Tag Archives: Oscar Isaac

Nov 23 2025

Remakes I Find Better Than the Original

So, I mostly tend to be in the camp of “leave movies alone, stop making unnecessary remakes”. But every so often, they’ll remake something that either I didn’t like the original at all, or was surprised at how much better something turned out. Here are 20 remakes that, to me, are better than the original. I’ve ranked them, but outside of my top 5, a lot of them are pretty interchangable.

NUMBER 20

Title: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Year: 2005
Remake of: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988)
Starring: Georgie Henley, William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, and Liam Neeson (voice)
Directed by: Andrew Adamson
Why it’s Better: Just for production value alone. This film is beautiful, and a very good adaptation of the book.

NUMBER 19

Title: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Year: 2003
Remake of: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Eric Balfour, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, and Andrew Bryniarski
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Why it’s Better: I absolutely hated the original. Like hated. I was surprised that I liked this one as much as I did. Sure, it’s got that glossy feeling that a lot of horror had in the 2000’s, but it’s still a lot of fun.

NUMBER 18

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Year: 1989
Remake of: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Starring: Jill Schoelen, Robert Englund, Alex Hyde-White, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Lawrence
Directed by: Dwight H Little
Why it’s Better: The original is a classic, of course, but I’m not a huge fan of silent films. This one leans much more into horror, and I’m all about that!

NUMBER 17

Title: Thirteen Ghosts
Year: 2001
Remake of: 13 Ghosts (1960)
Starring: Tony Shalhoub, Matthew Lillard, Shannon Elizabeth, Embeth Davidtz, Rah Digga, and F Murray Abraham
Directed by: Steve Beck
Why it’s Better: This is by no means a great movie. But I’ll be darned if I don’t love it to pieces! The setting of a glass house is so cool, and the ghosts look incredible!

NUMBER 16

Title: Romeo + Juliet
Year: 1996
Remake of: Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, and Pete Postlethwaite
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Why it’s Better: I do like Shakespeare’s stories, but lets be honest, most of the adaptations are stuffy affairs. This one takes the story into modern times, while still holding on the the essence of the story. Absolutely wonderful!

NUMBER 15

Title: Dawn of the Dead
Year: 2004
Remake of: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, and Kevin Zegers
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Why it’s Better: I’m generally not a fan of zombie movies, and I find the originals by Romero uninteresting. But this one is amazing. It also one of the greatest openings in horror movie history!

NUMBER 14

Title: Crime and Punishment in Suburbia
Year: 2000
Remake of: Crime and Punishment (there are so many…)
Starring: Monica Keena, Vincent Kartheiser, Ellen Barkin, Michael Ironside, Jeffrey Wright, and James DeBello
Directed by: Rob Schmidt
Why it’s Better: Boy did I love this film when it came out. I was 19, and deeply in love with Vincent Kartheiser. I’m not sure it’s a completely accurate adaptation, besides the move to modern times. But I love it.

NUMBER 13

Title: The Grudge
Year: 2004
Remake of: Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, William Mapother, Clea DuVall, Bill Pullman, and Takako Fuji
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu (who better to direct then the director of the original!)
Why it’s Better: I’m almost ashamed to say it, but I’m just not a fan of J-horror. I find it so weird and disjointed. So yes, I prefer this American remake. That noise still haunts me…

NUMBER 12

Title: The Amityville Horror
Year: 2005
Remake of: The Amityville Horror (1979)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Jesse James, Jimmy Bennett, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Rachel Nichols
Directed by: Andrew Douglas
Why it’s Better: I hated the original so very much, that literally anything would have been better. What we got was just a fun haunted house story. And who doesn’t love Ryan Reynolds?

NUMBER 11

Title: The Blob
Year: 1988
Remake of: The Blob (1958)
Starring: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, and Joe Seneca
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Why it’s Better: I have trouble with most old timey films. They have to be exceptional for me to be on board. And the ’58 version was just kinda slow and silly. This one takes that idea and cranks it up to 11. The practical effects are absolutely amazing. So much fun!

NUMBER 10

Title: Dorian Gray
Year: 2009
Remake of: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
Starring: Ben Barnes, Ben Chaplin, Colin Firth, Maryam d’Abo, and Fiona Shaw
Directed by: Oliver Parker
Why it’s Better: Two words: Ben Barnes. fans self Oh, we need more? Again, old timey movies aren’t my bag. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is actually one of my favourite books (yes, I can deal with old timey books, just not movies), and I find this version to be the superior film.

