What is, or was, your favorite movie remake?

MercyL

MercyL

Member
The remake of Planet of the Apes was more than decent and Tom Cruise was surprisingly good in the last remake of War of the Worlds.

My all time favorite movie remake, though, has to go to the last remake of King Kong, starring Jack Black.

I had never seen the dinosaur stampede or the big bug attack in the first Kongs. The bug attack was deleted from the original Kong because the audience couldn't take it - apparently some people threw up -but what really impressed me was the depiction of that little lost tribe of people so traumatized by living on the little sliver of the Island not infested with giant bugs and T-rex's.

The director and writers really captured what people might be like if left in that situation for generations - being classified "stone age" would seem a huge reward for them. All they had was a few dried fish and a big club for bashing the skulls of any human unfortunate enough to wash up on the rocks.

There have been other remakes, but Jack Black's Kong is my favorite.

What is your favorite remake? What makes it special?
 

I'm usually disappointed by remakes so it's hard to think of one. I would agree with you that Jack Black was pretty good in King Kong as he is usually an over-the-top comedic actor.
 
I'm also usually turned off by remakes but I have to admit that the new Star Trek movies are decent. I know it's arguable whether they're "remakes", "reboots" or whatever other term is currently in vogue, but they're enjoyable.

And I TOTALLY refuse to see that Oz movie - to me that's blasphemy.
 

That Guy said:
Why is it someone with the resources to make a really terrific flick fails so horribly?
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Because money doesn't equal talent?

I don't know, just tossing that out there. But along the same lines, I think that a LACK of funding and other resources often forces creativity to appear.

For certain business-related reasons I follow a little bit of the indie film-production world. One of the latest "Gotta' have it"'s is the RED camera - basically a digital camera on steroids that produces very high-quality movie results. But this thing costs upwards of $50k when equipped with a few accessories, and the prevailing attitude is that if you don't use one for your next project then you won't be taken seriously.

Yet I've done work with a $3k Canon that nearly equals the quality that the RED produces. It's just that (A) I'm not able to spend the big bucks, ( B ) I'm not planning on appearing on the big screen anytime soon, and (C) I'm a contrarian, so the more they push the new camera the longer I'll hold onto my old one.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but ...
 
SifuPhil said:
You can put lipstick on a pig, but ...
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It's still lipstick . . . ?

By resources I also meant talent not just moola. But, as my older sister reminds me: Some people just don't get it. I guess in the whole spectrum of human endeavor, there will always be those who do something wonderful beyond belief and those who . . . well, just don't... no matter their "resources".

Anyway, considering movie remakes I often wonder why they bothered when the original was fantastic.
 
That Guy said:
It's still lipstick . . . ?
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I was actually going to say that the pig immediately gains my attention, but yeah, we'll go with YOUR interpretation.

By resources I also meant talent not just moola. But, as my older sister reminds me: Some people just don't get it. I guess in the whole spectrum of human endeavor, there will always be those who do something wonderful beyond belief and those who . . . well, just don't... no matter their "resources".
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Ah, OK - makes sense.

Anyway, considering movie remakes I often wonder why they bothered when the original was fantastic.
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Maybe BECAUSE the original was so fantastic. It's a formula thing, again because they don't have a shred of originality in them but also because much of movie-making for the mainstream population has become simply a matter of following a mathematical formula to achieve success.

I call it the BACK formula - Boobs, Action, Cars and Killing. Get the right "stars" doing the right proportions of those four elements and you'll have a winner.
 
Miss Piggy. One fine piece of bacon. A remake of the Muppet Movie without her would be . . . slop...

PiggyInTheHay.jpg
 
My husband is also a purist and highly critical of some remakes.

He was especially critical of the "Wild, Wild, West" movie with Will Smith, even though the remake was based on a television series and not an existing movie. He did not approve of the changes made in the relationship between Jim West and Artemis Gordon and felt the big gadgets were not inkeeping with the spirit of the original television series.

Neither my husband nor myself will see that "Oz" movie. I have only seen the television trailers, but the costuming looks all wrong. Also, I have heard nothing indicating there's a whole lot of plot supporting the special effects.
 
MercyL said:
My husband is also a purist and highly critical of some remakes.

He was especially critical of the "Wild, Wild, West" movie with Will Smith, even though the remake was based on a television series and not an existing movie. He did not approve of the changes made in the relationship between Jim West and Artemis Gordon and felt the big gadgets were not inkeeping with the spirit of the original television series.

Neither my husband nor myself will see that "Oz" movie. I have only seen the television trailers, but the costuming looks all wrong. Also, I have heard nothing indicating there's a whole lot of plot supporting the special effects.
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Seems to be standard fare these "daze". I have a problem with Will Smith. He just seems too full of himself and that gets in the way of my enjoying the characters he portrays.
 
GDAD said:
The Girl with the dragon Tattoo. Have seen both versions.
I think I read somewhere the last sequal has been delayed till 2014.
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I just never really "got" that movie - it was one of those that just made me bored and frustrated.

Maybe I'm just too used to seeking out fast cars, explosions and tons of cleavage as my form of entertainment.

Oh, and movies as well. :playful:
 
SifuPhil said:
I just never really "got" that movie - it was one of those that just made me bored and frustrated.

Maybe I'm just too used to seeking out fast cars, explosions and tons of cleavage as my form of entertainment.

Oh, and movies as well. :playful:
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I bet when you were young you used to love all the 30 minute serials on a Saturday afternoon at the Movies!
Batman,Superman,The lone Ranger..................Yep me too!!!!!:glee:
 
I think that when we have seen the original, then the remake just never quite contains the same elements that we enjoyed in the first ones, even though technology helps them to make the new version more "viewable".
However, there are a couple of movies that I can think of right now, that I did not see the original first , so I really enjoyed the remakes of those two.

The first one is "The Italian Job". I had only seen the one with all the little Mini-Coopers dashing around everywhere, and when I accidentally played the original, I was so disenchanted, that I never even finished it. It may have had the same basic plot, but it sure lacked everything that I liked about the newer movie.
Another movie that I really enjoy watching over and over is "The Thomas Crowne Affair" starring Pierce Brosnan. It is also a remake, and I have never watched the original, so I have no idea if I would like it or not ; but I DO know that I really
like the new one.
 
GDAD said:
I bet when you were young you used to love all the 30 minute serials on a Saturday afternoon at the Movies!
Batman,Superman,The lone Ranger..................Yep me too!!!!!:glee:
Click to expand...

2013 Lone Ranger had some funny parts but would not go to cinema to see it
Can't go past the Saturday Avo Flicks of the 50's & 60's :rolleyes:
 
GDAD said:
I bet when you were young you used to love all the 30 minute serials on a Saturday afternoon at the Movies!
Batman,Superman,The lone Ranger..................Yep me too!!!!!:glee:
Click to expand...

Oddly enough, no. Being 55 I sort of fall into the "in-between" zone: as a kid they were no longer showing those half-hour serials, but they hadn't yet gone to a half-hour of commercials and coming attractions.

It was usually just 2 movies in a row, the feature and some piece of fluff to back it up. :p
 

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