Same name, different war

Does anyone else get Jacob’s Ladder and Lorenzo’s Oil mixed up? Anyway, Jacob’s Ladder (1990, Tim Robbins is a Vietnam vet who thinks he is losing his mind) is next in line for a remake. Or, perhaps ‘re-imagining’ is more apt in this case, as it’s not being planned as a straight remake, but a new take on the story with a plot set in the present day, probably replacing Vietnam with Afghanistan. Can a new take on the tale match the original from Bruce Joel Robinson and director Adrian Lyne? That’s another question entirely. This do-over reminds me of 2004’s Manchurian Candidate, another story of a military-man who doesn’t know what’s real and what isn’t. That version, which changed the focus from the Korean War to the Gulf War, lost nearly all the tension and intelligence of the original and somehow managed to be LESS relevant than the 1962 original. Hopefully this new rung on Jacob’s Ladder can avoid a similar experience. A movie version of Knight Rider has been promised (threatened?) for more than 20 years, but fans of Michael Knight and KITT are still waiting. The Weinstein Company bought the rights to the show back in 2006, but short of a abortive attempt at a TV reboot in 2008 nothing has happened, except original star David Hasselhoff bringing it up when he wants attention from journalists. However, word is that writer and producer Brad Copeland (Arrested Development, My Name is Earl) is working on a script. He’s a curious choice, because as well as those TV shows, Copeland is also responsible for writing Wild Hogs and Yogi Bear – two films so spectacularly bad that the US Army went back in time and dropped them over Russia as part of a psychological warfare operation. It leads me to think that a Knight Rider film might not be entirely serious – perhaps something akin to Starsky and Hutch. It makes sense, there’s a lot in there to poke fun at, not least a bitchy talking car driven by a man with tight jeans and a perm. Tongue-in-cheek or not, following the ridiculous success of the Fast & Furious franchise, now is the time to push through a film about a superpowered car. Even as a kid, I thought Captain Planet was lame. Sure, the cartoon had a cool theme tune, but the green-haired environmental warrior was just too worthy. And his gang of kiddie helpers? Urgh. Fly them into a volcano and leave them there. However, despite me not liking the idea, Sony is pressing forward with a movie adaptation of Captain Planet And The Planeteers. The studio is apparently in final negotiations to secure the rights to the series and wants to directly import the cartoon’s looks into a live-action setting. Vague, I know, but that’s pretty much all anyone knows right now. The dregs of the superhero barrel are being scraped up as we speak. What next, Batfink the Movie? Will Smith might be too big a deal to return to Independence Day, but never let it be said that Jeff Goldblum thinks himself above blowing up national landmarks. Director Roland Emmerich has revealed that Goldblum will be reprising his role of nervous computer whizz David Levinson in the long-awaited sequel, Independence Day 2. Bill Pullman is coming back too. With it being set 17 years after the original, Pullman’s President Whitmore will no longer be in charge of the US so it will be interesting to see how his character fits into the story. Emmerich also reiterated that Will Smith is unlikely to appear (largely because of the sum of money on the table), but the maestro-of-destruction is still hoping to persuade him to pop up in a cameo capacity. Independence Day 2 will smash into US cinemas on July 3, 2015, with a UK date to be confirmed.