NUMBER 9

Title: The Crazies
Year: 2010
Remake of: The Crazies (1973)
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker, and Christie Lynn Smith
Directed by: Breck Eisner
Why it’s Better: Another Romero zombie film, I didn’t like it for the same reason I didn’t like his “of the Dead” series. This one ratchets everything up, and is leagues better than the original. I love the fact that it’s not dead coming back to life, but a virus that makes you homicidal. Great film.

NUMBER 8

Title: Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves
Year: 1991
Remake of: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) There have been many other adaptations of this story as well.
Starring: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, and Michael Wincott
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Why it’s Better: I find this one to be the best of all the Robin Hood films that I’ve seen (except maybe the Disney cartoon). It’s fun, it’s romantic, it’s a little silly, but oh so good!

NUMBER 7

Title: Dune
Year: 2021
Remake of: Dune (1984)
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, and Javier Bardem
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Why it’s Better: Do I really need to explain? Lynch’s Dune (1984) is one of the silliest, most confusing and disjointed movies I’ve ever seen. Dune part 2 is also excellent.

NUMBER 6

Title: The Mummy
Year: 1999
Remake of: The Mummy (1932)
Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Kevin J O’Connor, and Oded Fehr
Directed by: Stephen Sommers
Why it’s Better: Again the problem with old timey stuff. I only saw part of the original, and that was enough. This version turns it into an action adventure movie, and it’s all the better for it. Plus, 90’s Brendan Fraser? Whew fans self

NUMBER 5

Title: Sleepy Hollow
Year: 1999
Remake of: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, and Christopher Walken
Directed by: Tim Burton
Why it’s Better: I love the original cartoon, it’s very cute, but this version is the ultimate version. All the changes they made fit into the lore perfectly. This is Burton at his finest!

NUMBER 4

Title: The Ring
Year: 2002
Remake of: Ringu (1998)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, Brian Cox, and Daveigh Chase
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Why it’s Better: I tried watching the original, but I just couldn’t get into it. Not a fan of J-horror. They have good ideas, but I guess it’s a cultural difference, I just don’t get their filming style, I guess. This one was, and remains, one of my favourite films. It’s creepy, atmospheric, and very well done.

NUMBER 3

Title: Nosferatu
Year: 2024
Remake of: Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
Starring: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Why it’s Better: I just did a whole post about this film, so I won’t repeat myself here. But my god, I love this film!

NUMBER 2

Title: It
Year: 2017
Remake of: It (1990)
Starring: Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Chosen Jacobs, Wyatt Oleff, and Bill Skarsgård
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Why it’s Better: I have a love for the original since I first saw it when I was 9. Tim Curry rocked the role of Pennywise. But I can’t deny that this is the better film. Both movies, however, had trouble with their part two’s. Not bad, but really not as good.

NUMBER 1

Title: Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Year: 1992
Remake of: Dracula (1931) There have been a literal tonne of Dracula movies, some great, others laughable, but this one started it all (I know, I know, Nosferatu came first. But the 1931 version was the first authorized adaptation).
Starring: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Sadie Frost, Cary Elwes, and Richard E Grant
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Why it’s Better: I won’t deny the effect that the classics have had on modern film. Without the original Universal monsters, we might not have near as many great movies as we do. But it stands that I have trouble with old timey films. But this one. So lush, so beautiful, romantic, sometimes creepy. Simply put, perfect. Besides Keanu’s accent, of course! haha

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I had making it. I’d almost forgotten how much I like blogging (and making lists. I love lists!)

M.

Nov 13 2025

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Frankenstein

Mel’s 5 Second Review: Frankenstein (2025)
Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, and Charles Dance
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

So, for me, del Toro films are hit and miss. They’re always a visual treat, but sometimes the story just falls a little flat for me. So I didn’t know what to expect when I saw that he was remaking Frankenstein, a story that’s been done so many times already. But believe me, this one is worth the watch.

After losing his mother as a child, young Victor vows to conquer death. He follows in his father’s footsteps, and becomes a brilliant surgeon. He is approached by a man who offers to fund his research, and bring a man back to life.

This film is, of course, sumptuous and beautiful. Every little detail is perfect, the costumes, the locations, everything. Oh! And the makeup! The Creature is stunning! I saw in an interview that the full body application took 11 hours. Can you imagine?? And then the actor has to work all day! When does he sleep? But I digress… Big props to makeup artist Mike Hill and his team, wonderful work!

