film criticism by maryann johanson | handcrafted since 1997
The chill zen and goofy charm of GenX’s philosopher-fools remains intact, but their latest adventure is too familiar a retelling. Still, “Be excellent to each other” won’t ever not be worth heeding.
So it can be told: The road to hell isn’t paved with good intentions, it’s paved with Harry Potter wannabes. Now, now — I know that’s not quite fair to anyone involved with this perfectly inoffensive, occasionally clever kids’ movie…
Up, Disney, Pixar, Around the World in 80 Days, Oscars, David Niven, Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Boy and His Dog, Don Johnson, Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi, Evil Dead II, Three Stooges, Chuck Jones, Bruce Campbell, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, What Goes Up, Steve Coogan, Wonder Boys, Michael Douglas, Breakfast Club, Brothers Bloom, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Michael Caine, Steve Martin, Glenne Headly, French Riviera
Fifteen years ago Bill and Ted took a seriously silly journey to the underworld, and this one is seriously freakishly disturbing. Imagine if Bosch and Dante were 21st-century geeks and they collaborated on a graphic novel (and maybe that’s a good description of Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis’s book *Hellblazer,* upon which this is based, but I don’t know cuz I’ve never seen it).
