The curse gathers in the next place of death, says the opening subtitles. You just have to love how such a nice house is considered a place of death. Give me a nice house with a ghost over my current apartment any day of the week. Now that’s a horror movie. While “Ju-On” was a pleasant horror flick, I am one of many who thought “The Grudge” was simply a horrible movie. Void of any atmosphere, and completely missing the point of the original, turning Kayako into a run of the mill monster, as opposed to her actual purpose in the original. Well, here’s the sequel, and it’s actually no different. It’s repetitive, it feels like three hours, and there’s really no character you can root for.
Tag Archives: Remake
Poseidon (2006)
From the beginning, “Poseidon” sets up pins for the potential humongous tidal wave to knock down one by one, and it couldn’t be more obvious if they tried. There’s the over protective father who built the ship, there’s Kevin Dillon playing the worm once again, there’s the independent daughter of the ship’s builder whose boyfriend has an “I’m fucked” sign over his head from minute one, there’s Freddy Rodriguez as a waiter who is hauling his wife aboard secretly. Gee, they may as well have targets on their asses. It’s interesting to note, Rodriguez, one of the few minorities in this corn fed remake, receives the most gruesome, and early death of the entire cast. Curious.
The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” is in fact a remake of the Hong Kong Crime Thriller “Infernal Affairs” which has basically the same plot line, and sense of dread. Scorsese approaches the crime thriller yet again, with his version of the exceptional crime thriller, now set in the mean streets of Boston, and not the murky landscape of Korea. The narrative is basically the same, and Scorsese doesn’t seem to think he can do better than the original film, so he copies the original film verbatim, save for the ending. One big crime syndicate, one big police department. Both are at war. In both teams, the plot slowly unveils and we learn that in the syndicate there is a mole from the police department feeding information back to HQ, while there happens to be a mole from the syndicate in power at the police department distorting information
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
Liebesman’s direction is very tight, with much more suspense and atmosphere this time around. When we set down on the four teens being ravaged by the psychotic family, we can instantly gain a sense of futility and sheer dread that otherwise was lacking from the remake. And that helps because “The Beginning” is a much more entertaining entry than the remake was. The acting is better from Ermy this time around, and the basic characters fleshed out slightly more to where they’re less walking victims, and more human drawing slightly more sympathy. And it’s also a plus to watch Jordrana Brewster and Diora Baird run around screaming and giving their surefire scream queen routines. Brewster is a much more sympathetic heroine, and Baird’s “busty babe victim” role is pulled off with as much gusto it requires.
Cinema Crazed's Worst 10 of 2006…
10. The Lake House
Yet another cheesy marketing ploy. Watch the cardboard cut out and America’s Sweetheart who hasn’t had a hit in years team again to star in one of the stupidest most absurd romance dramas ever made. A man communicates with a woman through a mailbox that can travel two years into the future. Why such a weird number? Who knows. Regardless, the time differences are barely noticable, the entire film is soapy, and the mailbox becomes an irrelevant plot device in the second half as suddenly, these two get the power to change time to fit their romance. Goody. Correction: Crappy.
Doogal (2006)
“Doogal” is basically representative of everything that’s wrong with CGI animation. Everyone is out to be as hip as possible and mimic the success of “Shrek,” that they lose touch with story, characterization, and plot elements the audience can enjoy. I always tend to give the animated films the benefit of the doubt and half the time I’m rewarded. “Doogal” was punishment. It has all the basic principles of a kid’s film but no idea how to get in touch with the heart animation should have. There’s the rabbit Jimmy Fallon singing “You Really Got Me,” and the leader of the land watching the landscape while “It’s Magic” blares in the background. By the time the eighteenth pop culture reference was spewed out in the first ten minutes, I was ready to pack it in.
I Ran Out of Paper…
By Trevor Gentry Birnbaum