Lets Reboot the Remake

The film industry seems to go through phases of chucking out hundreds of rebooted or remade films. We are currently experiencing one of these phases. Spiderman, Total Recall, Robocop and superman
are just a few of the more recent films in the process of being remade/rebooted. But, why do this?
There are different answers to this question depending on whether the film is classed as a reboot or remake. So to answer the question you have to understand the difference between the two. I'm not trying to patronise you, but I know that lots of people don't know the difference and I didn't until a little while ago.
A reboot tends to involve a franchise like Batman, Star Trek, Superman and Spiderman. These are more common than remakes. Batman has undergone four reboots since 1989 and Star Trek has undergone three reboots.
A remake involves a single film like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Total Recall. You only ever really see one remake. It seems silly to remake a remake.

So, back to the question...Why do they do this? Reboots tend to be made due to demand. I love the fact that if, as an audience, we moan enough we can get a film rebooted. Remakes tend to be made for two reasons, the first being out of love. A producer/director might want to make it because they loved the original and wanted to see what they could do with it. These types of remakes never really live up to expectations. The other reason could be because the original was awful and a producer/directer thinks they can do better. The main underlining reason for reboots and remakes is money. The film industry is here to make money by entertaining us. If they find something that works, they will keep making it until it stops working. The film industry in a nutshell. (Independent films are the exception to the rule)

There is a case where I feel that a film has been falsely branded a remake. The large majority of people who saw the 2003 film The Italian Job thought it was bad because it wasn't as good as the original and I agree. It's nothing compared to the 1969 Italian Job, but I don't see it as a remake. In the film they clearly state they're going to do the Italian job when their original plan fails. It's a film where the characters are inspired by a film.

There are also some cases where I don't believe films should be rebooted/remade. I recently read that Lionsgate had no immediate plans to reboot the Twilight franchise. This implies that they are thinking about it and it'll probably be sooner rather than later. I beg you not to do this, it's had its time and I wish to forget it (sorry Twihards). Let it fall into history.
While I'm begging, I ask that Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings not be remade. They were truly wonderful films and nothing will ever match them, so don't try.

Image: The after and before shots of recent reboots/remakes.

(note: When 'twihards' is put into spellcheck it suggests twats and twits :D)

Avengers Assemble (2012)

...And it all leads to this. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. One of the greatest superhero movies to date and probably of all time.

*Major Spoiler Alert* I recommend seeing the film before reading on.
When Loki and his alien army threaten to take over the world, Nick Fury and his tam of 'supers' must come together to save us from disaster.

We've met the characters before, but are they any different or better? I think so.
Captain America/Steve Rogers, leader of the Avengers didn't really leave a major impression on me as I found him forgettable. However, he has improved. He'd moved away from the sickly man to the empowered super soldier that he is supposed to be. He was more leader like and in control.
Iron Man/Tony Stark was his usual cocky self, but he underwent some character development. He went from being a self-obsessed genius to someone who would give his life to save others. Although this was somewhat predictable, I did like it. It made him more loveable. Beneath that metal suit is a mushy man.
Thor seemed to be going through a rough time, which made he a bit down. This could be due to the fact that he can't see his true love and his brother is trying to take over the world he loves (again). I just wanted give him a hug. He did have some great moments, godly moments.
You learn a lot about Black Widow in the Avengers. She hasn't always fought on the side of good, but she's trying to make up for it. You discover her weakness and that if you tried to hurt them she would go all kick-ass on you like in Iron Man 2.
Hawkeye encounters a few problems  in the film. It's a bad day for some when Loki takes over your mind and makes you kill people. You don't really see much of him in Thor, but in this you really see his skill set. Give the man a bow and arrow, and he could probably hit an apple on top of a moving vehicle, whilst abseiling down a building. I think he's awesome for a 'normal' person.
Loki, my favourite Avengers villain returns to reap some more havoc. He seems slightly like a stroppy child because he's not getting enough attention. I got the feeling that I didn't really know what was going on inside his head and i don't think he knows either. All you know is that he wants us to obey him. He looked ill and tired in the Avengers and this makes him seem more human. I also wanted to give him a hug.
Finally, the most impressive character of all, Bruce Banner a.k.a Hulk. The previous interpretations in my opinion weren't very good, but Mark Ruffalo's was brilliant. I liked the fact that Banner was portrayed as having accepted the fact that he had a 'problem' and that it didn't entirely rule his life. I also liked that he referred to the Hulk as The Other Guy. The CGI Hulk was also an improvement on the previous because he actually looked like Mark Ruffalo.  My favourite scene of the entire film involves him and you have to look out for it. the other Avengers have been fighting for a while and then he turns up. Best scene.

