Teen Critic Says Nothing Beats the Original

Look familiar? The Spanish film [REC] was the inspiration for the Hollywood film Quarantine (Filmax)

By Jason Lacsamana

The movie Quarantine (opened October 10 throughout San Diego) was one bad excuse of a remake of the original Spanish film [REC]. The viewer sees the events through the lens of a TV cameraman throughout the film. In the film a news reporter Angela Vidal (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott accompany a squad of firefighters to expose the life of a firefighter at night. The firefighters are called upon to respond to a report of an elderly woman in distress in her apartment. Once they arrive on the scene events take a turn for the worse. Angela, her cameraman, the firefighters, and all the residents of the apartment are suddenly quarantined in the building by the CDC (Center for Disease Control). They are trapped without any information as to why. They are only told that they could not leave. It is clear to them that something is seriously wrong and if they plan to survive then escape would be their only hope.

To all those who haven't seen the original version of this film, [REC], this movie might seem pretty good. Its shaky camerawork makes the viewer feel like they are actually in the movie as it intensifies certain scenes. The intense scenes in the film keeps viewers biting their their lip in suspense. Although compared to the original, it was a poor excuse. I found that the original had more suspenseful moments than the remake. I was really upset that some original scenes were cut out to be replaced by some less gruesome scenes. The original also explained more of the background information while the remake cut out this vital information for scenes that really lacked any meaning besides showing gore and violence.

If you want to see a good suspenseful thriller Quarantine (rated R for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language) is the movie for you, but if you are able to, I highly suggest you watch [REC].

--Jason Lacsamana is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. He says he wants to be a Teen Critic because he loves watching movies and loves to critique them but never really had a way of sharing his critiques.He cites zombie movies as his favorites of all time.

Stephen Chow to Direct Green Hornet

Stephen Chow (left) directs Kung Fu Hustle and will be directing the new Green Hornet (Sony)

According to VarietyAsiaOnline.com Hong Kong superstar and Kung Fu Hustle director Stephen Chow has just signed on to direct and co-star in Columbia Pictures' big screen adaptation of The Green Hornet. Originally created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker as a 1930s radio program, The Green Hornet also appeared as a film serial in the 1940s; as a network TV show in the 1960s; and as comic books from the 1940s to the 1990s. Bringing the story of Britt Reid -- newspaper publisher by day and masked vigilante by night -- to the big screen has been in the works since the 1990s. Kevin Smith was writing a script at one point, and George Clooney and Jake Gyllenhaal were both mentioned for Reid. At the moment, Knocked Up star Seth Rogen is on board to star as Reid and to co-write the script with SuperBad partner Evan Goldberg. Chow will also take on the role of Reid's sidekick Kato, a role originated on TV by Bruce Lee. This combo of talent makes me think the film with be more jokey than gritty and hard-edged, and I'm not yet convinced that Rogen is the right choice for REid or for writing the screenplay. But I think Chow is up to the task of directing and playing Kato. It will be interesting to see if this combination of talent holds since so many people have come and gone in the past. Green Hornet is scheduled to open on June 25, 2010.

Bangkok Dangerous

Nicolas Cage plays a hit man in Thailand in Bangkok Dangerous (Lionsgate)

Bangkok Dangerous (opened September 5 throughout San Diego) is one of a growing number of films that studios choose not to screen for critics. Bangkok Dangerous is a remake of the 1999 Thai film of the same name, and it's once again being directed by the Hong Kong born twin filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang. Watching the Hollywood remake, though, was like watching a wild bird get its wings clipped and then placed in a cage. It was just so sad.

Funny Games U.S.

Funny Games (1997) and Funny Games U.S. (Attitude Films and Warner Independent)

Remakes are a mainstay of Hollywood. If something worked once - do it again. But among remakes there are some oddities. Gus Van Sant did a shot for shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The only differences - new actors, color film and the fact that the remake couldn't hold a candle to the original. So that remake seemed ridiculously unnecessary. Then there's the case of Japanese director Takashi Shimizu who made Ju-On/The Grudge for Japanese video, then remade it as a Japanese feature, then remade it again as a Hollywood film. He also made a Japanese sequel and an American sequel, and is now on The Grudge 3. Shimizu gives new meaning to the notion of a one- trick pony. This year brings Michael Haneke's English language remake of his 1997 German/Austrian film Funny Games, and now called Funny Games U.S. (opened March 14 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas, Edwards Mira Mesa, AMC La Jolla and UltraStar Flower Hill). I can't think of any other filmmaker who has done a shot-for-shot remake of his own film. (If you know of any please tell me.)

The Eye

Jessica Alba stars in The Eye, a remake of a Hong Kong horror film (Lionsgate)

The Eye (opened on February 2 throughout San Diego) follows films such as The Ring, The Grudge and Dark Water in turning to Asian horror film successes as inspiration for a Hollywood remake. But unlike those Japanese or J-horror inspired films, The Eye draws on a Hong Kong film directed by the Thai-born Pang Brothers as source material. The story works on a very simple premise: what if you received someone else's eyes in a transplant operation and suddenly began seeing from the organ donor's perspective. Jessica Alba plays a blind violinist who hopes that a cornea transplant will change her life. It does but not in the way she or anyone could have expected. 

I am Legend

Will Smith in I am Legend (Warner Brothers)

Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I am Legend has already inspired two prominent movies, The Last Man on Earth (1964) with Vincent Price, and The Omega Man (1971) with Charleton Heston. It's also influenced others including Night of the Living Dead and more recently 28 Days Later. Now music video director Francis Lawrence brings a mega-budgeted version of I am Legend (opening December 14 throughout San Diego) to the screen with Will Smith as the last man on earth... sort of.

