Straw Dogs

This is a truly unnecessary remake. Director Sam Peckinpah did this story back in the ’70s, and it’s a story that really only needed to be told once. James Marsden replaces Dustin Hoffman in the story of a married couple hiring the wrong guys to fix their roof. The original was set in a rough part of England, while this one is set in the American South replete with stupid rednecks (led by True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard). Kate Bosworth takes over the wife role, and director Rod Lurie makes a lot of wrong choices with her character. In short, the story just doesn’t translate well to the modern era. Heck, it didn’t translate all that well in the ’70s. Hoffman made that movie worth seeing, and Marsden is no Hoffman. James Woods also appears, and he provides the film with a few good moments. Not enough that you need to see it.