I Spoke Too Soon...

I've mentioned before that I really detest most remakes. More often than not, the changes they make to the source material are several steps in the wrong direction. This being the case, when Hollywood remakes my favorite books, I find myself both exasperated with the project and hopeful that the new remake will be one of the rare good ones.

The remake I'm currently talking about is "World War Z" , which hits the big screen June 21st, 2013. The film is based of the book of the same title by Max Brooks, (directed by Marc Forster) which came out in 2006. Basically the book is about the Zombie Apocalypse as told through the eyes of survivors from all over the world.

Frankly I'm curious to see how Forster will translate that type of storytelling into film form. But considering that this is a remake, I'm probably going to wait until it comes out on DVD to see it.

Groovy.

I'm a deadite and I don't care who knows... Well, actually... Most people don't know what that means so um... Let me explain. Tonight I watched Evil Dead II and it doesn't matter how many times I've seen that movie, it will still be one of my favorites.

Evil Dead II is a reboot/sequel to The Evil Dead which stars Bruce Campbell and directed by Sam Raimi. This is a picture almost 30 years old but this is one of my favorites of the two best friends.

You may know Sam Raimi as the director of the upcoming movie, Oz staring James Franco. And hopefully (fingers crossed) you know Bruce Campbell from Hercules? Oh how about... Burn Notice? He's the guy that always wears the Hawaiian shirts. 

Okay, so Evil Dead II is when Ash (Bruce) and his girlfriend stay at an abandoned cabin for the weekend in the woods. He listens to a tape recorder there and he basically unleashes the evils from centuries of hibernation. So, zombie things attack and in the end Ash has to cut his hand off and attaches a chainsaw to the hand stub and save the day. It's pretty badass. (If you've ever seen The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, a guy with a chainsaw hand should seem familiar. Remember this guy?

That's Hoss Delgado. A reference to Kurt Russel's character from Escape From New York, Bruce Campbell's character from Evil Dead and his name is an ode to the comic book character Gangbuster.)

This movie series is a cult classic- literally, it's basically like a cult. Deadites live for these movies. My family and I use Bruce's brilliant one-liners in an everyday conversation. (We could be talking just about anything and if the conversation allows it, someone will just say, "Hail to the King, baby." like it made sense to the conversation.) There are horror conventions and when Bruce Campbell is there, you know it's the place to be. 

Now, a lot of us Deadites got really really really really really really really really really pissed off when they decided to remake the first movie. It looks terrifying as hell but I was so nervous as to whether I was going to see it out not. Luckily, my main man Bruce and Sam are producers on the movie and are fully behind the film. So thankfully, soon, I'll be able to be scared shitless for days on end after seeing the remake.

Oh Bruce. You worked so hard and did your own stunts so directors that weren't his best friend would hire him in action films. You are the #1 B-Movie Actor and always will be. Any man who defeats the Deadites in Army of Darkness and fights with his own hand will always on the top of my list.

Oh, also. The day before I came to campus from winter break, I tweeted a picture to Bruce Campbell stating that I was organizing all of my Army of Darkness Comics and not even a minute later, Bruce Campbell tweeted back. I squealed and ran down to my parents room and showed my half asleep mom and dad the best moment of my life.

 Bruce. I shall always have a crush on you for as long as we both shall live... Even though you are old enough to be my father, but that's besides the point.

Skyfall: Homage to the Bond classics

This weekend I saw the latest addition to the Bond legacy, Skyfall.  This film was able to appeal to the current generation's "action movie go-er" while still paying homage to the classic Bond spy movies.  Regardless of the movies attempt to have a more realistic plot/take than some of the old Bond movies the director took special care to not over step his bounds and preserving many aspects of the older films.

First off James Bond/ Agent 007 kept his name as did "Mom" and eventually Agent Moneypenny, along with several other characters. The preservation of names, regardless of how silly they seem now, directly points out the commitment to maintaining the tradition of "Bond."

Throughout the movie old plot points from previous Bond films were brought up such as exploding pens and ejector seats.  These moments of brief dialogue were directly for those who knew the old movies and allows the audience into the mind of the writer/director of the film saying, "No this is not a remake of the old Bond movies but instead another chapter in the legacy." Such comments pass right over the heads of people who don't know the movies, but add another dimension to those who have been following Bond from the beginning.

