So turns out the issue with Disney’s live-action remakes… may just be Disney itself, because this one was actually decent! “How to Train Your Dragon” is a remake of the 2010 animated movie of the same name, and follows a young viking (Mason Thames) who finds and befriends an injured dragon. Nico Parker, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn… Continue reading ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Review: A Colorful, Heartfelt Remake
Eventually Disney is going to run out of animated films to remake and be forced to come up with an original idea, but that day is not today. “Mulan” is the live-action remake of the 1998 animated film of the same name, based on “The Ballad of Mulan” legend. The film stars Liu Yifei in… Continue reading ‘Mulan’ Remake Looks Great, but Is Missing the Magic of the Animation
A reboot of an American remake of a Japanese horror film that is being released on the third day of January. Great. Jacki Weaver wears a bad wig and talks…in…fragments. John Cho announces his name six times upon entering a house. A police detective has access to every personal family picture and video ever privately… Continue reading I Have a Grudge Against ‘The Grudge’
Last year had “A Star Is Born” and now this year’s “remake of a film that gets redone every 25 years” is “Little Women.” “Little Women” is the eighth adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name, this time written and directed by Greta Gerwig. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen,… Continue reading ‘Little Women’ is a Big Delight
Earlier this year we had “Pet Semetary,” a remake about burying your family pet and having it come back to life ugly and without a soul. Now we have “The Lion King,” which is like what would happen if there was a Movie Semetary that played by the same rules. “The Lion King” is a… Continue reading Be Prepared: ‘The Lion King’ Is a Circle of Lifelessness
It took a few of these, but we have finally made it to a “Disney remakes one of their animated classics as live-action” for a film that I actually loved as a kid. We must proceed with caution. “Aladdin” is the latest of the live-action Disney remakes, retelling the 1992 film, as well as the… Continue reading ‘Aladdin’ Hits Enough Magical and Musical Beats to Charm You Over
People say Hollywood has run out of ideas and that Disney is growing too big for everyone’s own good, and you have to look for farther than remaking a 60-minute 1941 animated film and having it be the first of four live-action redos by the company set to come out in 2019. “Dumbo” is the… Continue reading ‘Dumbo’ is Charming and Entertaining (Enough)
Remember when Michael Jordan and Brett Favre both kept retiring and promising that it was “for real this time”? Yeah, that seems to be Liam Neeson with his “old man with a gun” films. “Cold Pursuit” is a remake of the 2014 Norwegian film “In Order of Disappearance,” which was directed by Hans Petter Moland,… Continue reading ‘Cold Pursuit’ Leaves Liam Neeson Out in the Cold
Another day, another bland PG-13 Hollywood remake. “Miss Bala” is a remake of the 2011 Mexican film, and stars Gina Rodriguez as an American woman who is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel while visiting her friend in Tijuana and forced to help them in order to find her missing friend. Ismael Cruz Córdova, Cristina… Continue reading ‘Miss Bala’ Fires Blanks
Talk about a film that much like its central characters just can’t seem to catch a break. “The Upside” is a remake of the 2011 French film “The Intouchables.” It follows a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston) who hires a recently paroled convict (Kevin Hart) to take care of him. Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies, and Aja… Continue reading ‘The Upside’ Has a Semi-Serious Kevin Hart, but Not Much Else New
The Reel Deal 