Bill & Ted 3: Should not be sequeled.

I saved this movie for last in a new category called "Should not be sequeled". Recently, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters have confirmed that they will be doing a Bill & Ted 3. Now, I am a huge fan of the Bill and Ted franchise, and I would much more appreciate a remake. But for the love of Jesse, Jacob and Jeremiah these men are in their 40's! And besides that, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey had an ending that signaled that it was the end, and it was a great ending at that.


I recently spoke of milking a dry cow. There is no reason to try and add onto a solidified story? This new Bill and Ted won't have the same feel as the first two, primarily because it's been such a huge gap since the last movie (1991). George Carlin can't play Rufus anymore because, well, he's dead (Rest In Peace). I mean they could always do the Shining Time Station swap and get Ringo Starr to play Rufus but it won't be the same. If these two are going to play an aged Bill & Ted, who in their youths were symbols of rebellion and energy, then I don't think it will be an enjoyable movie.

Keanu says that the plot is basically about how Bill and Ted were supposed to save the world, and that wasn't accomplished so they are now possessed with trying to do that. Does it seem like a decent plot? NO! Come on it's been 20 years. In Bogus Journey, they traveled through time to learn how to play the guitars,and it worked brilliantly. So you expect me to believe that with an ending to the second movie that included two intelligent aliens and the grim reaper, that the world saving song still has not been written 20 years later? SHENANIGANS!

Look, I'm sure that there are a few people that may find the movie interesting. But it just doesn't sit with me? What are your thoughts on this movie idea? Should they or shouldn't they?

Matrix: Should not be Rebooted

Domestic:	$171,479,930
+ Foreign:	$292,037,453

Whoever thinks that the Matrix franchise should be rebooted should be stuffed in a box and dropped from a high altitude over a sea of acid. The Matrix trilogy changed the way we as people see the world. O.k maybe for a lot of people it wasn't that deep, but you can't sit there and say that it didn't change your life. The Matrix offered unique camera graphics that were never seen before in film. For example, Trinity's slow motion kick that left fans with their mouths dropped wide open. Due to the uniqueness of the graphics, multiple movies and shows replicated the stunts in their own unique ways.

The concepts of the Matrix had people scratching their heads and asking for more at the same time. It challenged people to open their minds to new and incredible opportunities. The plot challenged people to think. It wasn't too difficult to understand, unlike Watchman where I am still confused as to what the plot is and why the movie ever had to be.

The Matrix is a classic example of a film or franchise that was meant for a certain time and that time only. It's like remaking the Titanic: what would be the point of retelling such a major story if the original was told so darn well? Doing something like that would ensure no justice to the original and it would not make anywhere near as much as those films have made.

There are an assortment of franchises that need rebooting. I don't even condone a sequel or prequel. Adding any small bit could mess the whole thing up. If it is done, I guess the Wachowski brothers would think it's the best thing to do, but they haven't said anything about it. I'm glad that rumors of a 4th Matrix were just rumors. I don't think there is any more room left for story with this franchise. There is such a thing as milking a dry cow, you get no results. The Matrix era has come and gone, let's not disturb what has already been made good history.

Highlander: Should be rebooted

Domestic: $5,900,000


This will be the first time I reference a remake and have absolutely nothing negative to say about it (Sorry Mario). In 1984, Christopher Lambert donned a kilt of Scottish clansmen Connor Macleod and helped tell a story about a young man (well not that young) that was trying to survive deadly odds against other beings like him who are genuine Immortals. The Highlander Franchise started through that movie and has accumulated an insurable amount of fans and profit. The movie became sequel, that transferred into television shows. For nearly 15 years, Highlander captured the imaginations of fans. It's been years since the franchise has been in any media outlet and I think it's high time that Connor Macleod makes his return. I mean come on, why wouldn't people today want to see a movie about 400 year old immortals that decapitate each other for power and sustenance? People did in the 80's and that turned out pretty well. Now with this vampire kick that everyone is on, I think that stretching the imagination to understand this storyline won't be difficult at all.

