An American thriller remake directed by Gela Babluani, starring Ray Winstone, Alexander Skarsgard, Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham.
An electrician steals a ticket to a game from a man who dies in the house he is wiring. The game involves men betting large amounts of money on modified versions of Russian Roulette.
Interestingly, Gela Babluani directed this, the original Tzameti 13 (2005) and 2 other obscure films. I have to say I liked Tzameti much more. This was like a dumbed down American version of that. If I remember correctly, the original was all in black and white. The plot of this did not hold my attention very well and the characters were shallow. Anything made after 2000 by a major film company is going to look at least alright. If Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham could be afforded, then decent cameras would have been used. The sound was kind of off, but I think that was the fault of whoever digitized and uploaded it. It sounded muffled and mid-rangey. What is most difficult to describe is the difference in "weight" between this and the original. Things in that seemed important because of film elements working together for emphasis. This seemed trivial all the way through, like a modern version of the 1980s Full Moon one-off flicks. I rate this tolerable. Considering how many options are out there, you would be better off watching something else.
An American horror remake directed by Travis Z.
A group of young people are vacationing at a cabin in a rural area. There is a disease in the water which destroys their skin.
I liked the 2002 version directed by Eli Roth much more. What I liked most was the ending with a truck full of water from the lake leaving town. This one was just too simple, with everyone just freaking out and dying and that was it. The production looked good and the audio was mixed well, but the soundtrack music was really annoying. Beer was a real issue in this. There seemed to be only and always 2 6-packs on hand. The 6s were bought at the store, the group had their party and then one of them took the same 2 6 packs into a shed to hide from whatever was going on. The only thing that I really liked about this was the sick dog (image). I think that leaving out the open ending really ruined this film. I was looking forward to it all the way through. I rate this poor because it's just not worth watching.
A science fiction horror remake directed by Matthjis van Heijningen Jr., starring Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen.
An alien and spacecraft are dug out of the ice in Antarctica. The alien bursts out of the ice block and takes on the appearance of crew members.
I didn't like the original and don't like the remake. I think that this is a very mediocre science fiction with a lackluster monster. The plot almost held my attention. The characters were very shallow. We're talking little kids' plastic backyard swimming pool lack of depth here. The video was the best part. It was all expertly done and the special effects were amazing. That's where all the money went in this flick. The audio was decent. There was some type of foreign language with no subtitles, but most of it was in English. Overall, there are much better science fiction and horror films with much less fame than this. I don't understand why people like it. I rate this o.k. You might want to think about watching it sometime if there's nothing better.
An American musical remake directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Tim Curry.
You remember the 1970s original, right? Brad and Janet meet a mad scientist with Russian hands and Roman fingers. All of his friends dance the time warp.
This was one of the worst things to ever cross my screen. Now... I hate musicals and I hate remakes. Just take that into account. That being said, there are lips made for singing and lips made for sucking dicks. None of the former were in this film. It started out overdone enough in the '70s version. Just over the top enough to be kind of cool and kind of cheesy to attract a cult following. Then Fox TV got hold of it and smashed it into the ground like a cigarette butt. Every fucking scene got screwed up horribly. Most of the camera-work, staging, sets, casting, etc that made the original so unique were thrown out. I got to the point where Frank (who is female now) gets lowered on a crane (instead of in a creepy old elevator) with no boot stomping closeup. That tore it. I rate this shit and am stopping now because no amount of derision will ever be enough. DO NOT WATCH!!!
An American disaster action thriller directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss.
A remake of the 1972 film. A large ship is sinking because it has capsized. People try to make their way out through the bottom of the upside down boat.
This was very much like the 2005 remake of the same, but worse in all the ways that the 2005 version was worse than the 1972 original. The plot was simplistic: get out of the boat or drown. The characters were not developed at all because so much time was devoted to building tension and having action scenes. The video was choppy and fast. It featured close, underexposed shots that were edited with quick cuts. There were a few special effects with fire and water. The audio was mostly screaming and shouting with building symphonic music. The intro featured a white woman singing like she was black. Is that a reverse oreo? Overall, not worth the time it took to watch. Luckily, there were 10 minutes of credits at the end. I rate it bad. DO NOT WATCH!!!
