Total Recall (2012)

So, another year, another remake. This time it's Paul Verhoeven's Total Recall that's getting the remake/re-imaging/reinvention (delete as applicable) treatment. Verhoeven's film itself was based on a Phillip K. Dick short story, which has now in turn joined the list of recent Hollywood remakes. These remakes, such as The Karate Kid, Halloween, Fright Night, Conan The Barbarian, Piranha 3D, and Footloose, have all achieved varying levels of success over the last few years. That trend doesn't look like stopping any time soon, with new versions of Hellraiser, Dirty Dancing, Logan's Run, Carrie, and The Bodyguard on the horizon. For every Karate Kid there is a Batman Begins. Studios are looking to lace their pockets by playing on people's affections for the films of yesteryear, the films that they grew up with. Each of these films already has an initial, established fan base. Even if these remakes turn out to be horrendous, people's curiosity in the subject will inevitably lead to some people paying out their cash to see what this new offering has to give. So, does the 2012 incarnation of Total Recall have enough to offer so that it makes it both appealing to the original film's audience yet fresh enough to bring in a new audience? That is, indeed, the big money question.

The latest version of Total Recall is helmed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, and Die Hard 4.0), and features Colin Farrell in the role of Quaid - previously made famous by a certain Governor Schwarzenegger - with supporting roles for Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale amongst others. The premise of the film is that Quaid, a quiet, married everyman that works in a factory, has reoccurring dreams of a strange woman (Biel) and being hunted down by the powers that be. He can't get these dreams out of his head, and, as a result, keeps tossing around the idea of going to what is known as Rekall. Rekall is a place where people go and have memories implanted into their brain, mainly to take themselves away from the mundanity of every day life. They can imagine that they are a professional athlete, a film star, a secret agent; whatever their heart desires. Quaid succumbs to his urges and visits Rekall. The only rule with Rekall is that you can't ask for a memory to be implanted that already exists, for example, you cannot ask for the memory of a mistress to be put in to your head if you already have a mistress. Quaid decides that he wants his Rekall experience to be that of a secret agent. All is running to plan until the Rekall system hits a snag - it recognises that Quaid is already a secret agent. From here on in, modern day enforcement officers break into the Rekall centre, with Quaid freezing in fear on the spot. Out of the blue, something in Quaid takes control and he ends up taking down these agents, leaving him with the question of what's just happened and who he really is.

Amongst all of this, there's an uprising going on. The world as we know it has been split in to two nations; one that was formerly Great Britain, one that is simply known as The Colony. The former Britain is looked upon as the more affluent part of the world, with The Colony and it's inhabitants looked down upon. Those that live in The Colony are trying to gain equality and to be given a fair chance, yet a power mad politician, Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), is looking to wipe out The Colony and to essentially privatise it. Quaid goes on a roller coaster ride in order to discover who he is, what is real, and what is just a memory. Kate Beckinsale plays his wife, whilst Jessica Biel plays the woman he sees in his dreams. Both of these tug at his emotions, trying to persuade Quaid of who he really is. Is he the everyman with a mundane life or is he really an agent of the rebellion, living a life of secrecy unbeknownst to himself.

"This isn't Bruges!"

Wiseman's version of Total Recall is a more grittier, realistic offering when compared to Verhoeven's. Whilst it works on some levels, it falls short on others. A remake is always going to generate comparisons to it's predecessor - this is where some problems come up. The original was a big favourite largely due it's tongue being firmly in it's cheek and it's ability not to take itself too seriously. This charm is lost in Wiseman's film. He decides to play it straight. The cast rise to the challenge, with Farrell a convincing lead - just don't be expecting a direct replicate of Arnie's Quaid here. The film is good for what it is, there's the action scenes you'd expect, there's familiar plot points, there's a strong lead, and there's lots of CGI. The film follows the same pattern as the original, yet changes in it's finale, plus leaves out some characters from the original, choosing to merge their characteristics into other characters. The quips and one liners that were such a staple of Verhoeven's original are left firmly alone with this film. Wiseman's film sets you up for what you'd expect, then differs at the last minute. It's tries to be a little too clever for it's own good at times, not having the charm of the original to pull off what it's attempting.

Just casually taking in the view - good light work, sir

Total Recall (2012) is by no means a bad film. The action flows at a good pace, with the film borrowing at times from the likes of Blade Runner, Tron: Legacy, the Bourne films, Stars Wars: Episode II (mainly for the scenes set in Coruscant), and, of course, the original Total Recall. Whilst by no means being a Batman Begins, this film is certainly not at the level of the recent incarnation of The Karate Kid. It's action packed, it's gritty, it does it's best to keep things as realistic as possible, yet it fails to realise that it comes across as a parody that takes itself a bit too serious for it's own good. I'd recommend Total Recall for a casual watch, giving it a steady 3 out of 5 rating, just don't go into it expecting the humour and tone of the original film.

