Worthwhile remakes

"Any attempt to intercede with them would be futile. They are destuctive, and they won't change."

From reading the reviews in the press and a good portion on the Internet, I was expecting a terrible film. But, The Day The Earth Stood Still is a decent remake (so no, it's not always an oxymoron). This is not a perfect film by any means, but it does have good intentions (other than making money), updates the original film in an interesting and relevant way, and actually has a message. There are, however, quite a few problems. For starters, the script is, in general, unfocused - another rewrite would probably have been in order. The child actor, Jaden Smith, is an annoying plot device and quite frankly, Klaatu should have let him fall off the bridge. Also, though the ending itself is (relatively) low key (which makes a nice change), the resolution of the actual plot is a bit iffy. Pacing is also a problem - the first 35 minutes are undoubtedly the best - visually exciting and they also feel credible (I particularly love the moment where Helen reaches out to the just arrived Klaatu, only for a standing-by soldier to blast him with a rifle). The scenes that follow never quite live up to the opening (although the Ronald Emmerich-esuqe scenes of destruction are quite breathtaking), and it's odd that a film that is just over an hour and a half long should feel both protracted and not 'epic' enough. The next issue a lot of people seem to have with is Keanu Reeves. I personally am not sure how I feel about this. It seems to me that casting someone so often accused as being 'alien' in acting ability as an alien is actually quite a lazy thing to do. The thing with Reeves is that, he is in my opinion, a horribly underrated actor. Really. Yes, he has a limited range, but he is very capable of expressing emotion, especially in the eyes - he can have a haunted or damaged quality in some of his best work (My Own Private Idaho, A Scanner Darkly) and also works well when challenged to act against type (The Gift). If his brief in this film, and I'm sure it was, was to act detached, emotionless, inhuman, then he should surely be congratulated as that is exactly how he comes across here. He speaks as someone who feels unaccustomed to their own skin, and this is not a criticism in any way. On balance - he's pretty damn good, and I would've been interested to see how a more 'versatile' actor would've coped. Anyway, I digress somewhat. Jennifer Connelly, a fantastic actor, does very well with a somewhat underwritten role and she and Reeves have something that amounts to a kind of bizarre chemistry that makes their scenes together tense and always interesting. Elsewhere, the other cast members - Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Jon Hamm - are either underused or have non-existent characters, and don't really bring anything to the film. Whilst, like The Day After Tomorrow, The Day The Earth Stood Still is unlikely to ever change the minds of those who think global warming is a myth or deny our own culpability in the destruction of the planet, it is an interesting failure that I think was unfairly maligned by a lot of people who were expecting (fairly, I suppose) a non-stop action blockbuster. In spite of the fancy visuals (including a beefed up GORT) and destruction-porn on offer, this is actually quite a thoughtful and intelligent film, let down by a middling script and a dull mid section. Actually, I have to say I enjoyed this very much.

I'm torn. Quarantine is derivative as hell (aside from being a remake of [REC], it share similarities with a dozen other films I can think of), and fairly predictable. It's also scary on occasion, pretty exciting, and has Jennifer Carpenter screaming her lungs out gamely. She is excellent. It's quite a handsomely made film too, although the "found footage" device still hasn't been bettered from The Blair Witch Project, and if you suffer from nausea easily the shakiness may put you off completely. On balance, this is much better than I expected. Surprisingly, there are a couple of aspects I found superior in this film over [REC], specifically the extended opening which more effectively sets up the characters, the impressive make-up effects (to be fair, the budget is more sizeable) and the more ambiguous conspiracy.

An unnecessary Korean remake perhaps, since it's very similar to the Japanese original, Ringu, but the central performance is very good and there are just enough quirks - including a vibrant color scheme - to make this an interesting experiment. It's also apparently more faithful to the source material.

Superb, epic, thrillingly directed "cat and mouse" tale that manages to clock in at close to three hours without feeling too long. Characterisation is as much the focus as the brilliantly choreographed shoot-out scenes, and sound design, which seems to be a strength in all Michael Mann's films, is also used to great effect.

In the acting stakes, Al Pacino comes a little close to hamming it up in some parts whilst Robert de Niro plays it small and moody, but the different acting styles actually benefit the film very well. This is a classic genre piece.

Utterly awful but tremendous fun. I'm positive Jensen Ackles is being deliberately terrible in this.

Awesomeness. Review soon.