Vote Today: Ben Affleck as Batman? What?

As soon as we heard the news, we put a poll in the field. So far, public opinion is down. Of course, there's only a few votes so far (although, overall, the fans have spoken already), so who knows how our little poll will end up. The comments are good, too, so be sure to read them.

You can use the sliding scale below to add your vote!

Good Times with Empire's Comics Vault Movie Crew

Join The Movie Crew, Get Freebies

The first Movie Crew we put together went to see Captain America. We gave out a whole bunch of Captain America comic books that night! We also had a Cap sale that week.

The Amazing Spider-Man Tees

We've seen The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and now we're off to see The Dark Knight Rises. And yes, there were either freebies (like Spider-Man t-shirts and posters) or movie-related store sales, sometimes a party, but always something!

We Speak Geek

Best of all, we take the time to talk about these movies, to explore what was right, what went wrong, what thrilled us, and what disappointed. Lots of time these topics are fodder for Empire's Open Podcast! We hope you'll join the Movie Crew for our next movie. Watch our blog (right here!), Facebook page, and Twitter for details.

You're going to go see these movies anyway, why not get free comic booky stuff to boot!

Movie Crew's Next Movie Is The Dark Knight Rises

We're so excited to see the new Batman movie that we're going to a midnight showing -- and better yet, we're giving a free Batman related New 52 title to everyone who goes with us! Just hit us up at the theatre and pick a comic book from the titles we have with us.

Midnight Movie Crew Details

Date: Thursday, July 19

Time: 12:01 AM

Location: UA Arden Fair 6 at 1739 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA

We highly recommend that you buy your tickets in advance at the box office or online, so that you don't get the disappointing news that it sold out.

View Arden Fair 6 in a larger map

Movie Remake Mania

by Jeremy Shepherd

Movie Remakes Make Me Feel Old

Hello “Vaulties”, I don’t know about you all but I find myself feeling older with every movie re-make. I do realize this may seem silly to some, since I’m only 32 years old, but I believe that even younger audiences experience similar feelings.

The idea for this blog post came to me while I was watching X-Men: First Class. Although this is not, per se, a remake, but more of a prequel, it is easily a re-telling of the first movie. The first, original X-Men movie dropped in 2000, so it was 11 years ago that we were watching the original X-Men. This might seem rather recent when compared to, say, the first Star Trek movie, which was released in 1979 (the year I was born), and the remake of 2009; but in my opinion, both required a new story and fresh ideas.

X-Men: Re-Made

When the last X-Men movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, was made, it had a new director and big budget, however, it was a poor story with too many characters for one movie. This is a mistake that even comics don’t make. There must be character development! Although this movie made money, it was terrible.

So here comes X-Men: First Class - a new story and new actors breathing life into this wonderful subject. It had action, romance and wonderful story telling, and was, in my opinion, “A Must See.”

Star Trek 2009 For The Next Generation

Next up: Star Trek 2009. I say “2009” because I do not want to confuse the two.  When this movie was announced I was intrigued. I like J.J. Abrams style and felt the casting was done well, even bringing back a taste of the old movies by casting Leonard Nimoy. The new cast included Chris Pine as Captain Kirk, Zachary Quinto as a younger Spock, and Zoe Saldana as Lt. Uhura.

I call myself a next generation “Trekkie” because I loved this film but did not really care for the original. I love Star Trek 2009 and have watched it at least 10 times. I look forward to the next movie, since the ground work in this remake was so well laid out. I foresee nothing but great things to come. Even my wife enjoyed this movie, and she hates Star Trek. Now that says a lot.

Planet Ape Rising

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a very long title for a great film. The original Planet of the Apes came out in 1968. It was remade - poorly, in the opinion of many -  in 2001 by Tim Burton. Rise was a good film. It was an amazing story and re-telling of a great movie. James Franco and John Lithgow deliver great performances, yet, even more so, the apes are the stars (CGI and very hard to tell). By the end of the movie, you are cheering for the apes killing the humans. This is far removed from the “damn dirty apes,” as famously delivered by Charlton Heston.

On a side note, recently I heard a story on the Doug Loves Movies podcast by Doug Benson.  A 60-year-old woman asked for a refund after watching Rise, but she had watched the whole movie! When the attendant asked why, she said, ‘nobody told me that the humans were going to be mean to the apes.’ This is why remakes exist! Good or bad, it brings in a new group of consumers.

The Bad and The Ugly

Most of this article has been positive, yet I feel there can just as easily be poor if not horrible remakes. Tim Burton is a good example of why you don’t let someone with their own style touch a remake. Example A: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Example B: Planet of The Apes. However I feel he did very well with Alice in Wonderland, which was an animated film done in live action. There are many more horrible remakes with too many to list. Feel free to add more in the comments.

With the rush of remakes coming through, you wonder what now beloved film that just was made will be remade in 10 years. Here are just a few remakes coming to theatres soon:

Total Recall
Foot Loose
The Amazing Spiderman (It’s too soon for a remake!)
The Muppets
Flatliners
The Gambler
The Bodyguard
The Thing
Poltergeist
Robocop
Back to the Future (I didn’t even know about this tell I wrote this blog. I am both scared and excited.)

The End?

Your favorite movie will be remade at some point - unless it is some odd B-movie or independent, and in that case, you are already bored with this article. Take, for example, Back to the Future, which is my favorite movie. Remaking Back to the Future will breathe new life into the franchise whether I, as a fan, like it or not.

Think about it… Star Wars IV: A New Hope - Remake! Love them or hate them they are coming.

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About The Author

Jeremy Shepherd is 32 years old, married, and has two children, a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl. He shares with them his love for comics and the San Francisco Giants. Jeremy enjoys watching movies and TV and reading comics.

More posts by Jeremy