The film feels like a fairy tale, albeit a dark one. It’s a little gory at times, but never so much that it made me ill (except for the scene with some wolves, I literally cringed and tried to push myself into the couch. I know they weren’t real animals, but I still wish that wasn’t in there, or at least not so graphic). The acting was all superb. Oscar Isaac was fantastic, if a little manic, as the arrogant Victor. Mia Goth was beautiful and full of nuance as Elizabeth. And Christoph Waltz was amazing, as usual. But the standout for me was Jacob Elordi. I was crazy surprised by his acting chops, I thought he was just another pretty boy actor who did a few teen films. Boy was I wrong! He’s a wonderful, very physical actor, who can say so much without saying a word. His performance as the Creature is so… I’m searching for another word besides fantastic, amazing, wonderful… he’s all of those things.

And then there’s the story. To be honest, I haven’t read Franenstein since I was a kid, and remember very little of the details, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the adaptation. But the film’s story is great. I was surprised to see that it started at what seemed the end of the story, but once Victor starts to tell his tale, it makes sense. I won’t say anything else about the story because I want people to see the film going in as blind as possible, like I did. I’d only seen the teaser trailer for it, that’s all.

So do I reccomend it? Yes, yes, and more yes. I think even if you don’t like horror in general, you’ll probably like this. It’s a 10/10 from me. A truly mesmerizing piece of film.

M.

This film is currently streaming on Netflix. Enjoy!

Jul 22 2015

Review Club #6 – Agora

agora_poster05

To switch things up a little, here’s my review first (I know, I’m a wild one!):

Mel’s 10 Things About: Agora (2009)
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom, Rupert Evans, Homayoun Ershadi, Michael Lonsdale, Sami Samir

agora

So this was a pretty hard movie to watch. It had a hard time finding distributors, and yeah, I can understand why. I’m having trouble completing full ideas today, so here’s a list of my thoughts about the film. {SPOILERS AHEAD}

1. I like Rachel Weisz. She’s hot.
2. The young slave is also hot. Who’s he, and where’s he been all my life?
3. The acting ranged from decent to good.
4. The sound mixing was AWFUL. The music would blare one second and then the talking was so low it was ridiculous. My tv volume went from 12 to 34 regularly. It’s annoying.
5. I don’t understand why Davus turned so fast and became a murderous dick. Did I miss something? And don’t say it’s because she called him an idiot in the heat of the battle. He’s smarter than that.
6. It made me angry and sad to see the Library of Alexandria get trashed. “We don’t need all this stupid science when we have God”. Ugh. So much knowledge, destroyed. How much more advanced would we be now if all of that needn’t of been relearned?
7. The film just fueled my disdain and, shall I dare say, hate?, of organized religion. All of them, not just Catholicism. “It’s written in a book, so it must be so”, right? In that vein of thought, vampires are real, we’re all pod people, and werewolves occupy positions in government offices. Ridiculous.
8. The film was shot beautifully, the sets and costumes absolutely gorgeous.
9. You’d think the most disgusting character would be the Bishop in black, but he’s not. He’s evil, yes, but always was. The worst character is Hypatia’s friend, the Bishop in white, who turns on her in the blink of an eye after hearing a quote from that damned book.
10. It’s a real shame Hypatia didn’t have a Davus to kill her peacefully at the end in real life. The poor woman was stripped, stoned, dragged around town behind a horse, her body being skinned and torn to bits, then she was burned. This lady didn’t have a good go of it.

8.5/10

M.

 

Up next is Eric, from over at The IPC.

Agora AKA One Million Angry Christians in the House

I had never heard of this movie before Mel assigned it to us but I saw that it had Rachel Weisz in it so I got a little excited – I think she’s super hot and can act well sometimes. My semi-chub was reduced to nothing pretty quickly as this movie started and NOTHING happened for any amount of time. The only thing I could think of was “fuck these Egyptians are awful white” and I couldn’t keep track of any of the male characters because they ALL had white skin, black hair and had a name that were five syllables long and ended in “ius”. Erictheopolius. Ericmeniopolius. Ericmomonius, etc. So there was that and the fact that this was REALLY boring so I didn’t care. The most interesting and bizaare thing to happen was when Weisz’ character brings one of her suitors a blood stained rag and says “this is the essence of my womb” or something which I guess was her way of saying “I don’t want to go out with you”