The Highlander franchise has definitely made it's imprint on society. The franchise brought much fame to Queens "Princes of the Universe" through the television show starring Adrienne Paul, and is a song that I play in my head, constantly. The slogan "There can be only one" is as legendary as Tony Mantana's "Say Hello To My Little Friend!" Yeah I said it, and I dare anyone to disagree. Ok...ok well maybe it isn't that huge, but it's a darn popular slogan.Now I agree that there are some works that need not to be remade because the story was so intricate and casting was so right, that trying to redo it would probably destroy the sacredness of the original film. But I believe that this is a story that should be retold. These are characters that should be reborn with heightened graphics and crap-the-pants fight scenes.

The concept of the franchise is not a boring one, and it shows by the fan base it accumulated. The first movie had a healthy dose of time jumping, not staying too long in any part of Connors past, but long enough to get the context for the present day events. If the reboot would follow that rule as well as give an even dose of story and action, maybe a bit more action than story as long as the story is understandable and not crappy, then it should be a success. Movie goers today need that edge of the seat excitement. Even in romance movies, there has to be a level of excitement or drama that keeps them guessing and gasping. I think that Highlander can accomplish that and then some, with the proper casting and story writing that will do the first great justice.

Scarface: Remake

Domestic:	$45,408,703
+ Foreign:	$20,476,000

ARE YOU SERIOUS? SCARFACE IS A REMAKE? THAT'S CRAZY! Yes I know these are your thoughts, and I said the same thing when I found out that the 1983 gangster thriller Scarface, was a remake of the 1932 film Scarface.....which is an adaptation of the 1929 book....Scarface...that's alot of scarfaces. The book and the first film were loosely based of of Al Capone, whose nickname was, well, Scarface.

The first film deals with a man named Tony Clamonte (played by Paul Muni) who works for a crime lord named John Lovo. Lovo has Tony kill the crime lord of the south side of Chicago, having Lovo take control of it. Lovo tells Tony not to mess with the North side gangs, but Tony gets swept up in a rush of power and disobeys. Him and hes partner Guino start trouble with the north side, causing death and trouble where they went. Lovo sees that Tony has gotten out of control and has eyes for his position and his woman. Tony and his own crew successfully takes over the north side and then successfully kills Lovo after Lovo tried to have Tony killed by a car bomb. Tony discovers that his sister Francesca has married Guino. In a fit of over protective rage, Tony kills Guino. As Tony and an upset Francesca return to Tony's mansion, they are ambushed bu cops. Francesca tries to help his sister but is killed. Tony tries to flee, but is then killed also.

The plot for the Scarface remake keeps the core plot, but is heavily beefed up with more story and modernized for the 80's culture. Tony Montana (Al Pacino) and his friend Manny are Cuban refugees. Being sent to a refugee camp, they encounter a rich drug lord named Frank Lopez who offers them green cards in exchange for doing an assassination job. Completing the job, they take a cocaine buying job from Omar Suarez, who is a worker of Franks. After the deal goes bad, Tony suspects that the deal was a setup by Omar. After wards, both Manny and Tony start to work for Frank. On a Bolivian job, Tony discovers from their cocaine kingpin Alejandro Sosa, that Omar is a cop Sosa's men hang Omar from a helicopter. Tony vouches for Frank and Sosa warns Tony never to betray him. Frank was not pleased about Omar and with Tony because of the secret transactions he was doing. Their partnership ends. Tony then begins his own operations and tries to take Frank's woman away from him. Tony is nearly killed by gunmen at a club but escapes. Tony and Manny visit Frank and kill him after Frank admits to calling the hit. Tony and Manny take over Frank's empire and wealth and Tony marries Frank's woman. Tony and his wife become addicted to crack and his operations begin to fail. The police raid Tony's house and jails him, but he makes bail. Sosa reaches an agreement with Tony, that Sosa would keep Tony out of Jail if Tony assassinated a Journalist set to expose Sosa in NYC. Tony and one of Sosa's men set a car bomb for the journalist and waited for him to leave. The journalist and his family get into the car and Tony has second doubts about killing innocent people. Before Sosa's man can detonate the bomb, Tony kills him and Sosa warned Tony again about betraying him.
Tony returns to Florida to learn that his sister Maria has married Manny. Tony Kills Manny in a blind rage because he is very protective of his sister. Later at Tony's mansion, Sosa's men crash in to kill Manny. Maria tries to help but is killed. High from Cocaine, Tony makes a last iconic stand to stay alive and kill everyone, but is killed.

