john goodman | the m0vie blog

321. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (-#92)

Posted on January 21, 2023 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest David Monaghan, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

So this week, Brian Levant’s The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas.

Years before they become the family that audiences know and love, Fred and Wilma are living very different lives. Fred is a quarry working, looking for connection. Wilma is the daughter of a wealthy family, looking to experience something real. Fate (and a meddling alien named Gazoo) conspires to throw the two into one another’s lives. However, Fred soon discovers that he has a potential romantic rival in the spiteful Chip Rockefeller, who invites the couple on a trip that they’ll never forget to Rock Vegas.

At time of recording, it was ranked 92nd on the list of the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

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Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: alan cumming, david monaghan, john goodman, mark addy, podcast, steven spielberg, The 250, The Flintstones, the flintstones in viva rock vegas | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Video! On the Paranoid Claustrophobia of “10 Cloverfield Lane”…

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Darren

So, as I have mentioned before, I am launching a new video series as a companion piece to In the Frame at The Escapist. The video will typically launch with the Monday article, and be released on the magazine’s YouTube channel the following week. This is kinda cool, because we’re helping relaunch the magazine’s film channel – so if you can throw a subscription our way, it would mean a lot.

This week, to mark the fifth anniversary of 10 Cloverfield Lane, I took a look back at one of the most underrated paranoid thrillers of the decade, arriving on the crest of a wave that included similar films like Room, Green Room, The Hateful Eight and even Carol. It’s a timely, even prescient, snapshot of a cultural moment – and a very well-made film.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 10 cloverfield lane, abuse, america, claustrophobia, fear, in the frame, john goodman, Misogyny, paranoia, the escapist | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Flight

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Darren

Flight has a lot to recommend it. It has an interesting subject, a fantastic central performance and wonderful supporting cast. As a result, it’s a shame that the movie makes such a mess of all these things. Flight is never less than interesting and Washington is always watchable, but it isn’t quite as compelling as a two-hour drama film needs to be. Director Robert Zemeckis struggles a bit with the tone of the piece, and Flight seems to be a bit all over the place, making it quite difficult to enjoy and hard to engage with.

Things are looking up…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Accidents, Aviation, bruce greenwood, denzel washington, don cheadle, Flight International, Icelandair, jfk, john goodman, Kelly Reilly, Movies, Passenger, robert zemeckis, Ron Marsico, Tamara Tunie, Transportation, Washington, Whitaker | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Artist

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Darren

It’s funny that The Artist should end up being so accessible. It’s a black-and-white silent film, shot in an abandoned aspect ratio, set in old Hollywood from a French director. It sounds like an exercise in arthouse excess, and yet it’s easily one of the most charming and engaging stories in recent memory. It’s hard to put a finger on which part of the film works so well, so I’m going to opt for a massive copout: they all do. It’s a love letter to cinema, but not necessarily to “classic cinema” – the movie feels pretty timely for a story set in the twenties. In short, if you are any sort of cinephile, do yourself a favour and check it out. You won’t regret it.

Released just in time for New Year’s, it seems like 2011 might have saved the best for last.

Now THAT's Entertainment!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bérénice Bejo, black and white, Dujardin, Filmmaking, george clooney, George Valentin, hollywood, james cromwell, Jean Dujardin, john goodman, Malcolm McDowell, marion cotillard, Michel Hazanavicius, New Year, silent film, The Artist | 5 Comments »

Red State Red Band Trailer

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Darren

Kevin Smith’s latest film, Red State, seems like a break out of the director’s comfort zone. While the director has tackled the idea of organised religion before (in the superb Dogma), his latest effort seems like something decidedly more serious. Being entirely honest, I’m always eager to see an established director attempt something that we’d never expect from them, and Smith’s cast (John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Kevin Pollack) is populated with enough skilled (and underrated) performers that it looks to be well worth a chance. If nothing else, the exploration of extremist religious groups in the United States always makes for a juicy viewing experience, even if Smith might not be going for a lot nuance. It looks like a mish-mash of a whole host of subgenres – from the hints at awkward teen comedy at the start to a sinister horror thriller through to an all-out action adventure. It seems like a lot for the director to handle, but the cocktail is intriguing enough to grab my attention.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Dogma, Horror film, john goodman, kevin smith, Melissa Leo, Michael Parks, Red State, United States | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Monsters Inc.

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Darren

If you don’t love Pixar, you should see a doctor immediately. Because you clearly have no heart, which can lead to all manner of unpleasant complications. Okay, maybe Monsters Inc. is one of the more conventional entries in Pixar’s animated canon, but it’s an example of how – even when being as close to conventional as they can – Pixar are still absolutely incredible, blowing all the other major American animation studios out of the water.

Scarily good...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animated, billy crystal, films, john goodman, monsters, monsters inc., Movies, non-review review, pixar, pixar films, review, steve buscemi | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Big Lebowski

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Darren

Apparently The Big Lebowski wasn’t anything special when the Coen Brothers drafted it. Just a routine little film with a main character very loosely based on a film producer that they used to know. To this day they’re still a little perplexed at the massive success the film has had, becoming a cult phenomenon and a serious contender for the mantle of “Best Coen Brothers Film”. In a way, that’s almost perfectly suited to the kind of film this is. It’s a lot of hubbub over a film clearly meant to be very small, much like the film itself is a very big story wrapped around a very ‘small’ character, so to speak. It’s always reassuring to know that The Dude abides.