Remake THIS!!

I always wonder what warrants a film being remade? It is desperation of the film studios to make an easy buck? Is it a total lack of original screenplays to choose from? Are there no novels out there to adapt anymore? I have no idea what the answer is although I guess a lot of it has to do with pure laziness. With remakes, half the work is done for you, it is just finding a new way to make it fresh and this is where things begin to fall apart.
I was thinking about what films I would like to see remade, and actually deserve a fresh spin. I figured I would do a little multi part look at the movies I want to see remade based solely on the fact I feel there is room for them in the world now.

My first one is one that I just watched last night. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is being remade, and if so good luck.
“Twelve Angry Men” was a classic film of it’s time. Twelve men of a jury deciding whether or not to send a young boy to the electric chair. Intense film, and what was interesting is how every man defends his stance and why they change their verdict. However they were twelve angry WHITE MEN.

If it were to be remade today it would have to find a crime/defendant that would cause both sexual and racial tension. The Jury would be a diverse age range, sex/sexuality and of course racially diverse to heat up the tension. People will say that it is an exercise in stereotypes to have such a mix, but that is not what this is about. It is about people’s reasoning for guilt and innocence and yes, sometimes their background can interfere. This would be more of an analysis of inner prejudices and a chance to tackle serious subjects in an intelligent and thought provoking way. A chance to turn character stereotypes on their head for a change without resorting to uninspired predictable tricks (ohh the woman is on the side of the rapist……the gay man isn’t mincing).

Of course plot lines and such are the job of a good screenwriter, but the idea is good I think. Of course it will be a completely different film, just taking the general concept of the original, so not technically a remake.

Bond takes on the Nazis

Daniel ''Miserable looking Hunk of Burning love'' Craig is starring in the World War II drama Defiance, which Edward Zwick will write, direct, and produce. Zwick, who last directed Blood Diamond, (hope are already the opposite of high) has had the project on his plate for the past eight years after acquiring film rights to the book of the same name. The true story is about four Jewish brothers living in Nazi-occupied Poland who escape into the forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters in battling the Nazis and trying to save the lives of other Jews. Shooting is scheduled to start in September.

This all sounds very lovely…but the most important question to be asked is will he appear naked in it? I know it is a serious story about Nazis (like they really need another movie….we get it they were EVIL) but if you are going to hire a sex pot, show off his goods .
Craig will squeeze it into his busy schedule before starting work on the next Bond movie, Bond 22, which is set to begin production sometime this winter for a November2008 release. Craig will next be seen in The Invasion, which opens Aug. 17, and His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, which releases Dec. 7. The actor stars opposite Nicole Kidman in both movies.

Jennifer Coolidge is just fantastic!!

Gary Cole (Talladega Nights, The Brady Bunch), Jennifer Coolidge (For Your Consideration, Click), and Agnes Bruckner (Blood & Chocolate) will star in writer-director David Moreton's "Say Hello to Stan Talmadge". The road-trip comedy is set in 1979 and told in flashback. It is about the title character (Cole), an estranged ex-husband who tries to reunite his family with a cross-country motor-home trip to a game show called ''Beat Your Neighbor.'' Coolidge plays Stan's boozing, acid-tongued ex-wife, while Bruckner plays his daughter, who is traumatized by the disastrous trip.
I love Jennifer, she has one of those faces that was made for comedy, and she never fails to make me laugh, and even when she has been used sparingly, like in “A Mighty Wind” she is still brilliant. It is nice to see she is getting another role that will suit her comedy skills well. She has always been a great comedic character actor and, aside from "American Pie" and "Legally Blonde" she has not really broken through. On TV she was consistantly the best thing in "Joey", and had a memorable guest spot on "Friends" as Phoebie and Monica's anglophile friend.
But what she will be remembered the most for by her fans is for her role in Christopher Guests films. Characters that make you laugh when you think about them.

I mean Sherri Ann Cabot's classic line from "Best in show":
"Leslie and I have an amazing relationship and it's very physical, he still pushes all my buttons. People say 'oh but he's so much older than you' and you know what, I'm the one having to push him away. We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about."

I personally have always hoped bigger things for her, and on paper ''Beat Your Neighbor'' does sound like it could be a great role for her, however it also does sound a little too “Little Miss Sunshine” for me. I guess we can expect a lot of family road trip movies to come along.

