Red Dawn

Following warnings about the threat of cyber-terrorism and the death of North Korea's Kim Jong-Il, an attack is launched against the United States in this floundering re-imagining of John Milius's 1984 action hit, which featured then-teenagers Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen fighting Russian Communists. Back in 2009 when this makeover was filmed, China was the enemy, but during post-production (when MGM went bankrupt), the producers decided to change the nationality of the aggressors to North Koreans, realizing the lucrative Chinese market for American films and not wanting to alienate Chinese government officials and potential distributors. Here, the invasion takes place in Spokane, WA, with the CGI landing of hundreds of North Korean paratroopers on the morning after the local high-school quarterback—perpetually scowling Matt Eckert (Josh Peck)—blows a big football game by not being a team player. Predictably, his attitude changes when he and his laconic big brother (Chris Hemsworth), a Marine who served in Iraq, flee to their cabin in the woods, where teenagers are forming a guerrilla resistance force, calling themselves the Wolverines in tribute to their high school team. As one young commando observes in filmmaker Dan Bradley's embarrassingly inept remake, “We're living Call of Duty, and it sucks!” Yes it does. Not a necessary purchase. (S. Granger)