Remakes...

...sometimes it shouldn't be done.

Granted, there are some really decent, sometimes even really good, ones out there. But on the other hand, there are really terrible things and well..... I don't know if scientists have perfected the ability to unsee things yet.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some remakes, so I can't just generalize the whole remake genre. Surprisingly, they're not all crap! Some are actually just as good (or possibly surpassed) their originals.

Ring(novel)/Ringu(Japan)/the Ring(US)--
What remake list wouldn't contain the famous Ring series? I enjoyed both movies and the novel. I found the largest change to be the jump from the novel to the original movie.

Ju On(Japan)/the Grudge(US)--
I loved the Ju On series, both theatre and TV. They actually gave me chills. However, the US remake(which I went to see only out of sick curiosity) made me want to vomit in my mouth. I suppose that's a bit harsh... it had a few points... however, it was just rehashed scenes instead of being original through use of used scenes. I throughly didn't like the remake.

the Eye(China)/the Eye(US)--
I liked the original Eye, it was interesting. However, through my immense hatred of Jessica Alba, I refuse to watch the remake. It might be decent, but I would be too busy mentally crushing Alba's skull instead of paying attention to the movie.

Wanted(graphic novel)/Wanted(movie)--
This is what infuriates me the most. I've read the graphic novel and it was a weird ride. I understand taking artistic license and, while basing a movie on a book, things are bound to get changed (re: Harry Potter, etc.) But this... the whole premise of the story was changed. It's no longer the Wanted story, but now some action movie that's stripped the Wanted story's skin off, threw it on and is now parading itself as the Wanted-based-movie with Angelina "mushy lips" Jolie in it. However, it's got Morgan Freeman in it, so it might actually be some sort of interesting.

Coupling(UK)/Coupling(US)--
British comedy is something that I grew up on, with the three main contenders being: Monty Python as an adolescent, Absolutely Fabulous as a teen and Coupling as a twenty-something. When I found out that Coupling was being remade in the US, I was less than enthusiastic. I couldn't see the US version pulling off the same smart/funny that the UK version did. And I was right: the US version was canceled after 4 episodes.

Speaking of UK to US shows: Sanford and Son started out as a UK show called Steptoe and Son.

Silent Hill(game)/Silent Hill(movie)--
So far, Silent Hill has the best video game to movie transition to date. Granted, the film does have it's flaws, but it also had a lot of good points. I applauded the use of the games' soundtrack, the nurses, the shots that brought scenes of the games to mind, the appearance of Pyramid Head and the main character's name being 'Rose' :)

A Tale of Two Sisters is being remade and I don't know what I'm to think about that. A Tale of Two Sisters is one of my favorite movies. It's a Korean movie about (you guessed it) two sisters. The cinematography and the lush color is certainly what caught my eye first about this movie. I'm just not sure that the US remake is going to be able to bring that same combo of intensity and subtlety over.