Sweet Christmas, I can't believe I haven't joined Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks since August 16. What am I even doing with my blog, am I right?! Anyway, it's good remakes week and I just couldn't miss it as it is so hard to find good remakes and I wanted to share some of my favourites with you.
The Departed (2006)
A young cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes undercover and infiltrates the mob syndicate, and a young criminal (Matt Damon) infiltrates the state police as an informer for the syndicate. A remake of the Asian Infernal Affairs, Martin Scorsese's film is thrilling and suspenceful, the characters have depth and the dialogue is excellent.
An Italian Name (2015)
A father-to-be (Alessandro Gassmann) is invited for dinner by his sister (Valeria Golino) and his brother-in-law (Luigi Lo Cascio). When he announces the name he picked for his future son, the hosts objects to it, and the situation gets out of hand. A remake of the French What's In a Name?, it just as fun and entertaining as the original, but character-wise, it's way better. It goes beyond the stereotypes of the original and provides a beautiful portrayal of people colliding with each other.
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
When their small village is once again attacked by Calvera (Eli Wallach) and his banditos, three Mexican farmers hire seven gunfighters to help defend their homes. A remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, it is a magnificent western that shows how, in times of need, different people can work together and learn from each other. I even prefer this one to the original as it is better paced and definitely more entertaining.
I've only seen The Departed, which I love. I need to see Infernal Affairs.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as good as the remake but it's still worth the time.
DeleteThe Magnificent Seven/Seven Samurai is a great choice. Both films are strong in their own ways and very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of your second choice, and I like those actors, but until now it was unknown to me.
The Departed well....I hate that film with a passion!! I love the Scorsese films on either side of it, The Aviator & Shutter Island, but I couldn't get out of the theatre fast enough for this thing. It's turned me off from ever wanting to see Infernal Affairs.
It seems most remakes are disappointing but when I was working this up it turned out that there are quite a few which turned out well.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)-Freshly released from prison Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has a plan to pull off an elaborate heist of several Las Vegas casinos. He looks up his old pal Rusty (Brad Pitt) and together they gather a group of con men with various skill sets to pull it off. Excitement and merriment follow. The original Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin Rat Pack version has the germ of a very good idea and a very lackadaisical execution, the sequel improves on that idea in every aspect….well I wouldn’t say Julia Roberts is the equal of Angie Dickinson but otherwise it’s golden.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)-In the Old West impoverished farmer Dan Evans (Christian Bale) hires on with Pinkerton men to transport outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) through the hardscrabble trip to Contention to be put on the 3:10 train to Yuma and prison. Through the many hardships on the trail the two men form a grudging respect for each other which is sorely tested when Wade’s gang is waiting at the end of the journey. Hard, tough minded Western is based very closely on the excellent 50’s version of the same name that stars Van Heflin & Glenn Ford in Bale & Crowe’s roles. Both very entertaining films the ’07 version benefits from the flashy supporting turn of Ben Foster as unhinged henchman Charlie Prince.
Enchanted April (1992)-In 1920’s London upper middle class housewife Lottie Wilkins (Josie Lawrence) is neglected by her business minded husband and yearns to escape the constant rain and gloom of the city. Sensing her church acquaintance Rose Arbuthnot (Miranda Richardson) is in the same fix she proposes they rent an Italian villa for the month of April. Realizing they can’t quite afford it themselves they advertise for other ladies who might be interested. They receive only two replies, Caroline Dester (Polly Walker), a beautiful socialite seeking refuge from an endless string of facile admirers and Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright) a crusty, closed off lady who lives in her memories. After a hellious journey and a bumpy start the four women come under the spell of the beauty of the Italian villa (the cinematography is amazing) and surrounding grounds leading to a life changing experience. Based on a bestselling novel and originally filmed in a staid 30’s version (though with a good cast including Frank Morgan and Ann Harding) this adds a half an hour to the running time and vivid color to flesh out the story.
I'm sorry to hear that you hate The Departed. I loved it so much.
DeleteOcean's Eleven is the only I've seen of your picks. I haven't seen the original, but the remake with Clooney is so good.
3:10 to Yuma is already on my watchlist, both versions, but I'm not so much into westerns so I don't know when or if I'll watch them.
I've seen 2 of these picks and their original versions. I haven't seen An Italian Name though I'm sure it's an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteIt is and, to my surprise, the Italian remake was well executed.
DeleteI also went with The Departed. Great movie. I'm also a fan of The Magnificent Seven, even the 2016 remake of that remake.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the 2016 remake yet but I'm planning to. I'm sure it won't be as good as the first remake but I feel like it's gonna be fun.
DeleteI love your picks although I have not seen your second film but I know about it. The Departed is an excellent film even though it’s grim. I love The Magnificent Seven and find it fun and exciting. I always laugh about the antics of Steve McQueen behind the scenes and that a German plays a cowboy (Horst Bucholtz)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the German playing a cowboy.
Delete