This week’s DVD rentals have been about taking a trip back through time to a land of nostalgia…
From my growing list of titles to rent, I selected two that hark back to the 1980s.
Starting on the left-hand side, we have Turner and Hooch – one of Tom Hanks’ earliest starring roles and a canine-fuelled adventure I’d convinced myself that I hadn’t seen before… My recent interest in this one was formed on Instagram, where another user began a brief discussion about favorite Tom Hanks films (he is also one of my favorite actors) and how he’s (possibly) not been in a single bad movie… Only a matter of opinion, of course.
Well, it turned out that, as the film rolled on, I recognised a succession of scenes and yet in spite of its sudden familiarity, I enjoyed it. A definite for dog-lovers and fans of the young Tom Hanks. It’s showing its age a little today but it won’t destroy your state of emotions like Marley and Me (or that one episode of Futurama… You know the one!).
Clash of the Titans is one of those films that was very much around during my childhood. I didn’t understand all of it and it was quite frightening in certain scenes, three-decades ago. But I’ve come to appreciate it more as my years have come along (here, we could talk about a film that absolutely does not hold up too well against today’s CGI-infested studio productions…).
But the 1981 original is broadcast on British TV at least once a year, if you know where to look for it. So, I wasn’t going to rent that. When the remake came out in 2010 (that’s funny, I thought it was 2008), I was intrigued simply because of the ‘legacy’ of the original film. I didn’t have a clue what ‘Imax’ was or what it stood for so I’d waited until very recently to watch it.
On a positive note, it’s not an exact replica of the first film. Of course, the prime storyline and narrative lead towards the same end goal but the scripting’s refreshed in many places and certain interactions between characters (Good Vs. Evil) will be unlike what you witnessed over thirty-years ago (and I’m not simply talking about the whip scene). But comparing it to the original, I found the new Medusa to be almost anything but frightening in the 2010 remake, while the confrontation in her labyrinth, I found to be a little lacking (if also, somehow, OTT) against the old battle.
As a film on its own and not affiliated with anything to precede it, I suppose it couldn’t been a decent solo release. But reviews elsewhere will speak for themselves. It’s an expected disappointment overall (what else would you expect from a remake of any franchise?) and they somehow managed to spawn a sequel from it… Not to mention the most Irish-American-sounding Ancient Greek deity, where every other native appears to either speak the Queen’s English or carry a vocal twang from somewhere close to Down Under.
Thanks for reading.
