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Recent Posts
- 42 (2013) vs. Remember the Titans (2000)
- Admission (2013) vs. About a Boy (2002)
- Oz the Great and Powerful (2012) vs. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
- Dark Skies (2013) vs. Dark Skies (1996)
- Oscar Wrap-Up 2013
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) vs. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Oscar Smack-a-thon!
- The Tiersky Top Ten, 2012
- Smackdown Smacks Down the 2013 Oscar Nominees
- Broken City (2013) vs. City Hall (1996)
- Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
- Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
Recent Comments
- courtney on Brave (2012) -vs- Mulan (1998)
- Elvin Hence on POTC: On Stranger Tides (2011) -vs- POTC: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- Edward on The Thing (2011) -vs- The Thing (1982)
- » Movie Review – The Grey Fernby Films on Taken 2 (2012) -vs- Taken (2008)
- » Movie Review – Les Misérables Fernby Films on Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
- scottderricksonrocks on The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
- SciFi lover on The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
- Edward on The Thing (2011) -vs- The Thing (1982)
- Wesley Martin on The Walking Dead (AMC) -vs- Falling Skies (TNT)
- James on The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) vs. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Category Archives: Re-Make
Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
If you count Christopher Reeve (ignoring the earlier Kirk Alyn “Superman”) as the original fully-realized film Superman in 1978′s “Superman: The Movie”, that makes Brandon Routh’s 2006 “Superman Returns” the reboot and 2013′s “Man of Steel” the reboot of the reboot.
But don’t forget the TV Supermans: George Reeves from “Adventures of Superman” to John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher in “Superboy” to Dean Cain in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” to Tom Welling in “Smallville.”
Our latest Smashup pays tribute to the reality that we’re almost getting to the point where as many actors have played Superman/Clark Kent as have played Hamlet. Continue reading
Posted in Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, Comic Book, Major Star Vehicle, Re-Make, Smackdown News
Tagged alien, blockbuster, book adaptation, box office, films, remake, sci-fi, sequel, superhero, Superman
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Christian Bale as Batman -vs- Little David as Spider-Man
Remember the angry f***-word rant that Christian Bale went on a few years ago? How about little David, the kid coming home from the dentist, stoned out of his mind? We’ve never forgotten them. We’ve just dressed them up in … Continue reading
Posted in Animated, Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, Bryce Zabel, Comic Book, Coming of Age, Drama, Major Star Vehicle, Re-Make, Sci-Fi, Smackdown News, SmashUp!, Smashups
Tagged Batman, blockbuster, Bryce Zabel, Christian Bale, comedy, comic, Comic-Con, DC, Edd Hall, film, graphics, Hollywood, little David, Marvel, mash-up, profanity, rant, review, sci-fi, SDCC, smashup, SONY, Spider-Man, superhero, Tonight Show, trailer, University of Oregon, video, Warner, YouTube
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THE THING: Back Again After Being Back Again the First Time
Despite the fact that people from around the world go to Antarctica in the spirit of friendship and scientific cooperation (more or less), in the movies it is usually a setting for Something Bad That Is About to Happen.
The Thing has been made before. In the first go-round, it was The Thing from Another World in 1951. Three decades later, 1982, it was just The Thing and in the hands of John Carpenter. Now, another three decades later, 2011, it’s still The Thing, only constructed now to serve as a prelude and not a remake of Carpenter’s classic version. Continue reading
Posted in Action, Alien/UFO, Apocalypse, Re-Make, Sci-Fi, Sequel
Tagged aliens, Antarctica, extraterrestrial, ice, invasion, John Carpenter, spaceship, tundra, UFO
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Conan the Barbarian (2011) -vs- Conan the Barbarian (1982)
WHAM! This is the heaviest of heavyweight Smackdowns. In this bout, we pit two behemoths against each other, 2011’s Conan the Barbarian remake and its lower-tech but equally brawny 1982 predecessor of the same name. Both are based on the enduringly popular book series by young pulp writer Robert E. Howard, and are set in a quasi-medieval world full of sword-swinging marauders and evil sorcerers. Conan is very much in the first camp, raised and trained from birth to be a tough, brutally effective warrior. As a result, he grows into a muscular mass of human being, personified by bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-king of California Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first film, and the brooding, immense Jason Momoa in the remake.
Both of these movies, then, bring hundreds of pounds of lethal fury to this Smackdown. The ring will thunder, the arena will shake. True to their natures, both films will shed gallons of blood. Which Conan will stagger away with the victory? Continue reading
Posted in Action, Re-Make
Tagged Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cimmeria, Conan, fantasy, Game of Thrones, Hyborian Age, Jason Momoa, Lord of the Rings, Robert E. Howard, sword
14 Comments
Clash of the Titans 3D (2010) -vs- Clash of the Titans (1981)
This material is elastic, not sacrosanct, so cranking up the popcorn factor is not the worst thing. The new “Clash” serves up a new generation of actors you may not expect: Neeson and Fiennes and Sam Worthington (looking – with his buzz cut – like this flick could have been titled “Clash of the Avatars.” The computer generated effects give special life to the various creatures, the snake-haired Medusa and the world-killing Kraken. Ray Harryhausen is still watching movies at age 90. I think he’d be impressed with that, but not in 3-D. Honestly, the conversion is unsatisfying. It makes the compositions look like those crude cutouts on a 3-D postcard. If you enjoy this type of movie, save a few bucks and catch it in 2-D. James Cameron (“Avatar”) had it right all along: “If you want to make a movie in 3-D, make the movie in 3-D.”
