Take 5 - 09/16/11

Each week I take 5 news items from the current week from the entertainment industry, list them out here and then give my take on them. This is Take 5.

1. The Death of Andy Whitfield – Andy was a small name before his breakout performance in the Starz series “Spartacus.” The first season of the show was quite a bit of fun and I was saddened when I learned that he wouldn’t be returning due to his struggle with cancer. On the show the guy was ripped and you would never think that he would be dead within 3 years. It shows how ruthless and aggressive cancer can be. Andy was a young star on the rise before his death and it is too bad that we won’t get to see what he was capable of.

2. Remakes of “Highlander” and “Point Break” – Both of these movies are considered cult classics, which meant it was only a matter of time before Hollywood remade them. I can understand remaking “Highlander.” The franchise has several movies and a TV show. There is a following there and if “Star Trek” can do it why not them. As for “Point Break”, why even do a remake. It was a simple action film that had surfing, jumping out of a plane and president masks. Does the name “Point Break” actually mean anything? It’s not like the world has been crazy for them to make more.

3. “Ringer” premieres to highest ratings in 3 years on the CW – Good for them. I watched the pilot for “Ringer” this week, and honestly, meh. Sarah Michelle Gellar puts in an okay performance with the material she is given, but the show appears to be a little too soapy for my tastes. There looks to be a lot of potential for future plots, but I have an issue with the main character. She acts like a perfectly normal person with almost no edge, yet she was a drug addicted stripper who worked at places were killers would go. I would think she wouldn’t be so naïve. The twin is much more interesting as it is SMG playing her character from “Cruel Intentions”. Would rather see much more of her than the boring Bridget.

4. “The Lion King 3D” opens in theatres – I hate 3D. At best it should be used for depth of vision. Not to wave some lion cub in your face. The only time it is acceptable to have 3D is if the film was conceived and filmed in 3D. “The Lion King” wasn’t built to be made into 3D, this is just a gamble by Disney to earn a few extra bucks in September. I have the DVD at home, if I really feel like watching it, I’ll put that in. If I really want to see it in 3D, I would rather fly to New York and watch the stage show then go see it in the theater.

5. “Star Wars” is released on Blu-Ray – I like to be on the front lines of technology, however as of today I have yet to buy a blu-ray player. The reason for this is simple, I don’t think this is the future. The future lies in digital distribution, where I can stream, rent or own everything in a virtual world. For that reason it will be a long time before I switch to Blu-Ray. Of course the big news from this are all the changes that Lucas has once again decided to make. Looking at the changes, I just have to say the guy is freaking nuts. He has lost all sense of what makes his movies popular and just keeps fiddling with the movies. There have now been 5 different releases of these films. In each one the film is just slightly different. Lucas needs to stop fooling around with his films, hand the reigns over to someone else and go swimming in his money Scrooge McDuck style.