The film even went as far as to reintroduce the spy car the original James Bond used in the past films.
Recognition of the creators of Skyfall to address the fact that the film industry has changed and that the plots of action films today differ from those in the past allow them to change the story/character accordingly to still preserve Bond as an admirable, suave, and all around "cool"character.  The idea of an exploding pen would be better suited for a comedy than a serious action film is the perfect example of this.  However the fact that Skyfall incorporated and worked so hard to bring back elements of the old movies in the best way they could added an entirely new dimension to the film.  In my opinion the new Skyfall movie did the Bond series justice and through its homages to the classics of the past appeased many fans who may have been apprehensive about re-igniting the Bond legacy and tradition.

Bringing life to the past again

In the spirit of October and Halloween and zombies, I thought I'd make a post about movies that are being re-animated (no pun intended) and why.  Finding Nemo hits theaters again, but this time in 3D; The Lion King and Titanic, both huge successes originally at the box office, came back for round two with an added dimension.  The list continues on, and the future has even more in store (Little Shop of Horrors, The Birds, Dirty Dancing...see the rest here), both in our regular 2D movie experience and in pay-an-extra-four-bucks-for-glasses 3D.  Why not just make something new, though?

The fact of the matter is, even these "classics" are just imitations of other stories that came before, and I'm not entirely sure that such a thing as an "original idea" even exists these days.  It's sad to think of the world of creativity in that way, but really, what are we left with?  Directors, producers, and screenwriters therefore must come up with ways to manipulate the same old song and dance into something that another generation can enjoy, with updated pop culture references, soundtracks, and images.  Plus, with the relatively new frontier of 3D available for exploration, ticket prices rise (in a fair ratio to the increase in cost of making a 3D film, on average about 18% according to the MPAA) to add to the climbing cost of living in today's world.  There has to be something flashy and new to add to the old storyline to attract an audience back to the theater, whether it's in the technology or the talent (you know that you see some movies just for the actors, admit it); otherwise, viewers just won't be pulled back in to see a plot they've watched unfold seven times before in various formats.

I'm not saying that this isn't a decent way to make up for a lack of new ideas; after all, it is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Still, I wouldn't mind seeing filmmakers give a little more effort in the way of creating something at least slightly new, rather than spending more money to jazz up the same shots from the "original."  If you want an upcoming generation to think outside of the box and to try new things, you've got to inspire them through what they see on the big screen, because who doesn't want to be just like a movie star?

Are You Kidding Me? REMAKES!

What annoys me more than awful sequels/ trilogies is when a motion picture studio decides to make a "remake" of an original movie that came out years ago. Like sequels/trilogies, there are few good remakes, but most ruin the reputation of the original film. It makes audiences appreciate the original movie that came out years ago. There is nothing like a huge slump in the box office when the oldest edition of a film does better than the newest edition. Below are 2 of the many remakes that I left thinking "Really!!! Come On"

1. Total Recall

Before I watched this years newest edition of Total Recall with Colin Farrell, I watched the 1990 version with Arnold Schwarzenegger. While I thought this was a decent film to sit through, after leaving the theater I thought the 2012 was nothing compared to the original. Ok maybe the special and visual effects were much more advanced, but I followed the story and characters better in the original story. Here is what I want to emphasize about above when I said "slump in the box office." In 1990 when Total Recall, it made an overall gross of $119 million with $26 million opening weekend. 22 years later, the Total Recall's overall gross slumped down to $59 million with the same opening weekend around $26 million.

2. Psycho.

After watching Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, I literally peed myself and couldn't take a shower with the curtain closed. I thought Anthony Perkins played an excellent Norman Bates and I thought the overall quality of the film, despite in black & white was overall well done. After watching the 1998 film directed by Gus Van Sant starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, I was in utter disgust of how they remade this movie, ESPECIALLY in color. I thought it gave it a more terrifying film in black &white. Talk about a slump, the first Psycho made a total gross of $32 million while the 1998 film made a total gross of $21 million.

In all, I feel remakes are an enormous waste of production money and we as audiences don't need to watch movies a lot of us have already seen. However, I cant say that about all remakes because some have actually turned out quite well and have done a great job in the box office.

Remakes

This weekend I saw the remake of Footloose. I've seen the original Footloose once- so I don't remember it too well so it was hard for me to compare. I do know this version stayed true to the original but definitely modernized it. The remake was decent, and I think it's hard to compare a remake to the original in that the movie is no longer new- when, like Footloose did where it copied the original closely. There are some remakes that stray from the storyline. For example- The Karate Kid and Fame both remakes that created new characters and new storylines. Remakes don't really bother me like they do some people. But I guess if someone tried to redo one of my all time favorites (like the Blues Brothers, mentioned in my last post) I'd have a much different reaction. I am kind of nervous about this Great Gatsby remake though.

New footloose trailer:

Old one: