Two films and a sneak for the weekend

Two big titles opening in area theaters on Friday. One is a Tony Scott remake of a classic American noir, while the other would seem to be a further fall of an American comic legend.

Oh, and there’s a Sandra Bullock comedy sneak-previewing on Saturday night.

First, the openings:

“The Taking of Pelham 123”: Joseph Sargent directed the original film , with Peter Stone adapting John Fodey’s novel, in 1974. It starred Water Matthau as a New York transit worker who finds himself involved in the middle of a subway car hijacking; Robert Shaw played the head hijacker. Sargent’s film, which showed recently on TV, is a creature of its time. It’s authentic, gritty and spare. Scott, the master of overhyped, overexposed, overly frenetic studies in action, has replaced Matthay with Denzel Washington, Shaw with John Travolta. Scott’s film is likely to be as much a comment on the cinema of today as it could be a infinitely inferior remake.

“Imagine That”: Whatever happened to Eddie Murphy? I challenge you to go back to his work on “Saturday Night Live,” then in movies such as “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Trading Places” and “48 Hrs.” Then think of “Bowinger,” “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” and “Daddy Day Care.” Can you even compare the two eras? This new film has Murphy playing an embattled financial executive whose career turns around when he begins listening to his daughter … and her invisible princess pals. Please.

Now, the sneak:

“The Proposal”: I’ve always been of two minds about Ryan Reynolds. There’s the guy who mugged his way through “Van Wilder,” and there’s the guy who played the bearded dad in the, what?, 117th retelling of “The Amityville Horror.” Of course, there’s the guy who pulls off an interesting turn as one of the cops in “Smokin’ Aces,” and the guy who gives depth to the two-timing handyman in “Adventureland.” Here, cast against Bullock playing his harridan boss, Reynolds plays a cross between a weenie and wimp as he agrees to marry the harridan to save her from deportation. Jurey’s definitely still out on this one, especially when Betty White gets the biggest laughs in the trailer.

Happy viewing.

Below: The trailer for the original “The Taking of Pelham 123.”