Friday movie roundup – July 23
It’s a weekend of girl power at the moving-picture shows! The better of the two options is “Ramona and Beezus” (review at Film.com), a perfectly pleasant (if narratively jumbled) G-rated confection based on the beloved children’s books. Don’t see it if you don’t have kids with you, though, because that’s weird.
The other one is “Salt” (review at Cinematical), starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA spy named Evelyn Salt who is accused of being a Russian double agent. It has some fun action here and there, but overall it’s too serious and unsympathetic. (Just like my first marriage! HEY-O!)
At Film.com, “Eric’s Bad Movies” was about “Gooby,” a weird Canadian children’s movie from last year, and “What’s the Big Deal?” was about “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a weird sci-fi classic from 1968.
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July 24th, 2010 at 7:38 am
I “got” 2001: A Space Odyssey when I first saw it on video as a kid. It became an instant favorite of mine. It didn’t take drugs or an adult sized sophistication to understand what was going on. Those who think it is too long and boring I can sympathize with. I also “got” this as a kid who was used to blockbuster loud, fast, and brainless. However, the biggest difference was that I was a lover of movies, a lover of art, and a lover of science fiction at an early age.This film meshes them all together in a near perfect blend that has never been repeated before. You experience, not watch, this movie. The sequel 2010 tried and Start Trek: The Motion Picture (that can best be appreciated in light of 2001) had the right idea, but came up short as imitators rather than innovators.
July 26th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Eric, Eric, Eric!
Gooby? I’m a Canadian, living in the most film-conscious city in the country, and Gooby never appeared on my radar. I assume it was direct-to-video, even in its home and native land. You can’t do this shooting-fish-at-the-bottom-of-the-barrel (to mix metaphors, both appropriate) and maintain credibility as a sharp critic.
Take on the big boys.
Thanks for many laughs,
Ray
July 26th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Luckily, “Eric’s Bad Movies” is not intended as actual legitimate film criticism. Whew!
That being said, I do try to avoid direct-to-video movies, because it’s more sporting to mock something that someone actually expected people to pay to see. I don’t know what happened to “Gooby” in Canada (do they even have movie theaters there?), but it played in a few theaters in the U.S. for a few weeks last spring, and was briefly infamous on the Internet because of its creepy trailer.
July 26th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Wait — Gooby was that recent? I thought for sure it was some weird 80s show. I stand all corrected.