The SPEED RACER live action film now has me officially excited. I can't pin-point what did it for me... but these 2 new international trailers convinced me that the hyper-color visuals can work without being cheesy. It's young and vibrant yet dynamic. I'm sold.

I went to see "Be Kind Rewind" with my girlfriend.

My feelings are a bit mixed. I enjoyed the film, but there were some things that really bothered me.

Having seen "Science of Sleep" and "Be Kind Rewind" it has become very clear to me that Gondry doesn't care about structural perfection. I felt "Eternal Sunshine" was a near perfect film. The way it plays with plot and character suggested some deeper understanding. It also did a clever job of playing with the conventions of relationship dynamics in film to bring us to a very complex but satisfying place at the end of the story which gave me a nice mix of intellectual and emotional satisfaction.

But in the two films that Gondry both wrote and directed ("Science of Sleep" and "Be Kind Rewind") I felt like there were moments where it seemed that Gondry was more interested in getting from point A to point B with little or no effort given to finding a sensible means to get there. After watching "Science of Sleep" I attributed such problems to it being Gondry's first self written film. But after seeing the glaring plot problems that Gondry used to solve aspects of "Be Kind Rewind's" story, I'm starting to think that Gondry just doesn't care.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing... but having being raised in the limited language of "Hollywood" films, it still leaves a nagging feeling with me that with a shift in focus or a more concentrated effort on structure, both films could have been way closer to the near-perfection that I regard "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" to have.

The good stuff is absolutely wonderful. Mos Def and Jack Black are great. They make the perfect team of geeky misfits. The "sweded" versions of films they make together are beautiful... so much so, that you wish more time in the movie were afforded to the various low budget homages they do to modern film "classics".

The final film they put together is brillant and makes me wonder what the actual process was behind it. The way it looks and feels suggests that the brainstorming that characters go through for this final opus of a "sweded" film was the genuine brainstorm with the actors involved. Little bits that were thrown out and later integrated into the project feel way to free-form to have been included into the original script.

Unfortunately, the story, the glue that holds it all together, feels very rickety. It starts off great. But as the cast of participants becomes larger, the motivations take a huge backseat to the creative process... so much so that it feels like the film's story is just an excuse for everyone to become a part of Gondry's great filmmaking Sandbox.

The overall feeling of this creative movement is so strong, that I kind of got the feeling that Gondry didn't want to give you a satisfactory conclusion he wanted you to participate creatively to come up with your own.

To close things out, here are really nice "sweded" versions of "Kill Bill", "Star Wars", and "Die Hard". These guys were probably "sweding" way before Gondry introduced the term to the mainstream. With the release of "Be Kind Rewind" I'm sure they're getting some well-earned exposure!

Michel Gondry deserves worship. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I love the guy. I am super excited about his latest film "Be Kind Rewind" starring Jack Black and Mos Def that comes out tomorrow. I MUST watch it this weekend.

To promote the film, Gondry decided to recreate the entire preview trailer using low budget props and starring himself in the spirit of the film's concept. Watch the original film and Gondry's "sweded" version below.

I also recommend that you check out the movie website which pretends to erase the internet and then provide you with a low budget version that includes a fake MySpace and Google page. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE.

ORIGINAL TRAILER

GONDRY'S "SWEDED" TRAILER

Man, I'm bummed. I accidentally deleted this post and a comment (sorry!).

Anyways, the jist of it was I was looking forward to the Spike Jonze live-action "Where The Wild Things Are" movie. Maurice Sendak's "Where The Wild Things Are" children's book is a personal favorite. Spike Jonze music videos have a charming mix of naive and sophistication that I was hoping would translate into the penultimate live action Children's movie.  

But, the first footage showcased from the film suggests that the magic I was hoping for was not captured.

It's easy to imagine a Jonze "Where The Wild Things Are" after watching Bjork's "It's So Quiet" and Beastie Boys "Sabotage". So why in the world the we end up getting THIS? (sorry! The clip was yanked off of Ain't It Cool News)

Stephen Chow is brilliant. He manages to create worlds and humor that translates globally. But when I heard the concept behind his newest film, I was a little worried that he was going too "mainstream". ET/Pokemon? Uh...no.

I'm sure the "Stephen" in his name is an homage to Spielberg. Both are focussed on appealing to the global audience.

What I love about Chow's work, though, is he's not afraid to make characters that aren't very likable. There's a charm to the selfish guy that American creators are afraid to explore. Chow loves them (just like Jerry)!

All concerns I had for the film were dispelled upon seeing this full trailer. Now I can't wait.

I'm growing to like the new "Dark Knight" trailer. The new take on the Joker is an intriguing one...as it seems to be an Americanized version of Kakihara from the manga and movie "Ichi The Killer".I'm surprised that more people don't see the connection between Takashi Miike's "Ichi The Killer" and Batman. Ichi is obviously some geek boy version of Batman. Kakihara is the Yakuza answer to Joker. It was all a disturbing take on the Batman mythos interlaced with morbid plays on violence and otaku culture.I think it's cool and clever that Christopher Nolan and "The Dark Knight" team found a clever way to bring bits of "Ichi The Killer" back to Batman. I just hope that there isn't any Joker tongue cutting scene..."The Dark Knight Trailer"Kakihara From "Ichi The Killer"