Top Ten: 1997 Films

A couple of years ago I listed my Top Ten films from 2001, a post that was inspired by a Facebook discussion. As I’ve not been making it to the cinema as often as I’d life recently, I’ve decided to repeat the exercise for a few different years – it might even come to be a series as I approach my 40th birthday…

Top Ten: Movie Santas

This entry is part 7 of 10 in the series The 12 Days of Christmas

Christmas is a time for giving and sharing, and being with family. Most Christmas movies tend to focus on this sentiment, others are more action packed and involve buildings blowing up. It doesn’t matter to me which camp they fall into I love them all…

Ghostbusters 3 – are we going to call them?

Dan Aykroyd is still hopeful that Ghostbusters 3 will be made. He seems confident that the third installment will start filming in Spring next year. This film will apparently feature new, younger Ghostbusters taking on the mantle of protector against all things ectoplasmic from the original stars, although Aykroyd still isn’t sure if Bill Murray will be involved with the new film.

Trading Places

An 80s classic to be treasured – not remade with the latest floppy haired teen idol

One of the most well-worn clichés in life is that you know you are getting old when policemen look young. Cliché or not, it’s certainly true. Another sure-fire sign is when you remember chart songs from the first time round and tut angrily at the horrendous cover versions. Yes Black-Eyed Peas I’m looking at you… I know I’m getting old because I’m dreading the inevitable remakes of my favourite 80s and 90s films. There’s a spate of remakes already released including The Karate Kid, Nightmare on Elm Street and Arthur. Others are still only rumours or are stuck in the development stage including Footloose, Overboard and Top Gun. The very thought of some of these new films makes a little bit of my soul die, however it has got me considering my favourite films and how I would feel about any potential remakes.

I’m passionately attached to films and hate the idea of spoiling the magic. I won’t watch It’s A Wonderful Life in colour, I refuse to see the “sequel” to Dirty Dancing – Havana Nights or go to see the apparently brilliant stage version. The thought of a CGI Gizmo in a 3D remake of Gremlins is enough to keep me awake at night sobbing. I think, though, the film I would be most upset to see a remake of is the 1983 John Landis classic Trading Places. Let’s face it though, it’s probably ripe to be remade, particularly in light of all the financial shenanigans going on at the moment. We’d easily believe that a couple of bankers (or brokers, they’re all the same anyway) would be evil enough to wreck the lives of a pair of innocents just for fun.

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