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Get Carter (2000)
Get Carter (2000)
2000 | Action, Drama, Mystery
5
5.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Clumsy, uninspired, and - let's be honest - pointless and redundant remake of the British gangster classic. Stallone is as clumpingly inarticulate as ever as a gangster seeking the truth about his brother's death; various surprisingly good actors are roped in but get virtually nothing to do. For appearance's sake Michael Caine comes back, in the not-exactly-plum role of Cliff Brumby.

The plot is mostly just the same as in the original movie, although the magnificent desolation of north-east England is replaced by somewhere nondescript and American, and bleak nihilism is gone too, as that's not what Stallone's audience wants: instead there's a dull old plot about a man out for redemption. It's all sort of watchable, but it's hard to really think of a reason why you'd want to.
  
Dark Water (2005)
Dark Water (2005)
2005 | Horror, Mystery
Dripping Nightmares
Dark Water- is a good movie. Note I havent seen the oringal movie. I have only seen the remake which this is. Jennifer Connelly does a excellent job in this film.

The Plot: Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) wants to move away from her ex-husband, Kyle (Dougray Scott), and take her daughter, Ceci (Ariel Gade), with her. Relocating to a dreary tower block, Dahlia and Ceci discover eerie, dark water leaking through the ceiling of their new apartment. Dahlia petitions the supervisor (Pete Postlethwaite) and the building's owner (John C. Reilly) to fix the leak, yet it only gets worse. Now having nightmares about the dripping, Dahlia is
driven to confront the problem herself.

Like i said ive not seen the oringal only this adaptation. Its still a good movie.
  
The Unforgivable (2021)
The Unforgivable (2021)
2021 | Drama
7
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A great story with some twists (0 more)
Slightly weak ending (0 more)
Great story
Well after watching a short while I realised this is actually based on a short TV series from the UK in 2009 starring Suranne Jones. A really gripping drama. This is basically a remake but set in the US.
The key story elements are the same as a young woman released after a long period in Prison for killing a cop tries to track down her younger sister. She struggles as her past catches up and the victims family are keen for revenge.
It holds up pretty well to the original, the writer also help produced this. Just the ending seemed a little less dramatic in this version. Still a very good story and a gritty role for Sandra Bullock.
  
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David McK (3713 KP) rated Aladdin (2019) in Movies

Aug 11, 2019 (Updated Jan 1, 2026)  
Aladdin (2019)
Aladdin (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Goy Ritchie's Will Smith starring live-action retelling of the 1992 Disney cartoon: a movie that, believe it or not, is now nearly 30 years old (I can't believe I just typed that).

While this does hew pretty closely to the original, this is not quite the shot-for-shot remake I was expecting (or feared), with Jasmine in particular given far more agency here, and with Will Smith's Genie 'bookending' the entire narrative.

Talking of Will Smith: he had some big shoes to fill and - thankfully - he wisely does not attempt a Robin Williams impersonation, instead making the character more his own (although, of course, he has the same musical numbers to belt out).

On the down side, however, this version of Jafar is far less menacing than the original ...
  
Aladdin (2019)
Aladdin (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Guy Ritchie’s live action remake really was a hit for me. Not much of the story has changed which is fine. I went into this film excited but with a few weary doubts. I was for sure that nothing could compare to the 1992 two dimensional Genie I grew to adore. I then however convinced myself to treat the film as its own entity and not as a comparison. I mean come on, nothing can compare to a cartoon version of anything. You can animate just about anything but trying to flip the story to live-action and expecting the same results can be risky. In the remake it worked out well for the most part. Anytime Genie was his big blue self that’s when the CG that was used was extremely noticeable. I just have never been a fan of CG use on actors, it used to freak me out as a kid. I know it sounds strange but I quickly got over it and was able to really enjoy the film.

When the film was being discussed and or planned the stipulation at least for the two leads (Mena Massaud and Naomi Scott) was, they of course had to be of Indian or Middle Eastern descent, they had to be able to sing and dance and they had to be newcomers. I thought they were perfectly cast and had great chemistry. They also were both able to stand their ground and their performances certainly didn’t get lost playing along side Will Smith. Though he is incomparable to Robin Williams he did do an outstanding job at Genie and I think Williams would be proud of his rendition.

One of my favorite things Disney films have always delivered in any of their films has been the atmosphere and sets. The colors of Agraba are vibrant and inviting. You can almost smell the spices and feel the warm breeze flowing through the city. I am also pleased that Alan Mankin has returned to compose the music for the film. All songs have been kept the same with the addition of a few new songs so be sure to at least sing along with them.

In my honest opinion this live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin has been my favorite of the live-action Disney remade films so far. It is a two hour nostalgic film filled wth laughs, action, lots of parkour and good life lessons. Money or power can’t always buy happiness.
  
Black Christmas (1974)
Black Christmas (1974)
1974 | Horror
7
8.4 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Answer The Phone
With anethor remake coming out this friday, and that i already reviewed the 2006 remake. In going back to the oringal, were it alll started from. So lets take a little trip back to 1974.

Inspired by the urban legend "The babysitter and the man upstairs" and a series of murders that took place in the Westmount section of Montreal, Quebec, Moore wrote the screenplay under the title Stop Me.

The Plot: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb's friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.

