Week 3: Better than the Browns

Here we are. Week three of the blogs. I feel more successful than the team in Cleveland does as this point in the year. So while I feel down about my failing favorite team, the PWP is looking good!

Jason, Jason, Jason!

"But it's the fans. The fans, god bless 'em, they're just clamoring for more!" Yeah, that's about Freddy from "New Nightmare" and not Jason. But same kind of fandom exists for the hockey mask wearing Jason. Fall is in the air. It's the best time for horror films all year. Just as the cool air begins to cut through the heat, Jason is ready for one last summer camp slash!

Still Being Shaped

My PWP is ready to roll, but there are still some questions to be answered. How will I break down my posts into a successful formula? How to keep it entertaining? Who will win the new Apprentice? I feel ready to move forward and will tackle these problems as they come. Each post will strive to be better than the last. If I start to notice patterns, I'll due my best to eliminate the bad and utilize the useful.

It's ALIVE!

http://reelapse.blogspot.com/

The Shape of My PWP Heart

Yeah, I'm quoting the Backstreet Boys. Can't get that damn song out of my head. I'm sitting here, trying mightily to choose the best possible options for my first crack at this Remake PWP. Do I go Wonkas? Classic horror? Something oozing with controversial reflections of contemporary sexuality? Nah, not right away. Too much too fast. Rather, I'll ease into this Great Panda-sized adventure with a genre that is comfortable and familiar.

Roarke, right, runs to glory across a bamboo bridge of gold with his dear pet, PWPanda.

Don't Look Back

If I take one cyber step further, it'll be the farthest from my home page I've even been. But I won't look back. Not to be confused with the tagline for the soon-to-be cult classic Midget Ghost: "Don't Look Down!" So without hesitation I press forth into the dark depths of the internet. I'm not talking about liveleak or whatever oddball foreign porn is spawning reaction videos this week, but a quality blog about something worth exploring. In the not-so-friendly to the creative world of the film business remakes, re-harshings, re-imaginings, and numerous do-overs (looking at you Hulk and Punisher) some stories will be a part of our culture spanning several generations. What does it mean to have a certain tale told by two different times? Does the interpretation tell us much, if anything, about the culture who took in the film? All these kinds of questions will be explored using the specifics of the films screened. Answers won't be concrete, per say, but I hope they will offer insightful points that will either encourage you to watch the films or improve its rewatch ability.

Where Do We Begin? 

The debate rages on for which films I will screen first. I can't quite sell myself on any set at the moment. However, I feel like I have narrowed the pack down to a select few. I'd like to begin with horror and see how that works. I'm thinking My Bloody Valentine is a good choice. Though Friday the 13th has a lot to offer considering the odd nature of the 2009 "retelling." (or exploitation franchise launch)Last but not least in consideration is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Willy Wonka. I've had this discussion and examined the differences in these two films pretty closely already, so it'd be a good jumping off point to actually put the thoughts to paper. Err, uh, blog. Anyway, off to check out that BSB song and get it out of my head. Tomorrow: The PWP is born.

A Tip For The Lazy

If you're one of the ingrates who refused my link on the word "Hulk" shame on you. I try so hard to provide for this academic family. I don't need your sassy refusals. I drive... I drive a dodge stratus! People are afraid of me! Anyway, you should really check out that link. Not the last one, I mean that one too, but the Hulk one. You should really really check that one out. It's the trailer for the Middle-Eastern knock-off of the popular green hero called, "Hulka." It looks hilarious. Like Johnny Chimpo but real and green. See Super Troopers if you missed the Chimpo thing, but go ahead and watch the trailer for Hulka first. Maybe that could be a remake comparison to come including foreign flicks. Hmm...

Is there anybody out there? (Besides Jeff)

The Internet was no more than one unlucky Gremlin's nightmare in 1990.

I know our dear instructor is out there because he seemingly lives online. I've seen this before. It's a serious condition famously contracted by one of the evil little monsters in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. (see above) When will you rock the animated-laser blue look to class, Schiff? Huh? The people need to see it!

Down to Business... With Occasional Video Breaks 

Speaking of things people see, my PWP is going to be centered around film. Yeah, yeah, I know some of you will complain or cry. Not in person, but on the inside you're bitching like a Sicilian Grandmother at an Olive Garden. Well let's all climb up into the trust tree and dine on a romantic candle-lit meal of truth. Then let's get some seconds. Hell, I want you to scarf down the truth like Louie Anderson at an All You Can Eat Buffet. (I capitalized it because the AYCEB demands respect and it is damn time we treat it as such.) Anyway, I know you have all see plenty of film-related projects in your time at CCC. The film students see it all day and the rest of you surely have had more than your fill of our department's snooty criticisms and scoffs at your favorite films. I hear you. I hate us too. It's cool. So I'm gonna bring something different. Something entertaining reflecting on the business of entertainment instead of a crass attack on the attempt. Sprinkle in some thoughtful analysis, a touch of Nic Cage-like ability to track down secrets of the past (you'll see why), and a connection to the times in which the films are made and you've got this PWP thing of mine.

Specifically, my PWP will examine two films a week. One a remake or re-imagining of the other. I'll mostly focus on horror film, but if this becomes trite I'll press on to a different genre. The idea is to examine the two films and see how the original and remake differ in  how they represent the time in which they were produced, how the films influenced or were influenced by culture of the times, and how two different generations and directors tackled the same basic concepts. Any thoughts on some films you guys would like to see discussed or not discussed would be excellent.

What to Expect...

Films being considered for screening: The "Wonka" movies (the first one is terrifying.), Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Black Christmas (and Black X-Mas), Halloween, Shaft, and more! This will be far more than a "Oh. Well. The new one is shitty. Watch the original." It isn't really about which is a better film. This blog is about what that film means within its time compared to its counterpart. That said, I'll probably bitch and take some shots at films and filmmakers. Or commenters if anyone tries to convince me Johnny Depp was a better Wonka than Gene Wilder. That's just whack.