As you can see, There are core similarities such as this Tony character working for a rich scumbag as a hit man and then some. Tony falls in love with the scumbag's woman and starts to create a name for himself. Tony and his friend succeed in killing the boss they worked for after the boss, in a jealous fit, tries to kill them first. They become wealthy and powerful. Tony's friend marries his sister and Tony Kills him. Then Tony and his sister are killed by an opposing force.

The Pacino remake offers a more updated and brutal story than the first film for obvious cultural reasons. There is more of a racial variety than the remake and due to that, a smart location change. The Tony of the remake seems more arrogant and prideful than the first Tony, and it shows in the ending. The ending of Scarface is historic, with Tony taking his final stand, unlike the first film where that Tony flees.
Original Ending


Remake Ending


The remake is clearly not for the faint of heart and the original has it's place in time. You can look at both films and take appreciation for the base plot. But if you need that rush, that thrill, that final scene where Tony refers to his "Little Friend" before blowing up half a room, than the remake is just for you!

True Lies: Remake

Domestic:	$146,282,411
+ Foreign:	$232,600,000

There's only one movie where you can see Arnold Schwarzenegger shoot a missile into an abandoned building from a moving Jet with a bad guy stuck to the missile. No it wasn't the Terminator keep guessing......no it wasn't Terminator 2 either........umm no, Total recall took place on Mars so no, but you're getting there........(sigh) noooooooo it wasn't Commando.........NO NO NOOO It wasn't Kindergarten Cop, WRONG! The answer we were looking for is True Lies (points to the blog title) Duuuhh!

All jokes aside, in 1994, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the lovely Jamie Lee Curtis teamed up to tell the story of a man named Harry (Schwarzenegger) that is living a double life. One one side he is a husband and father, with a cover job of being a computer salesman. On the other side, he is an anti-terrorist secret agent for the United States Government. His wife Helen (Curtis) and daughter have no idea that Harry is a spy. Harry finds out that his wife is unknowingly being seduced by her co-worker so Harry and partner Albert Gibson (played by Tom Arnold) set up a ploy to kidnap Helen and find out what she thinks about her marriage and where her co-worker lives. After she reveals her want for adventure, Harry gives her a mission to seduce a drug smuggler, who is played by Harry in the shadows of a hotel room, to get intel on his plans. During the process, Harry and Helen are kidnapped by a terrorist's henchmen and fed truth serum to get some vital information. Harry reveals that he is a spy to Helen. The terrorist obtains Harry's daughter (Eliza Dushku) for ransom as he is in control of nuclear missiles. Harry and Helen work together through a series of events to get their daughter back and dispose of the terrorist and the nuclear bomb. At the end, it is revealed that Helen becomes a spy with her husband.


The movie was high in suspense and full of very comical parts. All of these things added together to make up a great film. Now here is the part that threw me for a huge loop. This great film is not completely original. True Lies is in fact based off of a 1991 french film entitled La Totale! The film covers the basic core storyline that is presented to us in True Lies, which is a man that is living the double life of a model executive and a secret agent. He discovers that his wife is bored of their home life and is having an affair. François, the spy, tries to teach his wife a lesson, but in the midst gets caught in a situation with an international arms smuggling cartel.


True Lies is basically La Totale! with steroids. Some of the names are different but the names of Helen and Albert are the same. There is more added onto the plot with some differences that enhance the story such as dealing with a terrorist rather than an arms smuggler and the addition of the daughter, the fighter jets, the massive explosions, ect. It is a good thing that the writers and director choose to keep the core plot because it is a good one. The additions in the American version makes it better. And of course, none of the french actors make an cameo in the new version.

Tomb Raider: Should not be rebooted

Domestic:	$131,168,070
+ Foreign:	$143,535,270

I've made reference a few blogs ago that I was hopelessly in love with Angelina Jolie. If you really want to know why, let us travel back to 2001 when she slipped on the short shorts, tight shirt and 9MM pistols to take on the role of Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This movie was honestly every gamers fantasy come true. The film was the motion picture adaptation to the popular 1996 title: Tomb Raider. The game followed a young and sexy British archaeologist named Lara Croft as she traveled through catacombs, ancient temples and underground cities to unearth ancient relics, some of which had the power to destroy the world or grant any person great power. Lara was the female hero that could do anything. (Literally, this woman could move huge blocks of solid rock like it was nothing!)


