Las Vegas Critics - Reviews of All Kinds!

CSS released Donkey, their new album, earlier in the year and it shows a definite improvement in sound quality compared to their self-titled debut. That first album had a great energy, but, unfortunately, not very many worthy songs. “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” was the main exception and it was such a great track that it was featured in an iPod commercial and a Zune commercial. (The Zune commercial was first, btw.) The only other two songs on CSS worth listening to were “Alala” and “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above”.

Conversely, Donkey only has three skippable songs. They left out all of the rough and raw edges on this release and the production is a step up, providing a more mature sound that many fans of the first album will probably hate. The music is better on average, but the best songs here aren’t as good as the best songs there…if that makes any sense. The disc starts out at the high point with “Jager Yoga” when Lovefoxxx and crew proclaim that they are here to take you out. And excluding the skippable ones, the rest of the songs are all just slightly less good than the opening track. Surprisingly, “Reggae All Night” contains absolutely no reggae elements so don’t be fooled. Beware of “Beautiful Song” as well, I found it to be the worst of the bunch. “Move” is another noteworthy mention because it sounds like the unreleased collaboration between Madonna and Blondie, kidnapped directly from the 80s. I leave it to you to decide whether or not that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Btw…in case you were wondering: CSS stands for Cansei de Ser Sexy which translates literally as “got tired of being sexy.” Now they've become a little more musically sexy and I hope they don't get tired of that.

Fringe consists of a decent mix of elements inspired by some of the better shows and movies of the past few decades and it’s obviously trying to fill the niche that the X-Files once occupied. Filling that void is fine by me, but it’s going to be pretty difficult if they’re only recycling material from other sources. That said, the reference to the research of John Lilly through the very Altered States-influenced isolation tank sequence in the pilot episode didn’t even feel like much of a rip-off. Maybe that’s because it was an excellent reason to have the sexy girl strip down to her underwear. And I guess the plot twist at the end was necessary to create the proper set of responses in the main character, but it seemed a little forced.

Speaking of the main character, Anna Torv possesses characteristics from a few other actresses, but also has a unique quality of her own that I thought would be enough to keep me watching, but now that I’ve seen a few more episodes I’m a bit skeptical about the series as a whole. Fox apparently disagrees because they’ve just ordered an additional nine episodes of Fringe, making it the second new Fall show to be picked up for an entire season. (90210 was the first.) The offerings so far haven’t been impressive enough to warrant additional episodes, but maybe as we discern more of the characteristics of “the pattern” the story will get better. So far the pattern appears to be a crazy ex-mental patient that fluctuates between states of complete forgetfulness and unjustified anger, unbelievable coincidences linking the current paranormal events to his past research, and moments that completely destroy the suspension of disbelief. I haven’t given up on the series yet, but, then again, I haven’t really checked out the competition…I’ve only seen one episode of the Mentalist and Eleventh Hour doesn’t start until October 9th.

I watched James Cameron’s Terminator movie when I was eleven years old and it immediately became one of my favorite films. It was my first exposure to the concept of paradox (a recurring theme in my life) and the first sci-fi idea that I really had to sit around and think about. The second film only added to the mythology of the universe and while I didn’t love the third movie I at least respected what the writers accomplished at the end of it. If you consider the five Terminator-related novels and all of the Dark Horse Terminator comics that I’ve read it’s easy to tell how invested I am in this particular science fiction universe. In fact, I’m practically required to watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I have to say though; they’re making it difficult for me to continue watching.

The episodes all seem to be constructed independently from each other and the lack of any real direction for the characters impairs my enjoyment and creates a somewhat disjointed viewing experience. I hate to mention this again, but the writing is a bit Smallville-ian for my taste. They introduce a new threat or issue in each episode and resolve it before the end, so that they start again from almost the exact same place in the next show. I think part of the reason is that they’re using characters that can’t have any kind of real character arc, but they really need some sort of plan if they want to keep me interested. And if they can’t keep a huge fan like me interested I can’t imagine the series having much of a future. However it plays out, there are still the McG Terminator films with Christian Bale coming out, so I guess there’s that.