The majority of the Avenger's is set on Earth. The focus of the battle is New York and what I assume was the CGI destruction of the city was amazing. Although you knew it was CGI, it actually looked real, unlike the New York in Captain America. Stark Tower was an impressive looking building. I liked the fact that it was at the centre of the battle and it seemed to be practically untouched. There were only a few windows smashed. I also like the fact that the letter A(vengers) was the only one remaining from the Stark sign...coincidence I think not.
The sky ship has been used in previous films before (Sky Captain of the World), but this is the first that could really disappear. There could be one hovering over your house right now and you wouldn't know. I probably wouldn't go up there myself, but it is a good idea for a secret government agencies hideout.
Lastly, the most impressive 'set' of all was the alien home. It was really dark and mysterious. You couldn't see very much, but it looked like a place you wouldn't want to stay because it was stark and mountainous. It also looked like it was floating on clouds.

The narrative was slightly predictable, but great all the same. In terms of forming the Avengers it followed a similar structure to other films. At first all of the members don't get on and then someone (Loki) kills someone (Agent Coulson) that they all care about. So they form a team to defeat the murderer. I particularly liked this because Agent Coulson had been in all of the films so we were all emotionally attached to him and wanted them to avenge his death. It was truly a sad moment when he died. I had hoped that he wouldn't die :(
Obviously being a superhero film there had to be some fighting, but it wasn't just between the goodies and baddies. The battle between Iron Man, Thor and Captain America was both great and funny because neither one could get the upper hand and they ended up destroying more of the island than each other. The funniest fight was between Loki and Hulk. Loki states, 'I'm a God.' Hulk reacts in a Tom and Jerry fashion by bashing Loki back and forth into the floor.
As I've already said there are some funny scenes. A lot of the humour comes from the dialogue, but there are some scenes were the action makes you laugh. For example; just after the Hulk and Thor have defeated the flying whale things, Hulk punches Thor. I personally think that the humour is what makes the film great. A large part of the humour revolves around the 'bromance' formed between Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. They're perfect for each other. Two geniuses that are in love with each others scientific work.
The good thing about Avengers Assemble is that it answers all of the questions left over from the previous films. You discover what the cube is actually for and how Thor can return to Earth. You also find out what happened to Red Skull.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film and it definitely deserves to be the third highest grossing film of all time. I was amazing to have all the superheroes in one film and I hope there is more to come. Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 are due to be released next year and Captain America 2 the year after that.

Beautiful Blogger Awards



Until yesterday I had never heard of the Beautiful Blogger Awards and I'm amazed that I was even nominated. I wasn't expecting anyone to read my blog, I just wanted to write about my love of Film. I've only just started and I feel that I have a lot more to say. So, thank you for showing me that someone reads my blog.
Seven amazingly, probably mundane facts about me.

1. I have an evil name and there are stories behind the different choices that parents had. My name is Emily Rose Lindsay. Firstly, my dad is a gardener and ironically there is a rose named Emily. It's a peachy colour and it's rare. Secondly, having the last name Lindsay is not fun. Every two seconds someone calls me Lindsay and every time I have to correct them, 'No, that's my last name.' :P Plus, there are about six hundred (over exaggeration) spellings of Lindsay. It's the Scottish way. Not SEY, LYN. It's spelt properly. Final, my parents thought it would have been funny to call me Lynsey Lindsey Lindsay. Thank God they didn't.
2. I have hyper-mobile joints which means I'm more flexible that you normal people. It's not as severe as others, but I like to see it as I'm next step in evolution and it seems to have failed.
3. I'm a geek. I can quote some films and TV programmes word for word. I remember hundreds of facts about TV and film. Ask me a question and I can probably answer it. I have a t-shirt with a wookiee on it.
4. Apparently the worst thing I did was learn to talk (according to my mum). In our family it's known as verbal diarrhoea. I will talk and talk and talk. It annoys everyone and even me. I'm doing it right now in this blog post.
5. I have a fear of many things starting with the letter S. Steep Stairs, Spiders, Snakes and Sports I don't enjoy.
6. I have two cats, if that's what you can call them. Poppy, who is more like a dog and her sister Lily, who is grumpy. They're nearly 10 and they're both totally mad. I think we may have done something wrong.
7. I am quite tall for a girl. I'm 5ft 10 1/2inchs (the 1/2 counts) and I have six 9 feet.

