Total Recall 2012 8 out of 10

Total Recall 2012    8 out of 10

Watching the new Total Recall was like going The Magic Kingdom when you have grown up going to Disneyland your whole life.  It is fun and everything was really  familiar --but somethings are in different places,  the  Pirates of the Caribbean is missing the drops and you can't find the Indiana Jones ride at all.  It feels like if you had never been to Disneyland you would love it ---but since you have all you can do is compare it.  On its own the new Total Recall is a good solid Sci-Fi action adventure movie and if the original with Arnold hadn't existed I probably would have liked it even more.    However the  original does exist  and was a classic and the question as to why they even remade such a classic is one that will probably be asked for awhile.   Why not just do another Phillip K Dick book rather than redoing one that had already been done right.    Phillip K Dick books all have very similar  themes and subject matter and I'm sure more of his work would be worth bringing to the big screen.    Watching the new one was like watching  the remake of  Halloween or Psycho---you just wonder why?    Why not just watch the original again?   The script was so similiar that the only thing new about it was the special effects which were great.  As a result of this there were no twists or turns from the original as it follows the essence of the story so closely.    While watching it I was conflicted as to whether I should be enjoying it or whether I should just turn it off and watch the original.    The cast did a good job,   Kate Beckinsale takes over the role of Michael Ironside and Sharon Stone's wife character from the original as a combined character.  Collin Ferrell does a good job --but seriously  Arnold's  shoes are too big for him to fill. Jessica Biel is good as well as the agent that Collin Ferrell teams up with.  All in all it was a good film,  but if you only see one Total Recall watch the one with Arnold.

I Recall seeing this movie a before.........A remake

I'm conflicted......Total Recall with Arnold is one of my top 25 movies of all-time.

A Phillip K Dick adapted sci-fi story as a kick ass action movie at the height of Arnold's career.

It was so good, not only because of the story and the action and the three boobed mutants....but also because Sharon Stone was a hottie at the time and Arnold was just an action movie beast.

Classic Arnold lines---like  "Screw you Benny"  and "Consider that a Divorce" delivered in half English like only Arnold can deliver them.  A 10 out of 10.  So seeing a new Total Recall come out is weird.....Why are they messing with a classic action film.??  Sure it a a good thing for fans of 3 boobed hookers.  The new Total Recall looks like a scene for scene remake of the old film.  Even the trailers show the same scenes..   Special effects have evolved since the original so it will probably look great.  I'm curious to see how they do it....but maybe not enough to get me to see it in the theater.

For one thing they aren't even getting their ass to Mars this time around.....and Colin Farell is just no Arnold.

If the Rock was in it I would be lined up right now to see it.....I just don't know if I can like a Colin Farell version of a movie that is already a 10 out of 10 for me.

Quote from my friend Scott....."Why are they remaking Total Recall?" 

I have a feeling the box office results are going to say the same thing.

Here are the trailers ...

 I  think I will wait for DVD and just watch the original this week if I need my Total Recall fix

A Scanner Darkly 2006 5 out of 10

Some great Science Fiction movies have come out or been inspired by the books of Phillip K Dick.

Blade Runner, Total Recall, The Minority Report and more recently The Adjustment Bureau.  All of his works have a sense of paranoia or mistaken identity and delve into cool issues in a sci-fi setting.  A Scanner Darkly just didn't excite me as much as the other films based on his work.  I've seen a lot of praise for this not so widely seen film and figured I had to check it out after seeing a recent Science channel show called Prophets of Science Fiction which had an episode about Phillip K Dick.  I've read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and several of the books with some of his short stories which I loved.   This drug and paranoia movie although weird and considered one of the most faithful adaptations of his work didn't thrill me.   The main reason is the Rotoscope animation used to present the film.   I found it distracting and unnecessary.  Why animate over actors like Robert Downey Jr and Keanu  Reeves when the animation looks just like them.  This style of animation is generally hated and I felt served no purpose in the film.  Keanu is a bad actor whether you Rotoscope him or not and I don't feel it added to the film.  Instead I believe my hatred of this style of animation took away from the movie and the performances of the actors.   I would suggest all of the other films based on the works of Phillip K Dick before this one.   If you want the non-Hollywood Phillip K Dick in pure form check out his books instead of this Rotoscoped version of it.   The story itself is good, I just didn't like the method it was delivered in.