Childhood movie goodness - The Goonies

I was 11 when The Goonies came out. At the time, it may have been the greatest movie I had ever seen. The kids in the movie had adventures that I dreamed I could have.  Plus most of the kids were my age.

Seeing it as an adult, from a filmmaking standpoint, it is a genius film. The dialogue is sharp and witty and has some of the most quotable lines of all time.  Also, few films have such memorable characters - Data and his gadgets, Mikey and his inability to use the right words, Mouth and his mouth, Chunk and the truffle shuffle.  And who could ever forget Sloth? 

The kids' performances are great. The sets are great, the tone of the film, the pacing, everything about it is great. And apart from some editing and continuity issues, it is still a very well made film.  

At some point in my childhood, I recorded it from TV and would watch it a couple of times a week. I pretty much wore out that VHS tape.  At one time in my life I could recite nearly the entire movie.

 I've grown up with the actors from The Goonies and several have been in some of my favorite films - Corey Feldman in Stand By Me and The Lost Boys, Sean Astin in The Lord of the Rings, Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men.

The Goonies is one of the greatest films from my childhood.   Goonies never say die!

Next time: Star Wars

Biutiful (2010)

Beautiful disaster

Biutiful tells the heartbreaking tales of several hardworking people whose lives have gone wrong. Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Eat, Pray, Love) portrays Uxgal, a low class entrepreneur in Barcelona who employs illegal aliens to produce and sell counterfeit goods. Estranged from his wife Maramba (Maricel Álvarez), and raising their two children alone, he also happens to hear dead people. On top of all that he has cancer. Uxgal is a hard worker doing all he can to support his family. But nothing seems to be working out for him.

An engrossing tragedy with supernatural undertones, Biutiful gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Writer: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Armando Bo, Nicolás Giacobone

Starring: Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez and Hanaa Bouchaib

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%

Metacritic: 58 out of 100