Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson in the Christopher Nolan movie ‘The Prestige’

Magic was in the air when it came to the Christopher Nolan directed film named The Prestige (2006). Based on the 1995 Christopher Priest novel named The Prestige, this screenplay co-written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan follows a pair of magicians through London of the late nineteenth century as their careers separate into rivalry following a tragic stage accident early in their collective careers.

(From left, Michael Caine as John Cutter, a stage engineer who works with Robert Angier and Alfred Borden with Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, aka Lord Caldlow, aka The Great Danton, an aristocrat magician in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

Rival magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden began their early careers working for Milton the Magician and stage engineer John Cutter. Cutter follows the careers of Borden and Angier after a tragic accident on the stage of Milton the Magician, wherein Angier’s wife, Julia McCullough, drowns in a water tank accident wherein she could not free herself from a tied knot around her wrists and execute the escape. An escalating obsession with developing the best illusion and blame forms between the two from that moment, which informs the remaining direction of the film.

(Christian Bale as Alfred Borden in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

Hugh Jackman portrayed Robert Angier, opposite Christian Bale‘s portrayal of Alfred Borden and Bernard Fallon. Ricky Jay portrayed Milton the Magician to Michael Caine‘s portrayal of John Cutter. Piper Perabo portrayed Julia McCullough, Milton the Magician’s assistant and Robert Angier’s wife. Through the magical rivalry of the careers of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, Scarlett Johansson portrayed Olivia Wenscombe, an assistant to both magicians.

(From left, Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough, an assistant to Milton the Magician and Robert Angier’s wife, beside Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe, an assistant to Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

In the aftermath of McCullough’s death, Angier and Borden launch their own magic careers. Angier works with Cutter as Borden works with the mysterious Fallon. The rivalry takes an insidious turn to sabotage when Angier slips a live bullet into Borden’s gun for a bullet-catch trick. The sabotage leads Borden to lose two fingers in the incident, later sabotaging the disappearing bird act for Angier by killing the bird on stage and injuring an audience member that had volunteered to assist.

(From left, David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, the real-life inventor who creates a teleportation device for Angier, and Andy Serkis as Mr. Alley, Tesla’s assistant in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

The competitive illusion rivalry escalates to an act called the Transported Man, wherein the performer appears to travel instantly between two wardrobes on opposite ends of the stage. Angier asks his assistant, Olivia Wenscombe, to spy upon Borden’s version of the trick while approaching real-life inventor Nikola Tesla, as conjured through the beauty of the fictional story of The Prestige, to build a legitimate form of transportation. David Bowie portrayed Tesla. Andy Serkis portrayed Tesla‘s assistant, Mr. Alley. Olivia in part led Angier to Tesla, despite Angier’s obsession to surpass Borden having moved past a sense of love by Angier for his deceased wife.

(Christian Bale as Bernard Fallon and Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden, as Alfred Borden’s wife in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

Through the story, the full commitment that Alfred Borden and his assistant, Bernard Fallon, have to their own obsession with illusion exacts a price between Borden and his wife, Sarah Borden, and their child, Jess Borden. A further price is exacted on Borden himself, which reveals legitimately dark and exacting truths for the three Bordens, Fallon, and Angier himself. In an exactness and execution of story that truly strikes me as magical, the layers of truth, lies and commitment to personal truths that come to light only through a murder trial give this movie a true impact and resonance for me. Rebecca Hall portrayed Sarah Borden. Samantha Mahurin portrayed Jess Borden.

(From left, director Christopher Nolan and actor Hugh Jackman in the Christopher Nolan movie The Prestige).

The Prestige serves as a definitive achievement of storytelling that deserves your viewing and appreciation. The underlying story itself is an accomplishment, with enough of a departure in the fictional means of what was accomplished within to allow me to recommend reading the book as well. My rating for The Prestige as directed by Christopher Nolan is 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, March 16, 2022

The Year 2020 in Movies

With the oddness that has been the year 2020, new movie releases have been few and far between. Matt Lynn Digital continued to look into the past for movies to enjoy and review with you. The year saw us review thirty-six (36) films through the year, which we will share with you by decade, shared from highest rated to lowest.