Sunday bloody Sunday

Just a quick drop in to add a bit more to my initial Fright Night post. Upon seeing all of the early pictures and the trailers, I was devastated by David Tennant's look for Peter Vincent. The initial images of David Tennant were more-or-less the complete opposite of Roddy McDowell in the original. Tennant seemed to be more of a Jack Sparrow/Keith Richards style Peter Vincent. His portrayal looked like it was going to be one of those moments where classic cinema moments are dragged into the present and modernised. Luckily for me, and possibly for others, Tennant sheds the Rolling Stones look midway through the film. There's a scene where he's talking to Charlie and he takes off his wig, peels off his facial hair and scrubs off his tattoos. I gave a big sigh of relief at this as then you actually get to see a good performance. I was resigned to a Keith Richards wannabe, Jack Sparrow style, so it was refreshing to see Tennant take off all of his shit and actually show a bit of the actual Peter Vincent character. That said, they did throw in a bit of an unnecessary plot with Peter Vincent and his parents. I'm not going to say any more and spoil things but it seemed a little forced and unbelievable. That said, I was sat in the cinema watching a film about a vampire called Jerry so I can't really criticize things for not being believable. All in all though, I'd give the film a big thumbs up. From the reports that I've read, the film bombed massively box office wise in the States. Apparently it made less in it's opening weekend than the 1985 original. That's a big blow. Regardless, go and see it, you'll thank me later. It's not going to change the face of the medium of film, but it's a fun way to kill 90 minutes of your life. I'm still not sold on the mum character though. Definitely not feeling any MILF vibes.

Moving swiftly on, the Town were awesome again yesterday. Like a lower league Barcelona, a small scale Manchester United, a non-league... Southampton. Another good performance, another 3 points and another dominant display. It baffles me to see us keep the ball so well as I'm just so conditioned to not seeing us play like that after all of those years. It's refreshing, it's positive, it's easy on the eye. The ball that Curtis Obeng put in for the 2nd goal was ridiculously good. It was basically begging Wright to put it out of it's misery. He finished it well and it was a relief to see him get his first goal for the Town. Again, Wright put a shift in. Great performance from the lad. There were moments where he was tracking back to full back and just generally being a pest. Fowler doesn't even get a mention because the performance that he put in is a given at this moment in time. Far too good for this level. His ball retention, his body shape, his vision... all top class. On a side note, it was good to see Dean Keates get a run out for the last 12 minutes or so. Again, another player that's too good for this level. The fact that he's on the bench at the moment shows the steps that we've made in regards to strength in depth. Last year Keates would have been thrown back into the team even if he was 40% match fit. At present we can afford to ease him back in gently and take our time with him. It'll be interesting to see what the starting line-up is when Keates is fully fit. You'd think maybe Tolley will make way but at the moment you can't change the team. Add to that the fact that Tolley is always a goal threat then you give yourself a bit of a conundrum. Either way, it's a good problem to have and the Town are sitting loud and proud at the top of the league. Happy day :)

Fright Night

Right, so I got around to checking out Fright Night yesterday. I say got around to but it was only out yesterday and I managed to get to the first showing at 1:45pm. The cinema had about 25 people in which is cool by me. The more empty the cinema then the more happy I am. That way there's less people to dick around with their phones or to just chat throughout the entire film.

Anyways, the film! It was surprisingly OK. The first 20 to 30 minutes were a bit bland but then it got going surprisingly well. It really surprised me how well it was done. It wasn't a direct carbon copy of the original Fright Night and actually changed things up quite well. I don't mean change things up in the "let's have Michael Myers talk" way, but they added scenes, removed scenes, threw in new bits. I'm not sure when writing my random thoughts whether I should talk fully about the film or try to avoid spoilers for people. I guess I should be kind and watch what I say. There's an interesting take on the whole vampires-can't-come-into-your-house-without-being-invited notion. Very clever. There's some parts that are a totally different from the original, and they work. The whole Evil Ed thing seems over a little quick initially, as in he's basically turned within the first 15 minutes or so and then doesn't pop up until about the hour mark. I'm not classing that as a spoiler as anybody that's seen the original Fright Night is expecting that. If you haven't seen the original Fright Night then fuck you, it's your own fault for not watching an '80's classic. One thing that was a little off putting is that I can never really buy Anton Yelchin as a school kid. I mean he's very baby faced but he's got massive wrinkles on his forehead whenever he talks and looks like one of those dudes who always partially look about 65 regardless of their actual age - like there's an old man waiting to burst out. They do manage to even throw in nods to the original film's make-up work, such as the genius big grin below.

Right, I think that covers it for now as I'm about to shoot off out to grab me a pie, pint and some entertaining Wrexham football. The Town are genuinely playing well at the moment, keeping possession, finding men, prepared to wait to find the right ball. It's a genuine joy to watch. Let's just hope we can keep it up against Kidderminster today. Fingers crossed that the Williams brothers don't come back to haunt us. Anyways, time for me to pop across the road for a pre-match pie and pint :)