I have been a little remiss at blog reading these past couple of weeks and nearly missed this event.
Better late than never, right?
If I was certain that the just-released Star Trek: Into Darkness counted as a remake, it might have gotten the nod.
But I think I will go with Heaven Can Wait.
Why?
Julie Christie is beautiful, Charles Grodin and Buck Henry are hysterical, and the Rams win the Super Bowl!
Worst remake ever?
Wow...so many to choose from, but what it coming to mind is the recent Arthur remake. It bordered on sacrilege. And it stunk.
When it comes to songs, there are so many, it's hard. And I own so many, it's even harder.
Also, if you ask me a favorite song/worst song question today, my answer will often be different if you were to ask me tomorrow.
So for the best remake, I am going to go with the one that literally just popped into my head....
RAM JAM
Back in 1977, Ram Jam was a one-hit wonder with their cover of this old folk song, often credited to Leadbelly but actually predating him by some time.
Worst remake ever?
A tie, because the whole album is so bad.
Almost everything off of Todd Rundgren's 2010 album, (re)Production, which featured Auto-Tune dance versions of songs he produced for others.
You can read my review here.
Whaddya think?
Wait! Todd Rundgren worst? Sacrilege!
ReplyDeleteI can't recall if I saw the "Heaven" remake, but I know I avoided the "Arthur" remake.
Lee
A Faraway View
An A to Z Co-host blog
Well, Lee, I did this so spur of the moment, I went with what immediately came to mind. It pains me to diss a Todd album, but that one was pretty painful to experience.
DeleteAuto-Tune dance versions? The horror.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Heaven Can Wait a remake of Looking for Mr. Jordan? Not sure I remember the name correctly.
And saw Star Trek Into Darkness this afternoon. Awesome!
Thanks for participating in our blogfest.
Alex-I think it was "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," and it was about a boxer.
DeleteI'm not sure I know where to draw the line on a remake. For example, are these latest two Trek films remakes?
I said it a lot today, but the best remake is not a reshoot of the original film. I liked "Ocean's Eleven" as a perfect example.
The plot was pretty much identical, but due to the growth in Vegas since the original film, and the advances in technology, the script had to be rewritten. Result? Great film.
Adam Sandler's "Longest Yard" was pretty much just a reshoot of the original. Why bother?
Oh yes, that Arthur remake was horrendous. I'm not sure if the new Star Trek film is a remake either. Maybe like a reboot?
ReplyDeleteI did not know where the line is drawn, Christine...but I still love Heaven Can Wait after all these years.
DeleteI've never seen Heaven Can Wait - and I like Julie Christie!
ReplyDeleteLaura-I recommend it highly.
Deleteneat
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike!
DeleteHeaven Can Wait is a stellar remake. My pick for song is a whole album, the country album dedicated to the Rolling Stones. Talk about travesty.
ReplyDeleteMelissa-that album sounds painful...
DeleteNot being a big follower moviewise of remake vs original, let me just say that my most vivid memory of Black Betty was my niece hitting me in the bridge of the nose with the 45 while playing Frisbee with it. Hey, we were kids!
ReplyDeleteCW-I take it thsi was not your favorite record!
Delete*Waving 'hi' from the blog hop!*
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with "Arthur" and had that on my "Worst" list (as a dis-honorable mention) too.
I thought you were going to mention the second remake of "Heaven Can Wait" with Christ Rock, that they did a few years ago. I didn't see it, but I can bet I'd prefer the old Beatty version :)
Mark- I'd forgotten that Chris Rock film...I guess that would qualify as a remake, although I never saw it.
DeleteI didn't know Heaven Can Wait was a remake. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Arthur. I didn't even bother.
Not bad. Great that you got to join in the fun!
Heather
Heather-
DeleteThe original Arthur would be pretty hard to improve on.
I will say that the problem was not really Russel Brand-he did ok in the title role, although Dudley Moore OWNED that role.
But Jennifer Garner (whom I normally like) as Susan-was horrible. And Helen Mirren should be ashamed of herself for playing Hobson.
And the changes they did make to the script-stupid.