Groove Armada - Get Down

Yes I am obsessed. It is on my box and now I am posting the video....but I love it.

Groove Armada - Get down
Uploaded by slzaza

Ohhh, I am so excited!

The new “Transformers” exclusive Michael Bay trailer is out, and boy am I bloody excited. If you haven’t seen it already in glorious QuickTime, view it here

Back to Black

Say what you will about Amy Winehouse (fitting name), musical breath of fresh air or drunken mess with way too much eye liner and in need of a breathalizer, but what you really cannot deny is this song is fantastic.

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Uploaded by Wonderful-Life

He left no time to regret. Kept his dick wet, with his same old safe bet. Me and my head high, and my tears dry, get on without my guy. You went back to what you knew, so far removed from all that we went through. And I tread a troubled track, my odds are stacked. I'll go back to black

We only said good-bye with words. I died a hundred times. You go back to her and I go back to.....I go back to us

Box - Love my box

Time once again for the weekly update of my box (will I ever get tired of that joke…nah). Today I wanted to concentrate on dance music. This is mainly because very soon I will be flying off to my fav city on the planet New York. While there (although it is for work) I tend to party and have one hell of a laugh. I leave on Saturday, so anyone who can advise me on what to do/see please do so!

Get Down - Groove Armada feat. Stush. A brilliant combination of house and grid to get your head bopping and your booty shaking. Can imagine someone doing a combination of the dutty wine and crunk to this.

Avalon - Juliet. This is one of those classic house tracks that has the vocal that can break you heart. Dancing through the tears.

Shiny Disco Balls (Ft Jessica Eve) - Who Da Funk. This is one sexy song, and as the base line kicks in all you want to do is find someone on the dance floor to take your clothes off with.

The little movies that matter

”We have a pair of unfortunate situations here. A man who has nothing in his life except his work, that is unfortunate. And then by a stroke of bizarre chance, he finds someone who makes that not true for a day or two. But then, suddenly, it seems as though the price that has to be paid for that ray of light is some kind of... disgrace. It doesn't seem quite fair.”

I wanted to write a review of “The Girl in the Café” but it seems that in doing so, I will give far too much away. If you decide, out of curiosity, to rent this movie you will be rewarded. If I were to write a full review it would rob you of the chance of discovering this beautiful and funny story, from writer Richard Curtis , as it unfolds.
This romantic comedy unfolds with ease into a political drama. Lawrence ( a hysterically reserved, and awkward Bill Nighy ), a spindly, self-effacing civil servant, is a senior researcher for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, preparing for a G-8 summit that will determine the scope of the world's effort to reduce extreme poverty. In a crowded café, he chats awkwardly with Gina (The luminous and amazing Kelly MacDonald ), a young Scot with time on her hands.
They share a couple of meals, and he invites her to accompany him to the summit in Reykjavík. Once there, as romance blooms, Gina's past, Lawrence's work and proclivity to compromise, and the presence of ministers and presidents spur her to act.
Kelly MacDonald has been around forever. From her debut as the spunky school girl who seduces Ewan McGregor in “ Trainspotting ” to her lead role as the new maid to Maggie Smith in Robert Alman’s upstairs downstairs comedy “ Gosford Park ”.
She is one of those actresses that can easily fade into the background as she is so unassuming. In ‘The Girl in the Café” she uses ability so that when she takes action, it is all the more powerful. I hope her Emmy win for this will lead to a lot more work for her as I think she has real staying power in this industry.

A rather weak 'Heart'

Firstly I was one of those out there that really felt this role should have gone to a mixed race actress and not Angelina Jolie. Sure she has the looks to pass as Mariane Pearl who is of Afro-Cuban and Dutch ancestry, but could not of an actress such as Joy Bryant (pictured) or Rosario Dawson taken on this role? Sure the studios would have wanted a big name to get movie goers into the seats, but at what cost? What black/mixed/non white actress could have taken on the role on Ruby in ‘Cold Mountain’ and gotten awards attention, likely more deserved that lemon faces hamming. As long as Hollywood keeps diluting race down, how ever will this world unite?
Anyway the trailer for ‘ A Mighty Heart ’ looks a little, well, meh. Not feeling the drama, not feeling what I see of her performance, not really feeling that this is a movie people should be concerned with come awards season. See for yourself.

A Mighty Heart - Trailer
Uploaded by chk230