Thanks and Tuesday??

Hey guys. THANK YOU TO BARRY AND MOTHER PALPATINE for tonight. I appreciate it greatly, and you showed an insane amount of hospitality. It meant a lot to me and I'm sure everyone feels the same. The food was awesome, thank you to everyone who brought anything. The garlic potatoes were my fave.

About tuesday(practice at Cheryl's). What time is good for everyone coming?? I can be there whenever, and so can Liz. Jedi Master Toada(the Jedi name for Ariel, our daughter) is spending the night with the rents that night, so we can go for however long, to make sure everything's worked out.

I will let you know about saturday for sure by monday, but most likely tomorrow. Again, thanks to barry and bette, and to everyone else, it was a pleasure, as always. -Jerry

Ditto...

I had a great time. Thanks Barry for opening up your home to us. You and Betty did an awsome job and all the grub was GREAT.

See you all on Tueday !!

I am off to see War of the Worlds ...

OOOOOOOhhhhh, i wanna see that really bad.

really, very bad.

Hello...

I went and saw War of the Worlds... and it was pretty (ok, I loved it) good. Now I didn't have high expectations. I have been watching Steven Speilberg's interviews and in everyone he makes it clear this is NOT a remake. It's his vision of one of his favorite films. So I went in to watch it for what it was and tried not to compare it to the original.

I did notice a few mistakes in the beginning, having to do with the situation. Lets see if you all catch them. He did a great job, not to much Special Effects and just enough at the same time. He did pay homage to the original, and you will notice that as a few scenes are familiar.

Let me know what you all think after you see it.

-Derek

I'll happily watch it, and I might actually like it, but my question is, why are so many filmmakers "re-envisioning" movies that are good already? I can half way understand remakes, a director LOVES a movie and would like to do it with today's actors, and put his spin on it. I can't really understand certain ideas though. I am an INSANE Tim Burton fan. I love ALMOST every movie he's made, but when I saw Planet of The Apes, I was shocked with how awful I thought it was. Liz got me into the original planet of the apes movies, and I was excited to see the new one, but like I said, to state that I was unimpressed would be understating it. As much as I love tim burton, and am equally a fan of Johnny Depp, I am almost scared to see Charlie and The Chocolate factory for that reason. It's almost like remaking bands. Why would we want a band to sound a little like or look a little like The Cure, when The Cure is already the greatest band EVER?? There's no point.

Don't get me wrong, straight up remakes can be awful as well. The remake of Psycho was a remake almost shot for shot, and that was a disaster as far as I'm concerned. Some remakes I have quite enjoyed though, such as Christopher Nolan's version of "Insomnia", or the film adaption of "The Phantom of The Opera".

Enough venting on remakes. I'm glad that you enjoyed "war of The Worlds" Derek. -JERRY

I agree, most remakes don't hold a candle to the original's. Especially over the past 10 years. Every TV/Movie franchise they have tried to redo/remake (whatever you want to call it) has been a HUDGE disappointment. It all started with LOST IN SPACE. The remake was such a joke. Then came others such as, Charlie's Angels (a total joke), Starsky & Hutch (not even close), The Incredible Hulk (major disaster) and well you get the point. I can go on for days.

I to am leary about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... I love the original and can't imagine a re-invent. Oh... almost forgot the other one out this month is Herbie... another classic series I loved as a kid. I haven't seen the new one, and I am leary to.

I think the biggest problem in Hollywood today is the lack of imagination. They can't seem to come up with something new, so they take old stuff and redo it. And I am not just talking about Movie studios, the television companies are doing it to. They are remaking classics and destroying what made us fall in love with them in the first place. I won't even bother to mention any, but I am sure you all know what I mean.

Nuff said...

See ya all tomarrow.