Now for the my favourite blogs.
http://curiositything.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/beautiful-blogger-award.html This is the first lovely lady to nominate me. She writes a variety of blog posts that are funny, meaningful and brilliant.

http://thegirlwiththegreenumbrella.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/i-just-got-nominated-for-beautiful-blog.html This  is the second lovely lady to nominate me. She wants to be a journalist and this is her platform. She writes about life in general and she is one of my closest friends.

http://lightsoutwordsflow.blogspot.co.uk/ Although my friend hasn't written for a while I would like to nominate him because he is an amazing writer and deserves to be noticed. :)

http://highlyamusingurl.blogspot.co.uk/ I would also like to nominate this lovely lady. She's totally random when it comes to writing her blog and I can guarantee that you will enjoy reading her blog.

This is what to do now:

Put down seven facts about yourself,

Link to the blog of the person who nominated you,

Link to blogs who you think deserve the award,

Let these bloggers Know,

Simple as that.

Avengers Assemble: Captain America

I would like to apologise for the lateness of this blog post. I have exams to revise for and I got a new job. I blame the Avengers for coming out in the middle of my exams. I shall post this, but you may have to wait for my Avengers Assemble review.

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The final avenger to be created for our viewing pleasure, but the first to assemble. Captain America: The First Avenger was released shortly after Thor in 2011.

Set during World War II, the film follows Steve Rogers transformation from a sickly man to super-soldier, Captain America. To aid the war effort Rogers must stop Adolf Hitler's head of weaponry, Red Skull and his attempts at world domination.

Unlike the other Avengers, Captain America is packed full with British stars. The first of which plays the strong and independent Peggy Carter. Hayley Atwell depicts the character having two sides; the caring woman and the strict British agent (to the surprise of the male characters). Dominic Cooper players super genius, Howard Star, the father of Tony Stark. They have very similar characteristics (cocky, big headed, rich and smart) and they actually look quite similar. Another British Star is Toby Jones who seems to pop up in lots of American films. The recent Hunger Games star, plays Dr. Amin Zola, Red Skull's kind-of sidekick. He doesn't seem very evil, but I personally get the feeling that without Red Skull he would have taken over the world.

Now onto the THE American. Captain America, Steve Rogers is played by Chris Evans. His character is very unlike the other avengers as he is shy, caring and quite. It seems like he doesn't believe what is happening to him and you want to give him a big hug. The only minor problem I have is that Chris Evan has already played a superhero (Human Torch in Fantastic Four) and I feel that there is a slight expectation that the two characters will be similar. But, as I said, only a minor problem. Finally the villain, Red Skull played by Hugo Weaving. There is no doubt that Red Skull is evil as he is the head of weaponry in Adolf Hitler's regime. I personally feel that the character is lacking something and I don't think he is evil enough.

There are both good and bad points in terms of the setting. I loved the fact it was set in Brooklyn during World War II because I love that era and city. I also liked the use of Flushing Meadows because it links nicely to Iron Man. The bad point was that Brooklyn didn't look very real. you could easily tell that it was CGI and it made it hard to focus on what was happening.

The narrative followed the similar superhero story. You see what Steve Rogers was like before and how he becomes Captain America. This part of the narrative I found really interesting because you could see why they needed him and what they do to him. To cut a long story short, Steve Rogers ends up fighting in the war where he meets Red Skull and has to defeat him. Out of all of the avengers film, I found this to be the most forgettable in terms of narrative. (Sorry Captain America fans)

As per usual there are links to the other films. The most obvious being Howard STARK as I mentioned earlier, but there are some more subtle links. When Red Skull grabs the cube, the world of Asgard appears in the air (I had to point this out to my brother on multiple occasions) and Nick Fury makes an appearance at the end.

Over all I did enjoy the film, but it didn't really stand out for me. I would happily sit down and watch it again and I will pay money to buy it, but I personally prefer Iron Man and Thor.