Margot Kidder remembered shooting the film as being "fun. I really bonded with Andrea Martin, filming in Toronto and Ontario. Olivia Hussey was a bit of an odd one. She was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with Paul McCartney through her psychic. We were a little hard on her for things like that.

Black Christmas eventually gained a cult following and is notable for being one of the earliest slasher films. It went on to inspire other slasher films, the biggest one of all being John Carpenter's Halloween (which was apparently inspired by Clark suggesting what a Black Christmas sequel would be like).

Black Christmas has been included multiple lists in various media outlets as one of the greatest horror films ever made. The film ranked No. 87 on Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

A overall classic slasher horror movie based around a hoilday.
  
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Bai Ling recommended Roman Holiday (1953) in Movies (curated)

 
Roman Holiday (1953)
Roman Holiday (1953)
1953 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"It’s a very personal choice because when I came to America from mainland China, I was an actress, but I never knew about Hollywood. I had heard of Hollywood but we didn’t have access to see Hollywood movies. A photographer was taking pictures of me and said, “You remind me of this actress named Audrey Hepburn.” I said, “Who is that?” He said, “Bai Ling, you have to watch her films,” and he found me Roman Holiday. That was the first Hollywood movie I’d ever seen. And it’s still one of my favorites, because it first introduced me to Hollywood — beautiful, romantic, very graceful, and elegant. I would like to remake it — I hope some director can help me, maybe Steven Soderbergh or Wong Kar-Wai. [Laughs] What I remember about those old Hollywood films is that when a leading lady and a leading man meet, they don’t have to say anything; you already know they’re in love. You root for them; you want them to be together. That’s the magic of Hollywood. I think somehow today we’ve lost a little bit of it, and you don’t care as much if two characters get together. But Roman Holiday makes you smile, makes your heart smile, makes your heart sing for these two people. Gregory Peck is gentle and elegant, the kind of tall leading man that I like. I think we should remake the film. Everybody in America, in Asia, and in Europe, would appreciate it. The beautiful, pure, romantic story — I wish I would play a role like that, because I have a romantic soul. I’d like to bring that purity to the audience, to have their fantasy fulfilled."

Source
  
My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009)
My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009)
2009 | Horror, Mystery
One of the avalanche of classic horror remakes to surface during the 00s, My Bloody Valentine (in "spectacular" 3D of course) isn't the worst of them by a long shot, but it still suffers from the soul-less-ness that the majority of them seem all to keen to pack in.

Its certainly more action packed and gory than it's 80s older sibling. The violence on display packs a punch for sure, some of it looks great, some of its looks terrible. The Harry Warden killer, much like the Michaels and Jasons of this remake era, is more of a machine than before. Relentless, brutal, faster, and pretty intimidating as far as these things go. It also packs in a fair amount of character development, which is a nice touch that gives the whole narrative some much needed gravitas, and the cast all do a good job with the by-the-numbers slasher-remake screenplay, with highlights being Jaime King and the ever reliable Tom Atkins.

You know how these things go though, and the simple fact is that this do over isn't as good as the original. It lacks the realness and charm (there's that word again) that the original had. There's a twist near the end that is designed to pull the rug out from under fans of the original, and it's actually a pretty interesting one, albeit executed poorly, and requires the viewer to really suspend disbelief in order to glaze over some gaping plot holes.

All in all, it's gory and fun enough to easily pass a couple of hours, and manages to feel like a homage to the original, rather than a straight up copy, and that I can respect, but ultimately, it's not a strong argument for the case of remakes.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The White Crow (2018) in Movies

Mar 28, 2019 (Updated Mar 28, 2019)  
The White Crow (2018)
The White Crow (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama
Left-field remake focuses less on vengeful undead Goths and more on cold war politics and ballet dancing. Talented, driven, arrogant dancer Rudolf Nureyev chafes against the Soviet system seeking to exploit and control him; a visit to Paris offers him the hope of freedom. (You know, the more I think about it, the more I suspect this doesn't actually have anything to do with that Brandon Lee movie...)

Solid, typically measured stuff from Ralph 'Little Sunbeam' Fiennes; strong performances and good photography, together with a thoughtful script, make this engaging even if you're not that into people bounding around doing plies and what-have-you. Sags a bit in the middle, but the scenes depicting Nureyev's defection are gripping. Oleg Ivenko isn't quite the full Rudolf, but he gets near enough (thanks everyone, I'm here all week).
  
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Dean (6927 KP) rated Thir13en Ghosts (2001) in Movies

Jun 18, 2018 (Updated Jun 30, 2021)  
Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
Thir13en Ghosts (2001)
2001 | Horror
Another cool Dark Castle entertainment horror re-make. Didn't know of the original until I saw some reviews mention it. This reminded me a lot of the House on Haunted Hill remake made 2 years earlier. It's fun, not too serious, has a good mix of humour and gore/kills. The cast is ok and well known with Shannon Elizabeth and Matthew Lillard, but it was a nice surprise to see Tony Shalhoub (Monk) appear in this. What really makes this film enjoyable in my opinion, along with House on Haunted Hill, is the set design, make up and ghoulish characters created. Both films have a great wacky house setting, good SFX and the ghosts in this look awesome. A great way to enjoy 90mins. So if you liked House on Haunted Hill you will like this just as much.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Dean (6927 KP) Jun 19, 2018

Yes I think the original was in the 60's or 70's.

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Chrissie-ann (78 KP) Jun 19, 2018

I also didn't know this was a remake!