The Matrix is my all time favorite film. I believe it's about the most perfect film ever made. (At least for my tastes.) It beautifully blends a mind-bending sci-fi story, with jaw-dropping action scenes, through brilliant, top-notch filmmaking. I became a Wachowski Brothers fan for life the moment I walked out of seeing The Matrix for the first time. I don't care that the sequels didn't live up to the original. I still enjoy them as decent follow-ups, they also have excellent action scenes and continue the story that I fell in love with. I think that the films were rushed out too quickly and that's what sullied what they had built. But in time, as kids grow up with these films, without the great expectations from the first one, instantly able to pop in the sequels after watching the first, that the films will become a classic trilogy on level with Star Wars for my generation. I honestly think that The Matrix Revolutions is a much better film than Return of the Jedi, it's only a matter of nostalgic perception.

So I was ecstatic to hear that Andy and Larry were making another film. After V for Vengeance, I was afraid they'd moved into producer territory and weren't coming back. I didn't care that it was Speed Racer, a cheesy cartoon from the 70's that I never watched and didn't know anything about beyond the name. But they had me practically drooling the first time I saw the trailer. The candy colors, the futuristic editing and the full frame in constant focus, I knew I was seeing something brand new. I predicted based solely on that glimpse, that the film wouldn't make money. I could tell that the film was too far ahead of its time and most people wouldn't get it. But mark my words, as kids grow up with this, watching it over and over on hi-def TVs, the film's reputation will grow. In 10-15 years time, Speed Racer will be one of the best remembered films of this generation.


Emile Hirsch, of Into the Wild fame, a film that ascetically couldn't be any more different, stars as Speed. In the opening few minutes, we're given everything we need to know about who Speed is and where he comes from.

I absolutely adore the shot where the young Speed is racing along with the badly animated cars. This is exactly what I think a young kid envisions when they're imagining these sorts of things. And look for the shot with Speed in the background and young Trixie is in the foreground, both in crystal clear focus. That doesn't happen in normal films. The Wachowski's and their team came up with this effect to imitate the world of animation, where everything can be in focus at the same time. The whole film is like this, along with the other-worldy colors, it gives the film a totally unique look. I think a lot of older viewers were thrown off by this nearly hypnotic effect, but that the kids of today will adore it.

Also completely different, is the editing style of the film. There is often 4 to 5 things going on in a single shot, it's overwhelming at times, but also incredibly ahead of its time. You'll see a current Speed remembering his past in the foreground, with his memories playing out behind him. Or you'll see a multitude of characters reacting to something at the same time, they're faces cut out and floating through the shot of a car racing by. The amount of detail in this film is breathtaking. So while Iron Man, may be the film of summer '08, Speed Racer, will have a much greater affect on the future of films; as more filmmakers copy these new techniques.

I'll admit that the story of Speed Racer is somewhat weak. I didn't mind the independent racer and his family, fighting the large, evil corporation storyline; I think it's the right one for the film. What's wrong with it, is that they took too much time developing and talking about it. This is after all a film made for kids. If they could have cut about 15 minutes of the talking, the film would have been much more effective. However, I did like most of the film's performances. They're intentionally campy, without totally overdoing it, neatly straddling the line between cartoon and live-action. I didn't even mind little brother Spritle and his monkey Chim Chim, they're goofy, but provide a few good laughs.

But we're not watching the film for story or characters, it's all about the racing scenes. And believe me, they're well worth it! The four main racing scenes are the heart of the film, each visually stunning in their own right. But I particularly liked the cross-country, no-rules race. We get to see Speed team up with Racer X and Taejo Togokahn, to take on all comers, in a race across the desert and through the high, snowy mountains. This is Wacky Races brought to sparkling life. I mean, how many times have you seen a gang of Viking race-car drivers, toss live beehives at another driver or flip towards the lead car, with a huge mace and chain dragging behind them. It's a total cartoon, you can't take this stuff literal for a second. But from the start the Wachowski brothers set up the world for things to work this way, so I never had a problem with it. When Speed Racer jumps off a cliff, pops some spikes out of his tire, drives straight up a mountain, and jumps over his last competitor, I cheered inside.

It seems that so many people went into this film wanting to tear it down. People are often afraid of the new and different, so they immediately dismissed it without another thought. But the kids that were at the screening ate it up, my son included, we had to take him back to see it again a week later. They're the true audience for this film, and I guarantee that it will be well remembered. Let yourself become a kid again, zone out a bit while the characters are talking about sponsorships and conglomerates, and focus in when Speed Racer and Racer X start doing their thing. Speed Racer is pure visual candy; it has zero nutritional value, but damn, does it taste good! - Grade: A-

Why do we like revenge films? Is it a violent urge inside all of us, to harm someone that did us wrong? I believe that movies let us live out fantasies that we otherwise wouldn't get to. Whether that be travel, sexual, violence or a million other possibilities. I think most humans are full of anger, it's simply part of being human; looking at our history, it's impossible to ignore. Now that most of us are domesticated, happy to live in harmony with our neighbors, we live it out through the movies. That's why films from Death Wish to Sweeney Todd exist, we get to see the guy who's been stepped on, get his revenge. It pleases our deepest instincts. (At least that's what I tell myself, when I cheer inside, when some guy gets brutally killed.)

