Stop Destroying Classic Movies

The movie industry has not been very good in my eyes for some time. When you think back through time there are so many movies out there that are just plain classics. Some examples would be: Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Animal House, Blues Brothers, all the Indian Jones movies, IT, or Caddyshack. These are the movies that you will always remember. They are not the movies that would have ever gone straight to DVD or ended up in a bargain bin at Best Buy.

For some reason, the movie industry has been churning out the same crap as always. Granted there are some good ones that have been released. I think that movies like Wedding Crashers, The Devil's Rejects and Lucky Number Sleven have kept our heads above water. But it seems that the movie industry just keeps going back to the same well over and over again. Rocky 4 was a great movie. In my opinion, it was the best of the series. I also thought it would be the last. When Rocky 5 came out, I was befuddled. In the back of my mind I did wonder if it would live up to 4. Obviously, I was wrong. I was positive that I would never have to make the leap of faith again. But once again, I was wrong. "Rocky Balboa" was released in December 06. I thought about it for about 4 minutes. Should I go and give it a shot? The answer is no. I will not support riding a classic into the ground.

This holds true for another Sly classic, Rambo. And almost like a personal slap in my face "John Rambo" is being released on my next birthday. I am starting to think that Sly is just going back and making more and more sequels to all of his movies. I don't know about you, but I am definitely looking forward to such greats as: Daylight 2 - Back in the Tunnel, Assassins 2 - He's really that Good, Cobra 2, Driven 2 and my personal favorite Stop or My Mom will Shoot Two - The Bitch is Back.

There have also been a string of comic books being turned into movies in the last ten years. Spiderman, The Punisher, Superman, Batman, Fantastic Four, X-Men, or Hulk. Many of these movies have grossed a ton of money at the box office. Which once again baffles me. The spiderman movies are decent. The Punisher has been done about 4 times. Batman movies are horribly inconsistent. Fantastic Four, I wouldn't have even given it the time of day if it wasn't for Jessica Alba. X-Men started off good but definitely took a turn for the worse. And last and definitely least, Hulk. They did a horrid job making this movie. They bastardized the concept of the Hulk so far beyond its original state that I wouldn't have even been able to tell it was him if he wasn't green. Stop turning good comic books into bad movies.

You might be thinking about where this came from. How did this all come up? If you read my posts you can see the one underlying factor. I don't really seek out things to write about. I sit back and watch and sooner or later something happens that is worthy to write about. Yesterday I was sitting at my desk reading on CNN's website. I saw an article about "The Karate Kid" so I decided to see what was going on. As I read I almost fell out of my chair. Yes folks, they are re-making The Karate Kid. My next thought was, who are they going to get to play pivotal roles like Daniel, Mr. Miyagi or Ali? The only role that they have cast is for Daniel.

Please stop reading for a second and try and think of the person you would cast into this role. I did the same thing when I read the article. I will admit I had a hard time thinking of a good one because so many of the current young male actors are pop star trendy douche bags. I decided that the best pick would be Norman Reedus who played Murphy MacManus in Boondock Saints. But now is the time that I will reveal the person cast for the role of Daniel. Its Will Smith's son Jaden, which is ironic because Will is going to try his hand at Directing. You have to be kidding me. I do not believe for a second that they are going to be able to pull this off. Smith should try and direct his first movie as something new. He is going to try and re-make a classic on his first try. To me this is ego and it is ridiculous. What is going to be his next big directing project, personally starring in and directing the re-make of several Hitchcock films?