DrStrangeFate

Being a fan of the original UK Top Gear, it was a difficult transition to the US version. I was expecting the original format... a couple of test drives, some couch time, a celebrity to do a lap in a crappy subcompact and the inevitable appearance by the almighty Stig to really put the featured car through it's paces.

I mean if it's not broke.. why fix it.. right?

The ever cheery Richard Hammond, the frumpy Captain Slow, and the vitriolic Jeremy Clarkson are bona-fide UK television icons and to a lesser degree in America albeit mostly among the auto enthusiast crowd. A solid cast with chemistry that really should not be such a huge success but one that has truly stood the test of time. I love these guys, not necessarily individually but as a group.

Enter the US version.

As I said earlier.. this is not your father's Top Gear. The format of the US version is a departure from the UK version. Gone is the star in the reasonably priced car. I don't miss it but I imagine some probably do. The US version is more of a variety format. Sometimes they do a show that resembles the UK version's popular specials, or perhaps they will do a show that works to dispel (or prove) some well-known urban auto legends, or maybe just put a series of cars through their paces... whatever the task at hand is there are usually various challenges to be won or lost along the way. Perhaps they will have to modify their cars to ford a river, turn their auto into a limousine, or win a race with a full punch bowl on top of their heads.. it can be pretty much anything. This is one aspect of the show I especially enjoy because all the hosts are pretty competitive with one another and trade barbs the entire time. At any rate, whoever wins the most challenges is usually rewarded with a ride in a special car like the Bugatti Veyron or some other ridiculously cool ride.

There are also three hosts of the US version. Tanner Foust is a professional race car driver (rally and drift) with a list of world records and world championships. Foust is also a professional stunt driver having appeared in movies such as the Dukes of Hazzard, Fast & Furious, Iron Man 2, and several others. The next host is Rutledge Wood who is a self-stated lifelong car enthusiast and is an auto-racing analysis for Fox Sports 1 and also appears on the SPEED's NASCAR Raceday and hosts Trackside Live. The final host is comedian Adam Ferrara who is best known for his role on "Rescue Me". Although funny, Ferrara seems to lack the automotive pedigrees of Foust and Wood making him (at least on paper) something of an odd choice as a host for this particular show.

There is pretty good chemistry on the show, mostly between Foust and Wood. Foust is the professional speed freak, Wood is the lovable hipster doofus, and Ferrara provides quite a bit of the comic relief.. albeit frequently seems out of his depth in some of the car challenges. Once in a while, Ferrara seems like the odd man out. I believe that Foust and Wood are genuine friends but I'm not sure if their friendship with Ferrara is as genuine. At times I feel his relationship with the other two hosts is manufactured for the show but at other times, they all seem to get along great. This may be entirely my imagination but that's the way it seems to me. This is not to say that Ferrara is not an asset to the show, he is a clever guy and is the originator of some of the funnier dialog on the show.

As I said, this is not the UK's Top Gear and many fans of the original will not like this version just because it does depart from the original's formula, has different hosts obviously, and focuses less on the technical merits of the featured vehicles in exchange for more shenanigans and tomfoolery. Overall though I do like it, after all this does not replace the UK's Top Gear so that version is still there to enjoy as well. My car enthusiast friends generally prefer the UK version but my kids love the US version and can't stand the UK version. I like both but if I had to pick one, I'd definitely go with the US version as I find it more entertaining albeit less educational.

I deduct one star for not having enough Stig in the US version.

I went to this movie today with my daughter, not expecting a whole lot. I saw the trailers and although it looked interesting I was afraid the story would be paper-thin but covered by a glaze of shiny goo.

I used to watch Speed Racer as a kid, I loved the Mach-5 and frankly seeing all those previews with the newer styled cars did turn me off somewhat.. this was blasphemy I thought, those Hollywood jerks always think they know what we like more than we do. I thought this would be another one of those re-imagined "updated" travesties cooked up to make a few bucks by sacrificing yet another beloved pop culture icon...

Right?

uh... no. I guess I have to eat my words. To be fair, this movie is not perfect and does tend to drag in places... and there is definite sensory overload at times with too many special-effects and overly artsy presentation... elements which should have been used a bit more sparingly because after a while they tend to lose impact and leaves you wondering if it was really necessary in the first place.

But that side... This movie is really terrific.

It nails every one of those old Speed Racer nuances... the complete arsenal of Mach-5 gadgetry and the Speed's costuming from the 1960s cartoon is well represented right down to Speed's snappy blue polo shirt and red neckerchief. The middle of the movie features a brilliant cross-country race segment that is ripped right out of the cartoon. Listen closely and you'll even hear all of Speed's trademark "Ohhs and Ahhhs" and that unmistakable soundtrack pops up exactly where it needs to. In my opinion, this movie grabs you in the middle and does not let go until the last checkered flag drops.

One other thing to mention is that this movie is perfectly cast and the acting was really well done within the context of being a live-action cartoon. Despite my earlier reservations, and thanks to my daughter's instance to go see it, this movie really won me over and I will surely own it on Blu-Ray when it becomes available.

Good job, Speed!

Rambo is an 80s-style action movie with modern sensibilities. Stallone is not a one-man army as in previous movies but rather a dogged old soldier that comes to terms with what he actually is while racking up a body count that would make Tarintino proud. In many ways, this movie parallels Rocky Balboa as a mature ending to a series of sometimes over-the-top but fun action movies. John Rambo in this movie is an aging but potent killing machine that for the first time since First Blood accomplishes his mission in a very believable manner. The action is visceral and downright gory at times surpassing the hard-core scenes of Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan. The film pulls no punches when showing exactly what a Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle can do to a human body. Stallone mutters only a very few lines of dialog in this movie... there's no speeches or patriotic flag waving going on here but there is a clear lesson on how well liberal idealism holds up under barbaric realities amid genocide and war.

A must see but not one for the kiddies.