Based on the popular comic book of the same name by Alan Moore (Watchmen), the 2003 giant turd of a flop wasted what was left of the immortal Sean Connery's career in a horrid mess of an adaptation. This is a wrong that deserves to be righted. Check out the synopsis of the original and tell me you wouldn't want to see this movie done right: "Renowned adventurer Allan Quartermain leads a team of extraordinary figures with legendary powers to battle the technological terror of a madman known as 'The Fantom.' This 'League' comprises seafarer and inventor Captain Nemo, vampire Mina Harker, an invisible man named Rodney Skinner, American Secret Service Agent Tom Sawyer, the ageless and invincible Dorian Gray, and the dangerous split personality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Hell yes!
Speaking of Hell, Hollywood ruined another Alan Moore vehicle with this turgid swamp of further indulgences to Johnny Depp's chronically over-inflated ego. This was supposed to be about a psychic London detective who's trying to track down Jack the Ripper, but almost as if Moore's work is cinematically cursed, it was terrible, and the few who saw it were mostly disappointed. This brings to mind another of my childhood favorites, Time After Time, in which H.G. Wells follows his friend, Dr. John Stevenson (aka Jack the Ripper), into the U.S. in the late seventies. Starring Malcolm McDowell and David Warner, it was a great thriller that would also be a fun remake. Just to be safe, let's do them both.
Human-animal hybrids are not only the stuff of science fiction, but with modern advances in genetic engineering, this classic tale from the mind of H.G. Wells (the real one) would make an ideal remake. Some of the pluses would include the CGI technology to make the hybrids seem both real and terrifying as well as the current-day ethical questions raised by this technology that have become timely and necessary. This is the kind of film that a big star and well-known director could sink their teeth into. Of course, that's probably what they thought when they cast Marlon Brando in the title role in the 1996 atrocity...come on, Hollywood—get this one right!
No, not a remake of Spielberg's giant swing-and-miss with Tom Cruise in the lead role, and not an attempt to be true to the H.G. Wells novel, either. I'm talking about a modern remake of the 1953 original starring Gene Barry, one of the foundational sci-fi movies of my childhood, a work of extreme terror and suspense that made the overblown hysteria over Orson Welles' radio broadcast seem wholly plausible. I doubt there's a Gen-Xer out there who loves sci-fi movies who wouldn't be intrigued by this. As an added note, the 2011 sci-fi film Battle: Los Angeles has that same kind of vibe, buoyed by a gritty performance from Aaron Eckhart.
Yeah, I know, we're living in it. That's why it needs to be made and updated for the social media and cable
I think you are spot on with most of these. Although I think as far as 1984 is concerned Black Mirror may have done enough in the "We've gone too far" genre.
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