Is This Really Necessary?
No one's gonna replace the old booger.
Let's not write the obligatory hell-in-a-handbasket-decline-of-western-civilization-let's-escape-Reagan's-80s screed and say we did.
The following, on the other hand, is quite necessary:
Stickin' it to the man, brass balls edition.
posted by the beige one @ 9:46 AM
14 comments
14 Comments:
........what is the most important thing?
Remakes are never necessary, but some are surely less so than others.
I loved that movie when I was 13. . .
Alright...I'll blaze the trail.
I'm a fan of this project. I'm all for it.
Please expound further, Rob. Also, any idea on who the guys responsible are?
I don't know man, I'm a purest...this could mean trouble. I'm curious as to your take Rob.
Please expound further, Rob. Also, any idea on who the guys responsible are?
Yeah...Adam Epstein is responsible for the first American Pie and Not Another Teen Movie. He's perfect for writing a Nerds remake.
I don't know any details. I was just stating that I'm excited that they're doing a remake. Sure, it's a little ridiculous to remake a film not 23 years after its initial creation but I'd like to see what they do with it.
Mostly, though, I'm just a little weary of this rote philosophy that everybody adopts in terms of film remakes that the original is sacred and a remake can't be enjoyable. I recognize that remaking films is indicative of a dearth of fresh ideas and is ultimately lazy, but a remake can still be fun. Turning ones nose up at the prospect of a film just because it's a remake is elitist and boring and predictable behavior and it makes me yawn. Thus, I applaud the remake of Nerds, even if Curtis Armstrong can never be topped as "Booger".
Fair enough, Rob. The Beige and I obviously both enjoyed the new King Kong, and if we're being honest, theatre is almost ENTIRELY about remakes. I think the only thing for me is that Revenge of the Nerds seems too frivolous to warrant a remake and too definitively of its era to make much sense outside of same (though I'm sure that many currently adolescent nerds would contend that "nerd persecution" remains alive and well).
I'm of two minds. My first reaction was of the sheesh variety, but I'm already coming around.
Nerds are different now. We like different things than we did in the 80's, we are ignorant of a different set of social conventions. So, I actually hope they don't try and be too faithful to the original script.
Not Another Teen Movie was pretty damn funny. It was no Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood or anything, but pretty funny.
My main concern with remakes is that for every Fistful of Dollars, or King Kong, there's...well, just about every other remake, really.
Hey, Oberon, not sure I get your post! Anyone care to enlighten/remind me?
in a different direction, I LOVED that colbert clip. holy shit. it's one thing to bash the man on your own show, or even on live tv. but to look him in the EYES and bash him? straight to his face? damn. free speech, yo.
No kidding, Patrice! What we were watching was a perfect mixture of court jester, and a scalpel sharp wit taking aim at all who deserved it, especially the prez and press combined.
"He not only stands for things, he stands on things, things like aircraft carriers and debris riddled corners of major metropolitan areas..."
your assignment, should you choose to accept it:
Name either 3, 5, or 10 (Ly, just do your thing) remakes that are exceptions to the rule.
Hmmm . . .
1) King Kong
--Lyrical, exciting, visceral, overblown . . .took the original monster-movie and made it the perfect monster-movie. For people (like me) who LOVE monster-movies, it was the gift to end all gifts.
2) The Manchurian Candidate
--Not equal to the original, but a thoughtful remake that updated the material perfectly, and showed how topical thrillers can be freshly retooled for changing times.
3) The Thing
--The original Howard Hawks film was titled The Thing From Another World, and is a stone classic in its own right. Carpenter's savvy remake keeps its best images (men in parkas in a circle with wide open arms trying to determine the circumference of the craft), deals effectively with Carpenter's frequent concerns (when do monster hunters become hunters; what kind of incorrigible alpha bigot is actually capable of succeeding at acts of heroism?) and reminds us why physical effects are just plain cooler than CGI.
4) The Magnificent Seven
--It's no Seven Samurai, if only 'cause cowboys just aren't as cool as samurai, but it still kicks ass as a slice of tasty American mythos, and it transferred all of the archetypes from the original rather effectively. Plus, like, Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, a young Charles Bronson . . .
5) Fistful of Dollars
--Again, not up there with the original--Yojimbo is as close to perfection as cinema can rise--but it launched Clint Eastwood's career, put Sergio Leone and the Spaghetti Western on the map of mainstream film and re-defined the Western in its entirety, leading Eastwood to direct such genre-defining works as The Outlaw Josey Wales and Unforgiven.
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