James Barron – Movie Blogger Interview

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 9:04 pm

Ladies and germs, welcome to another edition of Critical Juncture, our weekly entry where we talk shop with film bloggers or movie critics. Our guest this week is James Barron, the writer of Another Failed Film. If you enjoy making fun of bad movies or pretentious celebrities, then James is the man to see.

In addition to mock scripts for movies such as The Wicker Man (Nicolas Cage version), The Incredible Hulk, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, James also offers reviews of films ranging from The Road to Clash of the Titans. And then there are the wonderful fake news items, including my favorite:

Sarah Jessica Parker Mistaken for an Actual Horse

It’s great stuff, and I’d highly advise you to check out Another Failed Film. Now here’s the interview with James Barron:

Only Good Movies: What’s the first movie that you remember seeing?
James Barron: The first movie I have a clear memory of watching is The Shining on VHS. I saw it at a friend’s house when I was way too young for R-rated movies and it terrified me.

OGM: What’s the most recent movie you’ve seen?
JB: Robin Hood. (OGM note: it took me a few weeks to post this.)

OGM: Is there a particular film that you feel is criminally underrated?
JB: I think Bug with Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon is very underrated.

OGM: Which director do you feel has turned out the best overall body of work?
JB: Guess I’d have to go with Kubrick. He made so many brilliant films that spanned such a wide variety of genres.

OGM: From an artistic standpoint, which film do you think is most important?
JB: 2001: A Space Odyssey.

OGM: All artsy considerations aside, which movie is your personal favorite?
JB: The Big Lebowski. For starters, it’s absolutely hilarious. But hidden underneath all the light-hearted humor is a very deep film deserving of repeat viewings. Not to mention it spawned the greatest movie drinking game ever made.

OGM: In your opinion, which film is entirely overrated?
JB: Slumdog Millionaire is probably the most overrated film in history. Nothing about the script or acting is even remotely memorable. The main character is extremely one-dimensional. The plot is basically a rehashed “guy loses girl, guy tries to get girl back” theme seen in a thousand past films. Honestly, the fact that this won Best Picture makes me sick to my stomach.

OGM: Have you ever walked out of the theatre during a film? If so, what movie was playing?
JB: No, I’ve never walked out. Doesn’t matter how mind-numbingly bad a movie is, I always stay till the bitter end.

OGM: In your mind, what’s the ultimate goal of a movie critic?
JB: Well, I guess the goal of a good movie critic is to offer readers some valuable insight into film. My goal is just to make people laugh. And hopefully convince a few of them to demand better writing instead of settling for today’s mediocre Hollywood blockbusters. If I convince enough, maybe then I’ll never again be forced to watch Shia Labeouf swinging through the jungle with an army of CGI monkeys.

OGM: Time to look into the future. Do you predict any major changes for the movie industry over the next 25 years?
JB: In twenty five years, Jerry Bruckheimer will produce National Treasure 13 and it will signal the coming of the apocalypse. Locust swarms will descend upon the earth, fires will rain down from the heavens…so yes, there will be some changes.

OGM: Here’s another chance to predict the future. Name a relatively unknown actor or actress who’ll be a huge star within five years.
JB: I can’t really say she’s unknown anymore, but after seeing Evan Rachel Wood in The Wrestler I was extremely impressed with her talents. Her performance in Whatever Works only further solidified that impression.

OGM: Who’s your favorite movie critic to read?
JB: Roger Ebert.

I’d like to send a heartfelt thanks out to James Barron for taking part in this week’s Critical Juncture segment, and I hope you’ll show your support by heading over to Another Failed Film and taking a look. Until next week, here are a few more Critical Junctureinterviews to keep you warm at night:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Movie Critic Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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