[edit: On September 29th Jenna Wortham from Wired asked, "What Can Save The Sarah Connor Chronicles?" Here's my answer: Better writing, consisting of some kind of overall goal or plan for the series and preferably some kind of arc for the characters. And not being in the same timeslot as Chuck couldn't hurt.]
-edit 10-01-08

Any show that pretty much starts off with a child yelling out that he can see beneath the towel of a girl (that happens to be only wearing a towel) is worth finishing if only to see what else they will attempt. Or at least that’s what I thought. Unfortunately they didn’t really do much else with the episode. The premise seems to borrow heavily from several subpar movies that I’ve watched in the past few years, though none of them made enough of an impression on me to be remembered by name for this review. They even included the patented “I’ve got nothing to lose so I’m going to say what’s really on my mind” scene that these sorts of stories seem to regularly include.

As far as characters go, the main girl doesn’t really hold my interest…and she even makes a Spider-Man reference, so that speaks volumes. The omelet-taster guy seems completely implausible and I don’t believe that he would be around as much as the story suggests without having at least some interest in one or both of the cute sisters. The chef, however, is a great (although stereotypical) character and all of his scenes seem to possess an extra level of fun. Besides being cute, the two sisters haven’t yet added anything extra, but the conflict that is added at the end of the episode implies that events will either be delightfully nasty or completely played out and dull. Only time will tell, I guess, and, considering the other shows in this timeslot, it’s not likely that I will ever find out.

I can’t say that I had more than the tiniest bit of curiosity about the new version of Beverly Hills, 90210 (succinctly called just 90210 now), but, because it’s technically a new show, I decided to watch it anyway. Even though many of my friends were fans of the original show it never really did anything for me, but maybe I would have responded differently if it wasn’t primarily populated by blondes. The only blonde in the new 90210 was also in the Beverly Hills version, and two of the new girls are seriously cute. Cute girls are probably not reason enough to regularly tune in though. (Of course, Kristen Kreuk kept me interested in Smallville long after I realized that the terrible writing was literally decreasing my intelligence…but I digress.)

The point that I want to make is that the new 90210 provides nothing of substance. The storylines all seemed way too familiar. There’s the new kid in town, the token minority, the spoiled-brat rich kid, the one with a drug problem, the outsider. Everything I’ve seen so far has been presented in other, better shows like Veronica Mars, My So-Called Life, or Freaks and Geeks, just to name a few. There is a surprising scene depicting oral sex before school, but it feels out of place with the rest of the PG material and is quickly forgotten by everyone, including the viewers. Unless they really step things up they just won’t be able to compete with the myriad other shows that seem almost identical in every way. But what do I know? I’m sure the creators of 90210 weren’t considering me when they planned their series -- at least…I hope to GOD that I’m not part of the target audience. Because I wouldn’t want this blog entry to cause any problems, even though the cute girl Silver says, “Yeah, well that’s what a blog is supposed to do. Cause problems.”

The new Bloc Party album, Intimacy, won’t be available on CD until the end of October, but if you know where to look you can find it online right now. Actually, it’s been available digitally on the Bloc Party website since August and one of the packages will allow you to download the album now and then get the CD when it comes out. The physical copy of Intimacy is rumored to have different tracks than the mp3 version, but I could not find that information on the order form.

The album starts off with “Ares,” an almost perfectly unlistenable chaotic barrage of noise that assaults from all directions. “Mercury” continues the electronic experimentation with too many vocal samples and would be completely skippable except for the awesome rolling bass sounds that probably deserve to be in some kind of dance remix. “Biko” is another song that just doesn’t work for me…it’s peppered with more vocal samples and builds up without taking off. Fortunately, they are able to successfully blend their new electronic sound with their old sound on “Halo,” “Trojan Horse” and “One Month Off” and all three of those tracks groove with a familiar raw energy. They also provide a very listenable break from rocking out with the hypnotically mellow “Signs” and the experimental “Zephyrus” which pushes the envelope in a direction that will hopefully be revisited in the future.