Now as for the film, since Lara can look for just about anything in these underground caves and cities, it would be easy to construct a good story for her to tackle, which they did. Her objective was to stop her father's best friend and murderer from obtaining an artifact that can control space and time. The movie stays consistant with the game as far as characters such as her butler, the huge mansion/training course, the death of her father and her strange relationship with archaeologist Alex West (played by Daniel Craig). There is a character named Bryce who is Lara's assistant. Bryce is not in the game at all, but he doesn't cause any conflicts in the film's plot.

Angelina is just as agile in the film as the real Lara is on the game, and just as deadly. She utilizes a hots of weapons to carry out her missions, which the game vixen does each and every time. Jolie made her stamp and finally gave Lara a real face for people to remember. The resemblance was uncanny between the character's design and Jolie's features. Great job of casting.


It is unlikely that the film will not be remade due to the decline of popularity over the years. I for one am pretty glad that no one else will be stepping foot into the shorts and boots. Directors and Writers can leave the story where it is, because I honestly can't see anyone else portraying Lara as good as Angelina did.

Super Mario Brothers: Should be Rebooted

Domestic: $20,915,465
It hurts my little gamer heart to say this, but the 1993 adaptation of Super Mario Brothers sucked very badly. I'm not going to go into a rant because as a child, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was excited to see pudgy Mario in real life. Then I went to the store and bought a Super Mario kite, and flew it around. Ahhh those were the days. But besides that, sometimes as a child, some things just excite you and at that phase of life, you don't really have that much of a critical side. But growing up, you look at the actual story, and then the movie, and then you ask yourself "What the (bleep) were they thinking?" Having to say bad things about this movie and feeling how I do is a clear case of Cognitive Dissonance (Whoa...college words), but I will do my best to give you all the low down.

The plot of the legendary 1985 classic Super Mario Bros. is as simple as they come, which was to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil King Koopa (Bowser). There were multitude of worlds to go through in order to reach Bowser's castle and save the princess. It was oh so obvious that Mario and Princess Toadstool (Later named Princess Peach) had a thing going on.

Now we come to the film, where pretty much the only consistent thing is that Mario (played by Bob Hoskins)is short and fat and Luigi (played by John Leguezamo) is tall and skinny and they are plumbers. First, a meteorite hit the earth billions of years ago, splitting the Earth into two realms, trapping most of the dinosaurs in the other realm. Present day: the brothers are plumbers from New York who stumble onto a portal into Bowser's (Played by Dennis Hopper) world while chasing the kidnappers of Luigi's gf Daisy (who is really Princess Daisy). The brothers discover who this Bowser character is and try to stop him from merging the realms together again through Daisy. Daisy is the princess of that dino world and her father has been transformed into a gross toadstool. Yoshi is trapped as well by Koopa and is freed by Daisy. In the end, Mario and Luigi face off against Koopa who has turned into a large T-Rex. They were able to dizzolve Koopa into a vat of goo in the end.


Where do I begin? First, Koopa never takes a human form, that's just wrong. Daisy is a real character in the Mario world, but why they would choose to go with her instead of Peach is beyond me. I understand trying to switch some things up to make it unique and relate it to the real world, but it all seemed a little sloppy to me. Yoshi didnt need to be in the movie at all. He really didn't do anything and im pretty sure the movie would have gotten along without him. The earth never split into realms and Bowser is NOT a T-Rex. That was just a bad job on their part. All the graphics technology they had and they couldn't create something that looks like the actual Bowser? I call foolishness. Some of the consistencies were the koopa troops and the walking bombs. Oh, and that Mario was fat and short and Luigi was tall and skinny (Did I say that already?)

I understand modernizing for the effect of relation to the audience, but it didn't work, at all. I think that in today' world, with enhanced technology, they could redo Super Mario and turn it into the film that it should have been with all the correct characters and story plots. I'm not saying that there can's be some subtle changes to enhance the story for the viewers, but just not so much that it becomes unrecognizable to the public. Little known fact, both Hoskins and Leguezamo consider this film to be the worst movie they have ever done in their career. Go figure!

There, the deed is done! ..I'M SORRY MARIO!!!