NYC Dinner and a Movie Meetup: Speed Racer

On your mark, Get Set, GO!!!

OH! AHHH! Larry and Andy have done it! The Wachowski brothers (creators/directors of The Matrix movies) are back and they've used today's cinematic wizardry to breathe new life into this 60's precursor to Anime.

Prepare... to... be... amazed...

Yes, I freely admit it. I grew up watching Speed Racer and dreamed of driving the Mach 5. Several years ago, I bought and watched all the episodes on DVD. While the original series has aged (hoaky dialogue), the spark in the animation and the story lines still hasn't died. It's about time that somebody did a proper live action treatment of Speed Racer and I trust the Wachowski brothers to do it.

Plot Synopsis:
Hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition, Speed Racer is a natural behind the wheel. Born to race cars, Speed is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized-the legendary Rex Racer - whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill.
Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer, the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5. When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner but uncovers a terrible secret-some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line.
The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie, Speed teams with his one-time rival-the mysterious Racer X - to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.

Speed Racer marks the Wachowski brothers first writing/directing collaboration since The Matrix movies. Joel Silver, who previously worked with the Wachowskis on The Matrix movies and V For Vendetta, is producing the film under his Silver Pictures banner.

The film stars Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog) as Speed, Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan) as Trixie, Matthew Fox (TV's Lost) as Racer X, and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) and John Goodman (Evan Almighty) as Mom and Pops Racer. Rounding out the main cast are Australian actor Kick Gurry (Spartan) as Sparky; Paulie Litt (TV's Hope & Faith) as Spritle; Roger Allam (The Queen, V For Vendetta) as Royalton; and Asian music star Ji Hoon Jung (popularly known as Rain), making his major feature film debut as a rival driver. Look for the original voice of Speed, Peter Fernandez, to make a cameo as the announcer.

Based on the classic series created by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida, the live-action Speed Racer will showcase the kind of revolutionary visual effects and cutting-edge storytelling that have become the benchmarks of the Wachowski brothers films.

Take a look at the trailer.

Here's the promotional website.

After the movie, we'll race to a local pit stop to discuss the movie and/or whatever else we can come up with. As long as no one spins out, crashes or has a blown engine, we should have a great time.

Each person will be responsible for purchasing their own ticket at the theater. At dinner everyone will pay for what they order.

Genre: Action
Rating: PG

***THIS EVENT WILL BE HOSTED BY Alfredo. Please commit my picture to memory so that you can keep up with me at the meetup.***

Oh, and just an afterthought, well behaved children of all ages will be welcome to this meetup!

Don't forget to RSVP today!