The Goonies

The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985)

A band of young boys find a treasure map and embark on a magical adventure.

Strong from the succes of E.T. : the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg who is credited as executive producer and for the story of The Goonies, went on to produce Gremlins, Poltergeist and Back to the Future. Family movies that each had different levels of success. As The Goonies director, Richard Donner (original Superman franchise) was nice fit for the children play of no harm and full adventure. In fact, The Goonies is more like a play on Raiders of the Lost Ark for children without the edge that the Harrison Ford vehicule would carry.

It is also a case of film that targets a certain age and may speak to them. The targeted audience in this case is young preteen boys. Or if I want to be a bad mouth, the mental age of some of the comic book guy you would find in a comic book store. And by that, I think of an enthusiast Steven Spielberg’s towards this second class entertainment.

Second class, indeed, because everything is fake, the sets, the blue water, the acting, the blend of « cool » characters and annoying brats, the Asian Inspector Gadget and the over the top bold bad guys. The exterior scenes are those who have the best potential and give a break to the rest of the production. We are thousands of miles away from Raiders of the Lost Ark and still it feels like The Goonies wants so bad to be as good. However, it is too thin as a story and too impossible. As a kid, I know, I would have bored to death by this. Spielberg’s work as a producer has never been as interesting as his work as a director. Except for Back to the Future.

By saying all this I know I would hurt many people who vow a cult to this and I’m not casting my contempt on them, well a little. But, I can understand how a childhood memory can be hard to get criticized. Let’s call a cow a cow.

To me, The Goonies is a product made to appeal to kids and especially little boys who like to be taken into fantastic stories. Lately, I’ve watched The Princess Bride and reviewed it quite favorably but with a certain hold. With The Goonies I’m sure it is clear that I didn’t liked the film and felt it was too long, annoying, and took children for simple minded individuals. And I really hate when I feel a movie or the moviemakers take me for an idiot.

 

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

Of the many films listed on the IMDb Top 250 there are few that I still haven’t seen. Taking aside the obvious new releases that eventually are bumped by newer films voted by enthusiast movie goers, the classics on the list are common and givens to lots of people. However, there is a blindspot on my side, Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride.
Added to the fact that I was born in the 1980’s and that it is a children and/or family film, it is a mystery to me why I havent’s saw that film considered by many as their favorite. I’ve seen it on various lists including my ultimate goal as a cinephile : the 1000 Greatest films of all time by They Shoot Pictures Don’t They. With the back to school event that September brings every year I’ve decided that for 2014 I would do my homeworks and watch a bunch of films I must see as a film connoisseur. The Princess Bride could easily be on top of it. Not that I had really an urge to watch it or a huge desire, it is interesting to discover what the fuss is all about!

Adapted from his novel of the same name, William Goldman presents a story of fairy tales that could easily be compared to a rendition of a tale from the Grimm brothers. With Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk, and Fred Savage The Princess Bride didn’t really surpassed my expectations which were very low but I think I can understand why so many people get this movie. It has everything the grand father portrayed by Peter Falk is talking about in the beginning. This is like if you take every component of every efficient family movie out there and condensed it into a 98 minutes entertainment. It is easily bankable and not a very bold move. Add to this a bit of nice comedy and you have a crowd pleaser.

This kind of entertainment is often seen as lesser cinema than dramas or other more serious genres. But it is a nice little film that doesn’t harm anyone and may have charmed many by its innocence and sense of traditional storytelling. However, this is very middle of the road storytelling and reminded me very much of the Shrek series. Charming and funny but not entirely my cup of tea when it comes to films.

Having crosssed that one from list of blindspots I can safely say that it was one of the films I had to watch I was not that much eager to get to. However, when my daughter will get older I might watch it again with her just to discover how she’ll receive it as a young movie buff.

 

Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful (Sam Riami, 2013)

Far from his first inspired films, Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Dark Man, The Quick and the Dead, and even Army of Darkness, Sam Raimi’s adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s Oz the Great and Powerful visually surpasses any other release in High Defintion with its satured bright colors and fantastic imagery. Telling how the magician got into the world of Oz that will eventually be visited by Dorothy.