Hollywood is filled with new ideas and new stories. By the look of things though you wouldn’t know it by all the remakes or reboots that are coming out this year. The first two were back in January. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit starring Chris Pine, Kiera Knightly, Kevin Costner and Kenneth Branagh and I,Frankenstein starring Aaron Eckhart. The character of Jack Ryan has been in four previous films. The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears. Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck all starred as the titular secret agent created by Tom Clancy.
There have been quite a few variations on Frankenstein over the years. The most famous of them is the original Frankenstein that came out in 1931 and its sequels. The Bride of Frankenstein was probably the best of all the films. The role of Frankenstein was made famous by Boris Karloff. A few others have tried there hand at portraying this iconic character though. Among them were Bela Lugosi, Lon Cheney and Robert DeNiro.
February has no less then three remakes. They all come this week. They are Robocop starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Micheal Keaton. Endless Love starring Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde and About Last Night starring Kevin Hart, Micheal Ealy, Paula Patton, Regina Hall and Joy Bryant. Robocop originally came out in 1987 and spawned two sequels. Peter Weller first portrayed the half man half robot twenty seven years ago. Endless Love originally came out in 1981 and starred Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt. The original About Last Night came out back in 1986 and starred Rob Lowe, James Belushi, Demi Moore and Elizabeth Perkins.
Godzilla got remade back in 1998 but, most people think it was a horrible film. Roland Emmerich got blamed for ruining the Godzilla franchise. The original 1954 version is still considered the one and only Godzilla. We will see how this new incarnation does with fans and critics alike. Godzilla stars Brian Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson.
Angelina Jolie is considered Hollywood royalty. Even she couldn’t turn down the role of the evil the witch Maleficent in the movie of the same name. Its a modern day retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty that came out back in 1959.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a very popular comic book in the eighties created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It was turned into an even more popular animated tv show which spawned everything from toys to lunch boxes. Then a movies was made of the hero’s in a half shell back in 1990. Micheal Bay decided Transformers weren’t the only toys from the eighties he wanted to make into a movie. We have a new modern take on Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rafael and Donatello, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles starring Megan Fox as April O’Neil and William Fichtner as Shredder.
When you think of some of the greatest musicals of all time I’m sure that Annie doesn’t come to mind. Annie came out back in 1982 and starred Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney, Tim Curry and Carol Burnett. Once again nothing is sacred though so this fun little musical gets a remake. The new Annie stars Camerin Diaz, Rose Byrne, Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis as Annie.
Another tv show from the eighties is also being remade. Do you all remember The Equalizer? Well I do. It was on during the years of 1985 through 1989. Edward Woodward was the man who came to the rescue back then. The Antoine Fuqua version comes out in September and stars Denzel Washington and Chloe Grace Moretz.
It seems like we’ll likely keep getting remakes and reboots. My only hope is we get movies like 2012’s 21 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The sequel to that is out this summer and its called 22 Jump Street. 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes starring James Franco and Andy Serkis has also got a sequel this summer called Dawn of the Planet of the Apes starring Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke and Andy Serkis repreasing his role as Caesar. Not 2013’s Carrie starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julieanne Moore.
Dan Skip Allen
From the Fourth Row! 