{"id":486,"date":"2008-05-08T22:54:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-09T02:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/?p=486"},"modified":"2012-11-14T14:44:45","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T18:44:45","slug":"this-weeks-theatrical-releases-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmbuffonline.com\/FBOLNewsreel\/wordpress\/2008\/05\/08\/this-weeks-theatrical-releases-37\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week’s Theatrical Releases"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Speed Racer (3,606 Theaters, 129 Minutes, Rated PG):<\/strong> I was never truly a fan of the original Speed Racer<\/strong> cartoon. It was a little before my time. So I really don’t have that big of an emotional investment in the movie. If they change things around totally, I wouldn’t know. If they do well or not so good, for me, it wouldn’t depend on my memories of the original cartoon.<\/p>\n

That being said, I have to admire what the Wachowskis did with the look of the movie. They tried to make it look and feel like a live action cartoon\u2014a big anime fest with neon and speed lines. Bold, bright colors rule the day, a tactic that hasn’t really been employed since Dick Tracy<\/strong>. But now it’s updated for the 21st century.<\/p>\n

But will this go over with regular audiences? Or an even tougher audience\u2014fans of the original series? Who knows. But Warner Brothers can\u2019t be that concerned. The Dark Knight<\/strong> is their lynch pin movie of the summer. I\u2019m sure they\u2019d like a return on their investment with this one, but if it tanks, it won\u2019t be fatal.<\/p>\n

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2. What Happens in Vegas (3,215 Theaters, 99 Minutes, Rated PG-13):<\/strong> Speaking of tanking, we come to this one. No matter how bad Speed Racer<\/strong> does, it still will run circles around this one.<\/p>\n

Why do I think that is this a bad movie? Let me count the ways. First, the derivative, hackneyed plot. It\u2019s a combo of a \u201cDrew Carey Show\u201d episode (the one with Nicole Sullivan), meets It Could Happen to You<\/strong>, meets War of the Roses<\/strong>, meets just about every other romantic comedy made in the last twenty years.<\/p>\n

Next is the pairing of Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. I really can\u2019t stand Kutcher as a film actor. I can barely tolerate him on That 70s Show<\/strong>. And Diaz is hit or miss. For every The Mask, There\u2019s Something About Mary<\/strong>, and Charlie\u2019s Angels<\/strong>, there\u2019s a The Sweetest Thing, In Her Shoes,<\/strong> and Charlie\u2019s Angels: Full Throttle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Finally, even though Diaz is older than Kutcher by only 6 years, on screen it looks like 20. During the trailer, I keep saying to myself, \u201cShe much to old to be acting this silly.\u201d So, needless to say, I will not be seeing this one this week.<\/p>\n

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1. Speed Racer (3,606 Theaters, 129 Minutes, Rated PG): I was never truly a fan of the original Speed Racer cartoon. It was a little before my time. So I really don’t have that big [click for more]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[10],"series":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-486","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"tag-movie-releases"},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t