Some Like It Remade

In the mid 1950s, Billy Wilder wanted to remake the 1935 French film Fanfare d'amour> but the screenplay of that film could not be found so Wilder and company procured the rights to remake the 1951 German remake of the French film titled Fanfaren der Liebe. In 1959, the American remake of the German remake of the French original was released and is recognized as one of the funniest and most perfect (despite its last line) movies of all time. In 1972 Sugar, the American musical remake of the American remake of the German remake of the French original, premiered on Broadway and ran for over a year before closing - thus ending the remake saga of Some Like It Hot.

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The Happiness Of The Katakuris (2002)

The Happiness Of The Katakuris begins as claymation and ends as a wonderfully imaginative zombie musical. The musical works because the central characters are developed and the story (of a family trying to market their bed and breakfast) is not an afterthought to the zombies. Director Takashi Miike (of Audition and The Ichi Killer) has created an entrancing mashup of The Sound Of Music and Night Of The Living Dead; its surreality is beyond mere description and deserves a look.

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Play Time (1967)

Had Robert Altman decided to make a cinematic ballet it might feel a lot like Jacques Tati's 1967 film, Playtime. The barest outline of a story follows Tati as Monseiur Hulot through his day in Paris, meeting friends and strangers with barely audible words, and ending at a raucous jazz club party. The lack of a compelling narrative might bore some but I found the film fascinating to watch and now see where Mad Men got it's signature look.

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Aparecidos (2007)

Engrossing and surprising, Aparecidos (The Appeared) is a political ghost story from Argentina based on historical fact. Writer/director Paco Cabezas has fashioned a film with a strong message that is applicable to many different countries during many different eras and cast the excellent Ruth Diaz as an attorney who finds out a little too much about her father's past on the way to pull his plug. There's not too much blood in this offbeat gem so don't let that keep you from searching it out.

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Gin gwai - The Eye (2002)

Atmospheric and surprisingly tender, Gin gwai (The Eye) is one hell of a ghost story. The Pang Brothers have fashioned a fascinating and scary script (much of it straight out of the headlines) and hired some excellent actors (including Lee Sin-Je, Lawrence Chou, Sue Yuen Wang and Chutcha Rujinanon) to tell this creepy story of supernatural sight. Watch it with the lights out.

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The Machine Girl (2008)

The Machine Girl not only has a machine gun for a left arm but she has a lot of heart - which makes this bloody tale of revenge so much fun to watch. Minase Yashiro (so good in her film debut - as is Amashi and the others) and commitment is what makes this genuine Grindhouse picture so extremely watchable and enjoyable. The over-the-top blood letting out Tarentinos Tarantino but writer/director Noburu Iguchi brings it!

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Martyrs (2008)

Martyrs is not essentially a horror film but a dramatic film with scenes of such horrifying violence that I had to stop and watch the last half of the film the next day. It's a mesmerizing and very difficult viewing with a fascinating payoff that is almost existentialist (maybe). Many will not be able to stomach it but those who do will be rewarded intellectually and viscerally.

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The Bride Work Black (1968)

Director Francois Truffaut's fascination with Alfred Hitchcock reached its apex with The Bride Wore Black, a Hitchcockian tale with no suspense starring Jean Moreau (of the Betty Davis face) as the woman denied her walk down the aisle. You almost know what's going on when she dons the darkside threads to dish out a cool style of revenge but the story keeps unfolding anyway to an inevitable conclusion. It's not the best Hitchcock homage that's been filmed but the cinematography of the French locations is breathtakingly real and Moreau's Pierre Cardin clothing is loud and proud.

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[REC] (2007)

Although it ends up a decent virus that turns people into people-eating people movie in the horror filmed with a video camera cannon, [REC] also falls into the people in horror movies are so stupid genre. There are many places where the people in horror movies are so stupid action outweighs the horror filmed with a video camera aspect but the ending, although not the must lucid, is certainly interesting with its 90º turn into The Exorcist territory. There are also some good jump out of your seat scenes and Manuela Velasco as the television reporter is excellent but mostly I think it all works because, not counting the credits, the movie is only 70 minutes long.

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Starstruck (1982)

An absolute delight of a film, Starstruck is Gillian Armstrong's second following her breakthrough My Brilliant Career. Starring Jo Kennedy as a young Aussie attempting a career in music, this musical follows a Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney mentality as a real-life Australian band, The Swingers (with Ms. Kennedy as lead singer), follows a Dick Clark-esque television personality, begging for a chance to perform on his television show. The film is tuneful with wonderful new wave songs, colorful, sweet, funny, quirky, nicely-written, excellently acted, and beautifully directed; a piece of sugar candy to let dissolve in your mouth that will do nothing bad to your teeth.

...Volver (2006)

Volver is a warped three-hanky movie which harkens back to the dark, earthy Italian film dramas of the 1950s. It takes a while to get into gear but when it does it is riveting. Penelope Cruz is just one of a marvelous cast that brings Almodovar's tale of mothers and daughters to life.

...Gwoemul AKA The Host (2006)

Gwoemul aka The Host is an excellent movie with great monster effects and wonderful performances from the South Korean cast. It is humorous and scary with an ending that was surprising and real. Don't miss this one - even if you're not interested in monster movies.

...Pan's Labrynth (2006)

Pan's Labrynth is an excellent film with a complex script and outstanding performances - especially those by Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, and Sergi López. Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed this fantastical thriller set physically in wartime Spain (around 1944) and thoughtfully in...um...Pan's labrynth. It's a multi-award winner (including three Oscars for art direction, makeup and cinematography) about a young girl and fascism and one of the best films I've seen in years.