming pools where the Z-Boys polished their aesthetic.