The Best and Worst in Film- a discussion of the past 15 years

Thought of another really awful trend that admittedly isn't recent, but, well, I hate it: Remakes. Few and far between are the great remakes, films with something new to say.

Van Sant's Psycho reeked. Wahlberg and Newton apparently believe they are decent standins for Cary Grant and Hepburn (please!). We needed a new Planet of the Apes? Let's just say that Julia Ormond is no Hepburn either, as Sabrina proved fifteen times over. Also, supposedly Scorsese thinks he can say somehing new about Cape Fear and audiences unwilling to invest a teensy bit of effort into reading subtitles cause a rush of remakes taken from foreign films, like The Ring.

Remakes aren't a new thing, but they used to actually be good and have a point, ie. The Maltese Falcon, Ben Hur, etc. Now, heck, I don't know what purpose they serve . . . (with a few exceptions of course, ie. You've Got Mail, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and a few others.)

 

Yeah, but The Ring and Vanilla Sky aren't horrible exampels of foreign-to-domestic remakes. Also, I don't think they were remade simply because americans don't generally like to read much, there's no real market for foreign films here, not truly. Americans want familiar actors and for the story to progress with their own culture's logic, not that of some alien civilization.

Some remakes are simply pointless like the one based on Charade. That's a GREAT movie with an irrevocable chemistry between the lead actors that can not be duplicated. Also, I've heard rumours of a Seven Samurai remake. Who ever is behind that should be bludgoned over the head. No trial, no jury, just a lot of pain.

~PAd

 

Also, I've heard rumours of a Seven Samurai remake.

It's already been remade, several times. The most popular of which being The Magnificent Seven.

 

Well, okay, it's an oversimplification to say that Americans don't like foreign films because of the subtitles. Your ideas probably play into as well, but for whatever reason, it's stupid.

And, of course, The Magnificent Seven was one of those rare remakes that actually had something to say itself so it works. A change in culture sometimes makes all the difference. Sometimes, of course, as in Last Man Standing it doesn't.

 

It's already been remade, several times.

True, and of course there's always A Bug's Life which I rather liked. I appreciate how it indirectly introduces children to Kurosawa's work, so that when they grow older, if they were intrigued enough, they could then discover the movie's origins.

I think the western renditions of Samurai into The Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo into Clint Eastwood's A Fist Full of Dollars were natural progressions. They didn't have that contrived feeling I often feel after watching a re-make. I was actually thinking that Yojimbo would make a great western myself, before I found out that someone had already beat me to the chase.

However, to try and go into production of a re-make based on a classic movie just seems so pointless to me if it is intended to be verbatim. I don't see how you can improve on a masterpiece, how you can re-capture all of the wonderful accidents or spontinaity that went into the film's production. I mean, do they actually think they can cast someone in the role that was previously Toshiro Mifune's as if it was just simple clockwork? It's like trying another Indy in a remake of Raiders.

Films like Ocean's Eleven were able to avoid this by taking the original into a whole new direction, so I don't think people associated Clooney or Pitt with Sinatra or Martin. The new cast was, quite obviously, not supposed to be the Ratpack.

~PAd

 

Urika!! I've done it, i've thought of a good TV-to-movie movie. The Fugitive!

 

A little article from the UK on the top ten movies of the last 25 years. (Hopefully that doesn't make this off-topic.) Top ten

I agree with about half of their list.

 

That's ridiculous, Once Upon A Time in America is, with out a doubt, one of the single WORST movies I've ever seen. It's not even a film proper, it's a made for t.v. movie. Clearly, by the way they've organized the list they're in cahoots with the Mafia.

~PAd

 

That's why I wrote that I agreed with half of their picks. Although, I wouldn't put Apocolypse Now at the top.

 

Eh, I'm not really in agreement with that list. My own list would be very disimilar...

Oh and PAD I also love A Bug's Life

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

And Schindler's List gets slighted again.

I can't really argue with Apocolypse Now, though. It is a giant of a film, and even if you can't stomach the incoherent ramblings of Brando towards the end you cannot but gape in wonder at it's unmatched lighting and gargantuan stature. A truly grand film the likes of which are rarely, if ever, made anymore.

 

There are still some of these lists left... some of them I'm not sure if I'm going to post, because they're on Hollywood as opposed to really films... well when I run out, maybe we can have some fun with those

Best Soundtrack

1. Moulin Rouge

2. Pulp Fiction

3. Magnolia

4. Almost Famous

5. Forrest Gump


I haven't seen Moulin Rouge, Pulp Fiction, or Magnolia... Now shouldn't there be a separate list for soundtracks and scores? Because Almost Famous most certainly has the best soundtrack I've ever heard, but Forrest Gump has a better score. And I can think of several other scores which are also great.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Apocalypse Now is brilliant. After the build up Kurtz gets, no one could have pulled him off satisfactorily. He's too mythical. And of course, the genius returns for the ending.

Soundtrack? Score? I'm not sure.

Moulin Rouge has excellent music, as does Pulp Fiction. Forrest Gump has a nice enough score.

This list leaves off some terribly good scores though. What about Schindler's List? O Brother Where Art Thou? Fargo? Gladiator? The Insider? Whatever. These all deserve slots above Forrest Gump. Probably more I just can't think of right off.

 

I love the ending of Apocolypse Now. The image of Sheen rising from the murky waters, covered in mud and camouflage, is incredible. I've heard some critics call it pretentious but I think it's one of the most evocative images I've seen on film.

The thing that most blows me away about the film is the use of light and dark, particularly with the discussions with Kurtz and the insanity of the last bridge on the river. So expressive and dark and moody. Greatness.

