EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, Vol.21 - November 2020

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Vol. 21 - November, 2020

by Hunter Bush


Howdy once again, y’all. This is one of the more difficult intros for me to write in my two-ish years on this column. I’m writing this before Election Day y’see and have no way of knowing what will happen, and it’s twisting up my guts not knowing. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off and now I’m into the final week of October and haven’t done diddly. By the time this comes out, things will hopefully be looking up, but there is the chance that they’ll be somehow even darker than before and that’s a reality that I’ve been chewing on for weeks. More likely that not though, they’ll be in some horrible liminal space where we don’t know what will happen.

So before I get into this month’s column proper, let me just say to you all that I know things have been difficult for a while now and it may be a while longer until they’re, not but I have to believe that they will get better. Whenever I needed a break from what I used to consider stress (oh how naive I was) I’d pop over to the nearest movie theater and see something. Anything really. Whatever was playing next. Obviously current circumstances and concerns make that impossible (or at least staggeringly ill-advised) but I’m here with the latest Everything Old Is New Again to help you keep an eye on what’s coming to screens in the near future.

EOINA is focused specifically on Remakes, Adaptations and Long Gap Sequels. So if it is based on some previously existing work, I’ll talk about it. I’ve also divided it up into Premiers - brand new stuff! - and Arrivals - not new but new to that particular location - to make things a little easier to navigate. This November seems to be a bit of a dead zone, unfortunately, with few announcements meeting EOINA criteria, but some of what’s here actually *is* quite exciting! Let’s see:

AMAZON PRIME:


Premiers:

I couldn’t find any applicable Premiers from Amazon this month.


Arrivals:

1st:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - based on the novel by Wang Dulu written around 1941.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan.
Thank You For Smoking (2005) - based on the 1994 satirical novel by Christopher Buckley.
The Insider (1999) - adapted from Marie Brenner’s Vanity Fair article The Man Who Knew Too Much.
The Sapphires (2012) - based on a 2002 stage play written by Tony Briggs.
The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (unclear) - this is either the 1974 original or the 2009 remake, but regardless they were both based on the 1973 novel by Morton Freedgood.
Twilight (2008) - based on that 2005 book by Stephenie Meyer.
Water For Elephants (2011) - based on the 2006 novel by Sara Gruen.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) - the second film in the X-Files franchise after the 1998 entry, both spun out of the popular TV series that ran from 1993 - 2002 before being resurrected from 2016-2018.

3rd:

The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020) - based on the 2006 self-help book your aunt bought you. I previously covered it in more detail in EOINA Vol. 14.


HBO:

Premiers:

I couldn’t find any applicable Premiers from HBO this month either.


Arrivals:

1st:

The Arrangement (1969) - based on director Elia Kazan’s 1967 novel.
Baby Doll (1956) - adapted by Tennessee Williams from his 1955 play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton.
Battleship (2012) - loosely inspired by the Milton Bradley board game.
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) - adapted from Lucy Alibar’s one act play Juicy and Delicious.
Blood Work (2002) - based on the 1997 Michael Connely novel.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004) - based on Thornton Wilder’s 1927 novel.
A Christmas Carol (1938) - based on the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens.
Clash of the Titans (2010) - remake of the 1981 film.
Critical Care (2007) - based on the novel by Richard Dooling.
Cruel Intentions (1999) - based on the 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
The Dancer Upstairs (2002) - based on the 1995 novel by Nicholas Shakespeare.
David Copperfield (1935) - based on the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens (full title: The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger).
Dead Man Walking (1995) - adapted from the 1993 non-fiction book by Sister Helen Prejean.
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) - based on the 1990 novel by Andrew Neiderman.
Dumb And Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) - long gap sequel to 1994’s Dumb And Dumber.
The Eagle (2011) - based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s 1954 novel The Eagle of the Ninth.
East of Eden (1955) - based on a part of the 1952 novel by John Steinbeck.
A Face in the Crowd (1957) - based on the Budd Schulberg short story Your Arkansas Traveller.
A Flintstone Christmas (1977) - inspired by the animated series that aired from 1960 - 1966.
Friday the 13th (2009) - remake of the franchise-spawning 1980 original.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) - inspired by the Hasbro toy line that started in 1982.
Guys and Dolls (1955) - based on the 1950 Broadway musical by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, itself inspired by two Damon Runyon short stories: The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown and Blood Pressure.
High Fidelity (2000) - based on the 1995 novel by Nick Hornby.
High Society (1956) - a musical remake of the 1940 film The Philadelphia Story, which was adapted from the 1939 play by Phillip Barry.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - based on the 1937 J.R.R. Tolkien novel (full title: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again).
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) - sequel to the above.
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (2014) - sequel to the above.
House of Haunted Hill (1999) - remake of the 1959 William Castle original.
The Iron Giant (1999) - based on the 1965 novel by Ted Hughes.
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) - 9th installment in the Friday the 13th film franchise started in 1980.
Jason X (2002) - 10th installment in the Friday the 13th franchise started in 1980.
King Kong (1976) - remake of the 1933 original.
The Last King of Scotland (2006) - based on the 1998 novel by Giles Foden.
The Madness of King George (1994) - adapted from Alan Bennett’s 1991 play The Madness of King George III.
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) - based on Nelson Algren’s 1949 novel.
The Mask (1994) - inspired by the comic book character created by Doug Mahnke and John Arcudi in 1991.
Miss Julie (2014) - based on the 1888 play by August Strindburg.
Must Love Dogs (2005) - based on the 2002 novel by Claire Cook.
Mystic River (2003) - based on the 2001 novel by Dennis Lehane.
Needful Things (1993) - based on the 1991 novel by an unknown author.
The NeverEnding Story (1984) - based on the 1979 novel by Michael Ende.
The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1991) - sequel to the above.
Nights in Rodanthe (2008) - based on the 2002 novel by Nicholas Sparks.
On the Town (1949) - based on the 1944 Broadway musical by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, which was inspired by Jerome Robbins 1944 ballet Fancy Free.
The Pledge (2001) - based on the 1958 novella by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (full title: The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel).
Practical Magic (1998) - based on the 1995 novel by Alice Hoffman.
The Secret Garden (1993) - based on the 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989) - inspired by the character created sometime in the 17th or 18th century.
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (2005) - based on the 2001 novel by Ann Brashares.
Some Came Running (1958) - based on the 1957 novel by James Jones.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - third installment in the Terminator franchise started in 1984.
Terminator: Salvation (2009) - fourth installment in the Terminator franchise started in 1984.
Terms of Endearment (1983) - adapted from the 1975 novel by Larry McMurtry.
Thief (1981) - based on the 1975 novel The Home Invaders: Confessions of a Cat Burglar by John Seybold (writing under the pen name of Frank Hohimer).
Thirteen Ghosts (2001) - remake of the 1960 William Castle original.
The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) - based on the 2003 novel by Audrey Niffenegger.
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) - feature film based on the TV series that aired from 1959 - 1964 and has been relaunched numerous times since.
Veronica Mars (2014) - feature film based on the TV series that aired from 2004 - 2007.
We Bought a Zoo (2011) - inspired by the 2008 memoir written by Benjamin Mee.
Wild Wild West (1999) - inspired by the TV series that aired from 1965 - 1969.
The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - based on the 1984 novel by John Updike.

