Remakes (and their remakes...)

Irritating "remake" of "The Reluctant Debutante", a '50s movie starring Sandra Lee and great performances by Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall. Rent that instead if you can find it on VHS. Even Colin Firth cannot save this.

Ah, the Lubitsch touch. I just watched this again recently and remembered how good it is. If you are a Lubitsch fan, you should not be disappointed. It makes a movie like "You've Got Mail" (which is sort of a remake, I guess) look like a beer commercial. OK, that was harsh. I can't even be bothered to watch the other remake "In the Good Old Summertime" partly because of the horrendous title (OK, I'm petty like that) and partly because I don't see any reason to! It amazes me how many remakes are of beloved classics, and how often they fail. I wonder why there aren't more remakes of movies that didn't quite hit the mark the first time around...It's kind of setting oneself up for failure to remake a real classic (even if you think it needs "updating"- sounds plausible, but the results are usually disappointing). Anyway, see this film, hopeless and hopeful romantics!

Cary Grant's last film. It's kind of cutesy but worth seeing if you are a Grant fan.

Classic film noir. Some of the best film noir dialogue I've ever heard, especially the gangsters at the diner. Atmospheric, gloomy, and fatalistic.

Putting out fire...with GASOLINE! No '80s movie would be complete without a cheesy theme song, even if it is Bowie. This is a remake of a '40s movie, but I find this one more entertaining. It reminds me of The Hunger, same time period and the same kind of horror (not gore or Freddy Krueger - more atmospheric, I guess).

Finally coming out on DVD in April 2009. Enjoyable film with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, including a large cast of musical talents such as Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, and Tommy Dorsey. Kaye plays a dorky musicologist who meets Mayo's tough gangster's moll; mayhem ensues as Kaye becomes smitten with Mayo who is hiding out from dangerous types - at the same time he discovers the "new music" of jazz, which is played throughout by the jazz greats of their time. A remake of "Ball of Fire", which I haven't seen. This is great for jazz fans, Danny Kaye fans, and old movie fans in general.

Great 1930s screwball comedy. William Powell is terrific as usual.

An absolutely wonderful film. A must-see for classic film fans.