Ben-Hur (2016): Dir. Bekmambetov

[Chaplin]

Wasn't the Charlton Heston Ben Hur a remake of a silent film of the same name?

Yes, as of now there are 3 mainstream Ben-Hur movies--the silent version, the 1959 classic and this one. Once upon a time the film school kid in me had Ben-Hur as my favorite movie of all time.

 

[Shaggy]

She was the female lead in the first movie I edited and produced.

What movie are we talking about.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

What movie are we talking about?

Gameface (2007).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800044/

 

[Brian in Mesa]

‘Ben-Hur’ to Crash and Burn at $11 Million

http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/new...r11-million-‘war-dogs’-moves-ahead/ar-BBvQwET

Warner Bros. war dramedy "War Dogs" moved ahead of the pack of new releases, making $5.5 million during Friday night showings.

Among the other two new wide releases, Focus Features' animated movie "Kubo and the Two Strings" made $4.1 million on Friday, and Paramount and MGM's big-budget "Ben-Hur" made the same -- $4.1 million.

Earlier this week, all three new movies were expected to earn very similar three-day grosses of around $12 million. And now it looks like "War Dogs" will exceed initial expectations, moving closer to $15 million. "Ben-Hur" is falling behind, unlikely to even clear previous predictions of $12 million.

What sets the biblical epic apart from the pack is that it was made for a whole lot more money than this weekend's other two new wide releases.

Produced for $100 million, estimates in the low teens put the decades-later reboot in line to become one of the biggest box office bombs of the summer. Paramount had previously set its opening closer to $20 million -- perhaps wishful thinking.

Opening in 3,084 locations, "Ben-Hur" stars Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro and Morgan Freeman in the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur, who flees his homeland after being falsely accused of treason only to come back years later to seek revenge. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the film is getting a low 31 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and an A- Cinemascore.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Okay. Now that this movie is bombing big time, I think it is safe to post a review which includes a spoiler about the ending. Again, only watch if you don't mind the ending being spoiled...

Spoiler

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[AZCrazy]

Saw it and liked it. I thought it had a contemporary movie pacing, far more so than the lengthy epic of 1959. Someone mentioned the inverse ratio of CGI to character development and I have to agree. The performances were solid, for as much as they were given, but the script was weak. The odyssey suffered by the protagonist never felt that great. And the transformative metamorphosis that Judah Ben-Hur underwent seemed like a passing bulletpoint rather than the central theme of the story.
The cinematography and locations were really good - the city in Italy that represented Jerusalem is a real and amazing place.
The acting was good outside of Morgan Freeman who was a statue. The men embodied their roles well, and the short-shrifted women acted the hell out of their few lines. Nazanin Boniadi and Sofia Black D'Elia are terrific in every project they work on.

 

[Chaplin]

Saw it and liked it. I thought it had a contemporary movie pacing, far more so than the lengthy epic of 1959. Someone mentioned the inverse ratio of CGI to character development and I have to agree. The performances were solid, for as much as they were given, but the script was weak. The odyssey suffered by the protagonist never felt that great. And the transformative metamorphosis that Judah Ben-Hur underwent seemed like a passing bulletpoint rather than the central theme of the story.
The cinematography and locations were really good - the city in Italy that represented Jerusalem is a real and amazing place.
The acting was good outside of Morgan Freeman who was a statue. The men embodied their roles well, and the short-shrifted women acted the hell out of their few lines. Nazanin Boniadi and Sofia Black D'Elia are terrific in every project they work on.

Naz is a terrific actress. It's a shame this movie bombed so badly.

 

[AZCrazy]

Some movies just shouldn't be remade. Even the best effort will fail in comparison to beloved mega classics. The one thing you can't recreate is the novelty of something new.

 

[Stout]

Some movies just shouldn't be remade. Even the best effort will fail in comparison to beloved mega classics. The one thing you can't recreate is the novelty of something new.

They supposedly did this one from the book rather than re-making the movie, but yeah, I get what you mean.

 

[Bert]

#JesusCameos


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