Posts Tagged ‘Keith David’

It sounds crazy, but the remedy for a so-so prequel just might in fact be a sequel

Dear Universal Pictures,

Just an idea, but maybe you should dare to follow your prequel of The Thing with a sequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing, and make it a follow-up reminiscent of James Cameron’s Aliens.

In my review of Heijningen Jr.’s recently released prequel I note how transparent it is that what he really made was actually more of a remake. And although there is still a rather large cultural resistance to horror remakes (I’m going by fan forums here, not box office numbers), such a fact should not really be held against Heijningen Jr. himself. More appropriately, any hostility towards this truth should be directed at you because it was you who insisted on making a “prequel” that in this particular case couldn’t have been anything else but a remake. One way you could redeem yourself of this misguided decision, though, is by seriously entertaining the above suggestion.

It sounds almost paradoxical for me to suggest that the way to make up for a poorly conceived remake is to base another related story on a film that so many – including myself – consider a classic of such status that to even joke about “tampering” with it might be tantamount to heresy, but hear me out.

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Short Take: Impressive for many reasons, but perhaps no better reason than because it's NEW

Directors: Ron Clements (Aladdin), John Musker (Aladdin)

Writers: Ron Clements, Jason Oremland, and John Musker (story), Ron Clements, John Musker, and Rob Edwards (Treasure Planet) (screenplay)

Cast: Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls), Bruno Campos, Keith David (Coraline), Jim Cummings (Bee Movie)

Length: 1h 37m

Synopsis: Tiana (Rose) is a hard-working lower class girl who is trying as hard as she can to save up enough money to open up her own restaurant, which was both her and her father’s life long dream. One day, while wishing upon a star for help in achieving this, she comes across a frog who calls himself a prince (Campos). He claims that he’s only a frog because an evil voodoo magician turned him into one, and that a kiss would set everything right again. As it turns out, the solution to their problems is not so simple. Read the rest of this entry »