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Flatliners (2017)
Flatliners (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
The original! (0 more)
The casting (1 more)
Keifer Sutherland
An Unnecessary Remake
I feel cheated. I've watched the original so many times, and wish I'd just watched it again. This was a completely unnecessary remake of what many consider to be a classic film (does it count as a classic from 1990?).

I can kind of "get" the idea of a remake or a "reboot", given the progress in technology and medical science in the space of almost 30 years, so to bring a more contemporary feel for a modern audience would make sense to some extent. Instead, a film that was really thought provoking was turned into something that felt like, in parts, Final Destination.

A couple of lines tied the new version to the old, as well as Keifer Sutherland - one of the original cast of medical students - plays the part of a "House"-type doctor teaching the "Flatliners" in the new version.

The casting wasn't ideal - for instance, James Norton's American accent is kind of concerning. If he was a must-have for the film, couldn't his part have been as an international student?! Nina Dobrev played Elena from The Vampire Diaries in a lab coat. Similarly, the characters were a bit flat and one-dimensional. For instance, Ray used to be a firefighter. Great, where are we going with that? Oh, right, it never gets mentioned again!

Strangely, a lot of the film feels very rushed, with no real development of the stories of the individual characters or of how they go about the actual flatlining itself, while simultaneously feeling like very little of note actually happens.

Honestly, although the original is going to feel a little dated now, watch that instead of this. I feel like I want my money back - and we watched it on TV...
  
Fame (2009)
Fame (2009)
2009 | Drama, Musical, Romance
5
6.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I love musicals so whenever the big guys at the studios decide to remake a classic like “Fame”(1982), I get, well, nervous. How could there be a remake of a film that is so well associated with the 1980s without mocking current audience’s film going standards? Would a new “Fame” be possible without the time period that created it in the first place?

“Fame” follows the year-by-year story of a group of kids who apply to and later attend the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The story follows their growth as performers and as people in the never forgiving streets of New York City. The film has the expected music, dancing, and moral tales about the harsh realities of people in search of that ever-elusive “Fame”.

Littered in guest stars ranging from “Frasier’s” Kelsey Grammer to “Will and Grace’s” Megan Mullally, “Fame” seemed less like the remake of a musical and more like a star studded Ellen show.

Still, there are some exceptional performances from less seasoned stars like Anna Maria Perez de Tagle who plays young aspiring actress Joy and Natuari Naughton as Denise a classical pianist who dreams of singing.

While the film is good, it lacks the heart of a truly engrossing musical. The acting is decent and the choreography is excellent but this modernized version of “Fame” complete with Barenaked Ladies song jokes is no “Chicago”. Moreover, the new version of “Fame” varies significantly from the classic, with hip-hop tracks and a rhythm heavy version of the classic theme song. For many the biggest downside to this musical is sure to be the less than engrossing musical numbers.

Like a darker “High School Musical” for a slightly older audience, “Fame” is a decent film worth a watch, but it will not have you singing a medley in your living room.
  
Halloween (2007)
Halloween (2007)
2007 | Horror
The original Halloween is such a goddam incredible movie, that anytime the franchise has tried to stray too far from its roots, the wheels just come off. The psychic stuff in Halloween 5 just didn't work. The cult stuff in Halloween 6 just didn't work. The found footage stuff in Resurrection just didn't work. This time around, it's a remake of the original, directed by Rob Zombie. His particular brand of hateful characters and nasty dialogue can be effective in other corners of horror, but when applied to the Halloween template, you guessed it, it just doesn't work.
It has its moments - Malcolm McDowell is great as Dr Loomis, and the towering behemoth of a Michael Myers we get her is genuinely fucking terrifying. There's also a fine selection of genre icons here and there - Dee Wallace, Brad Dourif, Clint Howard, Ken Foree, Sybil Danning, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Danielle Harris - it's an impressive roster for sure.
All of this isn't enough to lift this remake above all of its problems however.
None of the characters are particularly likable, and it's off pacing make for a bloated experience, an issue that's further exacerbated by the more widely available Directors Cut, which further pans out its runtime with an horrifically unnecessary rape scene.
I can appreciate the decision to explore the origins of Michael, but the end results are very mixed. When the familiar stuff kicks off halfway through, it's actually kind of boring. It manages to ape the original at every turn, whilst simultaneously feeling disrespectful with it's token RZ tropes.

All in all, Halloween is a remake that I wouldn't take issue with, but the decision to put Zombie in the driver's seat results in a movie that doesn't feel like it belongs anywhere. An inferior re-tread in every aspect, that leaves a bitter after taste.