-Derek

Yeah, I agree. When I read last night that they're making a tv series based on The Punisher, I almost cried(well, not really cry, but you know what I mean). Hasn't anybody realized that remaking movies into series never work for the most part(no, I'm not talking to you Mr. Lucas, I AM ANXIOUSLY awaiting the star wars series). Think about it: Ferris Bueller's Day Off(good movie, HORRIBLE TV SHOW) was a good example. Just becuase a movie is awesome, doesn't mean a show would be.

It seems like they're unoriginal at making movies because they're dumb, but it's not that if you think about it. Remakes make money I guess. Who would've thought a remake of The texas chainsaw massacre would make as much money as it did?(Don't get me wrong, by far am i NOT saying that I liked that movie). But, because of that movie making money, we're reduced to rehashings of once good movies. Watching bad remakes kinda hurt watching the originals. It's all so strange to me. I know just about every idea has been used, but if you're a budding filmmaker out there and you aren't having any luck with original ideas, here's a though,"DON'T MAKE A MOVIE!!!"

and yes, Derek, Herbie:The Love Bug bothers me too. Although I DID like the remake a few years back that starred Bruce Campbell(he can do no wrong, sorry). -JERRY

ps- listen to coldplay, at least they're original

I have not yet seen War of the Worlds and not sure when I will. That is difficult for me for two reasons. First I am a fan of the original movie with Gene Barry. I saw it the first time on a local afternoon matinee series which were very popular when I was a child. I have never seen the original on the big screen but would like to some day. Because that was my first view of the story it has always remained a fovorite. I had also heard the 1938 radio broadcast by Orson Wells as I had bought it for my father as a Christmas gift one year. I listened to the recording more than my father. It was a few years after seeing the film that I read the novel by H.G.Wells. It was not the same and I had to reread it because I kept expecting a Gene Barry typr character to appear. It was during the second reading that I stopped looking for the film and began to enjoy the story.

With this new film I cringed at a remake then cringed when I heard that the plan was to be true to the novel. From what I have heard neither is true. War of the Worlds was a brillant story but also written at the end of the 19th century. It is recommended reading.

The remake of Planet of the Apes was supposed to have been closer to the novel. Having read the novel as a teen and again as an adult I can tell you that the remake was not that close to the literary form. Of course, neither was the original. I have been a Planet of the Apes fan since the original movie when I saw it at a Drive-In theatre. I would have been eight or nine. The beginning bored me but once the Apes rode through the corn field I was hooked. After that I saw each movie in the series. I watched the Saturday morning Planet of the Apes series and the prime-time series. I read all the books and even found some of the comics. I am a Tim Burton fan and looked hopefully at the new movie. I ddidn't like the remake. More then anything the end was jsut too dumb.

Herbie is not a remake but is contining the story. But I must agree that few remakes are as good as the original. Yet with the exception of Psycho and Night of the Living Dead most remakes or another view of the story. Just as with this current War of the Worlds.

Are any of you aware that in the mid to late 1980"s War of the Worlds was remade for the first time. It stayed close to the original but was done as an intro to a War of the World series which ran about 13 episodes.

I didn't know that they remade it for the 80's, but I do remember the tv series scaring the crap out of me as a kid. I wasn't trying to force my opinion on anyone, so I hope that wasn't how it came off, I'm just curious as to why so much money is being spent by Hollywood on movies that have already been done better the first time. While I am a fan of Spielberg and Tom Cruise, I'm just reluctant to accept yet another "retelling". Who knows, maybe I'll like it. There have been a few time when I thought I'd hate a movie, just to love it. I remember whining all day and half of the night when Liz wanted to go see King Arthur, and I ended up loving that movie(the unrated version is much better). I thought Underworld would be lame, but it's one of my all time faves(looking forward to part 2 this year). Anyway, thats it

Yes, I watched a few episodes of he 80's TV series and it was CRAP. Hence not lasting even a full season. Another one I am upset with the remaking is Battlestar Galactica... the new series is a totally different from the original. A complete re-invent. And I loved the original series. Long Live the Galactica in it's ORIGINAL form and glory. I hope the new series goes down in FLAMES... and stays their.