(Argo starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and  John Goodman was a 2012 gem that leads the 2010s with 4.5-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Argo (2012) leads the way for movies from the 2010s. The film earned 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars, which is the highest rating matched only twice for movies this year. Earning 4.0-stars for the decade were Game Night (2018) starring Jason Batemen and Rachel McAdams, Captain Phillips (2013) starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi and The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey and, for a second time this decade, Bryan Cranston.

(Matt Damon makes two appearances for the 2010s, the first with the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari).

 Ford v Ferrari (2019) offers the first of two starring roles in the Matt Lynn Digital movie reviews for Matt Damon and Christian Bale. The story of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans earn a rating of 3.75-stars along with The Martian (2015), which starred Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig and Jeff Daniels and Gravity (2013) starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris.

(Tom Hanks returns to our list with the 4.25-stars granted Cast Away by Matt Lynn Digital).

The Robert Zemeckis film Cast Away (2000) starts in the holiday season where the character portrayed by Tom Hanks faces tremendous odds while delivering an outstanding movie granted 4.25-stars. The movie Ray (2004), starring Jamie Foxx in the role as Ray Charles and the Ang Lee movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) starring Michelle Yeoh and Yun-Fat Chow each earned 4-stars in their 2020 reviews.

(The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York featured among the best portrayals of a movie villain ever delivered by Daniel Day-Lewis. The film earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Gangs of New York (2002) leads a stable of five movies to earn 3.75-stars from the decade that began the 21st century. While prominent, the performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson and John C. Reilly held sway in part for where the ranking placed. Other films from this decade gaining 3.75-stars included The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, The Blind Side (2009) starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, Friday Night Lights (2004) starring Lucas Black, Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw, and Elf (2003) starring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel.  The Skulls (2000) starring Joshua Jackson,  Paul Walker and  Craig T. Nelson earned 3.5-stars.

(Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter and the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco lead the 1990s with 4.5-stars granted by Matt Lynn Digital).

The film Fight Club (1999) and the film Goodfellas (1990) bookend the 1990s with a pair of movies earning the 2020 top rating of 4.5-stars offered by Matt Lynn Digital. The football movie Rudy (1993) starring Sean Astin and Ned Beatty is joined by baseball movie The Sandlot (1993) with Denis Leary and the military, political intrigue movie The Hunt for Red October (1990) starring Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, Alec Baldwin and Sam Neill with ratings of 4.0-stars.

(For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner, John C. Reilly and Kelly Preston lead 1990s films getting 3.75-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Baseball and borderline romantic comedy film For Love of the Game (1999) earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital in 2020. The film Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) with  Richard Dreyfuss and the Ron Howard film Far and Away (1992) with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman join For Love of the Game with 3.75-stars. Earning 3.25 stars is the film The Usual Suspects (1995), which starred Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak.

(The Brian De Palma and Oliver Stone film Scarface with  Al Pacino,  Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer kicks off the 1980s with a 4-star rating by Matt Lynn Digital).

The 4-stars earned by the organized crime movie Scarface (1983) is joined by the Steven Spielberg film Empire of the Sun (1987) starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano and Tim Burton‘s film Beetlejuice (1988) starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. The Richard Donner film Scroooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, John Forsythe, David Johansen and Carol Kane completes the decade with 3.75-stars.

(Ridley Scott‘s film Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Ian Holm earns the best rating of the 1970s for Matt Lynn Digital at 4.25-stars).

Alien (1979) closed out the 1970s with quite the impact, garnering 4.25-stars for a science fiction story that stands on its own. The Martin Scorsese concert goodbye The Last Waltz (1978) with The Band leads three other productions getting 3.75-stars. Joining The Last Waltz with 3.75-stars include the baseball movie The Bad News Bears (1976) with Walter Mathau and Tatum O’Neal, the western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) starring Clint Eastwood and John Vernon and the comedic war movie Kelly’s Heroes (1970) starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’ Connor and Gavin MacLeod.

(The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance and The Lady Vanishes achieved two different things in two different decades to complete the movie reviews by Matt Lynn Digital in 2020).

The John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962) starred John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles in a western that earned 3.75-stars. The Lady Vanishes (1938) put Alfred Hitchcock on the proverbial map with a political commentary in the guise of a thriller starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas and May Whitty. The Lady Vanishes earned 4.0-stars from Matt Lynn Digital.

(Blog friend Cobra reviewed the movies Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight in a single sharing on Matt Lynn Digital).

