Criticwatch - Friends in small roles and the measure of greatness

Erik Childress from Criticwatch gives his weekly assessment of At the Movies. A few of Erik's highlights follow.

First, he referencess Lyons's favorable review of Quantum of Solace:

It was like when you re-recommended Quantum of Solace last week because James Bond films don’t come along too often. By that logic The Odd Couple II should be the greatest film of all time.

. . .

Then he quotes Ben on the Swedish film Let the Right One In:

“Something that’s really cool about the movie is that the director of Cloverfield, Matt Reeves, is noew adapting this for American audiences. So we’re going to have this story come to theaters in the upcoming years in English.”

Jesus Christ! Why in the hell is THAT cool?

“A Swedish arthouse film is a tough sell when Twilight is at the Cineplex as well.”

Yes I understand that, but you’re falling into the same trap again by telling people to look forward to a movie that they can not possibly see. Last time it was two months. This time it’s at least two years. For a film that hasn’t even been cast yet. Of all the cool things about Let the Right One In, you pick something that isn’t even relevant to its coolness.

. . .

Finally, Erik reminds us that Ben actually gave a shout-out to TWO of his friends this week (the other was for his BFF McLovin'):

In criticizing the film [Twilight] for only giving Edi Gathegi a couple of scenes to spread his greatness, maybe Lyons could have been given another moment to explain why he singled him out amidst the ensemble cast. Maybe it’s because Gathegi was yet another participant in the splendor that was Ben Lyons’ birthday party. In a post on Clinton Sparks' blog (Lyons’ DJ co-host for E!’s SMASHTIME), you can find the following listing:

“The Daily 10 on E! SMASHTIME Saturday's Ben Lyons Birthday at Body English in Las Vegas, NV at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with Idris Elba, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Aaron Yoo, Edi Gathegi, BoA Kwan, Sal Masekela & Ben Lyons on October 18th, 2008”

Lyons has now managed to work into At the Movies, the names of his party pals, Idris Elba, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and, now, Edi Gathegi. Too bad his birthday didn’t fall before the release of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. He could have singled out Aaron Yoo as one of the positives. Don’t worry though, we fully expect him to spread some love to Mr. Yoo when the Friday the 13th remake comes out next Feburary. Provided a replacement on the show hasn’t already been made that frees up Junior’s schedule to go out and rent as many Edi Gathegi movies as he can get his hands on.

Read the complete Criticwatch Ben Lyons Quote of the Week here