(Reviewed by Preppy) - Pointless but actually pretty good.  A remake of Alfred Hitchock's classic.

You know the plot--A woman (Anne Heche) steals a large amount of money so she and her boyfriend (Viggo Mortensen) can start a life together. During the drive to his town, it gets late and she decides to spend the night at a motel. It's called Bates Motel and she meets the owner Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn)...

OK--this was not needed. Why a talented director like Gus van Sant chose to do this is beyond me. But...it's actually pretty good. It's NOT a frame by frame remake of the original like some people claim. Things are changed...the shower scene especially. Characters and situations are updated (purportedly Julianne Moore's character is supposed to be a lesbian--but I never caught that) and van Sant directs it his way--he doesn't try to imitate Hitchcock. Also the acting is almost uniformly great. Heche is very good in her role and Vaughn is just terrific as Bates--he plays it differently than Anthony Perkins did and actually adds a new dimension to Bates. Strong support is given by Julianne Moore and William H. Macy (VERY good) in supporting roles. The only disappointment is Viggo Mortensen. I've never thought he was a good actor and this movie does nothing to change my mind.

I never liked the original--the acting was good and the murders chilling but I always found it kind of slow. I liked this one better. I'm not really sure why but it seems to move faster. I still think there was no point to remaking the original but I do like this. It was a HUGE critical and commercial bomb so I don't think we'll be seeing anymore Hitchcick remakes.

I give it a 7.