2nd:

Quadrophenia (1979) - loosely inspired by the 1973 album by The Who.

14th:

Doolittle (2020) - a reboot of the 1967 film Doctor Doolittle, based on the character created by Hugh Lofting in 1920.

28th:

The Call of the Wild (2019) - based on the 1903 novel by Jack London.


HULU:

Premiers:

20th:

ANIMANIACS - A reboot of the animated series created by Tom Ruegger in 1995 that ran until 1998 about the Warner Bros. and their sister Dot who are anthropomorphic creatures of some kind (dog?) that got up to wacky hijinks with a bias towards being surreptitiously educational. The trailer for this is kind of just a teaser that showcases that not only are they back, and bringing Pinky and the Brain with them, but that they’re back to their old shenanigans including: travelling in time, wrestling and dipping into an anime-inspired art style for at least a li’l bit. My big hope for this reboot is that they have songs half as fun, smart and memorable as the original series. So far only Julie and Steven Bernstein are returning from the original music department, but that’s a start!

27th:

BLACK NARCISSUS - This 3-part limited series remake of the 1947 film, which was inspired by the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden seems to cover the same ground - a group of nuns trying to establish a convent in a hostile Himalayan environment - and I guess that’s kind of it. There’s some really lovely photography in the trailer, but it’s hard for me (having never seen the original or read the novel) to get a full sense of what’s going on. I’m getting the feeling that the nuns have a kind of freshmen-away-from-home-for-the-first-time experience: falling in love without prying eyes, feeling overwhelmed by the size and beauty of the world. I guess, as far as colonization fables go, this one doesn’t look entirely bad.

Arrivals:

1st:

