VROOM-VROOM
Speed Racer dazzles with its lollipop-hued shininess but, sorry to report, there's nothing under the hood of this movie about an ambitious race car driver. Nada. Based on a 1960s Japanese anime TV series and directed by brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy), the futuristic, live-action film offers a story and characters so bereft of originality or individuality that it might as well have been a cartoon.
Speed Racer (Hirsch) hopes to follow in the tire tracks of his adored late brother, a legendary driver. With the support of his loving family (Sarandon and Goodman play his parents) and girlfriend (Ricci), Speed must overcome corporate venality and other challenges to compete in a grand prix.
Hirsch is beyond bland, which is more the script's fault than his. Not even a pro like Sarandon can rescue a line as hokey as Mom telling Speed, "I go to the races to watch you make art." Only Racer's look will interest thinking adults, and even that has limits. The lurid Day-Glo palette made me feel as if I were trapped inside a virtual version of Candy Land. Which is probably why Fred, my 8-year-old consultant on kids' flicks, loved Racer. His only criticism: "This should totally be in 3-D." At least that would give the film some dimension.
Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Queen Latifah, Treat Williams | PG-13 |
ROMANTIC COMEDY
Remember when romantic comedies used to charm and surprise? Of late, the entire genre seems rote and predictable. The latest addition to the list of uninspired rom-coms is this busy tale of two New Yorkers (Diaz and Kutcher) who meet, party hard and wed in a night while vacationing in Las Vegas. Upon sobering up, they plan a quickie divorce—but a pro-marriage judge orders them to cohabit for six months if either wants to see any of the $3 million they won together at a slot machine. Want to bet that dislike will turn into true love? Diaz and Kutcher each trot out their usual bag of tricks: She flails her arms and acts goofy, he sputters and tosses his hair. No viva Vegas here.
Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan | Not Rated |
CRITIC'S CHOICE
DRAMA
David (Robbins), a successful attorney in Manhattan, is a sensitive guy. As in, sensitive to the constant barrage of street noise, especially shrill car alarms that blare in the night, waking him, his wife (Moynahan) and child. Calling himself "The Rectifier," he takes matters into his own hands. He roves the city, yanking out alarm wires and slashing tires on offending vehicles. Soon his spouse has left him, but he has become a hero to the noise-beleaguered masses and a thorn in the side of the mayor (William Hurt), who castigates David as "nothing but a two-bit vigilante."
Noise, written and directed by Henry Bean (The Believer), is a darkly amusing portrait of one man's descent into urban paranoia and his journey back. It's Death Wish subtly updated to fit today's safer, cleaner New York City.
FIRST LOOK!
• Costume designer Ann Roth dishes on Meryl Streep as the late chef in next year's comedy Julie & Julia
THE RESEMBLANCE IS AMAZING. HOW DID YOU DO IT? We looked at hundreds of old photos and movies of Julia and based our designs off those. Meryl and I had long talks about the clothes and about making her look taller.
WAS ACCENT-MASTER MERYL ABLE TO PULL OFF JULIA'S? Meryl has her warm and encouraging voice. Her delivery of the high range tone is spot-on. And she nails that Julia Child characteristic stance, with one hand on her hip. It's uncanny!
• He's a superstar in Korea; now Rain (real name Ji Hoon Jung), 26, has big plans for his U.S. debut in Speed Racer
LEARNING ENGLISH I've been working for seven months every day for two hours. Pronunciation is very hard, but I try my best.
EATING "SEOUL" FOOD Kimchee is the perfect food. There are so many [Korean] restaurants in the U.S.; not in Berlin [where Racer was filmed]. German food is very salty.
LOOKING FOR LOVE It's an honor when people recognize me in Korea, but it was really impossible to date. I'm thinking about dating in America. It's more comfortable.
• Holy Rogaine! To play the villain in Iron Man, the Academy Award nominee, 58, decided his youthful shag just had to go
WHY SHAVE YOUR HEAD? I've always wanted to do it. But when it was time, a feeling of anxiety suddenly came. Since I was a kid, getting my hair cut has been semi-traumatic. So it took me a couple of days to get it all off.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE? I loved it! There is a bad stage where it feels like stubble. I call it sharkskin. The next phase I call teddy bear nose. I dig that. It's soft like velvet. At times I'd slide my fingers through my hair and realized I don't have any!
MEET BILL After a sad-sack banker (Aaron Eckhart, left, with Jessica Alba) discovers that his wife (Elizabeth Banks) is cheating on him with a local TV anchorman (Timothy Olyphant), he sets out to remake his life. This wobbly comedy offers scattered laughs and a solid cast but strains to be quirky. (R)
THE FALL You'll either fall for this eye-popping adventure tale (I did) or hate it—no in-between. The fanciful yarn includes bandits, damsels in distress, derring-do and a swimming elephant, plus stops at exotic locales such as the Taj Mahal. Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace (left, with Catinca Untaru) stars. (R)
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
