Ben McVittie
Bio
Photographer, Coffee Drinker, Movie watcher and Nap Taker. I co-host the podcast "Bottom of the Bin" where I talk about bargain bin movies. Follow me on twitter @benmcv or instagram @storytimeben
Stories (12/0)
Hot Take: 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl' is a Cinematic Masterpiece.
"Everything that is or was began with a dream" In the past, whenever I found myself defending this movie (a conversation I find myself having embarrassingly often) I would usually start my defense with "it's not a masterpiece but...". As I have grown older, I have decided to take that statement back. This movie is a masterpiece. The quality of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl cannot be represented by a digit, it would be futile to assign this movie a rating out of five stars. One cannot describe this movie with words like good or bad; even "so-bad-it's-good" fails to capture this movie. This movie is an anomaly of massive proportions.
By Ben McVittie3 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - May 2020
John Krasinski, SGN and the Fandom Ownership IllusionTop Story - May 2020
"He has made money off his 'Good News' program while people are dying, laid off, can't get food, etc. Smart, John." Someone tweeted. "This is a sellout move made on the backs of fans who contributed almost all of his content, and he’s not even going to keep doing it..." writes another twitter user, "never forget the rich live in a completely different world and do NOT care about us."
By Ben McVittie4 years ago in Geeks
Movies Can Help Us Get Through This
Netflix recently had to decrease the video quality of their service to accommodate the high volume of people streaming. In these difficult circumstances, we're all turning on our favourite streaming services to offer us a form of escapism. I sincerely believe that movies are a useful tool that can help us get through this. But that's all they are, a tool. A hammer can be used to build something useful or it can be misued to break things or injure people.
By Ben McVittie4 years ago in Geeks
Why Paddington 2 is My Favourite Film of the 2010s
Cinema is an art form. We usually engage with movies as nothing more than mindless entertainment. Movies can be mindless, but it all depends on how we choose to engage with them. In his book 'The Great Movies' legendary film critic Roger Ebert writes:
By Ben McVittie4 years ago in Geeks
The 10 Commandments of Movie Theatre Etiquette
We're heading into the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years movie season and before 2019 is over your local cinema is going to be packed. There will be sequels to Frozen and Jumanji bringing in the family demographic. Other movie-goers will flock to see another Tom Hooper directed adaption of a hit broadway musical, a Tom Hanks starring Mr. Rogers biopic and a Rian Johnston directed Murder Mystery. To add to the craziness, a little film called Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is going to be bringing every person in the world to a movie theatre.
By Ben McVittie4 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - March 2019
Is Cinema Dying at the Hands of Netflix?Top Story - March 2019
The other day I decided to open Twitter because for some reason I convinced myself that would be a valuable way to use my time. I was greeted by a large picture of Spielberg and the headline "Film fans debate Steven Spielberg's proposed changes for Oscars qualification." As a film fan and lover of many of Spielberg's films, I decided to see what this was all about.
By Ben McVittie5 years ago in Geeks
Movie Review: 'First Man' Excels as a Macro View of Space Exploration and a Micro View of Humanity
Oscar winning director Damien Chazelle's First Man tells the raw story of how America, as a nation got the the moon. However, as the titleindicates, the film chooses to tell the story specifically from the perspective of Neil Armstrong: A troubled man who is grieving the tragic loss of his child. If there is one word that describes what it feels like to watch this movie it would be immersive. The term "man in a can" has been used to describe astronauts before and First Man viscerally immerses audiences into the feeling of being hurled through space while crammed into a tiny command module held together by nuts and bolts. While it is a visceral and cinematic space-exploration drama, the primary goal of the film is to immerse audience into the grief, isolation and humanity of the first man on the the moon. The film achieves this goal masterfully.
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
Disney's 'Christopher Robin' Is a Good Way to Waste Time
I feel like I'm supposed to hate this movie, but I don't. If there is one skill that Disney has mastered, it is the ability to sell childhood back to adults. Disney's Christopher Robin exists for that sole purpose. The film, Directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland), feels like one relentless pursuit to remind you of the times in your childhood you spent watching Winnie the Pooh; almost half the dialogue is comprised of quotes from A.A. Milne's novel or Disney's classic adaptations. This is a film with enough flaws that I could rip it apart and criticize it until my fingers become attached to my keyboard. And yet, despite it's many flaws, the film works. I don't know how, but it does. Perhaps it is due to the irresistible likability of the characters crafted years ago or maybe the filmmakers on this reboot actually did do something right after all. Regardless, Christopher Robin actually works, really well.
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
'Paddington 2' Is Perfect
I saw Paddington 2 and fell in love with it. And by fell in love with, I mean that I want to buy this movie a Snuggie for Valentine's day or something. It is rare for me to walk out of a movie and have zero criticisms, but there was nothing in Paddington 2 that I disliked. Simply stated: this is a perfect movie. Whimsical, hysterical, emotional and brilliant. You could show Paddington 2 to a room full of the most cynical, cold-hearted moviegoers and it would probably melt their hearts in an instant.
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
In Defence of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'
By writing a defence of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I'm not saying that I moderately enjoyed watching this movie and think audiences were a little too hard on it: I love this movie, I have unapologetically included it on my favourite films of all time list. I don't think this is just a personal gem or "guilty pleasure," I think this movie holds a wealth of value that audiences have failed to see. Am I saying it is a perfect movie? Absolutely not. I admit, there are many problems with the execution of this film, but that's part of what makes this film so endearing: It is deeply flawed; just like every person you have ever loved, but that doesn't stop you from loving them, does it?
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
'Coco' Review: A Beautiful Pixar Gem
There's no denying that Pixar has had better days; the studio may still be the reigning king of animation in North America but in recent years (post The Incredibles) the majority of their films have been satisfactory yet have lived in the shadow of the golden era (Toy Story-The Incredibles). Every once in a while, the studio releases a gem that fits on the shelves with their early efforts; Coco — along with Inside Out, Toy Story 3, Up, WALL-E and Ratatouille — is one of said standouts. Pixar’s external brand is still an image of a vibrant bubble of creativity and originality, but it is clear that internally, their business model has shifted since Disney’s acquisition in 2006.
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks
Disaster Flick 'Geostorm' Is a Clumsy, Careless Wreck
You know those telemarketing phone calls that are obviously scams but the caller seems to be on their knees begging you to take them seriously? The experience of sitting through Warner Bros. new disaster film, Geostorm, was similar to one of those phone calls; Geostorm pleads for audiences to see greatness in it, but doesn't offer a moment of mediocrity. It is a "craptacular" display of what can happen when a bunch of filmmakers get stuck on a project they don't really care about.
By Ben McVittie6 years ago in Geeks