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[Paul Heath]

You know that you're getting old when you find out that Hollywood is starting to remake films that you grew up with. News reached us today that Michael 'Boom Boom' Bay's Platinum Dunes company is kicking a remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street into production in April. There is no cast attached as yet, but music video helmer Samuel Bayer is going to direct it.

'Nightmare' was probably the first horror film that I ever saw. I remember watching it back home in my dark bedroom in Gloucester, circa the mid-1980s, my VHS 4-head VCR hooked up to my midi-system for maximum sound effect. I remember watching it back in the days when nobody knew who Johnny Depp was, let alone cared that he was swallowed up and spat out of his teen girlfriend's double bed with maximum force, and with the largest amount of blood captured on film since Kubrick's The Shining trailer. I remember freaking out for days afterwards, and never watching another horror film for months... but I thought that Wes Craven was a genius, and when Freddy's Revenge (part 2) arrived, I was first in line.

And now, the powers that be have handed the directing reigns over to a music video and commercials director to give it the 21st century look and bring it bang up to date, a film that is only just over twenty years in age. I haven't seen the Friday the 13th reboot that arrived in cinemas just a couple of weeks ago (on Friday 13th February no less), but I have heard that it sucks more than a state of the art Dyson. Does it come at any surprise that Platinum Dunes were behind that movie too, and it was directed by a former commercials/ music vid helmer?

Unfortunately, these things seem to have a market, and they bring in enough green to make them worth making, but surely we don't need a new Nightmare just yet. Do we? Nightmare On Elm Street is to horror movies like The Godfather or Goodfellas is to the modern gangster film. What next, a remake of Back To The Future? Please God no.... What do you think? Answers on a comment line please peeps!

I am going to kick off another regular slot here on Reelshow, starting today. Now, while I do not claim to be the world's best film critic. In fact, I am not a film critic in any way at all, but being in the position that I am, I get to attend some juicy free screenings of films down here in London on a fairly regular basis. So, what I thought I would do is kind of recommend a film to venture out and see at the local multiplex every weekend. Again, I will try and do this each and every Thursday, starting today.

Just the other night, my girlfriend and I had the opportunity to venture out to Sony Pictures in London's Golden Square to check out a press screening for The International, a modern thriller which crashes onto British cinema screens tomorrow. Clive Owen stars alongside Naomi Watts in said thriller which revolves around corrupt corporations, dodgy bankers, soul-less, faceless hitmen, and awesome hand-held camera work not bettered this side of the last Bourne movie.

We watched this movie in fine surroundings, in Sony's state of the art screening room with fantastic digital projection and sound. We were plied with a couple of beers and I actually enjoyed most of the experience. The plot of the The International is a little complicated and tricky to follow in places and this one is a flick made to obviously appeal to the Bond and Bourne fanboys amongst us. There is an excellent set piece shoot out in the famous Guggenheim museum in New York (the best bit in the film), and some wonderful 'serious' acting from Mr. Owen who literally grimaces his dirty bum (as in unkempt, not slept for a week Interpol agent) through the entire film. The stand-out moments that I just mentioned, the coolness of Owen and the superb acting from the supporting cast in a film which basically revolves around a boring plot about dodgy bankers, is the reason as to why I am making this my must see movie of the week (well, that's if you haven't seen Slumdog yet). It's not up there in terms of great kick-ass entertainment and edge of the seat suspense ala (again), the last Bourne film or Casino Royale, but it is up there as one of the better films of the year so far.

The International fires into cinemas on Friday 27th February.