A remake science fiction directed by Francis Lawrence, starring Will Smith.A man who thinks that he may be the last human on earth after a medical apocalypse tries to live a normal life and eventually finds other humans.Will Smith is a piece of shit and 2007 was not a good year for films. The plot and characters were almost a repeat of the other "omega man" films that were made before this, except for the '00s ending. I really think that after like 50 years, a new scenario could be thought of, but no. The film industry is set on remakes. In the first Will Smith scene, there are a herd of CG deer. It's totally pbvious that they are CG too. No attempt was made to make them look real. I'm rating this poor because of the CG deer and a reused premise.
A remake directed by Bob Rafelson, starring Jack Nicholson.A drifter stops at a diner for breakfast and his hitched ride leaves him there. He begins working for the man who runs the place and ends up having a romantic relationship with the man's wife.The plot and characters were good. The style left something to be desired, but I'm unsure of what that might be. There was no postman, which I thought was strange considering the title. I'm rating this o.k.
A horror remake directed by Chuck Russell.A meteorite crashes in a small town and some goo attaches itself to a homeless man. Teens bring the homeless man to the hospital, but while he is waiting for the doctor, the goo devours him. The blob continues to eat people and a military team arrives because they were the ones who created the meteorite.This was pretty similar to the 1958 version. The teenage heroes being persecuted by stupid cops was the main similarity. I seem to remember a catchy rock song at the end of the original, where this one has cheesy power pop. This one left itself open for sequels in the end (in classic '80s fashion). I'm giving it the same o.k. rating that I gave the original.
A horror remake directed by Steven R. Monroe.A girl goes out to a cabin to work on writing a book and is raped by a group of men. She then gets revenge.The first half of the film was really hard to watch. I think it is because the audience is really supposed to hate them men. The revenge part is great. The rapists (now heavily hated) are all dealt with very violently. I'm giving this one a mixed review.
A remake directed by John Landis.A pair of poor Irish men sell corpses to make a living. One of them finances an all-female version of Macbeth.This is a remake from the 1971 horror film to a black comedy. I've discussed black comedies elsewhere, so there's no need to get into whether they're supposed to be funny or not. I tried to get the 1971 version, but had no luck. This one was decent as there were some funny parts and the plot was alright. If you like watching what I call "accent" films (you'll get the joke when you hear the characters speak), you'll like this. I'm rating it o.k.
A comedy directed by Harold Ramis, starring Brendan Fraser.A socially inept man makes a deal with the devil for 7 wishes. When he wishes for something It is magical at first, but the flaws of the situation overwhelm him.This is a remake of the 1967 film, which is a retelling of the legend of Faust. I don't usually go for comedies (or remakes for that matter), but there were some funny parts. This was a very light film compared to things that get good ratings on my site. It doesn't "pull you in" or make you feel that you are "in the story". Also, Brendan Fraser was chosen for the role because he's a pretty boy, not because of his skill at acting. Some of the wish scenarios were entertaining, so it wasn't a total loss. I'm rating it o.k.
A live action remake of the 2000 anime. This one was directed by Chris Nahon.A vampire who is also a vampire hunter accidentally gets a human sidekick on her quest to destroy the oldest and most powerful vampire.The audio was less than good, but the video was great.check out: The katana falling from heaven attack.This was action packed and really cool. There was a lot of kung fu involved, which only made it better. I'm rating it good, but I will soon be watching the anime version and I suspect that it will be even better than this.
A remake of the 1959 horror directed by William Malone.A group of strangers is challenged to stay in a haunted house all night to win money.The audio had some annoying music and the video was a little dark.Same shit, different day. I wish I had never watched it. Apparently, there's a huge market for shitty and unoriginal horror films, otherwise there wouldn't be so many of them. While I was looking for an image, I saw pictures from the 1959 version and they looked BETTER than this one.
A remake directed by Scott Derrickson.An alien comes to earth to "destroy all humans" and is greeted by the military. He escapes and is befriended by a female scientist.The audio and video were good.check out: This is really how humans would greet an alien visitor, isn't it?Remaking a science fiction movie and upgrading special effects is a questionable issue. Keanu Reeves is good, but in a lot of bad movies. I'm saying it's o.k. because there isn't enough evidence to call it bad.
