January 02, 2008

Hollywood Butchering Asian Cinema

Update: Latest casualty is Chakushin Ari. Hollywood made the appalling remake named "One Missed Call" . The remake was booed off by reviewers and critics across the board.
Another one is Juno(2007)...compared to Jenny, Juno (2005)

The latest casualty is The Eye(2002), which was distastefully remade as The Eye (2008) (what brazen blatancy!). The 12 million dollars stuffed into this blasphemy could do little to save this drowning abomination, actually it did more to force it under.

I felt my body getting hot, face getting red, felt sweat running down my back ( yeah.. really )... don't worry, I'm ok now.

Sick and tired of Hollywood.

Its like Microsoft, big not necessarily because they are the best, but just because they got there first and they can splash more $$$$$$$$.

Hollywood films have come to an al time low. Predictable action movies...yeah the good guy always kills all the goons and makes off with some broad. If its an apocalyptic film....the hero always saves the day and manages to knit back together his 'dysfunctional family......

The latest Hollywood fad is the saw/hostel kind of films. Bunch of people on the road isolated place....blah blah..... Or even better still a bunch of people wake up in a locked room or eventually find themselves in one....sicko comes in...and you know how that goes.

It's amazing how predictable these films are yet people still watch them enmass. I always frustrate my friends by telling them the probable plotline of these kinda movies before they go out watching them. I get an 'A' grade when it comes to that.

And the latest new fad. This one makes any real movie watcher feel like throwing up. Remakes of Asian films.

It is unbearable, like being in a dry air sauna especially if you have seen the original.

The are current plans to remake My Sassy Girl with American actors! No matter how much money they pump into that cow it will NEVER be as good as the original. How can they seriously hope to capture that Asian comedy, that is such an integral part of the film with Hollywood actors? They chose Elisha Cuthbert to replace Jun Ji-Hyun.....now that has to be the biggest joke of the year.

"....the movie will be really bad, and [I] dont think it's hard to [imagine].... it's just the atmosphere, acting, actors that make it so good, and you cant fake that by just making any simple remake..."


I recently found out that Saving Private Ryan very similar to Tae Guk GI. One looks at the cinematography and action sequences will tell you SPR is a non contender. The remake of The Grudge and Ring (original was Ringu) was dismal. You will get freakier chills from Ringu any day. They also remade Shall We Dansu as Shall We Dance....no comment there.


Any of these can pass over but a remake of My Wife Is A Gangster would make anyone explode with rage.....not only a remake but with Queen Latifah...(Oh God, Why Have Thou Forsaken Us)!
I bet it will be one of the most disastrous remake of the movie unless they completely modify the lead role. I cannot see Queen Latifah doing what Shin Eun-Gyeong actually does in the movie, sorry.


So it comes as no surprising conclusion that I despise remakes of Asian movies. However I am a progressive person and I do keep an open mind and I actually give 'deserving' (for lack of a more mediocre word) remakes a chance

Fore example The LakeHouse was a commendable effort, Keanu Reeves was a star, I can't say the same for his co-star, Sandra Bullock, but she did carry it somewhat but nowhere near Jun Ji-hyun's performance . If you thought this movies was awesome you should see Il Mare. Il Mare will totally eclipse The LakeHouse.

Another Notable mention is The Departed which was a remake of Infernal Affairs. You might think Leonardo DeCaprio and co were 'it' but I invite you to watch Infernal Affairs and you will know that The Departed is a shedded snake skin...

This butchery of Asian Cinema in the name of 'bringing it to the western people' is arrogant/perpetuating ignorance if not down right racist. So westerners cannot watch foreign films with foreign actors now, huh?

Or maybe they won't understand the context, really...are westerners that thick not to even comprehend a foreign film, so much so that it has to be localised, why cant they watch a film in its original context and learn about other people's culture......obviously not...
No amount of $$$$$$ pumped in or any Hollywood actor could ever capture the atmosphere, the vibe, facial expressions, off the wall comedy, emotional tones that define Asian Cinema

Hollywood can easily do a sappy film, can they do a Windstruck or a Falian?. I think not...there is a big difference between sappy and emotional.

The butchery has a host of victims lined up....like Windstruck and Daisy and OldBoy.

Lord Have Mercy!

No, I was lying earlier....I am not ok...at all

I think I need some pills...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the orginal was definately classic. what made this film awesome was cha tae-hyun and jeon ji-hyun. that guy has the most awesome facial expressions, she was perfect for the part, acting an amazing domineering bitch-extraordinaire, coupled with her angelic appearances.

Anonymous said...

[f] you hollywood. First, let's take Il-Mare which you totally [f]ed up. Now, let's take Yeopgi-Girl (My Sassy Girl), you [f] that all up too. You don't deserve to remake this damn movie. My Sassy Girl is the best movie ever. It doesn't need to be remade. If any stupid white Americans such as myself want to watch it they can buy a [f]ing Regionless DVD player and buy the damn Korean version online. I feel sick to my stomach knowing that this is going to come out here as a different version. If I could i'd drop a damn nuke on Hollywood for this [sh]. [f] you, [f] you, and oh yes, [f] you!!!!