There’s been a lot of bad press about the movie, so I wanted to join the growing chorus of people defending it.

I absolutely loved Speed Racer. Of course, I was a huge fan of the cartoon as a kid. I wanted to be Speed; I had a massive crush on Trixie; and I idolized Racer X. I even dressed up as Speed Racer on Halloween in my 20s. I was expecting a lot from the film, and was afraid I’d hate it. Especially when I started skimming the review. I almost didn’t go see it. I’m glad I did because I really enjoyed it. Here’s why:

• It’s pure eye candy, but you probably know this already. It’s amazing is just how literally this is true. There is a fantastic scene that cuts from an bird’s-eye view of a supersaturated metropolis to a drawer full of Technicolor candy (actually, it’s more like Hypercolor).
• The retro-futuristic feel is superb. The whole movie feels like a 1950s pulp science fiction version of today. The wallpaper and the Tiki bar in the Racer house were superb pieces of set design.
• John Goodman. The casting in general was pretty good. For the most part everyone was perfectly suited for their roles, but Goodman was amazing as Pops. He pulled all the faces that Pops pulled in the original series. When he yelled at Spritle and Chim Chim, I got chills.
• The film was true to the kookiness of the original series. I’ve talked about John Goodman making the crazy anime faces, but it didn’t stop there. From the over the top fight sequences to a gun’s muzzle jammed in a Sparky’s nose, the whole thing really felt like Speed Racer. Spritle and Chim Chim’s sugar-induced rampage was spot on.
• The multilingual racing commentary. At some points in the film, this became a cacophony of unsubtitled voices competing for my attention. It felt a lot like the web.
• The desert rally. I always loved the long multi-episode desert rally in the original series. It had all the best bits. From the previews of I had seen, I was afraid they’d spend all their time on the track, but a large part of the film was dangerous racing through desert and mountains
• The phrase “cool beans” is used several times in the film.
• The creative alternative swear words. This is, after all, still a kid’s movie (probably part of the reason I loved it). “Tore him a new tailpipe,” comes to mind as one of the best examples of this.
• The steering wheel. This was another thing I loved in the original series. I think I actually knew what each of the buttons did. It only makes a brief appearance in the movie, but it was enough to make me happy.

More than anything, the film was great because it didn’t take itself seriously. I think that people who weren’t familiar with the original series went in expecting another Matrix or V for Vendetta. Speed Racer is definitely something entirely different, and I, for one, absolutely loved it.

Are you kidding me? A Speed Racer movie? I’m definitely there. It looks cheesy as hell, but that’s entirely in keeping with the original series.

Cheryl has also just started another blog: excerpts i love. She’s basically taken part of her approach to films — pulling out the best quotes from a film — and applied it to the books she’s read. I met Cheryl when we were both working at Book People many years ago, and I can guarantee that her taste in books (and quotes from those books) is excellent. Check out her blogs. I hope that you get as much enjoyment from them as I do.

I’ve noticed that there are certain films that I watch when I need a little pick me up. Here they are. I’d supply you with witty commentary, but it’s way past my bedtime.

1. Harvey
2. O Brother, Where Art Thou
3. Dodgeball
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Almost Famous
6. Garden State
7. Lost in Translation
8. Singing in the Rain
9. Philadelphia Story
10. The Science of Sleep (once it comes out on DVD)

So, there you have it. Those are the films that make me happy.I could have put a lot more Jimmy Stewart in there, but I restrained myself. Seriously, though, nothing brings a smile to my face quite like a drunken Steward shouting “Oh, C. K. Dexter Haven” at the top of his lungs.

I can already think of at least three films that I missed in compiling this quick list, but I’m just going to publish this puppy and go to sleep. I’ll leave you to post the films that you think I should have included — either in the comments or in your own blog.

Entertaining, but not quite Drunken Master or Brazil

Like all the Pirates films this was entertaining. I’ve always enjoyed the sword fighting. In the past the choreography has been pretty impressive, at least as good as some of Jackie Chan’s later Hollywood films. This was something that seemed to be missing from this film. At least until the very end. Even then it was lost in a maelstrom of other events. No decent sword fighting? And I thought this was a pirate movie!

