Past the Popcorn film roundup—When Homages Go Right
Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.
Last week, Past the Popcorn Managing Editor Greg Wright was none too kind to 10,000 B.C., calling it a less-than-fresh mashup of homages to better films. He concluded by pointing out that every recipe is made up of a list of ingredients, but not every dish is memorable or original.
This week, two reworkings of 1980s staples manage to do what 10,000 B.C. couldn’t.
First off, Greg Wright praises the low-budget Hong-Kong homage to E.T. for doing something entirely new with the messianic alien story—and for transcending “Spielbergian suburbanality.” The re-setting of the film is “entirely unique,” he says. “There’s a light feeling to the tale that’s reminiscent of Michael Apted’s Kipperbang. Just as Kipperbang’s ‘Ducky’ Duckworth fantasized about how cricket would save him, make him popular, and win him the girl, CJ7‘s Dicky escapes into loopy visions of how different life will be with CJ7 at his shoulder. It’s goofy fun.”
And while Michael Brunk isn’t quite as enthusiastic about Never Back Down’s reworking of the Karate Kid formula, he still finds the film entertaining and the performances serviceable. “So should you see Never Back Down? Maybe. An interesting subplot covering Jake’s struggles coming to grips with his father’s death and learning to handle his anger in a positive way adds a degree of much needed depth to what otherwise would have just been a ‘fight film.'”
Other releases this week: Chicago 10 and Sleepwalking.