blood rag

Then the Alexandrian Whites got angry and started killing the Christians who got mad and then started killing the Alexandrians and destroying everything so the Alexandrians converted to Christianity and then they all started throwing rocks at Jews who threw rocks back and then the Jews were all killed or exiled and Weisz figures out that the earth revolves around the sun so they stone her to death. I have to admit that this movie looks really pretty but the dialogue is atrocious and silly and it was kind of embarrassing to see Weisz commanding her slave to “Grab the bag! Just grab the bag! Do as I say and grab the bag!” during the big siege scene. Oh well – I didn’t like this very much. Say – someone once told me that my first Gravatar image looked like a “period stain” – what do you think?

theipclogo5a

2 bloody rags out of 5

 

Up next we have my darling husband Francois, over at FrankishNet.

Agora – a short review

I have mixed feelings about Agora.

The first feeling is love. I loved it. The historical accuracy and setting, the costumes, the actors. It is also original in the sense that it is an “Historical religious move”, and yet not, since it’s about science. I position myself with our heroine: there is science, the rest is not really worth believing in, as it is a tool to serve a political agenda, or to justify hate and murder. On this account, this movie brilliantly demonstrated the relationship of hate and horrifying acts justified by religion, that we live in daily still today.
No wonder they had troubles distributing the movie…

The second feeling is hate. I hated it. Already charged with political, scientific and religious turmoil, the movie was already heavy for the regular watcher. Then add in the mixed opinions on slavery and possession. Our heroine is gentle and intelligent and respects the slaves. Yet, they are still slave and are meant to obey. And that is totally normal given her birthright, upbringing and era.

However, her acts of kindness toward a slave, who is very intelligent and kind as well, are twisted and transformed in his heart, making him fall in love with his mistress. How is this represented? He asks the gods to “own” her, and ultimately kills her himself, after betraying everything he had learned with her, because she had reminded him of his slavery when the library was being taken.
Yes this adds a lot of dimension to both the movie and the character. But with a movie that was already heavy with subject matter, this felt too much and out of place. They should have left the topic of “Slaves wanting to own their mistress so badly that only them are allowed to kill them, and that is fine” out of the movie and kept it as background noise. “There are slaves. Slaves are slaves. Its the era, its fine”, and let us cry horribly when she is stoned to death, as happened in history.

So here, a good mix of hate and love. It was a very heavy movie, that does not leave you feeling good with yourself, but it did a great job at making us reflect on just how much pain are we ready to take or inflict for our believes, and if those believes aren’t just in truth disguised lust for power, or survival.

I’ll give it a solid 8/10 in its “historic” category, and a mixed 5 in “I enjoyed watching it”.
(Except for her ass. Her ass is 10/10).

 

And finally, rounding things out is Rob, from over at MovieRob.

Before Mel chose this as the next Review Club entry, I had never even heard of this and upon reading the summary, it definitely seemed interesting.

This movie does a very interesting job of trying to discuss modern seemingly contradictions between religion and science set in an ancient world.

Many people nowadays still believe that these two subjects cannot coexist in society in the same way it was believed during the time that this movie takes place 1700 years ago.

Unfortunately, despite it revolving around a very interesting subject matter, the story itself is less interesting and I actually got tired of the soap opera-esk storyline.

I didn’t find any of the male characters compelling enough for a story like this and as great a job as star Rachel Weisz does here, her role isn’t ‘meaty’ enough and in some parts of the movie even seems like she is completely wasted.

As far as historically accurate movies go, I have no idea what really happened or not in real life. Personally, I don’t go to the movies for historically accurate depictions on the big screen, I go to be entertained by the stories. If I did, I’d be better off just watching ‘The History Channel’ all day. 😉

Some of the effects in the movies were done well, but the coolest effect is the use of ‘Google maps’ to zoom in and out of cities and magnifying things to minute details.

This could have been so much more interesting, but instead it was a wasted storyline that comes off quite mediocre.

5/10

And that’s it folks! Join us again in two weeks for when we review Chef!! 🙂

 

PS, what do you guys think of my new review format? I was having trouble making a coherent paragraph for Mel’s 5 Second Review, so I came up with Mel’s 10 Things About. Do you like it? Which format do you prefer? Let me know please! 🙂