tataglia Reviews

Speed Racer (2008)

A cult classic

[8/10 · 23 May 2008]

I was prepared for the worst - after the Matrix sequels and the reviews, I fully intended to give this one a pass, but my 8 year old daughter wanted to see it, so Speed Racer in IMAX it was. I'm so glad we went. She LOVED it, and so did I. The best cartoon-into-live-action movie ever made, I think. It put me in mind first of Tron, for its visual audacity, and of Altman's brilliant Popeye, the only other film to successfully bring a cartoon character to life, IMO. John Goodman was particularly noteworthy - he was the living embodiment of the anime dad, an amazing feat from a guy with some pedigree in trying to pull off the cartoon character thing.

I feel certain that this film will be revered and imitated in the coming years in ways that the latest Indy film and even Iron Man - excellent though that was - will not. It's an interesting landmark.

The New Age (1994)

Brilliant

[9/10 · 10 September 2007]

A vicious satire of LA, and by extension American consumerist culture gone haywire.

A perfect companion piece to The Player, another masterpiece which screenwriter/director Michael Tolkin also wrote.

Peter Weller is note perfect, this is his best performance.

Judy Davis is heartbreaking.

Holy Adam West!

Michal Tolkin is a great director, here's hoping we see more from him soon.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Tolkin's The Rapture, as dark a film as has have ever come out of Hollywood.

Where the Green Ants Dream (1984)

Hallucinatory

[9/10 · 4 September 2007]

I also remember this film as life-changing. I saw it at the TIFF many years ago and was baffled by it.

There is a small scene in an elevator that I remember as a transcendent cinematic moment.

Like so many of Herzog's films, it is deeply moving for reasons that aren't easy to put your finger on - often with Herzog it's an odd juxtaposition, an awkward silence, a strange edit, an inappropriate flash of humour or horror that produce a flash of insight.

This film, at the time, seemed conventional by Herzog's standards, but I still left the theatre feeling slightly drugged, always a good sign.