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The Only Live-Action Remake of "Lady and the Tramp" We'll Ever Need

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 15, 2012
While Disney's animated classics continue to get live action remakes, whether of the studio's own doing or via some other production company digging into the same fairytale source materials, it's nice to see that "Lady and the Tramp" will probably be left alone. At least in feature form, that is. Instead of announcing another movie in the vein of either 1996's "101 Dalmations" or "Maleficent," the upcoming reworking of "Sleeping Beauty," Disney has gone ahead and shown us what at least one iconic scene from "Lady and the Tramp" looks like redone in live action form. The following video was produced by the studio itself as both a Valentine's Day treat and part of its promotion of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases of the 1955 film. Enjoy:  
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More: Animation, parody, Video, Home Video, Disney, Walt Disney Pictures, Classics, Remakes

Pingu the Penguin Stars in a Claymation Remake of "The Thing"

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • January 5, 2012
Disappointed with that recent prequel/remake of John Carpenter's "The Thing"? To make up for it, here's a short redo of the 1982 version as reenacted by the claymation character Pingu. Not only does it make perfect sense for penguins to remake a sci-fi/horror film set in Antarctica, but this is a great day to share the video since it's National Bird Day (see my list of bird docs elsewhere).
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More: Video, Animation, Remakes, The Thing, claymation, parody

Reboot This: "Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators"

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • December 14, 2011
It's typically annoying when a film franchise is immediately rebooted, but it's doubtful any of you have even seen either 2007's "The Three Investigators and the Secret of Skeleton Island" or the 2009 sequel, "The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle." Supposedly Disney released the first film theatrically in the U.S., but I don't recall that ever happening. They seem primarily set up at Buena Vista International for German-speaking audiences (though they were filmed in English), because the young adult mystery novels they're based on have remained more popular in Europe than in America. Kind of like "Tintin" but with material originating here.
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More: Remakes, mystery, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Hugo, Alfred Hitchcock

On DVD: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Fright Night" and More

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • December 13, 2011
Looking for something to rent this week? Here's what we had to say about the films out on DVD/Blu-ray today. Titles include "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Fright Night," "Monica & David," "Worst in Show," and "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975."  
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More: Home Video, DVD and VOD, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Remakes, Sequels, Sci-Fi, Documentary, Animation

Morning Pour: Remake Roundup with "Scarface," "Akira," "The Raid," "Knuckle," "Oldboy" and More

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • November 30, 2011
Morning Pour is your daily stop for quick links, news commentary and trend-spotting. Here are your five discussion topics involving remakes for Wednesday, November 30, 2011:
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More: Morning Pour, Remakes, Horror, Maniac, Documentary, Star Wars

10 Film Franchises That Need a Christmas Movie

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • November 1, 2011
Now that Halloween is over, we can start thinking about Christmas. The dominant holiday of only two-sevenths of the world's population (not counting the non-religious hangers on) is rearing its head early this year thanks to Friday's release of "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas." This third installment of the stoner comedy franchise will hopefully be another riotous satire full of political incorrectness, and the series' typical play with race, creed, sexuality and politics ought to fit perfectly with the many themes, positive and negative, associated with the day when we commercially exploit celebrate the birth of Jesus.
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More: Remakes, Sequels, Comic Book Movies

On DVD: "Winnie the Pooh" Charms with Slight Twists on a Classic

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • October 25, 2011
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More: Home Video, Remakes

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" - Bay Area Ape Population is Small But They'll Still Outlast Humans

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • August 24, 2011
I don't really think it's much of a spoiler that the apes in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" get loose and cause a riot on the Golden Gate Bridge. Even if this climax hadn't been shown in the trailers, it is called "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Also, we're way beyond spoiling the ending of a plot point that originally occurred back in 1968, right? Anyway, there is a point in the film when evolved chimpanzee Caesar gives all his fellow imprisoned simians a cookie (yeah, even Rocket) and leads them to freedom by making a trail of Chips Ahoys for them to follow. Okay, the cookie trail doesn't happen, but he does lead what ends up looking like the quickly multiplying Gremlins pouring out of a burning movie theater. Why would there be so may apes incarcerated in an abusive San Bruno shelter?
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More: Remakes

"Fright Night" - Ranked Against Other Remakes, a Defense of the 3D Work, Views on Teen Sexuality

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • August 22, 2011
If you ignored Craig Gillespie's "Fright Night" over the weekend, letting it pretty much die in sixth place, I forgive you. It's an entertaining and much-improved version of Tom Holland's 1985 original, but it's not an immediate must-see title for theater viewing only. And with a lackluster use of 3D, you're better off saving your money anyway if that's your only option. Hopefully you'll catch it at some point down the line. Just bookmark this roundup until you've seen it, if you're worried about spoilers.
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More: Remakes

"Fright Night" is Another Great Defense for How Remakes Can Work

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • August 19, 2011
One of the more annoying misconceptions about Hollywood today is that it's wrong to be remaking anything, let alone everything. As if there are no great remakes -- for instance, I finally saw John Carpenter's "The Thing" last night, and while I've still not seen Hawks and Nyby's original I can still recognize the 1982 version is excellent in its own right, if not better. Add that old defense to the new one: Craig Gillespie's "Fright Night" redo is actually an enormous improvement on Tom Holland's so-so 1985 film of the same name. Everything I complained about with the original has been fixed in the new movie, which was scripted by Marti Noxon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the TV series). The relationship between newly popular protagonist Charley (Anton Yelchin) and his spastic former best friend, 'Evil' Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is fleshed out in a nice "Heathers"/"Can't Buy Me Love" back story kind of way. Charley's mother (Toni Collette) is never forgotten, and in fact she's quite bad ass in this one. Best of all, the uninventive updates on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" are abandoned. Jerry the Vampire (Colin Farrell) doesn't have a long lost love who resembled Charley's girlfriend, Amy (Imogen Poots). I think at one point someone might even allude to the Stoker with knowing dismissal that this isn't that.
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More: Remakes

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