Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2009 > August > 06
Thursday, August 6, 2009
John Hughes, of ‘Breakfast Club,’ Ferris Bueller fame dies
Word has broken that John Hughes, the writer-director of such seminal 80s films as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has suddenly died of a heart attack at age 59.
Time prohibits me from writing a fully considered tribute right now, but this news saddens me. I wasn’t quite as much into Hughes as many people in my generation were (I’m 38, for the record) - I was more into visual auteurs like Spielberg and Scorsese.
Still, there can be no doubt that Hughes’ work defined teens in the 1980s. He “got” them (us) in a way that few other filmmakers did. My personal favorites of his are The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off - and this Beatlemaniac will always be grateful to Hughes for turning the Fab Four’s version of “Twist and Shout” into a top 40 hit in 1986 on the strength of its great use in Bueller. For one brief, shining moment, people finally knew what I was talking about.
Then, he wrote Home Alone in 1990, and in a way, that was the best and worst thing that ever happened to him. The best in that it brought him his greatest commercial success, and the worst in that it boxed him into a corner of lame slapstick comedies like Baby’s Day Out, Dennis The Menace and the Flubber remake with Robin Williams that were beneath him.
After 1991’s Curly Sue, he quit directing and more or less retired from moviemaking. And yet, with a mere eight films under his belt as a writer-director (several more solely as a writer), his influence was considerable. Most recently, it could be felt in the criminally underseen Adventureland, probably the best Hughes film Hughes didn’t make. It’s due out on DVD Aug. 25. I only regret Hughes himself never came back to remind us of how great he could be.
Cue “Don’t you forget about me” …
What are your thoughts on Hughes? What are your favorite films/scenes of his?
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Tributes
Will you see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra?
Much has been made of the fact that Paramount has decided not to screen G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for critics. Indeed, it may be the highest-profile Hollywood movie ever not to be given such previews.
So what’s my reaction, as a critic? G.I. Could Care Less.
Long before the decision was made not to show the movie to us, I had little to no interest in seeing it. I knew the movie Julie & Julia was also coming out that same weekend, and I am far more invested in that, both as a movie and as a subject for you, my readers.
I’m not naive enough to believe that anything I write is going to affect most people’s anticipation of G.I. Joe. Or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Or The Dark Knight. Or Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Or whatever Harry Potter movie is out any given year.
However, I would point out that my reviews of those blockbusters are very often my most clicked-on and commented-upon posts. Just look at my reviews for Transformers: ROTF or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Maybe I’ll never have much effect on the box office of these movies, but for whatever reasons, people are reading what I write and responding to what I write. That’s what’s most important to me, and I thank those of you who participate by reading and/or commenting.
Still, given the choice, I would much rather review a film I can turn people on to, that they might otherwise skip, like Julie & Julia or 500 Days of Summer. Hearing someone say “That movie was really good, thank you for letting me know about it” is the greatest compliment a critic can get. You can read my review of Julie & Julia Friday in this space.
As for G.I. Joe, even if it were screened for critics, I would not be looking forward to it. I’m neither here nor there on most people in the cast, but the director is Stephen Sommers, whose movies are wildly uneven. Sometimes they’re turn-your-brain-off fun, like the 1998 The Mummy. Sometimes they’re bloated mediocrities, like The Mummy Returns. And sometimes they’re absolutely god-awful, like Van Helsing. That monstrosity felt like going on a ride at Universal Studios for 573 times straight, without ever getting back in line.
So when word was going around that G.I. Joe was so bad that Sommers was fired from the project (a contention the studio denied), that only made the movie smell all the worse. In fairness to the film, its Rotten Tomatoes score is 75 percent positive (based on only 16 reviews, it must be noted), and the first “pro” review I’ve read, from Variety, is more resigned than scathing.
Regardless, I have no plans to see it, in theaters or on DVD. If anyone feels I made a mistake, they are more than free to tell me so.
But enough about me - what about you? Do you want to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra? Even if it is from the guy who made Van Helsing? Like Transformers, Joe is based on a franchise that was popular in the 80s, with its “Yo, Joe!” and “Co-braaaaah!” catchphrases. Even so, I don’t get the sense this has the same pull as Transformers - and I don’t think it will do nearly as well at the box office.
Or am I wrong? You tell me.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Coming Attractions
What’s opening Friday, August 7?
This weekend is probably the last true weekend of the Hollywood summer, but it serves up two very fine films, one sort of unknown entity and one that’s, well … bombastic, at least.
500 Days of Summer: One of the best films of the year opens in Dayton this weekend. My full take ran last week. I urge everyone to give this vividly original film a try.
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra: AKA GI Don’t Think I’ll See This. But will you? More on that later today.
Julie & Julia: Adams & Streep = Food & Fun. Review posts Friday.
A Perfect Getaway: Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich star in a thriller about a vacationing couple and find themselves embroiled in murder. David Twohy (Pitch Black) directs, There’s not really much buzz on this title one way or the other.
At the Cool Films series
To Kill a Mockingbird: The number one hero of all time (per the American Film Institute) Atticus Finch, comes to the Victoria on Friday. Fun facts: The director of the film, Robert Mulligan, had a long career, going on to direct Reese Witherspoon in her film debut, The Man on the Moon. The producer, Alan J. Pakula, was a fine director in his own right, with such credits as Klute, All the President’s Men and Sophie’s Choice.
At the arthouses
The Neon adds 500 Days of Summer to its lineup; The Little Art plays Seraphine, the story of a self-taught French painter Seraphine Louis.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: In Area Theaters