A View to a Kill (1985) - 14th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1960 short story by Fleming).
Antwone Fisher (2002) - inspired by the autobiographical novel Finding Fish by Fisher.
The Bourne Identity (2002) - based on the 1980 novel by Robert Ludlum.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) - sequel to the above.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) - sequel to the above.
Breathless (1983) - remake of the 1960 original by Jean-Luc Godard.
Children of the Corn (2009) - remake of the 1984 original, both adapted from a 1977 short story by an unknown author.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - 7th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1956 novel by Fleming).
For Your Eyes Only (1981) - 12th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on elements from two 1960 short stories by Fleming).
Foxfire (1996) - based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates. It is also the subject of a recent episode of my podcast Hate Watch / Great Watch: HWGW Ep.40.
From Russia With Love (1963) - 2nd film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1957 novel by Fleming).
The Horse Whisperer (1998) - based on the 1995 novel by Nicholas Evans.
Hud (1963) - based on the 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry.
I Spy (2002) - inspired by the TV series that aired from 1965 - 1968.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - based on the 1981 short story by William Gibson.
Kiss the Girls (1997) - based on the 1995 novel by James Patterson.
License to Kill (1989) - 16th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on elements from a 1954 novel, and a 1960 short story by Fleming).
Live and Let Die (1973) - 8th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1954 novel by Fleming).
The Living Daylights (1987) - 15th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1966 novel by Fleming).
Lost in Space (1998) - based on the TV series that aired from 1965 - 1968, which was inspired by the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - 9th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1965 novel by Fleming).
Maverick (1994) - based on the TV series that aired from 1957 - 1962.
Moonraker (1979) - 11th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1954 novel by Fleming).
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - based on the 1599 play by William Shakespeare.
Octopussy (1983) - 13th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) - 6th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1963 novel by Fleming).
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) - based on the 2005 novel by Rick Riordan.
The Prestige (2006) - based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - based on the 1979 musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler.
The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 (2009) - remake of the 1974 original, both based on the 1973 novel by Morton Freedgood.
Thunderball (1965) - 4th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (specifically based on a 1961 novel by Fleming).
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - 18th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming.
Wanted (2008) - loosely inspired by the comic book miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones.
The World Is Not Enough (1999) - 19th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming.
You Only Live Twice (1967) - 5th film in the oft-rebooted James Bond film franchise started in 1962, based on the character created by Ian Fleming (loosely based on a 1964 novel by Fleming).

17th:

Soul Surfer (2011) - based on the 2004 autobiographical novel by Bethany Hamilton (full title: Soul Surfer: A Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board).


NETFLIX:

Premiers:

24th:

HILLBILLY ELEGY - Based on the 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance, this looks kind of ...fake? Not real. Like we truly are not living in a sensible reality. It looks like, I dunno, the kind of “prestige” film that the main character would be starring in in a Hollywoo parody film. It’s the kind of thing Maeby Fünke would greenlight in an early season of Arrested Development. It’s got a nigh unrecognizable Amy Adams as the beaten-down-by-life mother of some kids she had too young and an equally nigh unrecognizable Glenn Close as *her* mother, who I guess is a tough broad who refuses to quit and refuses to let her family give up on one another. The big takeaway for me was that I guess the line of dialogue that’s supposed to carry some Serious Weight to it is one of the goofiest, most senseless things where Mamaw (Close) says everybody in the world is either a Good Terminator, a Bad Terminator or neutral. Y’know, usually a metaphor like this, where it comes in the trailer, underneath the type of score it’s under, would at least be an attempt at a finely honed core image that ties some important theme together in a unique, new way. All this is saying is that people are either good or bad or neither. Yeah that about covers it, Mamaw! It reminds me of the line from Reservoir Dogs where Mr. Blonde says “Either he’s alive, or he’s dead, or the cops got him, or they don’t”. Difference here is that Mamaw’s dialogue isn’t intended to instill in me a fundamental understanding that the character doesn’t give a single solitary shit about what’s going on, though coincidentally it did make ME feel that way about Hillbilly Elegy.


Arrivals:

1st:

Casper (1995) - inspired by the character created in the 1930s by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo.
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - based on the 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess.
Easy A (2010) - partly inspired by the 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) - based on the 1980 children’s novel by Lynne Reid Banks.
The Next Karate Kid (1994) - soft reboot/fourth installment of the franchise started with the 1984 original.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) - remake of the 1960 original.
Piercing (2018) - based on the 2008 novel by Ryu Murakami.
Yes Man (2008) - loosely based on the memoir by Danny Wallace.

6th:

The Late Bloomer (2016) - based on Man Made: A Memoir of My Body by Ken Baker

15th:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) - sequel to the 2009 original which was inspired by the 1978 book by Judi and Ron Barrett.
V For Vendetta (2005) - adaptation of the comic book miniseries by Alan Moore, David Lloyd and Tony Weare).


SHUDDER:

Premiers:

I couldn’t find any applicable Premiers from Shudder this month.


Arrivals:

2nd:

Salem’s Lot (1979) - based on the 1975 novel by an unknown author.

16th:

Let the Corpses Tan (2017) - based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette.




There we have it. New stuff is a bit slim but there’s a lot of cool streaming stuff, so… I guess if you see anything on here and end up watching it, drop me a line! Let’s chat about movies, y’all! Movies are the best thing.

Thanks as always to Rosalie and Ben for all the Moviejawning they do and thanks to you reading this for reading this! I hope the remainder of the year finds you well and I can’t wait to see you out in the world (as soon as safely possible). If you want more from me, you can check out the Hate Watch / Great Watch podcast which I co-host with Allison Yakulis here on the Moviejawn podcast network. When you're reading this, the latest episode will be on the 2016 Japanese wrestlers vs. giant monsters genre send-up Kaiju Mono - HWGW Ep.42! Check it out! And finally, as always, Long Live the Movies!




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This piece was written for Moviejawn where you can find tons of other excellent movie-centric writings, a shop where you can subscribe to the quarterly physical zine and also listen to the  I Saw It In a Movie,  Cinematic Crypt  or  Hate Watch / Great Watch  podcasts!
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