“Friends” is the next tv show up on the film adaptation block. I say, no thanks. The world doesn’t need to see six neurotic New Yorkers on the big screen. Wasn’t ten seasons enough?

This news really got me thinking about the value of movies based on tv shows. Are they ever good (or necessary)? I definitely could have lived without the Sex and the City movie. Get Smart didn’t get such good reviews, so there’s more evidence against the notion. Can you even name five decent films in this category?

I’m racking my brain and these are the only shows I could find:

Superman: The Movie (1978)
The Muppet Movie (1980)

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) (‘Khan’ is the best sequel ever!!!)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Batman (1989)

The Fugitive (1993)

Top Animated Adaptations:
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Care Bears Movie (1985)
The Jetsons: The Movie (1990)

I had to really stretch the tv show definition. Did I miss anything? Leave a comment with whatever’s missing from the list.

Pajiba.com is celebrating classic films of the 1970s this week. Today they featured TK’s review of Chinatown, one of the best screenplays ever written in my mind.

So far this week they’ve featured Harold and Maude, Don’t Look Now, Badlands, The Jerk, The Godfather, and The Friends of Eddie Coyle (which I had never heard of before!).

They’ve covered lots of the majors, so I’m sure a feature on Star Wars or Jaws is imminent, since those were the first summer blockbusters ever created.

If I had to do a review, it would be quite hard for me to pick just one. I tried to find a favorite on the 70s Movie Rewind’s menu, but that proved useless. I suppose that just means that the seventies were simply a prolific era for cinema.

Pop Candy pointed out the latest movie from Tarsem Singh, the director of The Cell. It’s called The Fall and stars Lee Pace, the cute piemaker from “Pushing Daisies”.

Trailer Check:

I have no idea what it’s about, but it looks pretty and that’s enough. Find stills from this mysterious flick here.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about Michael Haneke’s Funny Games. After seeing the Americanized version this past thursday, I am at a loss of words. It was excellently executed, but I can’t help feeling overly manipulated while watching it. The killers break the fourth wall and speak to the camera/audience, which is extremely unsettling. Also, the film ends with a freeze frame, totally in medias res with absolutely no clear resolution.

Haneke refuses to explain the motives of the killers, and appears to be questioning the entertainment value of violence itself in movies. But he never clearly chooses a side. As Pajiba explains it: There is an “inherent duplicity of Haneke’s work and raises the question of whether he’s attacking American viewers for being such avid consumers of violence, as seen in his aversion to actually showing any, or whether he’s just a bit hypocritical, since it would be possible to discuss the flaws in modern American culture without making a film that’s terrifying and unable to avoid catering to those very desires Haneke seems to find so repugnant. Faced with the choice of taking the high or very low road, Haneke replies: Sure.”

Thus, I don’t know if I can call it a good film. Especially, when I knew going in that this was a shot by shot remake. If there was a hidden camcorder in the theater, you could definitely see how uncomfortable this film makes the audience. I understand horror movies are supposed to be a visceral experience, but if your movie makes people literally sick, something’s going on there. I suppose the jokes on the American viewing audience, since we have created a climate of people so afraid of subtitles that it’s a viable business decision to remake a film in English.

Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited came out on dvd this week. It’s the story of three brothers who travel through India together and finally connect.

Trailer Check:

Find a great review of the dvd release at DVDBeaver. The review includes screen captures of the dvd menu, a run-down of the special features, along with their personal take on the movie.