Heads up, folks! The trailer for X-Files: I Want to Believe is now up:

(This is a sort of update to my Summer 2008 Blockbusters post from earlier in the week.)

Popularity: 35% [?]

This past weekend, Nicole and I took the kids to see Horton Hears a Who! It was Joshua’s first time in a movie theater, and he did okay. (He got a bit whiny toward the end, so I took him over near the door and held him a bit, and he calmed down.)

Anyway, the movie was a lot of fun. I had trouble keeping track of whether Horton and the kangaroo represented “mainstream culture vs. evil, close-minded fundamentalists” or “believer vs. atheist.” It was a little too disorienting to try and embrace both models at the same time—maybe due to my taking personally the homeschooling dig early in the film.

As with previous Dr. Seuss theatrical adaptations, a number of additions were made to convert the 72-page book into an 86-minute film. Unlike previous live-action Seussian projects, however, these additions (for the most part) added something to the story without mutating it into a children’s book version of Ace Ventura. Even the anime fight sequence worked! The main exception in my mind?

“In my world, everyone’s a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies!”

At first glance, Katie seems to have been intended to play the part of the cute toddler who sometimes makes strange remarks. She ends up just being creepy, though. Her character is so dissonant in relation to the rest of the movie that she doesn’t just seem out of place… she seems like a saboteur, intentionally seeking to derail the story.

Aside from Katie, the movie just works. So, since she doesn’t have much screen time, I’d give the movie 4.5 (out of 5) stars!

Popularity: 59% [?]

I’d like to just come right out and say it: I’ve never watched a single episode of Speed Racer, so I don’t know how faithful this adaptation is. That said, something tells me the Wachowski Bros. are going a little overboard here. This looks like it’s going to be another Batman and Robin, or maybe two hours’ worth of the virtual reality sequences in Spy Kids 3.

Don’t get me wrong—it looks like it’ll be fun. I just think films like this (that try to make the real world look cartoony) and films like Beowulf (that try and make cartoons look ultra-realistic) ultimately aren’t able to hold the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. At least, not long enough to deliver an engaging story. If it’s just about being a popcorn flick, then fine… but these days it’s getting harder and harder to justify paying movie theater prices. As of right now, Speed Racer is on my “rent on DVD” list. We’ll see how things progress as the film develops. (A pun! Get it?)

But hey, don’t take my word for it! You can see the teaser trailer for yourself at Yahoo! Movies.

On a mostly unrelated note, LOST fans will he happy to know that even this trailer has a “Jackface” contribution (Matthew Fox is playing Racer X):

Popularity: 8% [?]

According to ICv2 News, the G.I. Joe live-action film has a writer: Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl).

This could be a good thing. Let’s just leave Cobra-La out of it, though, okay?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Years ago when Outkast’s Hey Ya was all over the airwaves, I was working the graveyard shift at another job. The people there kept the radio tuned to a Top 40 station that played it constantly. I don’t think I’ve ever been so irritated by a song. But this acoustic version… this I actually like! Wow… (HT: Scott Burness)

Popularity: 6% [?]