Jedidiah Ayres – Movie Critic Interviews
It’s time for another action-packed edition of Critical Juncture, our weekly interview segment with one of the Internet’s grooviest movie critics. This time around, we’ll be talking to Jedidiah Ayres, the man behind Hardboiled Wonderland and the screenwriter of Mosquito Kingdom. In case you didn’t already know, Hardboiled Wonderland is a totally bitchin’ blog dedicated to the darker side of culture, literature and film. Jedidiah features articles on artists such as Neko Case, interviews with writers such as Donald Ray Pollock, and discussions of lesser-known films like Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy. In addition, he uses a picture of Warren Oates on his bio, so he’s scored major brownie points in the OnlyGoodMovies universe.
But enough of my jibber jabber, let’s see what Jedidiah Ayres has to say for himself.
Only Good Movies: What’s the first movie that you remember seeing?
Jedidiah Ayres: The first I remember vividly was Errol Flynn in Charge of the Light Brigade
OGM: What’s the most recent movie you’ve seen?
JA: This week I caught a screening of John Cassavetes’ Killing of a Chinese Bookie and I saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with my kids at home.
(OGM Note: It took me a while to get this interview posted, so Jedidiah has no doubt seen a number of films since he answered this question.)
OGM: Is there a particular film which you feel is criminally underrated?
JA: Matt Dillon’s directorial debut City of Ghosts that he co-wrote with Barry Gifford. Really great atmospheric piece.
And Anaconda. Absolutely. Did you see it? Those are some big ass snakes and the scene where Jon Voight gets vomited out all slimy and his eyelids are bobbing up and down over his unseeing eyes – chilling.
OGM: Which director do you feel has turned out the best overall body of work?
JA: She-it! What are you trying to do, start a riot? There is absolutely no way to answer this question without pissing people off, but I guess that makes for good blogospherical content…. Uh, off the top of my head, the Coen Brothers’ output is pretty great – good mix of genres that they really nail, plus even their films that aren’t instant classics improve with multiple viewings. I haven’t seen a Jean Pierre Melville movie that didn’t rock my shit – but then he pretty much stuck to crime and noir. So Ima have to go with… Sam Peckinpah.
OGM: From an artistic standpoint, which film do you think is most important?
JA: The first one.
OGM: All artsy considerations aside, which movie is your personal favorite?
JA: The Empire Strikes Back
OGM: In your opinion, which film is entirely overrated?
JA: Guy Ritchie’s Swept Away. But, you say ‘everybody hated it’, to which I reply – Not Nearly Enough.
OGM: Have you ever walked out of the theatre during a film? If so, what movie was playing?
JA: Lots of times. The first I remember was Four Weddings and a Funeral. I walked out of The Sixth Sense because the person I was seeing it with was too scared. Plus many more that I am too embarrassed to admit I went to see in the first place.
OGM: In your mind, what’s the ultimate goal of a movie critic?
JA: To finally get laid.
OGM: Time to look into the future. Do you predict any major changes for the movie industry over the next 25 years?
JA: I think in the next three or four years tops they’re going to run out of ideas for bad movies and try it the other way. It’ll be huge.
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.
JA: Jeremy Renner. ‘Course I said that five years ago after seeing Dahmer and S.W.A.T. back to back. Haven’t seen The Hurt Locker yet, but this may be the one.
OGM: Besides yourself, who’s your favorite movie critic to read?
JA: Pete Dragovich – The Nerd of Noir – does more books than movies, but always a good read.
I’d like to once again thank Jedidiah Ayres for participating in Critical Juncture, and be sure to join us again next week when we’ll have yet another movie critic review for you to enjoy. Until then, keep your projectors running at full speed.
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 12:41 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.
Kyle
I’m glad to hear from Jed Ayres, one of America’s rising stars. I only wish this interview were three times as long.