Matt Lynn Digital also enjoyed sharing a review of Richard Linklater‘s Before Trilogy of movies. Blog friend Cobra reviewed Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) in a single review. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy explore the notion of relationships a bit more fully and cleverly than often happens with any movie franchise. It is with thanks that we look back to this sharing.

Share the Matt Lynn Digital blog with your friends if you see value in what we are doing. We feel these reviews provide excellent content that we would like to continue offering.

Matt – Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Matt Damon, Christian Bale and the film ‘Ford v Ferrari’

It was avid car aficionado in the form of Lynn‘s West Virginia uncle who turned me on to the biopic film about the 1966 automobile race 24 Hours of Le Mans. This particular film, and the facts underpinning it, tells the story about the stranglehold that the Ferrari brand had on the race at the time as well as the battle Ford had in becoming relevant there for a four year stretch beginning in 1966. The film that addresses this contest is Ford v Ferrari (2019).

(From left, Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II in the film Ford v Ferrari).

The crux of the film starts around the time that the Ford Mustang as a vehicle was introduced, with Ford owner Henry Ford II (as played by Tracy Letts) making an overture to Ferrari owner Enzo Ferrari (as played by Remo Girone) to acquire the motor company owned by Ferrari, and being soundly rebuffed in a move to increase the sales price to Fiat. This led to a courting by Ford of Carroll Shelby (as played by Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (as played by Christian Bale).

(From left, Stefania Spampinato as Enzo Ferrari‘s English Translator and Remo Girone as Enzo Ferrari in the film Ford v Ferrari).

The means of being rebuffed by Enzo Ferrari opened, or perhaps revealed, an emotional rivalry between he and Henry Ford II that revealed some interesting dynamics in the way Ford was operated as a company. Lee Iacocca, as portrayed by Jon Bernthal, brought Carroll Shelby into the Ford company when Henry Ford II demanded engineers and money into the company to have the wherewithal to compete with Ferrari at Le Mans.

(From left, Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca and Corrado Invernizzi as Franco Gozzi in the film Ford v Ferrari).

The compelling notion of what worked in the movie Ford V Ferrari was first the racing story with the fortunes of two automobile companies at the center of it. Also there were the personalities within Ford, with Shelby and Miles as clearly outsiders to the corporate culture of the larger company. Iacocca was a bit of a middleman between that culture and the work getting done by Shelby and Miles.

(Josh Lucas as Leo Beebe in the film Ford v Ferrari).

Josh Lucas as Leo Beebe was the face of that corporate culture, and in many ways vilified for his role in how the 24 Hours of Le Mans came to a resolution in 1966. There was natural tension in his trusted role in Ford and the natural conflict that arose in holding the Shelby / Miles team to an account that also reflected on the public face of what Ford wished to project. Said another way, a story of Ford v Ferrari was the means for how mean with well-defined senses of self worth worked together. This came into play as well between Shelby and Miles, the both of them and Beebe, and the full lot of them and Henry Ford II with Iacocca in the middle. Ken Miles and his wife, Mollie Miles as portrayed by Caitriona Balfe, had their own form of intrigue as shown in Ford v Ferrari.

(From left, Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles and Christian Bale as Ken Miles in the film Ford v Ferrari).

I found the movie Ford v Ferrari both entertaining and interesting. There’s history in the telling, despite some clear fictionalized dramatization included for the sake of the telling. The fiction offered something that worked for me in this case, though there are some muscle car folks that might not agree. I rate Ford v Ferrari at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Christian Bale, John Malkovich and the Steven Spielberg film ‘Empire of the Sun’

British, American and other expatriates were in Shanghai, China during the time surrounding the Japanese occupation of the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. That war lasted longer and occurred at the same time that many in the west understand as World War Two, though the film Empire of the Sun (1987) looks at the period that can be roughly understood as 1941 to 1945.

(Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham and Takatarô Kataoka as Kamikaze Boy Pilot in the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun tells the story of spoiled British child Jamie Graham, played by Christian Bale, who starts the film living with his parents in diplomat accommodations in Shanghai prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Jamie has lived an exceptionally privileged life with Chinese servants serving his every wish, having grown up in diplomatic circles in China with an apparent understanding of communicating in both English, the form of Chinese spoken in Shanghai, and Japanese.