Intimacy is a better than average album, but it lacks a truly exceptional song. A Weekend in the City and Silent Alarm had several each, and in this case, hopefully they’re saving the good stuff for the physical CD. Several of the new songs are on MySpace/BlocParty and their official site (click the picture to the right) has the video for what will eventually be the second single, “Talons,” the only piece of evidence that supports my “saving the best for last” theory.

Sunday night ended up being a HBO-palooza with the new series of True Blood premiering and the new season of Entourage starting up right after. After reading almost all of the Charlaine Harris books containing the Southern Vampire series, I was excited to see the new show come on by Allen Ball. Being a fan of Six Feet Under, I was given this book after he had signed a deal with the author to create a series that followed along with the books. After watching a few teaser shows before Sunday and then finally the first episode, I was really impressed.

It is so hard to read a book and then watch the adaptation on screen and really be happy with the outcome. In either situation you think “Wait that doesn’t follow the book” or your own thoughts of how the set should look because of what you imagined in your head, doesn’t match up. In some ways you are let down by the poor choice in the actors, the story doesn’t flow the same as the original author and ends up going off on a trail that you feel lost. This episode, and hopefully the series, is the first time I have experienced a book and adaptation to screen be achieved pretty seamlessly. The choice of the actors match what I had envisioned (though their over done southern accents becomes a little nauseating since most are Australian or actors from the UK), the set for the house that Sookie lives in and the Merlotte’s bar where she works fit into my head as I had, as well. The only part that didn’t seem to match up is how Sookie’s ability to read people’s thoughts is something she wants no one else to know besides her co-workers and family. In one of the opening scenes she blurts out to the customer a reply to the thoughts in the customers head, which was something that really never happened in the book. Of course it’s more comical this way and see why it would be added into the script.

All in all, I will definitely be paying attention to this series. I would highly suggest reading the books as well… or maybe not? Might ruin the fun of it!

The Canadian indie band Metric recorded a live DVD at the Metropolis theatre in Montreal and cleverly titled it Metric: Live at Metropolis. It came out in February and it’s their first live video, but it wasn’t really what I wanted from them. Last year Metric finally released Grow up and Blow Away, their “debut” album recorded in 2001, and that was equally disappointing. Don’t get the wrong idea…these two releases are only disappointing to me because they’re not new. It’s been almost three years since Metric has produced any new material, and I have an addiction.

I first encountered Metric going to see their opening band at a show in Nashville. When I noticed the promotional poster I thought: “A girl singer? Cool.” Immediately followed by: “I hope they don’t suck.”

They didn’t suck. In fact, that night Metric became my favorite band. Their first album stayed on almost constant rotation until the second one replaced it nearly a year later, but then it seemed like they stopped making new music. Absence apparently doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder and so-so dance remixes aren’t enough to satisfy my insatiable music appetite. I was forced to seek out older EPs and unreleased material, but, with the exception of a few truly amazing songs, it just wasn’t as exciting. (That reminds me: Metric, please re-release “The People” for the people. They deserve it. And then you can play it at shows in the future.)

What's the big deal with Metric anyway? The three guys in the band each contribute to the energy and the sound, but even the combined energy of James, Joules and Josh can’t compare with the magic of Emily Haines. What else can I say about Emily Haines? On stage she’s… Electric. Primal. Inspiring. Unstoppable. I want to hang out with her, debate with her, create with her: I want to change the world with her while she rocks out behind the keyboards.

When I sat next to her at the sushi bar, though, she seemed quiet and withdrawn, eager to escape into her philosophy book. So much so that I didn’t even want to disturb her to say things like, “I don’t have any heroes, but if I did, you would be one of them.” or “You not only make me want to make music, but you make it seem like it’s possible.” Maybe I will get another chance to tell her in the future. If they ever release any new material and go on tour again.

