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Ratchet and Clank
Ratchet and Clank
2016 | Action/Adventure
Graphics are beautiful (1 more)
Fun mechanics
An Updated Adventure
I remember playing the original Ratchet and Clank game on PS1 as a kid and I liked it at the time, but I never followed the series and I actually haven't played a Ratchet game since, so to return to the game 20 years later in glorious high definition is a treat. The new game is essentially a remake of the original and it is just as fun as I remember it being the first time. The new weapons are cool, the visuals are breath-taking and the voice acting is good too. If you have young children or just want to relive your own childhood, this is definitely recommended.
  
The Lion King (1994)
The Lion King (1994)
1994 | Action, Animation, Drama
Jeremy Irons and James Earl Jones. (0 more)
Hakuna Matata
The Lion King- such a classic. Its perfect, amazing, fantasic and phenomenal and than thier just had to remake last year, live action style because of $$$ and have beyonce voice one of the charcters and have a second soundtrack with rap stars??? Anyways, the songs are so excellent, you have... "Circle of Life", "I Just Cant Wait to be King", "Be Perpared", "Hakuna Matata" and "Can't You Feel The Love Tonight".

The plot: This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult (Matthew Broderick) to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).

A classic film.
  
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
1999 | Action, Drama, Mystery
Romantic thriller remake. A daring robbery from a New York museum leads the police and an insurance investigator to suspect insanely wealthy and clever tycoon Thomas Crown, but can the investigator keep her mind on the job when the sparks start a-fizzing between her and the suspect?

The world is made up of people who prefer the Steve McQueen version and those who like this one (and I suppose there are conceivably a few folk who've seen neither): I am in the Brosnan camp, although this film does kind of miss the point that Crown only steals for the fun of it in the original (Brosnan's character clearly appreciates art). Much more of a romantic drama than an actual thriller, but well played and engaging, and the set pieces, when they eventually come, are clever and well-staged. As a chance for Brosnan (then at the apogee of his Bond success) to show his range, it's a qualified success (Crown is another suave, high-living thrill seeker with possible commitment issues), but as a piece of entertainment it does the job.
  
Straw Dogs (2011)
Straw Dogs (2011)
2011 | Mystery
4
4.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Successful actress Amy Sumner (Kate Bosworth) is returning from her big city life to her southern hometown of Blackwater. Along with Amy is her well-educated and wealthy husband, David Sumner (James Marsdon). David quickly finds this vacation is filled with tension, particularly when it comes to Amy’s ex-boyfriend, Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård), who is not ready to be out of her life. So it is up to the weakling Harvard hero to protect his relationship, home, and way of life in a town he doesn’t quite understand.

A remake of the 1971 thriller classic of the same name, “Straw Dogs” has lost a lot of its appeal and logic with time. It still has gory moments and the plot is very similar to the original but many of the base thrills have been lost in the move to a present day setting.

This film asks the viewers to suspend disbelief, ignore a number of unfinished back-stories, and stand behind characters who are not engaging or believable. Details, both big and small miss the mark. James Marsdon is incorrectly suited as the shy bumbling academic. The house is a seeming fortress for no apparent reason. The side stories, interesting detractions from the overly built tension between the two leading males, are left unresolved.

Additionally, the themes are awkward and incomplete. There are literary throwbacks and some blatant social commentary but all of the film’s depth is lost on an audience who has no reason to care. Viewers will be preoccupied wondering what the point of the film is.

Sure, the story is engrossing and it does force self-analysis, but the modern adaptation would have benefitted from serious editorial cuts. Had the film been completed in a quarter of the time it might have actually managed to be thrilling!

Unbalanced, vapid, and pointless as a thriller “Straw Dogs” falls prey to the unnecessary remake trap. For a real psychological thrill it would be better to opt for the original.
  
Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th (2009)
2009 | Horror
7
6.6 (22 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good cast (1 more)
Has the core ingredients to keep fans happy
A great update on a classic series
A very good "re-imaging" NOT a re-make! I can't believe how many people have said it's a remake, Jason wasn't in the first one hello! Rant over.
Comparing it to the original series of films this has a flash back of the ending of the first, for those who haven't seen it shame on you, and has more in common with the 2nd and 3rd installments. I actually enjoyed it, it gives the fans of the original films an updated version of what they loved about the films. There are plenty of inventive death scenes, sex, drugs and boozing with plenty of gorgeous girls in it. I thought it had a bit too much stoner behaviour, which seem to dumb down the film a bit. It has a slick visual style similar to the recent Texas chainsaw remakes, same director, as well as the same style of old gritty locations and sets. Overall a cool update for anyone who was a fan of the original films and better than nearly all of the previous films apart from the first which is a cult classic at least. Definitely one for slasher fans.
  
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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
  
The Karate Kid (2010)
The Karate Kid (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Family
6
6.8 (18 Ratings)
Movie Rating
2010 remake of the 1980s original, which - here - transplants the setting to China instead of Detroit, and which stars Will Smith's kid Jaden in the lead role with Jackie Chan downplaying his usual goofiness to take on the Mr Miyagi role made famous by Pat Morita.

While following the same beats as that original - single parent kid moves to new neighbourhood for his mums new job, is bullied, meets a handyman who teaches him the way of Martial arts while striking up an unlikely friendship with the same, takes part in a tournament - this also swaps Karate out for Kung Fu: meaning, yes, it should really be called 'The Kung Fu Kid' here!

(oh, and there's no 'Wax on, wax off' quote in this one)
  
Harbinger Down (2015)
Harbinger Down (2015)
2015 | Horror, Sci-Fi
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Old Movie Revisited: Harbinger Down. Now if you're anything like me, you've spent a fair amount of time thinking, Man, they should remake The Thing with Lance Henriksen. Well those dreams have been answered in the form of Harbinger Down. Now sure there are differences, Instead of an Arctic outpost, they are on a cargo ship in the arctic... Instead of a ufo crashing to earth with a nasty alien on board, this one has a russian space capsule, crashing to earth contaminated with a space virus... And from there its pretty much the same... including the mimicking of the host... Shit even the ending is the same, sorta, a lone survivor stranded in the arctic. Now all that aside, it wasn't a bad little low budget flick, and c'mon it has the low budget movie God in it, Mr Lance Henrikson, remember how he wowed us all in Close Encounters of the Third Kind as the guy standing in the background. Its almost as incredible as Cliff Clavin being part of the Rebel Alliance, its true!! But that was a long, long time ago, in what seems like a galaxy far far away... Filmbufftim on FB