Live Magazine September 2017

FEATURE NOSTALGIc: MOVIES
WE CAN REBU
The remake, the re-envisionment,
the reboot. Dress is up however you
like Hollywood has a fascination with
visiting the past in order to make a
buck. I for one, actually quite like a
good remake. They are something
of a guilty pleasure of mine. I only
have a few simple rules. Just make
sure you take the concept/feel of
the original and give me a new film.
I don’t want to watch exactly the
same film again with different actors.
Also, don’t be disrespectful to
the source material. Don’t just ignore
the key elements that made
the original work. So without further
ado, I present my top five best, and
top five worst remakes.
THE BEST:
Evil Dead (2013
Original 1981)
The 2013 remake of Evil Dead is my
all time favourite remake. It stands
as one of the best horror films ever
made. It is perfect in it’s simple reconstruction.
It takes the key elements,
a group of kids, a cabin in the
woods, the book of the dead and
the demonic deadites and gives us
a totally new and unique take on the
original film. The film also works by
not having an avatar of the famous
Ash, the lead of the original films
played by Bruce Campbell. By leaving
out this iconic character the film
frees itself to carve its own path.
The film is simply savage. It’s one
of the most violent films I have ever
seen. Not that it has more gore say
than other horror films but it is just
ferocious. Not for the faint of heart.
True Grit (2010
Original 1969)
“Fill your hand you son-of-a-b****!”
A line yelled by John Wayne before
charging into battle in the original
True Grit, who knew Jeff Bridges
would do a way better job? Well most
of us I think... The Coen Brothers’s
take on the 1969 classic would turn
out to be one of the best films ever
made and my second favourite
western (and I love Westerns! I
named my new kid Wyatt, that’s
how much I love westerns). True
Grit, the new version anyway, is an
uncompromising a bleak look at the
American old west. It is focused on
realism, dark humour and a sense
of cynicism. The original film ends
with John Wayne letting out a big
cheer and rode off into the sunset
on his horse, leaping over a fence.
In this film... Well it’s a lot darker...
You simply need to see it.
The Departed
(2006 Original
2002)
Yes Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime
thriller is a remake. The original Chinese
film Infernal affairs is also an
amazing film. The Departed however,
is simply stunning and stands
as one of Scorsese’s best films.
The tension created as Leonardo