107 minutes of my life I will never get back.
Definitively, better late than never, hahaha. Good you signed up. I vaguely remember Heaven Can Wait. Since they changed the titles of the movies in Spanish, it's harder. But I do remember the poster,, at least. :D Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting, Al!
DeleteI wasn't a big fan of Heaven Can Wait but I definitely agree on Arthur. That remake was just awful.
ReplyDeleteBut...the Rams won the Superbowl! How can you not love a movie where the Rams win the Super Bowl?
DeleteYeah, the 'HEAVEN CAN WAIT' remake of 'HERE COMES MR. JORDAN' was excellent! I think I had it on my list of Top Ten Favorite Sports Movies.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I understand what you're saying with the songs. You're saying you hated Ram Jam's version of 'BLACK BETTY'?! (I thought that song rocked!)
Just off the top of my head and on the spur of the moment...
For me, my favorite movie remake might also be 'HEAVEN CAN WAIT'. Or else it's 'FATHER OF THE BRIDE', although I thought the original (which was different in many ways) was really good too. I like both versions nearly equally, maybe a slight nod to the remake, but it's close.
Worst movie remake? Hmmm... I don't watch many remakes (like, I'd never waste my time watching the remakes of 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'Miracle On 34th Street').
I heard the remake of 'THE WICKER MAN' with Nicolas Cage was absolutely the pits, but I still haven't seen it. (The first one's a genuine Horror movie classic.) And I'm sure the remake of 'BORN YESTERDAY' must have been bad, but again, I never bothered with it because the first one was so great.
Maybe the worst remake I ever DID see was 'CAPE FEAR'. Robert Mitchum was truly menacing in the original; Robert De Niro was just a cartoon character in the remake. Terrible!
SONGS:
Best remake, probably The Rockets' version of the Fleetwood Mac song 'OH WELL', followed by The Beach Boys' version of The Mamas And The Papas' 'CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'.' In both cases, I thought the remakes were even better than their predecessors.
Worst remake? I'd have to give it a lot more thought, but PJ Harvey's version of Dylan's 'HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED' would damn sure be in the running.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Stephen-I threw this one together fast, so thanks for poiting out the wording around the music, which I just edited.
DeleteFor some reason the "Black Betty" remake popped into my head as one I liked, and ratherthan try to review every cover song on every disc I own, I went with it.
Ditto on the Todd for worst. It may not be the worst (although it is personally the biggest let down) but it was fresh in my mind.
I just saw his electronica show back in Philly, and it did work ok live. Just not something I see myself throwing into the CD player very often.
Ewww the Arthur remake! Not seeing that one!
ReplyDeleteTara- you will save yourself pain by skipping it...
DeleteI wish I'd remembered the music bonus part of the blogfest, 'cause I would have had a lot more to say on music! My least-favourite cover that I can think of right now is Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss". It just makes me shudder with horror even thinking about it!
ReplyDeleteTrisha-there are so many bad covers to choose from...how about Will To Power covering "Free Bird" and "Baby I Love Your Way" in a medley back in the late 80's?
DeleteI'm not familiar with that particular travesty, and maybe I should be glad! hehe
DeleteDOCTOR DISCDUDE ~
ReplyDeleteTwo other really good song remakes occurred to me late last night. Although I really only like 2 or 3 Jimi Hendrix songs total, one of them is his remake of Bob Dylan's 'ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER', which I think is better than the original. I believe Dylan himself has pretty much acknowledged that Hendrix beat him with his own song.
And long ago, Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers had a hit with 'MOANIN'.' It was truly a Jazz classic. But as much as I love it, I think Brian Auger did it even better years later (with his B-3 organ taking over much of the saxophone part from the original).
This was a neat Blogfest idea and had I known about it in advance, I probably would have participated in it on my own blog.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
Stephen-now there's ashock-you liking a song featuring a Hammond organ....
DeleteHendreix did really score with "Watchtower."
I've never seen either of these; looks like I have some movie watching to do.
ReplyDeletei'd forgotten about Heaven Can Wait. i thought it was good too.
ReplyDelete