Just say no...to movie remakes

It seems my buddy Tom Novak expects me to expose myself to the Day the Earth Stood Still remake and save him the heartache of having to do so. Alas, Tom, I will not be reporting here on TDTESS while it’s in theaters; my review will come, if indeed it ever does come, sometime after it’s gone to DVD or cable.

Generally, I avoid remakes. Sure, once in a very great while, a remake does the original proud; Phil Kaufman’s 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers immediately comes to mind. But more often than not, today’s remakes spring from movies that were so perfect the first time, there’s no need to re-do them at all. Groaners from the past few years include unnecessary new versions of The Manchurian Candidate, King Kong (1976 and 2005), Cape Fear, Breathless, The Ladykillers, Halloween, Psycho, and Planet of the Apes. And there are reports that we should expect do-overs of the sci-fi classics Robocop and Escape from New York. Why God oh why?

So, no, Tom, don’t expect a report on Keanu Reeves’ spin on Klaatu anytime soon. I’d much rather pop the 1951 masterpiece into my Blu-Ray and enjoy myself.