Posts tagged movies
Gravity - Trailer
Alfonso Cuarón’s first feature since 2006. I think it looks great, but like, there’s no way either of these two are going to survive right? This is the guy who directed Children of Men… the ending wasn’t exactly happy, and he’s not known for keeping characters alive.
My teaser poster for a Back to the Future remake that isn’t happening.
I don’t think it needs a reboot. It could use another few movies in continuity though.
Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen join the cast of next X-Men movie
Marvel just broke the news that Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen are returning to the X-Men franchise to reprise their roles as Professor X and Magneto. With Bryan Singer directing “Days of Future Past” looks more like the X-Men 3 everyone wanted, and less like the sequel to “First Class” everyone expected. That makes me very excited.
Ok, maybe that’s too much. I mean James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are also playing the professor and his nemesis. So it’s likely that it’s just a cameo. But I’m still excited.
So, is James Marsden next (ignore his ‘death’ in X3. Comic book characters don’t really die. Ask Jean)? (Speaking of…) what about Famke Janssen? Anna Paquin?
dcu:
Marvel at Midnight: The Wolverine Teaser Poster
Two things. 1. YES! 2. I really like that DCU’s “it’s midnight somewhere” policy for Marvel at Midnight.
Looper - Trailer
Stop what you’re doing and watch this. Even if you’ve already watched it.
[via mattedits and thatisawesome]
Technical Difficulties - Mission: Impossible (1996)
After a mission goes wrong Ethan Hunt knows only two things, someone named Max is behind it and that the code name for the operation was bible verse Job 3:14. Armed with only a computer he does the following:
- He searches the for Max.com and gets no results
- Then he emails Max@Job 3:14
Yes that’s a space in between “Job” and “3:14”. Oh and the message is simply from Job, no email address.
What would have happened if there was something at Max.com? If it was some kid’s Geocities page? Man, the movie would have been totally different.
This is a new irregular feature where I post images from movies and television where people are using technology or the internet in totally a unrealistic manner, to the point where it breaks your suspension of disbelief.
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![The three most interesting answers to my “Should The Oscars Have A “Best Remake” Category?” article came right in a row and I wanted to address them.
Hungry Like Jon Wolf: “But would the winner of Best Remake be eligible to also win Best Picture?” Hmmm. Good question. I think yes. The same way that Toy Story 3 was nominated for best Animated Film as well as Best Picture.
“Best Mo-Cap Actor should come first.” Totally agree. Can we give Andy Serkis an Oscar already? The man deserves it.
Check The Gate: “Creighton, you are guilty of clever wording and you know it. ‘Brand Recognition’ = ‘Money Grab’.” Guilty. Call it whatever you want, Hollywood is an industry out to make money. If they think they can make more money by remaking a movie they are going to do it, and they have been since 1904.
Perform CPR-But-I Barely Know Her: “I think the definition of a remake is ill-defined, especially with recent films released in ‘reboots’ (Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, etc)” Good point. There would need to be some ruling by the Academy on what is a remake and what isn’t. It’s a really tough call and really subjective.
[Edit: spelled Serkis wrong… sorry about that.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqi3oqB5lU1qztitko1_500.png)
The three most interesting answers to my “Should The Oscars Have A “Best Remake” Category?” article came right in a row and I wanted to address them.
Hungry Like Jon Wolf: “But would the winner of Best Remake be eligible to also win Best Picture?” Hmmm. Good question. I think yes. The same way that Toy Story 3 was nominated for best Animated Film as well as Best Picture.
“Best Mo-Cap Actor should come first.” Totally agree. Can we give Andy Serkis an Oscar already? The man deserves it.
Check The Gate: “Creighton, you are guilty of clever wording and you know it. ‘Brand Recognition’ = ‘Money Grab’.” Guilty. Call it whatever you want, Hollywood is an industry out to make money. If they think they can make more money by remaking a movie they are going to do it, and they have been since 1904.
Perform CPR-But-I Barely Know Her: “I think the definition of a remake is ill-defined, especially with recent films released in ‘reboots’ (Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, etc)” Good point. There would need to be some ruling by the Academy on what is a remake and what isn’t. It’s a really tough call and really subjective.
[Edit: spelled Serkis wrong… sorry about that.]
Should The Oscars Have A “Best Remake” Category?
Cory Allen poses a really interesting question. In more recent years we have seen an onslaught of remakes. The same way the Tony’s give an award for best Revival (read: remake) should the Academy give awards for a remade film? They are already giving an wards for an adapted screenplay, why not a remade film? As someone who went to film school my gut reaction is to say, ‘absolutely not, this is a recent phenomenon and it shouldn’t be rewarded.’ Turns out, it’s not that recent of a phenomenon.
The art of the remake is a storied tradition that dates all the way back to 1904. That’s right, the 11 minute 1903 film The Great Train Robbery was remade one year later with the same title. Once the remake was born, there was really no stopping it. You can see remakes all throughout film history (Billy the Kid -1930/1941, Forbidden Fruit - 1915/1921 [both by Cecil B DeMille], King Kong - 1933/1977/2005, M 1931/1951).
The reason why films are remade today is the same today as it was in 1904. Brand recognition and progression in technology. Peter Jackson wouldn’t have made a third version of King Kong if he didn’t think he could do it better than the claymation version before it. If technology can help tell a story better then why not remake it? And if we are going to remake stories shouldn’t we try and actually make them better?
Foreign films fall victim to the Hollywood remake all the time, turned out only a year or two after the original, with the thought that American audiences will not see a film if they have to read subtitles. Let The Right One In and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo spring to mind immediately but there are others.
There are tons of remakes that are terrible, and shouldn’t have been made because the original is perfect (Taking of Pelham One Two Three, 12 Angry Men, Psycho…), but there are also films that have really great core ideas, but were either executed poorly or were too far ahead of their time and needed technology to catch up. They Live has been my go to candidate for a remake since I first saw it in 2003. The film’s concept is amazing, but it was just poorly executed (sorry Mr. Carpenter…). There is word of a remake happening, and I’m super excited about it.
Remakes are not all bad. Without remakes we wouldn’t have The Money Pit, Heat, 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead, 2001 version of Ocean’s 11, or Jeff Goldblum as The Fly. Even, Tarkovsky’s Solaris is a remake, the original came out only 4 years earlier.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the similarities to the videogame industry. This console generation has given birth to the “HD Remake.” We have seen remakes for classic games like Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, God of War 1 and 2, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Bionic Commando, Halo: Combat Evolved, Golden Eye, (and one could argue the 3DS version of) Ocarina of Time… and that’s just off the top of my head. These games look better and play smoother than their originals. They don’t have the history behind them, that gritty feel of yesteryear but is that a bad thing?
Back to the topic at hand though. I think the quality of remakes would actually go up if there was an award for them. People might actually try harder if they knew they could receive an award. In a time where the Oscars are nominating 10 films for best picture just to get more viewers, why the hell not include something that will actually make a better movie. Remakes are going to happen, embrace it.
-Creighton
[EDIT: I misspelled Tarkovsky. It’s fixed now.]