Live at Metropolis only captures a tiny bit of the energy that Metric exudes during one of their shows, but that’s ok, because a tiny bit is still a considerable amount. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to the experience of actually seeing the band live, but, really, no recorded concert ever does. I’d like to say that the extended version of “Dead Disco” makes up for the exclusion of a couple specific songs, but, even though it comes close, it doesn’t. The last time I wished on a shooting star I should have wished for a live version of “IOU” instead of wishing for less ways to wish for, but I guess I wasn’t thinking ahead.

So, now you might be thinking, “What does any of this have to do with their Live at Metropolis DVD?” Well, depending on how you look at things, it either has nothing to do with it…or everything. I’m obviously biased and, because of my bias, I can’t comfortably recommend Metropolis over either Old World Underground or Live It Out, but then again, maybe a live introduction to the band might be best. If you're already a fan of those albums, though, this DVD is something you’ll definitely want to own.

Beck’s new album, Modern Guilt was co-produced by Danger Mouse and features Cat Power’s backing vocals on two of the tracks. It would have been nice to hear a girl at the forefront of a song or two, but Beck apparently doesn’t want to relinquish the microphone. He also didn’t want the album to last very long because it clocks in at barely over thirty minutes, which is especially noticeable when several of the songs end somewhat abruptly.

The new sound seems to combine some of Sea Change’s slow melancholy vibe with a bit of Guero’s groovy electronic style…while completely bypassing any part of The Information. It’s not really fair to compare this release to the past ones, though, because the team-up with a new producer has taken things to a whole new level. The songs are undeniably Beck, and with the addition of the Danger Mouse, this might be his best material.

Almost all of the songs have a laid-back funkiness with a bit of a retro vibe. The title track, “Modern Guilt” has an infectious groove and seems to keep building up until the end, but the lyrical introspection of “Volcano” makes it a stronger song. The other songs worth mentioning are "Walls", with it’s pseudo-ethereal background vocal melodies, and “Youthless”, which rocks in a choppy, electronic kind of way. Surprisingly, the faster tempo of “Replica” didn’t really resonate with me…it’s the weak link of the album.

It’s also worth noting that a CD version of Modern Guilt came out on July 8th and a vinyl edition (that comes with a free 320 kbps MP3 download of the entire album!) was released on July 22nd. The combination package of vinyl and digital is a very cool idea, but having it come out two weeks later than the CD version seems a bit counterintuitive. Hopefully Beck will get back together with Danger Mouse soon and they can work out the delivery issues on their next release.

Number 6: Heat Vision and Jack (Honorable Mention)

In 1999, Ben Stiller directed a sci-fi comedy pilot starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ron Silver that was written and executive produced by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab. FOX never picked up the show and it was never aired.

Black played Jack Austin, an astronaut granted superintelligence from exposure to inappropriate levels of solar energy, and Wilson was the voice of Heat Vision, Austin’s talking motorcycle. Silver played himself, a NASA employee trying to capture Austin (either dead or alive), who sometimes dabbles in acting.

The entire premise of this show was completely ridiculous and silly, and that’s the main reason it would have been great. It even developed a bit of a cult following online and a little over a year ago there were rumors of a Heat Vision and Jack movie, but now it seems a bit unlikely.

Number 5: SMITH

Smith was a CBS show from 2006 starring Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, Johnny Lee Miller, Franky G and Chris Bauer. Seven episodes were filmed, but only three were aired before the network cancelled the series.

Liotta played Bobby Stevens, the leader of a band of thieves pretending to be a typical nine-to-five, suburban family man. The intricate heists that he planned were often multi-layered and, when something inevitably went wrong, he always had a back-up plan. The group of criminals he assembled were definitely not the typical characters found on television, and it was a pleasant change.

The show’s producer, John Wells, said the robbers were “not a particularly likable group, but a compelling group, we hope.” I guess they weren’t compelling enough…or maybe the general public isn’t sophisticated enough to handle amoral characters.

Number 4: Lost in Oz

Lost in Oz was going to be a sequel to the original Wizard of Oz, but the series was cancelled and the 2002 television pilot was never released. It was written by David Hayter, screenwriter of the first two X-Men films, and directed by Mick Garris and starred Melissa George, Colin Egglesfield, Mia Sara, Sandra Allen and Lynn Whitfield.

The story started with Alexandra Wilder (Melissa George) and her adventures in the Land of Oz after getting caught in a cyclone. She meets World War II soldier Caleb Jansen (Colin Egglesfield), and is given the task of rescuing Princess Ozma from the new Wicked Witch of the West, Loriellidere (Mia Sara). In order to get through Loriellidere's labyrinth they enlist the help of the quirky/cute Patchwork Girl Serena (Sandra Allen). The pilot was filled with too much story and it felt a little rushed, but Alexandra, unlike Dorothy, was going to end up stuck in Oz for however long the series would have been on the air. The possibilities for cool stories in the Land of Oz are probably limitless, but now we will never know.

Only five years later the Sci-Fi Channel released a “reimagined” version of the original Oz called Tin Man, but Lost in Oz was a project with more potential. Tin Man seemed at first to have several things working in it’s favor: Zooey Deschanel is always great, Alan Cumming has been good a few times in the past and, really, how can you go wrong with a bit of sci-fi and some steampunk? It’s easier than it seems, I guess, because Tin Man really didn’t work for me on any level. If Kathleen Robertson was not cast as Azkadellia I may never have watched past the first installment.

Number 3: Nobody's Watching

The pilot for Nobody’s Watching was produced in 2005, but apparently it was a little too confusing with test audiences and the WB passed on the show. I’m not sure what kind of people they had in the tests, but the premise for the series seemed simple enough: Two longtime friends send tapes to every television network claiming that they can produce better sitcoms than the ones currently on the air and the WB accepts their challenge, placing them in a reality show while they develop their sitcom.

In the first twenty seconds of the pilot the characters list a bunch of good sitcoms from the past and ask why we don’t have more shows like them…then they slam a few of the terrible sitcoms currently on the air. The writers had it right and the potential for some really funny stuff was there, but I guess some people get confused when characters break the fourth wall.

Number 2: Drive

In 2007, six episodes of Drive were created, but FOX only gave the show about ten days to find an audience and then cancelled the series after the fourth episode was aired. The mostly-ensemble cast starred Nathan Fillion and Kristin Lehman as two of about twelve characters that were involved in a secret, illegal, underground, cross-country road race.

The show had tons of potential and is a perfect example of a mishandled FOX property. Tim Minear, one of the show’s creators, claimed that Drive could “be anything from Cannonball Run to The Game to North by Northwest to Magnolia-on-wheels" and it would have been nice to see that happen.

My favorite Tim Minear project was Wonderfalls (it’s your fault that Wonderfalls was cancelled, btw), but he also worked on the other great FOX casualty and one of the best shows ever, Firefly and Angel, respectively. I'm sure he had great things planned for Drive.

Number 1: Global Frequency

Global Frequency was a pilot based on a comic book that was produced for the WB in 2005, but they never commissioned the series and it never aired. Michelle Forbes, Josh Hopkins, Jenni Baird and Aimee Garcia starred in the show, written by John Rogers and directed by Nelson McCormick. Warren Ellis, the writer of the original comic, was credited as producer and creator.

The Global Frequency is a worldwide covert intelligence agency comprised of 1,001 members (each with some specialized skill) that would be randomly called upon to protect the world from various unconventional threats. The general public is frequently unaware that these threats even exist. The comic book featured a constantly changing cast of field agents, but the television series introduced a couple of new characters to preserve continuity.

