Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts

Monday, 28 July 2014

FEATURE: Are All Video Game Movies Bad?


Obviously, there's no real answer as it ultimately comes down to personal opinion but it's no secret most video game movie adaptations have done very poorly, and its a shame because your most beloved video game can be handed over to a director who has no idea what the game is actually about, who then makes a movie that does the game no justice what so ever. However, there are some exceptions believe or not, and so here's just a few video game movies that are actually half decent.

Silent Hill (2006)
Silent Hill manages to capture the same amount of gore and visual deformities that gamers could recognise straight from the actual video game, whilst incorporating elements from the first Silent Hill through to Silent Hill 4: The Room, making for a loosely relatable. yet gripping narrative. The movie manages to get from one point to the other but adds a gigantic dose of mystery and weird along the way, much like the game. Definitely the better adaptation, Silent Hill portrays the world, characters, themes, and monsters you know from the franchise very well, which movies such as Resident Evil failed to achieve on many different levels, but that's a completely different feature all together.

Mortal Kombat (1995)
Perhaps the cheesiest movie of all time right here, but the sheer amount of work put into it is something which should be recognised as it doesn't come across as "another lame video game movie", rather a movie that has impressive choreographed fight sequences, brilliant special effects (for the time, at least), a soundtrack that equally matches the game's atmosphere, and characters who stay true to their narratives from the game. Its narrative is largely generic and predictable, but it doesn't matter because there's enough action taking place on-screen that distracts you from the flaws. Don't bother with the Street Fighter movie, Mortal Kombat is where it's at. 

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
This is a tricky one because you ultimately have to play the game to really appreciate Advent Children, so if you plan on watching this without doing so, you're bound to be massively disappointed as a lot won't make much sense. However, as a viewer going into this having played the game once or twice, there's so much to appreciate, whether it's the impressive CGI, which is almost a preview of what a Final Fantasy VII remake would look like. The narrative isn't hugely strong, but it's engaging enough to keep you interested, especially when you get to see what the characters from the game are up to now. An incredible score accompanies some hectic, often fast-paced battle scenes, including Bahamut itself - check it out.

Unfortunately, the list for worst video adaptations massively outweighs the other - but keep in mind, no matter how good or bad a video game movie is, they seem to more than often make a gigantic amount of money at the box office, and that could be down to the novelty of it all. Whilst the Super Mario Bros. movie is truly awful, it's still weirdly enjoyable to watch because it relates to a video game we all know and love - deep down you know you'll watch practically every video game movie as long as you have an interest in the game itself. Does it mean you're going to watch the best movie ever? Absolutely not, but they're weirdly satisfying anyway.

Sunday, 27 July 2014

FEATURE: Remakes That Are Actually Worth Watching


For the most part, remakes of movies often turn out quite terrible, not doing much justice to the original. This can lead to frustration as you feel as a dedicated fan of a particular movie, you've sort of been betrayed as that iconic and timeless movie has been turned into a complete mockery. However, there's the rare occasion that remakes turn out to be much more than you expected, something that for the most part stays true to its original counterpart, whilst providing an all-round fresh perspective. Here's some remakes that are absolutely worth your time.

Scarface (1983)
Surprisingly, a lot of people are still unaware this is a remake of the original 1932 movie. Well, it's not that surprising considering the amount of success the 1983 remake has had since its release - and it's success it rightfully deserves as Al Pacino once again pulls off one of the best performances in cinema history, making for a remake which can be watched over and over, whilst maintaining a level of entertainment that keeps you engaged consistently. It's fair to say Scarface has comfortably stole any limelight the original had, but its worth checking out both movies either way.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
When a horror movie is remade, you don't generally expect good results - often the original narrative is completely butchered (no pun intended) and the characters are for some reason always annoying without meaning to be. However, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake took a big risk as the original was already a massive cult hit, so if the remake turned out bad, a lot of people wouldn't be very happy. Fortunately, it's one of the best horror remakes ever, which ticks all the right boxes, whilst throwing in a healthy dose of creative death scenes as well as a Leatherface that is just as terrifying, if not more.

Halloween (2007)
Instead of going off-track completely like a lot of other horror remakes, director Rob Zombie took the original formula and altered it in a way that suited his other movies, which are generally popular among horror fans, and so when it was revealed he'd be tackling the Halloween remake, you practically knew what kind of style the movie would be. It's massively bloody and violent, whilst containing a gripping narrative as well as a reimagined Michael Myers which seemed to surprisingly well.

The Departed (2006)
Pretty confident I'm not alone here, but it seems to be the general consensus that America like to ruin foreign movies, but there's occasionally the exception, which is The Departed - a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong flick; Infernal Affairs. There's so much going on here that is able to define The Departed as the better version, whether it's the casting, the immense amount of tension played upon throughout, and other themes that aren't for the faint of heart, whilst providing a quirky twisted sense of humour. 

Three Men And A Baby (1987)
Although it's massively predictable and generally ridiculous, Three Men And A Baby is still one of the better remakes due to its ability to make you laugh and feel good through comedy that really isn't that funny in the slightest, yet you'll still find yourself giggling quite a bit anyway. A movie with Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Gutternberg on the same screen is certainly "interesting" to say the least, but their chemistry works very well and is perfectly suited to this type of movie.

Honorable mentions...
12 (2007)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
King Kong (2005)
Let Me In (2010)
The Fly (1986)
3:10 To Yuma

Don't bother with this lot...
A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)
Psycho (1998)
The Karate Kid (2010)
The Wicker Man (2006)
Friday The 13th (2009)
My Bloody Valentine (2009)
Prom Night (2008)