The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

 

This should have been called Meta Matrix. I get that they were going for tongue in cheek, wink-wink, story writing. But instead of coming off as clever, it felt forced. Another mostly tired reboot. Take the blue pill. 

Rating: C-

Speed Racer (2008)

I can hardly fathom how the Wachowski's can be responsible for amazing films like The Matrix and Bound, only two follow them up with two inferior Matrix sequels and then a massively disappointing car wreck of a film, Speed Racer. What happened?

 Regardless of whether they were going for an anime feel or pure camp, the film still needs to be entertaining. It failed miserably on that count. The characters are as two dimensional as the crappy cartoon this movie was based on. I was unable to root for the hero because I was too preoccupied wishing other characters dead. Only a bullet to the head of his mother, fat kid brother, and dumbass monkey could have turned things around for me.

Christina Ricci should have known better than to sign on for this abomination. She was better in Casper for crying out loud. 90% of the film is one giant green screen, and it shows. There's at least a full hour of actors reacting poorly to scenes that a computer is yet to create. The scriptwriters sat at the back of the bus while the FX guy drove it off a cliff. One of the worst films of the year.

Rating: F

Black Snake Moan (2007)

This movie defies classification. If I were hard pressed to come up with one, I guess I'd call it a musical. The blues it contains are fantastic. Sam Jackson put in some serious time to get his playing and voice up to par, and it showed. This is a performance he should be very proud of.

Another thing I really liked was the imagery. It's a beautifully shot film—my favorite being the club scene towards the end. This film is raw emotion. The script is unusual to say the least, but it works. Performances are right on, thanks to the skillful direction of Craig Brewer. If you enjoyed his Hustle & Flow as much as I did, this is a must see.

Rating: B+