Carrie - 2 1/2 stars

I'm sure I've said it before, but there is no reason to remake a bad movie.  If you're going to remake a movie, remake a bad movie if you think you can make it better.  But remaking a good movie just makes people like me point out how much better the original was.

Anyway, Chloe Grace Moretz plays Carrie, a young girl who was raised by a single mother played by Julianne Moore.  Carrie's mom is a religious fanatic who thinks all men are evil, and all women are guilty of sin.  She preaches fire and brimstone and routinely locks Carrie in a closet to pray for forgiveness.

The movie starts with Carrie in the shower after gym class, where she gets her first period.  Since her mother never told her anything about matuation, and she has never had a friend, she freaks out and thinks she's bleeding to death.  The girls in the locker room start teasing her relentlessly, even throwing tampons at her, until the gym teacher comes to her rescue. 

Sue Snell, one of the girls who teased Carrie, feels so bad that she wants to make it up to Carrie.  She talks her boyfriend into taking Carrie to the prom.  Another one of the girls, Chris Hargensen, does not feel bad about it at all.  She has always hated Carrie for being different, and when she is punished and not allowed to go to the prom, she and her boyfriend decide to play a prank on Carrie that will have disastrous effects.

Carrie is also in the process of discovering that she has telekinetic abilities.  They start manifesting when she is really upset, and as the movie progresses, she starts to control them.

Chloe Grace Moretz does a good job as Carrie, but it's a little harder to buy her as an awkward and unattractive teenage girl than when Sissy Spacek played the role in 1976.  Julianne Moore is also good, but not nearly as terrifying as Piper Laurie.  My favorite casting choice was Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin, the gym teacher.  She is the only person to take an interest in Carrie and stick up for her (at least until Sue comes around), and she has some really nice moments.

But as to the rest of the cast, the other classmates all look like they come from a WB teen soap opera.  It's only been one day since I saw the movie, and I can't remember anything specific about any of the characters.  The original had interesting actors like John Travolta, William Katt, Amy Irving, and Nancy Allen.  They each brought something interesting to their roles.  But in this new movie, nothing about these characters stands out except for the way they moved the plot forward.

Overall the movie was enjoyable enough.  It wasn't a bad remake, but an unnecessary one.