I am Legend opens with a news report in which a doctor (Emma Thompson) discusses her recently found cure for cancer. An amazing breakthrough for science, yet you wonder why she doesn't seem happier. Maybe it's because the cure involves mutating a virus. Cut to three years later. New York City is desolate and overgrown with vegetation. Dr. Robert Neville (Will Smith) appears to be the last man on earth. But he's not exactly alone. There are hordes of infected people (in the book they were essentially vampires) who come out at night to hunt. So Neville spends his days foraging for supplies and his nights holed up in his fortress of an apartment. Neville is also working diligently on finding a cure for what this mutated virus is doing. He also won't give up hope for finding other survivors somewhere in the world.

Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale

Daniel Craig ushers in a grittier Bond in Casino Royale (MGM/Columbia)

The name's Bond. James Bond. This month Daniel Craig becomes the sixth actor to take on the role of the famous MI6 British agent. The latest Bond adventure is Casino Royale (opening November 17 throughout San Diego) based on the 1953 novel in which Ian Fleming introduced 007 to readers.

Technically, this is the third adaptation of Casino Royale. There was an Americanized TV version with Barry Nelson as Jimmy Bond in the 50s, and a spoof starring Woody Allen in the 60s. But this is the first time the official Bond franchise (the one overseen by the late Albert Broccoli's Eon Productions) has actually filmed the novel. So for their 22nd Bond film, the producers have decided to go back to the beginning to in essence re-launch what has become one of the longest running and most successful film franchises of all time. One of the reasons for this success has been the franchise's ability to reinvent itself during its 40-year plus history. It began by sticking close to Ian Fleming's books with its films Dr. No and From Russia With Love in the early 60s. By the mid 60s it began a move toward gadgetry, special effects and spectacle (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice). That trend peaked in the 70s and 80s when Roger Moore took over the Bond role and the series became more and more over the top (the best of these being For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me). In the late '80s there was a swing back toward grit and realism with Timothy Dalton's brief outing as Bond. And most recently, Pierce Brosnan's Bond announced the franchise's move toward slick productions loaded with clever quips and prone to poke fun at Bond for being a misogynistic dinosaur.

Dark Water

Jennifer Connelly stars in the remake of Dark Water (Buena Vista)

In a summer of remakes, Hollywood once again turns to Asian horror for inspiration. This time it’s Dark Water (opening July 8 throughout San Diego), based on the novel by Koji Suzuki and film by Hideo Nakata.

When Dreamworks remade the Japanese chiller The Ring in 2002, and scored big at the box office, it helped launch a cycle of Asian influenced remakes. The Ring 2 and The Grudge followed. Now comes Dark Water and soon we’ll also have The Eye, and there are about a dozen other Asian properties (not all horror) waiting in the wings for their American adaptation. Roy Lee, a producer who has been involved with The Ring, The Grudge and now Dark Water, is the one who had the bright idea to take the most popular Asian films and remake them in Hollywood. Lee understood that Hollywood would be receptive to this idea because the films were from familiar genres and had proven their popularity in existing markets. As he explained to me in 2002: “By seeing a completed movie, they [Hollywood executives] could see what works and what doesn’t work. Because it could have easily been a writer submitting a script with the same premise but this just happens to work out better. It’s easier to access.”

The Grudge

Sarah Michelle Gellar stars in the remake of The Grudge (Columbia Pictures)

The Grudge (opening October 22 throughout San Diego) is the first American remake of a popular Asian film to actually employ the director of the original film. The Grudge is a remake of the Japanese horror or J-horror film, Ju-On directed by Takashi Shimizu. The title refers to a curse born of a grudge held by someone who dies in the grip of powerful anger. This evil presence gathers in the places frequented by the person in life, and it can be lethal to anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with it. And each time it claims a new victim, it perpetuates itself even more forcefully.

The remake is produced by American horror-meister Sam Raimi, and the decision was made not to transplant the story to America. The setting would remain in Japan and many of the original people involved would also repeat their duties: Takashi Shimizu would again direct, Taka Ichise would serve as a producer, and Takako Fuji and Yuya Ozeki would repeat their roles as the specters in the film. But American characters—and stars—would be added. So the resulting story now has Sarah Michelle Gellar (of Buffy fame) as Karen, a foreign exchange student volunteering at a care center in Tokyo to earn community service credits at school. She’s sent to check in on an older woman (Grace Zabriskie) whose regular caretaker has disappeared. When Karen arrives at the house, she not only finds the woman but also discovers a small boy who’s been shut up in the closet. The boy is cut and bleeding, and says his name is Toshiro (Yuya Ozeki). After some more strange occurrences, Karen encounters the dark, evil spirit that inhabits the house and the next thing she knows, the woman is dead.

The Ring

Naomi Watts stars in the remake of Japan's The Ring (Dreamworks)

Did you hear about the one about the videotape that when you watch it, you die in seven days? Sound like an urban myth? Well for the characters in The Ring (opening October 18 throughout San Diego), this turns out to be much more than an urban myth, it turns out to be a terrifying reality.

The appeal of this simple premise has already been proven in Japan, that’s where the Koji Suzuki’s book, The Ring, was published and where the first version of the film was made by Hideo Nakata. The 1998 film The Ring was so wildly popular in Asia that it spawned a sequel, a prequel, a TV mini-series, mangas, and a Korean remake. Now Dreamworks Pictures has decided to bring the story to the screen Hollywood style. And the film is one of more than a dozen Asian properties recently purchased by Hollywood studios for American remakes.