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Posted in Action, Mark Sanchez, Re-Make
Tagged 3D, cheesy, legend, mythology, remake, titans
7 Comments
Chloe (2010) -vs- Fatal Attraction (1987)
If you’ve ever been loved by somebody too tightly, then you know how scary it could be to let someone in your life and then not know how to extricate yourself from their smothering grasp. The trick in erotic thrillers like “Chloe” and “Fatal Attraction” is execution. Too far on one side of the spectrum, they become cerebral. Too far on the other side, they become unintentionally comedic.
Although “Fatal Attraction” defined this genre back in the late 80s, it’s been re-visited over the years in films like “The Hand That Rocked the Cradle” and “Single White Female,” and now it gets brought to life again in “Chloe.” All I can say before we begin is that seeing these two back-to-back is enough to drive the average person to mandatory background checks on all potential lovers. Be afraid, be very afraid.
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Posted in ChickFlick, Drama, Erotic, Foreign, HotSmack, Re-Make, Romance, Suspense, Thriller
Tagged affairs, cheating, coffee, desire, lesbianism, lipstick, obsession, prostitution, sexuality
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The Wolfman (2010) -vs- The Wolf Man (1941)
Werewolf movies, like roaches, don’t know how to die. The idea of a thick pelt, fangs and a taste for blood spawned seven decades of cinema lycanthropes with uneven results. Now it’s Benicio Del Toro’s turn. “The Wolfman” just hit the screen after multiple re-shoots and reedits amid sniping that the Hairy One just wasn’t beastly enough. You’ll recognize a familiar – and highly modified – storyline buried under the computer-generated effects, fog-shrouded moors and insistent sound track.
“The Wolfman” wants to sink its canines into the gold standard of the werewolf franchise, “The Wolf Man” from 1941. That movie defined the career of Lon Chaney Jr. career and made him a star. Here’s the ‘Smackdown: Does “The Wolfman” raise the bar.. or fall in with the rest of the pack?
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Posted in Horror, Mark Sanchez, Re-Make
Tagged classic, Horror, lycanthrope, remake, wolf
4 Comments
Edge of Darkness (2010) -vs- The Brave One (2007)
High stakes for Mel Gibson these days. As an actor he’s been off the screen.. and uncomfortably in the headlines.. the past half-dozen years. I’m not the only person wondering if audiences would remember Mel Gibson for what he said on screen.. or for what he said during a drunk driving arrest.
So here he comes in the remake of “Edge of Darkness.” This carefully chosen material calls out all the character elements that define Gibson’s screen work: emotional intensity, a violated sense of right and wrong, and few qualms about a violent response.
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Posted in Action, Major Star Vehicle, Mark Sanchez, Re-Make
Tagged comeback, remake, Revenge, violence
5 Comments
The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) -vs- Crimson Tide (1995)
People trapped inside the cold steel of big machines. Check.
Ticking clocks relentlessly counting down to disaster. Check.
Battles of will between A-list actors. Check again.
Director Tony Scott must have known he had a good thing in 1995′s Crimson Tide and was looking to repeat it with this year’s re-make of the classic The Taking of Pelham 123. As far as action directors go, Scott (brother of Ridley) is in the very elite. He makes movies that are almost always worth the price of a ticket at the cineplex. The best are tense, scary, hard-edged ones where his screenwriters give him high stakes and the dialogue to support them (often for Denzel Washington) and then he paces the hell out of the film itself. We have a real fight on our hands with some Scott-on-Scott violence. Continue reading
Posted in Action, Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, Bryce Zabel, Crime, Drama, Major Star Vehicle, Re-Make, Sequel, Thriller, War
Tagged Blu-ray, Denzel Washington, extortion, Gene Hackman, global warming, hostages, launch codes, Muvico, nuclear war, nuclear winter, submarines, subways
4 Comments
Dark Skies vs. Dark Skies
Our “Dark Skies” has established itself in the minds of a significant number of science fiction fans as a gripping piece of conspiracy drama set in the world of UFOs and abductions. It anchored NBC’s Saturday night “Thrillogy” concept in the 1996 season premiere and starred Eric Close (“Nashville”) and the late film character actor J.T. Walsh (“Sling Blade”). Its main title design won the Emmy award and its pilot screenplay received a Writers Guild nomination. The Syfy Channel aired the entire series multiple times. Since 2010 there’s been a Facebook page where thousands of fans from many different countries push Sony for a TV revival. Continue reading →