(Left to Right, Emily Richard as Mary Graham, Rupert Frazer as John Graham and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

In the chaos following Japan occupying Shanghai and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jamie is separated from his parents as the occupation begins. Following some desperate actions in the aftermath of that chaos, Jamie becomes entangled in the occupation with American expatriates Frank Demarest and Basie, as portrayed by John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano.

(John Malkovich as Basie, left, and Joe Pantoliano as Frank Demarest in the film Empire of the Sun).

In creating a trade network within the camp where the prisoners exist, and in coming of age in a fashion that instills hope among the adult prisoners where all are held, Jamie takes the abbreviated name Jim from Basie and Frank. Hope comes in the form of the successes in acquiring street smarts, flat out bravery in pushing boundaries with his captors for his own good as well as the benefit of the prisoners, and the support Jim acquires through the course of the movie’s telling.

(Nigel Havers as Dr. Rawlins, left, and Christian Bale as Jamie ‘Jim’ Graham in the film Empire of the Sun).

While in the camp, Jim also forms a sort of father and son relationship with camp physician and British expatriate Dr. Rawlins, as portrayed by Nigel Havers. The bond formed by the two is palpable and convincing, offering a sweet glimpse into the emotionally possible within the context of the utterly miserable conditions of captivity. It is in part that Jim can maintain an optimism and growth in the face of a military occupation that hope is as strong a message for Empire of the Sun as is captivity.

(Christian Bale and Empire of the Sun director Steven Spielberg on set of the film Empire of the Sun).

The film Empire of the Sun is based on J.G. Ballard‘s autobiographical novel, also named Empire of the Sun. The film ends during the 1945 liberation of the prison camp, with glimpses of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki catching Jim’s attention. The heavy truths are shared in typically tasteful Steven Spielberg fashion, and the story eventually resolves in emotionally compelling fashions on that larger stage as well as on the personal stage of the relationships forged through the film. Empire of the Sun, rather to my unexpected pleasure, works on an emotional level in the storytelling that allows me to give the film 4.00-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Joaquin Phoenix and the film ‘Joker’

The film Joker (2019) works. Joaquin Phoenix starring in a gritty, physically demanding, emotional gut punch of a role as Arthur Fleck demands your attention. While given credible support in roles supporting him, make no mistake that Joaquin Phoenix as star of this character study surpasses the critical appreciation granted Christian Bale for Batman Begins (2005). While in the conversation, it is hard for me to say Phoenix’ Joker surpasses that of Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight (2008).

(Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in the film Joker).

While thinking quite highly of the film Joker and the role Joaquin Phoenix played, this commentary is largely intended to keep the story of the experience to myself. Robert De Niro starring in a role reminiscent of Johnny Carson‘s The Tonight Show brings credibility to a sense of time and place in setting to a time of the maybe the 1970’s with the fictional city of Gotham standing in for New York City.

(Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin in the film Joker).

Arthur Fleck faced the gritty hardship of experiencing the difficult sides of a life that lacked stability, a future, and other elements that brought the Joker, as a character and villain, into conflict with the character Batman we know through the myth of the comic books, the multiple television series, and the multiple movie franchises. Arthur’s relationship with Penny Fleck, as portrayed by Frances Conroy, is given appropriate treatment in Joker.

(Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck, Arthur’s mother, in the film Joker).

Further, critical roles were given convincing voice in giving the role of Arthur Fleck an escalating series of events, each deepening Fleck into his culmination as sociopath Joker. Bringing Gotham with him in parallel offers a tangible sense of what guides the Batman we see on the reverse side of the coin. Those leveling criticism of this film as juvenile, bleak, clichéd, derivative or not angry enough miss a large point that this was a character study. Part of what made the slow burn of Quention Tarantino‘s film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019) film work made Joker also work.

(Joaquin Phoenix with director and co-screenwriter Todd Phillips from the film Joker).

Todd Phillips directed Joker. Scott Silver joined Phillips with screenwriting credits. My feeling of this movie, following my first viewing on Sunday of opening weekend, is that the film deserves the 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five that I am granting it. The audience score (91% favorable) rather than the score of critics (69% favorable) from Rotten Tomatoes on Sunday evening at roughly 10:30 PM Eastern Time, is more in line with my experience.

Matt – Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Remakes and Sequels in the Service of Story

Matt Lynn Digital recently reviewed the Disney animated movie Dumbo (1941). We did so anticipating the live action movie Dumbo (2019)‘s theatrical release in the United States on Friday, March 29th. Without making a fine distinction between remake and reboot, we at Matt Lynn Digital wanted to review why some remakes work well while also looking at why sequels, as a distinct thing from remakes, also are worth the time.

