Topic: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Good review; well written; like your style. This movie is already allocated to the "I'll watch it on Netflix" rank, where midnight IMAX screening is the equivalent to five-stars, and 'I'll buy the blu-ray' is three stars and 'I'll watch it on my iPhone on the way to work' is one star.

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Good review Mike, nice flow. I might catch this in the theatre given your comment on the vfx, it was going to be one I grabbed on disc.

There is one serious, pressing question your review didn't address; is there a woman with three breasts?

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

I think there was a good Total Recall remake to be made, because the original is definitely a goofy and crazy approach to a great concept, and you could definitely make a serious version.

The problem is that they haven't made this new version any less crazy (and even less plausible by the sound of that elevator thing)

You're basically trading ultra-violence and humour for really elaborate CG action, and for me, the former is nearly always better in an action movie.

They should've truly thrown out the original movie and made something that felt completely different. I feel like a serious version of this story should be much more like Memento, or Inception, in terms of approach and style. Scale the action WAY back, make it an intense psychological mystery story. Get Nolan, or Alfonso Cuaron, or Fincher to do it. THAT would be a great movie.

As it stands, this remake seems to basically be the same ridiculous approach from the 90s version, but minus all the charm, humour, and violence that make it a memorable movie. So basically totally pointless.

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

I'd watch a Total Recall remake by someone like Darren Aronofsky.

Len Wiseman? Yawn.

6 (edited by Zarban 2012-08-05 16:12:12)

Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Ya, we desperately need hollywood trends to swing back towards the cheesier 80s stuff, cause I am so fucking tired of grim, lifeless action movies.

Fingers crossed for Expendables 2 (and also The Last Stand, if anyone can make an awesome Schwarzenegger movie it's Kim-Je Woon, that guy has an amazing eye for action)

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Those who would trade liberties for securities, deserve neither liberties, nor securities.
-Benjamin Franklin

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

It's PG-13, so if nipples are allowed, it'll be for a split-second and no fondling allowed.
But PG-13 doesn't prevent you from having 1000 bloodless shooting deaths aka 'A-Team violence'

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

It's interesting that while the overall direction of prudishness has been improving over the last century, around the 1980s onwards, it split i.e. there was a reversal back into puritanism when it came to nudity, but graphic violence continued to get much more frequent & realistic. But recently, both have declined again in mainstream cinema (most tentpoles are PG-13). I was surprised how sanitized TDKR was.

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Given the original story is just a few pages long, and never leaves the memory place, you can adapt the thing any way you want. Hell, from memory, the story is actually from the point of view of the staff, who keep finding more hidden personalities in this guy.

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Ya, there's so many different ways you could go with the story. Another reason this was such a criminally missed opportunity. They could have totally started it out like the Arnie version, then have some crazy mind-fuck twist/subversion a third of the way through, and go off into a completely different story.

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

Man, those robot cops are useless. They only kill innocent passers-by and never hit their target.

not long to go now...

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Re: "TOTAL RECALL [2012]" Review by Dorkman (No Spoilers)

My biggest issue was Colin bitching about his life while being married to Kate Beckinsale...

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