So it was with those thoughts I went into Death Sentence. I've always liked Kevin Bacon, he's one of the industries most reliable actors, popping up in just about anything, always giving a good, believable performance. Director James Wan has caught my attention over the last few years; busting out with Saw, his original being the only worthwhile of the bunch, and I was one of the few people that really dug his killer puppet film Dead Silence. He's got a good eye, and a talent for building suspense and action scenes. I figured the two couldn't go wrong in revenge mode, and I was mostly right.

Bacon plays Nick Hume, an executive, a dedicated husband and father of two, you couldn't ask for a much plainer fellow. He takes great pride in the fact that his older son Brendan is a top-notch high school hockey player. He has hopes for him to get a college scholarship and maybe go pro one day. Everything changes one night, when the two stop at a gas station on the wrong side of town. Brendan is mercilessly killed by a young gang member, doing so, simply to be fully initiated into the gang. When the DA tells this grieving father, that since he's the only witness, the most he can hope for is a few years behind bars for the murdering bastard.

Pissed beyond belief at a justice system gone wrong, Nick has the judge throw out the case. And decides to take the law into his own hands! I mean really, is there any other option? Nick proceeds to track down the kid and kill him a few nights later. Being a novice at it, he does so pretty sloppily, leaving behind enough evidence for the cops and the kid's brother/gang-leader to be on his ass. I liked actor playing the brother, Garrett Hedlund, he has the angry-young-man bit down well. But the main cop, played by Aisha Tyler, is a drag every time she's on camera, I didn't buy her as a cop for a second. Nick has to distract the cops and fight the gang off the best he can, and his world begins to quickly unravel.

There's a pretty great scene, when the gang finds Nick after work and they chase him through the alleys of downtown, into a parking structure, ending with Nick rolling a parked car from the top floor with one of the gang members still inside. The entire thing gets way out of hand, ruining his good name, and putting the rest of his family in jeopardy. The film's ending is about as big a downer as you could find in these films, which is really saying something.

Death Sentence isn't going to knock anyone's socks off. It's not breaking any new ground. The action scenes are fairly well done, and they're fun to watch. But it's tough to believe some of the things Nick puts his surviving family through, in order to get his justice. And the way the initial murder is set-up, it's not enough to get you totally riled up for his eventual revenge. You actually kind of feel bad for the guys he's chasing down and I think that's maybe the feeling they were going for, trying not to paint it in black and white. But the film isn't built well enough for us to feel a full set of emotions, mostly you just want to see Bacon kick ass. If you're into revenge films, you could do a lot worse; but there are a ton of them out there far more satisfying and better mad. - Grade: C+

I'm a huge Seinfeld fan, in my book, it goes The Simpsons, then Seinfeld as my all-time favorite TV shows. So I was a little excited when I heard he was finally creating something new, even if it was another computer-animated family film about insects. The film does have some of that Seinfeld humor, but it also has a lot of standard, family style jokes that don't really stand out. The film is the same way, a few stand out moments, a lot of average, forgettable bits. It has the standard kid movie plot of a character figuring out who they are.

Seinfeld plays Barry B. Benson, who has just graduated from Bee college, and is about to go into the only business available to him, Honex, where they make honey. He gets only one real choice in life, which job he wants; he can stir the honey, clean the honey, take care of the drips, and a hundred other things, all revolving around honey. After he makes that decision, he's stuck with it until he dies. While it's nothing for every bee around him, for some reason he can't bring himself to make the choice. He wants to try live more first, but mostly he wants out of the hive, to see the world.

His chance comes, when some of the pollen jocks take a liking to him and decide to take him out with them. After some close calls with a tennis ball, rain and a boot, his whole world changes when he meets a human woman Vanessa, ho after the initial shock of talking to a bee, they form a fast friendship. Through her, he learns about the world conspiracy of humans stealing bee's honey for their own use. He discovers what he believes is his life's mission, to take back what is rightfully theirs; and he sues the entire human race to get the honey back. Of course there is more too it than that, and through it he discovers the true meaning of his life and begins to value his bee community.

Bee Movie has a nice message about finding yourself and your place in the world, without beating you over the head with it. What they do beat to death is the bee jokes, they're constantly throwing them at you, everything from Barry's name, to his wardrobe, to the constant honey references. It's the obvious thing to do, and instead of using them in the right situation to get the biggest laughs out of them, the use them up within 5 minutes and after that get very tired, very quickly. The Seinfeld humor, the simple observations of everyday life, are the best thing about the film, but there's not enough of it; I was disappointed in his script, the film doesn't feel fresh, uses way too many old or obvious jokes that have been seen a hundred times before.

The animation is good enough, it doesn't distract you, but doesn't blow you away either. The voice work by Jerry Seinfeld is fun, Rene Zellweger is fine as Vanessa, though I don't think she's done anything totally worthwhile since the first Bridget Jones Diary. Chris Rock does some really funny work as a crazy mosquito, Patrick Warburton and his deep voice, shows up in about his 10th animated film in as many years, and does his typical reliable thing. There's a few cameo's that work and don't, did we really need another Larry King appearance, might as well have had Jay Leno show up again, the Ray Liotta cameo was a bit more inspired, but the joke will fly over any kid's head, since they won't have a clue who he is in real life.

Bee Movie might be worth checking out if you have kids, just to see something new, and it's not too bad of a film, and a lot of the humor is aimed at the adults. But it's not very good either, if you don't have kids, and aren't a big Seinfeld fan or animation buff, I can't see a reason to bother with it. - Grade: C+