A Slow Start

Sometimes a transition is easy, other times it is not. This, sadly, is the latter. A review of Wilton Cake Pillars has been posted on The Clearance Bin.

And now onto other matters....

It is not our intent to belabor this point, but an abiding need to vindicate ourselves and others who have taken a stand compels us to return to a subject we thought we'd left behind.

But with the end of the year upon us, it is common for critics and reviewers to offer their "10 best" lists.

We in The Middle Room feel no obligation to participate in such trifles. After all, we provided a retrospective of the summer releases, and have traveled to the theater only a handful of times since.

Nevertheless, we find some amusement from time to time perusing those of professional critics. It warms our heart, we should add, to see Wall-E, The Dark Knight, and Iron Man placing on so many lists. Wall-E, in particular, is being recognized by many as the best film of the year.

But it is not the number one spot which caught our attention and made us applaud Richard Corliss. Rather it is his pick for the NINTH best that garnered our attention.

Yes, Time magazine has officially recognized the brilliance of the movie Speed Racer, the single most underrated film of the year.

We in The Middle Room have celebrated the picture since its opening, and we are delighted that Time agrees with our assessment. While we'd have placed Speed Racer higher than the ninth spot, we delighted to read Corliss's article.

When Speed Racer was released, those of us who recognized its brilliance were marginalized and ignored. The majority of critics, failing to understand what they were witnessing, dismissed the film.

But time has passed and a resistance has formed. Many of those who missed the film in its theatrical debut have discovered it on DVD.

A resistance is forming, slower than we might have liked, bust surely. It will take time, but Speed Racer may yet get its due.