Naked ambition

This has bad idea written all over it. Let's hope someone shoots this Gun remake down before it ever has a chance of making it to theaters.

Paramount Pictures has brought Ed Helms ("The Hangover" films, We're the Millers) on board to star in a reboot of "The Naked Gun" comedy franchise, reports Variety.

The return of Detective Frank Drebin, played by Leslie Nielsen in the original films, will be written by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, best known for the "Night at the Museum" and "Reno 911!" franchises.

Based on the earlier short-lived ABC TV series "Police Squad!" (which also starred Nielsen), three films were released including The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991) and The Naked Gun 33 /3: The Final Insult (1994).

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker created the series. Here's a video of some of the funnier moments from the films

RBR: Total Recall

I only saw the 1990 version of Total Recall a few years ago and while I really liked the movie, I also recognized that it is one of the few good films that could actually benefit from a makeover. Though cutting edge at the time, the film's visual effects look particularly cheesy today and there are certainly better thespians out there than Ah-nuld. So when a remake was announced, I had great anticipation to see what they could do. Having now seen this latest adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story, I couldn't be more disappointed. In essence, director Len Wiseman seems to have totally missed what made the original film so appealing when making this new film. Visually the film is most dark with the exception of an overabundance of lens flares that serve no purpose. Gone are several of the interesting characters, who are replaced here by either robots or wooden actors. The whole aspect of Mars has been eliminated so don't expect to see any aliens or mutants. And as for the mind-bending twists of the original, the ones that still remain in this remake don't offer anything new or thought-provoking. What we're left with is a lot of chase and fight scenes. There's nothing wrong with those, but they didn't need to drag the good name of Total Recall down in order to make them. Most of the performances from Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel are totally forgettable. And I don't know what Bryan Cranston was thinking joining this film as Cohaagen. I see no redeemable qualities of this film so please just do yourself a favor and stick with the original. For those of us who have seen it, we can only hope a place like Recall exists in the future to help scrub our mind of this memory. Rating: * 1/2

Total remake

Here's the first trailer for Total Recall, a remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action film.

NMR: Arthur

It's difficult for me to write a review for this film because it gave me nothing really to work with. It's neither great nor terrible. Ultimately, it's a wholly unnecessary remake that was done in order to combine a popular comedian with a known franchise. While I was not particularly fond of the Dudley Moore original, there was nothing I saw here that provided justification as to why this story needed to be told again. The highlights of the film come from seeing Arthur (Russell Brand) enjoy and abuse the excesses of his wealth. Things like dressing up as Batman and driving in a replica Batmobile or waging in a bidding war with himself at an auction house for old suits of Abraham Lincoln provide at the very least a smile on your face. However, there's nothing really enjoyable about the love triangle storyline that becomes the focal point of them. Both Jennifer Garner and Nick Nolte, who plays her father give unlikable performances. And Greta Gerwig, the woman who Arthur truly falls in love with, has no screen presence or charm. Brand actually has more chemistry with Helen Mirren who plays his nanny Hobson. She, like John Gielgud in the original, is always reliable for a quick quip in an attempt to keep Arthur in line. It's hard to say whether a recommendation is waranted for this film. It neither pays homage nor ruins the name of the original. On its own, it provides a few mild laughs, but nothing more. This is a low risk, low return film. Rating: ***