Joanne was disappointed by the lack of Johnny Depp. She’s right. There’s much less of him in this film than the other two. And when we first encounter him, we have to endure ten to fifteen minutes of subgillianesque weirdness that really isn’t that weird. This segment also includes Johnny Depp in a scene with several other Johnny Depps. I’m sure the good folks at Disney thought this was a good idea. (”People love Johnny; let’s give them lots of Johnnies.”) While Johnny Depp is superb at completely inhabiting his characters, what makes him a truly enjoyable actor to watch is the way he interacts with the other cast members. Watching him interact with himself was frankly a bit of a bore.

The film is worth seeing if you’re in the mood for a big Hollywood movie, but it’s not the best of the trilogy. Perhaps I should make that “tetralogy.”

It’s just good business

Lord Cutler Beckett, representative of the East India Company and the villain of the film, is very fond of saying “It’s just good business,” usually when some sort of betrayal is involved. Every time he said this, I kept thinking of Disney’s approach to copyright. I suppose it is too much to hope that the film is a subtle statement of a change of heart and corporate policy. The heroes of the film are pirates, after all.

It’s a small hope

As we left the cinema, it occurred to me that Pirates of the Carribean is possibly the only Disney film that is based on a Disneyland/Disneyworld ride, rather than the other way around. I sincerely hope that Disney doesn’t decide that Pirates of the Caribbean worked so well that they should make films based on other rides. That said, I’m pretty sure Disney wouldn’t have to resort to DRM to prevent people making pirated copies of It’s a Small World: The Film.

Can I just add…

I personally believe that Lord Cutler Beckett is a fantastic name. Almost as good as Rolo Wiggins. Don’t try googling it. You won’t get any results, except maybe this blog post once Google spiders the site. It’s a name that I randomly generated for a project I was working on, but it gets my vote for the best name ever.

Well, I did warn you that it would be random. In fact, I’m thinking of adding a tag line to this blog: “Random observations about pirates, monkeys and cheeses.”

The next day, I opened the Review of the Saturday Guardian to read Anna Funder’s article on the film. (If you haven’t seen the film, I’d recommend waiting until you have before reading the article.) I was almost expecting an article like this. One that says that the film could never have happened. I expected an article like this to ruin the film for me. It didn’t. Funder recognizes that the film is superb; however, she points out that the events portrayed the film could never have happened. The East German system of surveillance would not have allowed it to happen. A Stasi man would never have give the freedom that Wiesler was given in the film.

I have yet to read Funder’s Stasiland, but it is now on my reading list. I’m appalled by the notion that a totalitarian system could be that complete, that successful. Strangely, I’m also comforted by the fact that the regime used fear to ensure the passivity and acceptance of its citizens. Stay with me here: I’m not a sadist, and I do approve of or condone the methods used in East Germany.

I’ve recently finished Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. The characters in Never Let Me Go are in a horrific situation. Entirely absent is any notion that this situation could be changed. The characters accept their horrific fate, of which they are fully aware, as destiny. They discuss it amongst themselves. They seek to defer it. In some cases, they even rave against it. But they never consider that they could avoid it, that they could change it. They simply accept that it is why they were created. They are completely human, yet completely oblivious to the possibility of change for the better.

This is what I mean when I say that I’m comforted by the fact that in East Germany, fear was used to keep the population in line. The regime was never able to win the population’s hearts and minds. People wanted a better life, and there were those who fought for it.

Fear tactics are very persuasive, but they are also very obvious. They are an easy way to prevent opposition and to shut down rational debate. Not every one falls for it, though. Not everyone gives in. What frightens me is the idea that human beings can be taught to accept an unacceptable, inhumane situation as normal and natural.

Update For whatever reason, this post was attracting about 90% of the spam on this blog, so I’m closing comments on this post.