
This week's review: 'Speed Racer'
May 8, 2008
The Wachowski brothers' 'Speed Racer' is fun but not intellectually challenging. Phil Villarreal reviews...
Phil Villarreal
Star movie critic

Phil Villarreal, a Star critic since February 2001, reviews films and video games, and writes a weekly series of essays on his favorite films from the past entitled "ReView."
Born in 1978 in Douglas, Villarreal moved with his family to Tucson at age 8. He attended Mountain View High School and the University of Arizona, where he wrote a humor column for the campus paper and graduated with a degree in business management in 2000.
He began working at the Star as a college freshman in 1996 as a freelance sportswriter, covering hockey and high school sports. He worked as a part-time sports correspondent until 2000, when he signed on as a general assignment features reporter.
After taking the film critic position, Villarreal won first place at the Arizona Press Club's 2001 competition for best film, video and television criticism.
He also won back-to-back first place awards (2004 and 2005) in the Arizona Newspaper Association Better Newspapers Contest, for best column, feature or criticism. Villarreal was named a Star Employee of the Year in 2003.
Villarreal runs every day to stave off the popcorn and soda weight. He runs a Web site, becauseitoldyouso.com, and blogs at philmguy.com. He's a huge fan of football and basketball, and lives with his wife, Jessica, and son, Luke, on the Northwest Side.

Phil reviews movies and video games, and gives us the latest big screen news in his AZNightBuzz blog, "Philm Guy."
Go to blog »»
Every week, Phil reviews a classic movie. Read all of his past "ReViews" at azstarnet.com/review
Contact info:
E-mail: pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
Phone: 573-4130
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Past reviews:
May 1, 2008: 'Iron Man'
April 24, 2008: 'Baby Mama'
April 17, 2008: 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'
April 10, 2008: 'Smart People'
April 3, 2008: 'Taxi to the Dark Side'
March 27, 2008: 'Stop-Loss'
March 20, 2008: 'Under the Same Moon'
March 13, 2008: 'Never Back Down'
March 6, 2008: 'The Band's Visit'
Feb. 28, 2008: 'The Other Boleyn Girl'
Feb. 21, 2008: 'Vantage Point
Feb. 14, 2008: 'Jumper'
Feb. 7, 2008: 'Fool's Gold'
Jan. 31, 2008: 'Over Her Dead Body'
Jan. 24, 2008: 'Untraceable'
Jan. 17, 2008: 'There Will Be Blood'
Jan. 10, 2008: 'The Bucket List'
Jan. 3, 2008: 'Margot at the Wedding'
Dec. 25, 2007: 'The Great Debaters'
Dec. 20, 2007: 'Charlie Wilson's War'
Dec. 13, 2007: 'I Am Legend'
Dec. 6, 2007: 'The Golden Compass'
Nov. 29, 2007: 'Kurt Cobain: About a Son'
Nov. 22, 2007: 'No Country for Old Men'
Nov. 15, 2007: 'Beowulf'
Nov. 8, 2007: 'Fred Claus'
Nov. 1, 2007: 'American Gangster'
Oct. 25, 2007: 'The Darjeeling Limited'
Oct. 18, 2007: 'Into the Wild'
Oct. 11, 2007: 'Michael Clayton'
Oct. 4, 2007: 'The Heartbreak Kid'
Sept. 27, 2007: 'The Kingdom'
Sept. 20, 2007: 'In the Valley of Elah'
Sept. 13, 2007: 'The Brave One'
Aug. 30, 2007: 'Once'
Aug. 23, 2007: 'Mr. Bean's Holiday'
Aug. 16, 2007: 'Superbad'
Aug. 9, 2007: 'Rush Hour 3'
Aug. 2, 2007: 'The Bourne Ultimatum'
July 26, 2007: 'The Simpsons Movie'
July 19, 2007: 'Hairspray'
July 11, 2007: 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'
July 3, 2007: 'Transformers'
June 28, 2007: 'Ratatouille'
June 21, 2007: 'Evan Almighty'
June 14, 2007: 'Nancy Drew'
June 7, 2007: 'Surf's Up'
May 31, 2007: 'Knocked Up'
May 24, 2007: 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'
May 17, 2007: 'Shrek the Third'
May 11, 2007: 'The Ex'
May 2, 2007: 'Spider-Man 3'