(The movie A Star Is Born was first made in 1937 with remakes in 1954, 1976, and 2018).

Followers of the 2019 Academy Awards will recognize A Star is Born (2018) as a featured nominee for best movie. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga starred in the directorial debut for Cooper. Part of the success this movie enjoyed rested in starring a well-known musician and actor (Cooper and Gaga) in featured roles executing their craft using contemporary film and musical take on a movie that had been made three times before. A Star Is Born (1976) with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, A Star Is Born (1954) with Judy Garland and James Mason, and A Star is Born (1937) with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March were others that succeeded with a similar compelling story.

(1939’s movie The Wizard of Oz was remade as The Wiz in 1978).

We at Matt Lynn Digital have ranked the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939) as the fourth best movie ever made. Starring Judy Garland and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion singing and dancing in the service of an adventure of rural versus city, labor versus management, poor versus rich, the music enhanced the telling of a story that has endured for many years. The same themes with a Motown soundtrack and an African American cast including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Lena Horne, and Richard Pryor starred in The Wiz (1978). A powerful story serving powerful audiences are powerful reasons to remake a movie.

(1982’s musical movie Annie was remade in 1999 and 2014. All take inspiration from Little Orphan Annie of 1932).

The final look into remade movies includes the music filled song of looking towards tomorrow with family with Annie (1982). In reprising a heartwarming tale of the adventures of a young girl in finding her family, whereas The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz both reinforce getting back home, the original stars Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn and others. Annie (1999) rebooted the franchise for television with Kathy Bates as a notable star. Annie (2014) offered an entertaining review of the movie with a more robust and contemporary telling of the underlying story with stars Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, and Cameron Diaz. The 1982 and 2014 movies experienced commercial success. Each of these movies trace back to the comedy and drama Little Orphan Annie (1932).

The notion of making sequels to movies often is more creatively deliberate. Its goals are often are not to retell a story with a more modern take or for a more modern audience, as we explored with some examples above. Instead, sequels seek to extend a story or take themes explored within a story to something more robust or fanciful.

(1972’s The Godfather experienced sequels in 1974 and 1990).

The Godfather (1972) joins with The Godfather: Part II (1974) and The Godfather: Part III (1990) to tell the trials and tribulations of an Italian American mafia family with the surname Corleone. The story tells of how Vito Corleone became a major American criminal, how he died, and then how his youngest son Michael Corleone succeeded him and then became corrupted. The first two movies often are considered superior to the third movie in the sequence. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, and Talia Shire are notable stars in these movies.

(2005’s Batman Begins was followed by The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises in 2008 and 2012, respectively).

The Dark Knight Trilogy of movies collectively refers to Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Heath Ledger are notable stars telling the background story of Bruce Wayne (aka Batman), his becoming a crime fighter, and some graphic crime and violence he fights while simultaneously fighting his own emotional baggage wrought by the death of his parents at the hand of violent crime. Christopher Nolan became a director of worldwide reputation thanks to these movies.

(The 1975 blockbuster movie Jaws was followed by sequels in 1978, 1983, and 1987).

The movie Jaws (1975) led to three sequels, namely Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983), and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). The first movie launched the career of director Steven Spielberg, who directed only the first movie. Roy Scheider starred in the first two movies, as did Murray Hamilton, and Lorraine Gary. Other notable stars in the original were Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. The notion for all four movies was to extend the suspenseful interplay between unsuspecting folks on the beach, a hungry great white shark, and the engaging conflict the allows the audience to question who is the predator and who is the prey. Each movie in the series had a different director. Both the quality and originality of the series suffered from one movie to the next in this series, which is to say that this series demonstrates cases where sequels failed in the mission to extend the story into new and original places.

In walking through some notable remakes and movie sequels, my aim was to begin a dialogue for where one or the other is appropriate. Especially with some examples of sequels, we are aiming to stake more ground for where sequels are not appropriate. For example, two sequels for Batman Begins seem justified, and a second sequel for The Godfather seems unwarranted. Multiple follow-ups for Jaws seem clearly unnecessary. The remakes of films largely seem justifiable reaches into new territory. What do you think?

Matt – Wednesday, March 27, 2019