One clear sign of Hollywood’s lack of imagination is the number of times that any remotely well known TV shows are re-imagined as movies. For the most part, this idea has not worked, as the films are either severe disappointments (The Avengers, Twilight Zone: The Movie) or awful ideas in the first place (The Flintstones; Scooby-Doo; The Beverly Hillbillies). Below are 5 films that were actually successful when adapted to the wide screen from television. Perhaps there are lessons here for the creators of upcoming adaptations  (I’m looking at you, 24).

1.   The Untouchables (1987)-This move is perhaps both Director Brian DePalma’s and Kevin Costner’s finest moment. It is a non-stop thrill ride that features wonderful performances (in particular Sean Connery’s Oscar winning Officer Malone and Robert DeNiro’s over the top Al Capone). It gets right what too many action films do not-namely, it takes the time to establish characters we come to actually care about, which makes the action set pieces (which are terrific) that much more memorable.

2.   The Fugitive (1993)-This is the only TV to film adaptation to ever be nominated for Best Picture and it deserves it. Starting with its spectacular train wreck escape, the film is riveting as Dr Richard Kimble

(Harrison Ford, perfectly cast in his specialty as the reluctant hero), wrongfully convicted for his wife’s murder, desperately tries to stay one step ahead of US Marshall Gerard (Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones) while trying to clear his name. Like The Untouchables, The Fugitive delivers great action, yet takes the time to establish involving characters and a riveting story.

3.   South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)-Not only is this one of the best TV to movie adaptations, it is also one of the funniest movies of the past 15 years, as well as, in a demented way, one of the best musicals. As South Park always does, this movie often goes way, way beyond the limits of good taste, yet still accomplishes the remarkable feat of making sometimes pointed comments on society while being absolutely hysterical at the same time.

4.   Star Trek (2009)-This was a close call over Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (easily the best of the movies with the old school cast). I give the recent version a slight edge out of gratitude for revitalizing a beloved franchise that some critics felt was dying. Though not without its flaws, it is clear that the movie was made by people who dearly loved the old show (most notably Director JJ Abrams). The movie is a lot of fun, with great special effects, various in jokes (watch for the red suit) and a mostly solid re-casting of beloved characters (kudos to Karl Urban’s spot on recreation of Bones McCoy).

5.   The Naked Gun (1988)-People often forget that The Naked Gun originated as a short lived but now legendary show called Police Squad! Though I believe Airplane! is still the best of the Zucker Brothers comedies, few movies are as successful at the insane throw-every-joke-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks style of comedy as this one (Leslie Nielsen is perfectly cast as the hapless Detective Drebin). For better or worse, this film and Airplane! were the inspiration behind such dubious franchises as the Scary Movie and Disaster Movie series.

Honorable Mention:

Stark Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Mission: Impossible

The Addams Family

A Very Brady Sequel

Wayne’s World

It's that time of year again where many are trying to choose interesting and affordable Holiday gifts for their friends and family. I urge you to pay a visit to www.indiefilmkiosk.com As always, it is the video store where less is more. We offer a unique selection of foreign language films and great American independents as finished goods dvds. Yes, not a download but an actual living and breathing dvd.

Titles like Kim Ki Duk's disturbing BAD GUY and the edgy French romance WILD CAMP, are just two of the great films available. There's docs like AMERICAN CANNIBAL and WALL, great American indies like EL CAMINO, starring Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and comedies like the unforgettable WEST WITTERING AFFAIR and SLIPPERY SLOPE.

All of these dvds and many more are offered with the best prices on the internet. And if you spend more than $25.00 we throw in free shipping too. How can you go wrong?

Yes, film fans, we are back! it has not been an easy run but we have finally migrated Indiefilmchat.com to the newest operating software that our system was using. I could devote some space here to what I think would be a well deserved rant about the arrogance of software designers, but I won't.

Instead, let me just issue a plea for the next poor bastards who wake up one day and discover that their web software has been upgraded and there is no known interface to migrate established architecture and content to the new system.

Dear software people and the bosses who direct them; please think these things through a little better next time! There were just a few of us out here who kind of, sort of, depended on the old system for, well you know, business, pleasure, marketing, and fun. 

So, here we are, posting for the first time since God knows when. Fortunately the news feeds kept working. I have no idea why but am grateful. In our absence the world of independent film remained constant by changing on a weekly basis. Blockbuster filed. Video On Demand has expanded everywhere. Foreign language films are making a mini comeback, etc. We have a back log of articles, reviews, essays and fun stuff that will be going up over the next week so don't be a stranger.

Often, sci-fi and low budget indie productions go together about as well as chocolate and onions. The high budget demands on special effects eventually hamper the entire story. Clone Hunter is indeed a low budget sci-fi actioner, but it overcomes any limitations of budget by doing all the things an indie should, namely offering an involving story, solid acting and intriguing characters.

The story follows Cane (Benjamin Thomas) a freelance clone hunter somewhere in deep space and his part-cybernetic partner (Angela Funk). They are hired by Montserrat, a tycoon who owns his own private planet, to track down and kill a younger clone version of himself. In the universe of this film, the rich and powerful can have clone created, have the brains transferred into younger versions of themselves, and thus give themselves a form of immortality. However, this younger version of Montserrat has rebelled and started a murderous army that threatens the stability of Monterratís planet. Like any good thriller, there is much more to the story than it seems, as the more Cane and Angela dig, the more rotten they find things at the planetís core.