 

I agree with Premier magazine on a few of their "best" picks:

1. Lord of the Rings. I thought New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson did an excellent job with this movie, with being true to Tolkien's story. One thing that struck me was the way they made the hobbits actually appear shorter than the men, elves, and dwarves. Since there are no three-foot-tall actors, this effect was important in order for the film to follow the story. This movie was much better-done than the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, to which Chris Columbus added an oversimplified dialogue and a lot of slapstick humor not present in J.K. Rowling's book.

2. Schlindler's List. Brings the audience close to the horrors of the Holocaust and to the complexities of the character of Oskar Schlindler.

3. Moulin Rouge. Very artistically original, with the linking of modern music into the story taking place at the turn of the 20th century. Historically accurate in the beginning of the film, regarding when the Moulin Rouge was built, Toulouse-Lautrec's role in its founding, and the development of the Can-Can in the club. And let's not forget that Ewan McGregor can sing as well as act.

4. Titanic. *dodges rotten fruit* OK, the story of the doomed love of Jack and Rose was lame, but the historical accuracy of the ship itself and the costumes was amazing. Cameron also did research into how people behaved during that period in order to do further character development.

5. Jurassic Park--the first one only, because it was the only "original". I thought the computer-generated dinosaurs were ingenius, and if I remember correctly, this type of technology was fairly new at the time. Not to mention the fact that except for combining a couple of characters and switching the roles of the children, as well as downplaying the discovery of the breeding dinosaurs, Michael Crichton's book was fairly well-followed. This, however, unfortunately cannot be said for the two Jurassic Park sequels.


My worst films (and I probably don't have five):

1. Scary Movie. I understand the concept of making fun of horror movies, but why didn't they just call this film "Gross Movie"? It would have been more accurate. I had to leave the room several times during it.

2. The Cell. Here's what I saw: psycho-freakish guy lying on a lab table hooked up to some tubes and needles, having dreams. My husband gets a great view of Jennifer Lopez' boobs. More freakish, scary images appear on screen. By the end of the movie, I still don't know what's going on.

Of course it could just be a personal preference. I didn't like Silence of the Lambs for the same reason--delving inside the brain of a psycho-serial murderer is not my idea of fun.

3. The Brady Bunch Movie. I didn't like the TV series, and the movie's characters were even more annoying.

4. Superstar. Ditto above. I find the Catholic-school-girl skit on SNL very annoying. Two hours of it was too much.

5. Any sequel movie, with the exception of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Note to directors: quit while you're ahead.

For soundtracks, my top two are Lord of the Rings and Moulin Rouge.

 

But the Brady Bunch Movie is supposed to be making fun of the show.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Yeah, well, I probably didn't get it because that kind of humor is lost on me--the type of humor in which someone makes fun of something annoying by imitating them, only being more annoying. There's a lot of that on Saturday Night Live, and I end up cringing over half the skits.

I'm glad someone enjoys it though.

 

Best Poster

1. Lord of the Rings

2. The Truman Show

3. Pulp Ficton

4. Titanic

5. Gladiator


Personally, I think the poster for FOTR was very good. Simple, yet inticing, to both fans and newbies to the series.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Yeaaah so, next category

This one is mostly for the female members of the boards Don't worry guys, you have one coming:

Sexiest Actor


1. Russell Crowe

2. Brad Pitt

3. George Clooney

4. Jude Law

5. Josh Hartnett

George, Brad, and Jude all deserve to be on there. Josh has a unibrow and is really ugly. Russel is annoying, not that attractive, and has this REALLY aggravating bump in between his eyes that looks like he has a bb stuck in his skin

Why the heck isn't Harrison Ford on there? He wasn't always 60, you know. Think about the past 15 years.... Indiana Jones!!!!

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Well, I'm a guy, and so maybe I should just be quiet, but I'm not going too.

Pitt, Clooney and Law are all stellar examples. Coming from a heterosexual male, I acknowledge their good looks and I'll also add that they've all got a tremendous amount of spark, fire, charm, etc. Plus, they all have a penchant for starting with the sex symbol roles and building up to more significant parts (ie. O Brother, Where Art Thou, Out of Sight, AI, Road to Perdition, Sleepers, 12 Monkeys, etc.)

Hartnett: er, okay, seriously, I think I'm better looking than this guy and I know I've got a better personality. Is it just me or does he just seem cardboard all the time? Did you see him at the Oscars? Holy God . . .

 

I can't stand Josh Barfnett He's so ugly and woodenly boring *yawn*

I agree with you, Rogue. Those guys you metioned, they all are serious actors as well. To me, great acting is sexy

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Knock off Crowe and Hartnett and it's a pretty reasonable list, though, I've never understood Clooney's appeal. Any self-respecting female would also have Johnny Depp on that list. How does this look ladies:

1. Jude Law
2. Johnny Depp
3. Brad Pitt
4. Ewan McGregor
5. Joseph Finnes

Now where's the sexy female list?

~PAd

 

Yes, yes, you must always have Ewan

ahhhhh fine, the ladies list now

Sexiest Actress

1. Angelina Jolie

2. Nicole Kidman

3. Michelle Pfeiffer

4. Julia Roberts

5. Jennifer Connelly
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Ok, commenting on a completely heterosexual note here I think Jennifer Connelly and Nicole Kidman are pretty, like classically pretty. And Michelle and Julia are pretty, especially considering their age. Angelina Jolie.... deceptive last name, I don't think she's pretty, I think she looks fake all around.

-sj loves kevin spacey

 

1. Angelina Jolie

2. Nicole Kidman

3. Michelle Pfeiffer

4. Julia Roberts

5. Jennifer Connelly

[face_shocked]

Kidman -- maybe. Pfeiffer -- sometimes. Connelly -- maybe at one point. Jolie and Roberts don't belong on that list.

 

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~PAd