Saturday, May 16, 2009

Backtracking on GI Joe

UPDATE: I knew I saw this somewhere but I just finally remembered where. On Twitter, Ben Lyons wrote on May 3: "Just saw the new G.I. Joe trailer on ABC during the Mavs vs. Nuggets game...WOW! That ish looks crraaaaaaaaaazy...Go Joe! Look forward to it".

Do you think he saw a different trailer during the 11 days between writing the "Tweet" and filming the interview below? More likely, somebody on At the Movies read his Tweet and then smacked him upside the head for gushing over a G.I. Joe movie. I'm afraid G.I. Joe is the new Twilight.




A live action G.I. Joe movie is probably the stupidest idea to come out of Hollywood since somebody cast Shia LaBeouf was cast as a Brando-like motorcycle dude in Crystal Skull. That actually worked out OK--it was the rest of the movie that sucked.

Ben Lyons, however, cannot see past hype and the dollar signs and seems to have expressed some enthusiasm over the release of this movie, having said (quoted by Erik Childress on April 27) that "Channing Tatum does have a star quality to him. This isn't his best work by any means. He's gonna be a big star cause he's got G.I. Joe coming out in the summer."

After actually having seen the trailer--one of Lyons' favorite methods of film criticism--he now seems to be realizing that the movie might suck--see the clip above. Of course, his problem is not that the idea of making the movie is inherently stupid--especially at a time when the US is fighting two unpopular wars and debating whether torture is performed by the US and whether it is permissible. This is an especially questionable time for cartoonish war mongering. No, his problem is that it does not appear to have the "heart-and-soul of G.I. Joe".

The other critic in this clip, Devin Faraci of CHUD.com, has enough intelligence to question Ben's assertion that what is missing is the "heart-and-soul of G.I. Joe". The real problem is that IT IS A FUCKING MOVIE ABOUT G.I. JOE! It looks like a movie based on "plastic toys for 9 year olds"--that is the real problem.

Thanks, Faraci--unlike some people, at least you can call out stupidity when you see it.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it particularly strange that you would devote your time on someone you don't like. Updating with links and your opinion and basic stuff regular fans do for people they actually adore.

Do you perhaps have a man crush? It's okay. It happens.

By the way, news flash - I actually like Ben Lyons and I think the guy's got talent which is why he's still in the biz.

JordanC said...

^TP.

Amy S said...

It is sort of strange but as long as the internet's around and guys will be fighting guys, it's going to happen Anonymous. I like Ben too but you sadly can't win them all.

~A

jbaker475 said...

"I never really got into the [Harry Potter], but I love the movies."

Classic Lyons...and by classic Lyons I mean: what are you smoking, because I need to make a note to avoid that shit.

Anonymous said...

Shia LaBeouf on a motorcycle did not work out OK at all! Are you out of your mind!? Also I agree with one of the posters above. I find it very interesting that you and Erik waste so much of your time on someone you hate. Stop the hate and do something positive and loving for once.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and before you say I'm a hypocrite and ask me why I'm spending my time writing this message to someone I hate, just remember that I don't hate you, I actually find you and Erik kind of amusing. I'm just asking you why you devoted an entire blog to someone you don't like and why don't you just stop the hate and devote this site to something more positive? It's actually a very funny story on how I found out about Ben Lyons and became a fan of At the Movies. I was looking at the news section of the IMDB website one day like I usually do when I saw an article about the most hated critic and it quoted you and Erik. So I checked out your site and decided to tune into the show and check it out for myself. At first I found myself sort of agreeing with you but then I began to like Ben and Ben more and more and now I watch the show every week and I really enjoy Ben Lyons even though he does on occasion say something really dumb. So I guess you could say that this site sort of backfired, for me anyway. Please don't chop off my head for making this post. I usually don't post a lot of stuff on the internet because of how harsh others are treated on different websites for they're different opinions.

Anonymous said...

I think Ben Lyons is a very nice guy, and perhaps he's a really interesting character but let's face it -- he can't review movies.

On E! he was a towering colossus since the majority of the people at E! have the intelligence of a dead fruit fly.

  said...

@ Anonymous 8:18, I know that this is a few days late, but this is something I like to comment on, especially given this whole thread.

I know that Ben Lyons has his fans. So, when fans come here, they probably don't understand why Mr. Johnson has an anti-blog. They always say, "Well, why do you spend so much time on something you hate?" I'm a frequent visitor to the Twilight Sucks website, and we get the question a lot there as well.

My answer is a simple: Why not? We're not hurting anyone, we're not kicking puppies, we're not attacking fansites with our opinions. Websites like these are about commenting on something you're passionate about.

If you honestly think this site is about Mr. Johnson's hatred for Ben Lyons, that's not right. This site is about his fondness for films and their critics. Mr. Childress's reviews are more about his pride of Chicago's film critic scene than about an obsession with Lyons.

And finally, when you make an accusation that Mr. Johnson is a fan in disguise, it's because you're a fan yourself and so you're inclined to think everyone feels as you do. I'm in no way a fan of Lyons and I can't imagine how anyone could be - but look at you people! We've all got different opinions. Isn't it crazy how this world works?

Anyway, Anon I wasn't being mean. :) You should never be ashamed to state your opinion.

Scott said...

Nice response, maybe I should add it to the title of the blog:

"Stop Ben Lyons: We're not kicking puppies"

I Love Cinema said...

Who sets out to become a Ben Lyons Fan? I really got to believe, like the ant-twilight site mentioned above gets inundated with Fans of the series who turn out to be 14 year old girls. The mass majority of pro-Lyon fans are females looking to defend the guy. I mean, he reminds me of a cheesier verison of carson daily, and I believe he should have gone that route in life. ESPN or MTV or stay on E!. Understandably, his father is the one who opened all the doors for him and having to rely merely on his own abilities to get a postion in ANY other media field with a major public outlet other than something involving film & Comcast-Disney conglomerate would be difficult for anyone, let alone one with a daddy owned by the biz too.

Anonymous said...

There will always be people that like Ben Lyons for the same reason some people like George W. Bush. Stupid people feel comfortable listening to and being led by stupid people. For those of us on the bright side of the bell curve, Ben Lyons pathetic reviews are painful to watch. The dumbing down of America is depressing.

Anonymous said...

Devin Faraci is a smart guy and a pretty good critic, but I find him almost as intolerable as Lyons sometimes. He's got some really stuck up opinions, feels the need to talk shit on just about every other critic he can name, and just seems very unpleasant. I don't know, maybe he'd be much nicer in person.