Open Your Eyes (1997)

Abre los ojos

I've watched the remake back in the day, but it didn't make much of an impression at me at the time. I'm not sure whether it was because of the movie or because my taste have developed since then, but the original sure made an impact.

Alejandro Amenábar have both directed and co-written this with his usual right hand guy Mateo Gil, and delivers a nice little mind-puzzle blended with romance and tragedy. Eduardo Noriega delivers in the lead, and it's nice to see early Cruz before she went Hollywood. As a side-note I might mention Cruz also played in the Hollywood remake.

This isn't for everyone, but it has qualities many who like these kind of movies will embrace.

Infernal Affairs (2002)

Mou gaan dou

I watched Scorsese's remake when it was launched back in the days, but this original actually left an impression (which I honestly can't say about the more known work of Scorsese). It's fast paced and yet with a solid grasp at its plot and storyline, and it's solid acting all over the board.

Scorsese clocked in 50 min slower, and yet he never managed to get this kind of depth to his remake. Wai-keung Lau and Alan Mak have done a terrific job with this movie, and the result is nothing short a work of art.

A highly recommended must see movie.

The Italian Job (1969)

The Italian Job

I've got very few problems understanding why they chose to remake this, as both the premise and the heist idea show promise. Obviously the execution wasn't nearly as good, and as such it was a logic movie to redo properly like they did in the 2003 The Italian Job, which I found rather entertaining for the genre.

Adding comedic relief to any heist, action or crime movie in general is a balancing act as well as getting the fun to work on its own. In this I found they managed neither. Some of the plays on British in general works quite well, but most of the rest just helped dragging its entertainment value downward.

What's worse is the heist itself. The preparations even managed to do stuff not needed for the job, even adding a point of ruining several cars while at it. To make matters worse there was very little flow throughout the execution part, and then this quickly became nothing but a good idea badly executed.

True Grit (1969)

True Grit

With the Coen-remake coming up, I had to check out this John Wayne original first. I've never been much of a John Wayne fan myself, but the guy got legendary status.

To me the most stand out about the movie is its wasted potential. In glimpses there's both humor and character potential, but overall it never manages to build character relations, story or dialogue close to its peaks. The good thing about that is no doubt the possibilities for the Coens to do it a lot better.

There's no doubt some qualities with both Kim Darby and John Wayne, but neither manages to give a performance without mayor flaws. How Wayne got Oscar is beyond me, but then again I haven't seen that many movies from 1969. There might not have been better performances for all I know.

Interesting appearances by both Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper, while Glen Campbell dragged down the experience in one of the larger parts. How the Golden Globe managed to award him with Most Promising Newcomer-Male is even further beyond me than how the Oscar went to Wayne.

One more good thing about this movie is the scenery and camerawork, which to me stood out more than the Oscar nominated Best Music-Original Song. Anyway. Looking forward to the Coen-take on this, and hopefully they'll have better customized the character relations and the story as a whole.

Anything for Her (2008)

Pour elle

This is a classic three acts thriller, changing direction for each act. While it might not stand out on either one, that's also what makes it stand out enough as a whole. It feels real, it doesn't hand the protagonist remarkable skills or odd abilities to avoid feelings and pain.

Diane Kruger was the main reason I got to this before checking out the remake with Crowe and Banks, and Kruger is as usually brilliant. Still. This is more about Vincent Lindon's character than anything else, and he does a great job coming across as the teacher going to lengths for his love.

For some it might feel to slow in the beginning, but it lays the groundwork for what's to come. It allows us to get to know these characters and their pain. I for one appreciate the way it's done.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

The Thomas Crown Affair is the 1968 original on which the 1999 Pierce Brosnan remake is built upon, starring Steve McQueen as Thomas Crown and Faye Dunaway as the insurance agent looking to capture him for his crime.

I don't mind watching old movies. Not long ago I reviewed Serpico starring the young Al Pacino and another example might be Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton, and I honored both. This movie is however a blend attempt to have a dialogue thriller catch our interest with a playboy-thief and the insurance agent looking to capture him. Much like in the remake, I never cared for any of the characters, I found the dialogue alarming naive and the entire movie is a reminder not everything was better back in the days. As it turns out the original is as bad as the remake, and ain't that a kick in the head?