It’s the battle of the remakes, in one corner of the ring we have the danced-crazed, feel-good “Footloose” and in the other corner we have “The Thing;” will this cult classic strike new fear into hearts of old fans or will “Footloose” cut loose with some new dance moves?

Both films debuted for the first time in the early 80s and since then have culminated a cult-like followings. “Footloose” was transformed into a Broadway musical, and “The Thing” brought in millions of dollars worth of revenue.

When I first found out that there were remakes in process I was skeptical. These stories have been told way too many times and today’s audiences may not relate to the film the same way?

For “Footloose,” being able to relate wasn’t an issue. “Footloose” is a classic coming of age tale where Ren McCormick (Kenny Wormald) moves from big time city life to a small southern Podunk town that as been placed into an over protective frenzy due to a tragic accident, which took the lives of four local teens. The cause of the accident according to the town was dancing as well as underage alcohol consumption.

The way the town reacts to these protagonists is hard to believe, but non-the-less it’s a movie. As McCormick struggles to fit in, he finds himself drawn to the preachers’ daughter who is doing anything not to fit it.

The film exhibits heartfelt life lessons, new and enduring friendships, crazy teenage antics, and a get up and dance soundtrack making this is a great, light-hearted film. If you’re looking of something different than the original you’re not going to find it here.

As for the new remake on John Carpenters’ “The Thing,” it wasn’t the kind of scream evoking movie the first go round. With a slue of horror favorites like the “Halloween” series or “The Fog” I found it hard to believe that this remake could do any justice to the original.

The movie takes place in a remote part of the arctic where a team of scientist discovers a prehistoric organism frozen in a block of ice. The trip takes a horrific turn when the creature beings to shape shift into members of the team and kill them off.

For these two films originality played a huge role, unfortunately nothing has. I was hoping for new twists or something to compliment the creativity and originality of these films but I didn’t see it here.