John Rogers talked about Global Frequency on his blog: “[W]hat the hell was I thinking? It's a show about how the institutions around us have failed us, and we live in a world of chaos and death, held back only by borderline sociopaths. The HAPPY ending is our hero shoots an innocent man in the face.” He then goes on to explain exactly why the death of this project is so tragic: “We had a five year plan, with a goddam MORAL, not some flash pilot and wing it out as we go ... but most of all, we had that concept. Warren Ellis's beautiful, crystalline find. In a TV wasteland, we had the one show that wasn't just about stories, it was about SOMETHING -- faith in us. Not faith in the treacherous fat white men in suits, not power, not money -- faith in US.”

Katy Perry’s album One of the Boys was released in June, but the single "Ur So Gay" was released as an EP last November. Madonna was apparently the only one that knew back then, but everyone gets a chance to be in the loop now. The song is pretty funny the first time around, but doesn’t really hold up to repeated listening. The video adds a bit more humor (and dolls in adult situations!), but shares the same “only really funny the first time” quality.

Her new single, “I Kissed a Girl” has obviously been specifically designed to attract boys…because everyone knows how much they like girls to kiss each other. Okay, that’s not completely fair…she’s probably trying to appeal to females as well. Because, really…who doesn’t like to kiss girls? Unfortunately, much like the group t.A.T.u. and their widespread, fake lesbianism, Katy seems to be manipulating her audience. This is proven by the lack of any actual girl on girl kissing in the video, which, by the way, is not only disappointing, but also sends a clear message that she’s only seeking attention.

All that being said, “I Kissed a Girl” is the standout track on the album and it will be a while before I grow tired of listening to it. The song is pretty groovy and really deserves to be one of the top songs on iTunes and when you consider that two of the producers are Max Martin and Dr. Luke, (The same team responsible for Kelly Clarkson’s "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes”, Avril Lavigne’s "Girlfriend" and "Hot", and The Veronicas’ “4ever", just to name a select few) the allure of this particular track makes a lot more sense.

Slower songs like "Thinking of You", "Mannequin" and "Lost” are easily forgettable, although “Lost” comes very close to having some merit. Everything else on the album is worth a listen or two, but most likely won’t remain on anyone’s playlist for long. "Fingerprints" and “Hot N Cold” are probably the only exceptions and even those will wear out soon enough.

The Strangers takes a while to get started, but viewers that aren’t expecting anything groundbreaking might encounter a few worthwhile moments with just a little patience. The story unfolds somewhere between ‘sloth’ and ‘glacier’ on the speed scale and instead of real characterization we get to piece together the events of the evening that occurred before we meet the main characters. Once things get going, however, it’s probably better that we aren’t too attached to them.

Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) leave a wedding and plan to spend the night in a secluded cabin in the woods. Their plans change when a strange girl shows up and soon enough they encounter the strangers. The premise is not too complex or original, but it doesn’t feel like material you’ve seen a dozen times…even though Bryan Bertino is a first-time writer/director.

This film is very minimalist and the suspense builds in a mostly believable way. We get the typical horror movie bath scene (but no gratuitous nudity…what’s up with that?) and the totally played-out chase through the woods, but during most of the movie the characters act in a semi-intelligent manner. A later scene with a friend is unfortunately predictable and we really, really didn’t need another sprained ankle, but the scares were almost completely unexpected and more effective than anything else I’ve seen in a while.

Regrettably, in less than two seconds, the last moment utterly ruins the overall effect of the movie and definitely should have been left out. Because of spoilerization I won’t share it here, but trust me when I say that my final scene would have been much, much more disturbing, and, for that reason, probably never would have made the theatrical cut. Sigh. Hopefully there will be some kind of alternate ending on the DVD.

The critics just about all agree that this movie sucks, but, frankly, they’re wrong. Ever since the Matrix trilogy didn’t end the way that everyone wanted, the Wachowski brothers have been the filmmakers that people love to hate. Not everything that they try to do is a success and the anti-corporate storyline is a bit basic, but Speed Racer is still an important cinematic achievement that deserves some credit. Instead, it’s been a complete failure at the box office and the worldwide gross to date is still only two-thirds of the budget.

