Sunday, July 08, 2007

Cinema Deja Vu

How does one keep up with blogging? We have website blogs, MySpace blogs, Yahoo 360° blogs, bebo, and so on. Even though I post the same message on all of these, I struggle for something interesting to discuss.

Today being no exception, I've chosen to talk about remakes of movies. We've been watching an updated JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, comparing it to the one 45 or so years ago that starred Pat Boone (among others). The new version has convincing special effects and costumes, but it's just not as much fun as the older film. In its favor are Treat Williams and Bryan Brown, but the plot is darker and edgier. Maybe some films weren't meant for remakes.
Some that come to mind are THE TIME MACHINE (Guy Pierce is great, but the remake was just too serious for me.), THE PARENT TRAP (Again, great casting but just didn't feel as cute and fun as the Haley Mills version, which was a remake of TWICE BLESSED, an old 40s film), and JACKAL (Not bad for an action flick, but DAY OF THE JACKAL was more of an intrigue and a superior story IMO. Having said that, JACKAL has an outstanding performance by Richard Gere).

Others are improved, or at least freshened up. For instance, ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD. Loved the original from the 50s, but also loved the re-make with Danny Glover in the 90s. Both have their charm. PLANET OF THE APES was just as good IMO with Mark Wahlberg (Hey, he's my "friend" on MySpace!) as it was with Roddy McDowell. And Rat Pack fans will disagree, but the remake of OCEAN'S ELEVEN far outshone the original. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt...hell-o! Another remake that far outshined the original (which was a mini-series) is THE BOURNE IDENTITY.

Going back a few years, BODY HEAT, a remake of DOUBLE INDEMNITY (which has since been re-made again!), was an excellent movie. Barbara Stanwyck was a strong actress, but Kathleen Turner (in one of her first roles) turned out a stellar performace in the newer version.

I'm sure you can think of other films that should or shouldn't have been remade. Let me hear from you!

Cheryl

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Dressing with Paul Newman?!

Got your attention, I hope!

OK, so Paul the doll is 80, but to me he is still the handsomest and nicest guy in Hollywood. I so love the movie CARS because he's the voice of Doc Hudson, the Hudson Hornet.

Now to the topic at hand. Paul the doll has stayed young and active thanks to the attention he gives his health, particularly in areas of nutrition. I recently hopped on his bandwagon and cleared my kitchen of products with unhealthy additives, especially trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. I'm no health nut, but I do like to eat figure-friendly. Those two ingredients are neither healthy nor figure-friendly.

Yesterday I was at Publix browsing their salad dressings in search of something light but healthy. What a minefield! All the store brands and big name brands were sweetened with you-know-what. The fat free varieties were the worst, listing high fructose corn syrup as the first ingredient. Nasty.

Then I saw Paul, winking at me from a lower shelf. I selected a bottle of Lite Ginger Soy and read the label. What a delightful surprise! Nothing but healthful oils and natural sweeteners, weighing in at a mere 35 calories per serving. And, just like the man himself, it's delicious.

I swear this is an unsolicited testimonial. To learn more about Paul's own line of products, visit his website: www.newmansown.com.

Cheryl