Guess everybody didn’t want to cut ‘Footloose’ this weekend after all.

The much ballyhooed remake came in a close second to ‘Real Steel’ at the box office, with a “prequel” to the 1982 horror hit ‘The Thing’ trailing behind in third place.

Will that stop – or even slow down – the number of remakes getting greenlit? Likely not, but it should. This year has already seen remakes of ‘Arthur,’ ‘The Mechanic,’ ‘Fright Night,’ ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’ flop. The public has spoken – remakes are even less likely to succeed than original fare, so why bother?

The success of the 2011 prequel ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ suggests a better way to squeeze every last drop out of an existing film franchise.

(more…)

What’s to Like

As a fan of James Franco, I’m usually interested in seeing him onscreen. He’s made some interesting choices in his career so I’m curious to see why he would sign up for this sci-fi prequel. Hopefully, his role is more interesting than the bland character seen in the trailer spouting cliches. In terms of the visual effects, I’m impressed by the image of the man with two floors of apes rising above him.

What’s to Dislike

Everything else. I don’t think that anyone is clamoring for another “Planet of the Apes” movie and if they were, this one doesn’t look too impressive. The apes just look like smaller versions of Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” and the ape sequences don’t look that exciting. The shot of an ape jumping into the helicopter is particularly unimpressive.

The Verdict

(more…)

Should the fourth installment live up to its promise, that promise being the casting of Christian Bale as John Connor, the Terminator franchise will be on the way to being the one of the best and most consistent action/adventure franchises since Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan lived in sin as Tarzan and Jane way back when such things were frowned on. And if director McG and his screenwriters are able to tell their story honoring the mythology of what came before without tripping over the inherent logic issues involved with time travel, well then, they’ve already bested “Melorose Kirk-Can-Drive? Trek.”

Of course, should Ewoks arrive to aid John Connor, all bets are off.

My love for “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003) puts me in the minority, I know, but you have to embrace how different the three installments are from each other to truly appreciate it. “Terminator” (1984) is a brilliant piece of storytelling, but also a gloriously 80’s action film from soundtrack to clothes to hairstyles to mandatory gratuitous sex scene. “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” on the other hand, is arty and existential, with mind-blowing, big budget action scenes. But let’s just admit out loud that a certain viewing mood is required in order to avoid using the word “overlong.” Finally, the third chapter shakes off everything that made two so special, but not necessarily in a bad way. The action scenes are still outstanding, but the plot is simpler and had the casting of John Connor been stronger, people might have warmed up more towards the Governor of California’s final starring role. (more…)