The main reason it’s done so terribly is because it is one of those strange projects without an audience. Another recent film that had with the same problem was Underdog, so it could be just a symptom of the source material. Both started as cartoons in the sixties and the studios probably wanted to reach the children of the original fans of each series, but it seemed like Speed Racer was marketed towards adults and Underdog, with the exception of the name, was almost completely unrecognizable.

In the interest of full disclosure I must explain that I have been a Speed Racer fan almost all of my life. The first toys I remember playing with as a child were a plastic Mach Five and a Fisher-Price circus train set. I remember coming home after school to watch Speed Racer when Channel 20 first started in the early Eighties. I also remember thinking that the cartoon didn’t really hold up too well nearly ten years later when MTV started playing it, but I that didn’t stop me from buying the toy that was released a few years after that. When the movie was announced it was a bit disappointing to find out that it was going to be live-action instead of animation, and learning that the Wachowski brothers were attached to the project didn’t really help because I wasn’t interested in a kid-friendly film from them. I felt I had an obligation to see it based on my childhood experiences, but my interest was fairly low and I really didn’t really think I would like it much. Thankfully, I was wrong.

There has never been anything like Speed Racer before. The Wachowskis have combined an innovative method of storytelling with their hyper-realistic visual style to create a movie for children that still retains some intelligence. The most unexpected and refreshing aspect of the film was how they manipulated the sense of time…cleverly inserting flashbacks and flashforwards into the story (sometimes in the middle of a conversation!) in a way that didn’t alter the pace or the feel.

The spoiler-averse might want to skip this part: As a child Speed only seems to be able to think about racing and constantly daydreams during class. When school gets out, he convinces his older brother Rex, whom he believes is the best racer in the world, to teach him how to race. The special cars that they drive on impossible courses can jump, drift and slide and keep the drivers safe if there is an accident. Speed’s dad quit his job at a big motor company in order to build these racecars. The first time Speed notices Trixie he stops thinking about racing and that becomes the reason that they meet. Trixie likes excitement and has a thing for Speed that started even before they met. Rex set a track record, became a target to the crooked racers in the circuit and left home to keep his family out of danger. He then becomes one of the dirtiest drivers in the world before getting killed in a cross-country race. This information is not only presented before the first race is completed, it’s presented during the first race. There is a complexity of narrative here that that seems to be completely overlooked.

The last storytelling trick this impressive was from the movie Serenity: The first sequence started with some back-story exposition in a dream before switching to the girl that was having the dream trying to escape from some kind of test facility with another character and then finally revealed that the escape was a holographic recording being viewed by a completely different character.

Unfortunately, the drawback of cramming so much story into such a small amount of screen time is that when the amount of information falls below a certain threshold the film will appear to slow down…and not even a ninja attack and a dangerous cross-country race can save you at that point. While we’re on the subject of ninja attacks, I have to acknowledge the homage to Danger: Diabolik (or was it the Body Movin’ video?) and the poison trick they borrowed from You Only Live Twice. The zoetrope-style galloping zebra that appears on the walls in the final race is another really nice touch and the artificial digitally manufactured world reminded me of something that Tim Burton might create for one of his happier projects.

Not every moment was positive...the final race may have been specifically designed to induce epileptic fits in non-epileptics, many of the transitions were a bit jarring and a couple moments during the races destroyed my ability to suspend disbelief, but overall I think it worked. And my criticism will surely be incomplete without mentioning, in one sentence, a few of the things you might encounter in the other reviews of this film: Apparently a movie that looks like a video game can crash and burn in the theaters even when it’s filled with eye candy and the only thing left to mention about this day-glo, candy-colored film might be Christina Ricci's eyes…which are perfectly suited for a live-action anime.