Monthly Movie Marathon: Remakes

REMAKES

This month, I'm recommending you watch these movies and their remakes. There are a lot of horrible remakes of good movies out there, but these remakes are even better than the originals in my opinion.






Vanilla Sky is one of my favorite movies. I've never been much of a Tom Cruise fan, but despite him, it's an excellent movie. I read that after watching Abre Los Ojos, Cruise was on the phone to get the rights to remake it before the credits were done rolling. I usually take issue with people constantly "Americanizing" foreign movies. In this case, I'll forgive them because Cameron Crowe was able to turn the intriguing, twisted, beautiful Abre Los Ojos into an even more intriguing, twisted and incredibly beautiful film.
In some ways, Vanilla Sky is Hollywood blockbuster version of a Spanish art film. But if I didn't know it was based on a lesser-known foreign language movie, it would just be one of the strange, mind bending movies that come out of Hollywood once in a while.
I recommend Vanilla Sky over Abre Los Ojos. However, if, after seeing Vanilla Sky, you interested in where it came from, definitely watch Abre Los Ojos. It's a good movie, just not as good as Vanilla Sky.










I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I think this remake is way better than the original. The lame 70's Wonka factory doesn't even compare to the amazing Tim Burton Wonka factory. I want to live inside Burton's factory. The original just makes me sad. Gene Wilder is a big creep. Johnny Depp is hilarious and lovable. As cute as the original orange oompa loompas are, hundreds of identical teeny tiny oompa loompas were way better than a few midgets painted orange. As much as I enjoy the good old "Oompa loompa doompa-dee-do!", Danny Elfman's music for the remake was just so incredible. It kicks that little ditty's ass. Not to mention the lyrics for Elfman's songs were straight from the book by Roald Dahl. I like movies based on books to be as true to the books as possible. (But we'll get to movies based on books another month.)
Although I favor the remake to the original, I do recommend seeing both. The original does have some things that I like that Burton left out of his movie. And, of course, the point of this month's marathon is to see a movie and it's remake to compare the two.









Interview (the remake) quickly became one of my favorite movies to watch over and over. There's not much plot, it's just two people talking. Some people find that kind of movie boring, but I love it. I love watching how their relationship changes. They like each other, they hate each other, they understand each other, they lie to each other. I also love the film visually for Sienna Miller's outfit and the apartment (my dream apartment- huge, open concept, floor to ceiling windows, exposed brick and pipes).
I was glad to find that the original had the same relationship dynamics as I loved in the remake. However, compared to the remake, it didn't feel as intense. The remake added some plot twists and dialogue that made it much better. The characters themselves in the remake are much more intense. More emotional. I love Sienna Miller's performance. The original is good, but, I say just see the remake. If you really love it, check out the original.


[Couldn't find a trailer for the original film.]


Upcoming remakes to look out for:Drop Dead FredI love the original and I'm looking forward to seeing Russel Brand as Drop Dead Fred.FootloosePart of the reason Footloose is so amazing is that it's so damn 80's! I think this movie will become just another dance movie.

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