A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself

By the looks of it 2012 is going to be the year of the sequel or remake. As a film fanatic, I am not amused by this as you probably realised by my post Why, oh why must these film companies take everything too far and try and gain as much money as they do from overusing ideas. I mean there are sooooooooooo many ideas that could still be done but they decide to reinvent and add to films already made.

Anyway, moving on from this, there are lots coming out in the next year and this blog will look at some of the films that have the potential to be okay and that I will probably end up going to see anyway.

American Pie 4 

While details are still early, we are told that Seann William Scott is on board again, as is Jason Biggs, Chris Klein and Tara Reid. Matter of fact, the entire cast and crew is back for the newest American Pie Movie, and it's about time to be honest. After the disaster ofmsome of the recent spin offs that have been created American Pie 4 or Family Reunion as it is looking to be named should hopefully bring it back to it's best. In American Pie 4, the friends are all in their 30′s now, and we can assume the story will be centered around Jim and Michelle’s pregnancy. The friends all reunite for the birth and a weekend of memories, when all hell breaks loose.

Men in Black 3

The MIB duo of Agent Jay (Will Smith) and Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) are back in action. When the world is threatened by an evil alien, Agent Jay travels back in time to 1969, where he teams up with the younger Agent Kay to stop an evil villain named Boris (Jemaine Clement) from destroying the world in the future. Emma Thompson will play take-charge MIB operative Agent Oh, who is monitoring a prison breakout. My only concern is will the fact it is 3D, will they be trying to hard to make money and taking away from the content of the film?

Madagascar 3 

Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style. Katzenberg also said that Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa will probably spawn a sequel: “There is at least one more chapter. We ultimately want to see the characters make it back to New York.” But does anyone really care about a third Madagascar film? While I certainly understand the New York return story being a neat third act of the series, I’d much rather see a spin-off following the adventures of the penguins.

Ice Age 4 

It was only a matter of time before this film got made. In "Ice Age: Continental Drift," Scrat's nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he's been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences -- a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these earth-shattering upheavals, Sid reunites with his long lost family, and the gang encounters a ragtag menagerie of colorful new characters determined to stop them from returning home.

The Dark Knight Rises 

Director Nolan was initially hesitant about returning to the series for a third time, but agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother and David Goyer that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Filming has taken place across the world, including locations in India, London, Glasgow, Los Angeles, New York, and Pittsburgh. Nolan is opting to utilize IMAX cameras for more of the filming to optimize the quality of the picture. As with The Dark Knight, viral marketing campaigns began early during production to help promote the upcoming film. The Dark Knight Rises is scheduled for release in the United States and Canada on July 20, 2012, by Warner Bros.

Monsters Inc 2

The film has a University theme to it, but instead of Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) going back to school as professors (as some of the past reports speculated) this movie will be an origins tale. Crystal and Goodman are coming back as college years Sully and Mike. "The sequel will tell the story of Mike and Sully's first meeting at school. They couldn't stand each other, but they overcame their differences to become friends."

The Ring 3D 

THR says that David Loucka, the writer behind the Daniel Craig film Dream House, has been hired to write. He’ll likely work under producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, who produced the previous two US films in the series. Originally a DreamWorks series, rights to The Ring were left with Paramount when the two companies split. This is the first news on Ring activity since that point. All we know is that this chapter would “seek to reinvent the franchise” and that it is said to be “teen-centric.” Again, big surprise there. There’s no director set at this point and don’t expect to see Naomi Watts returning. And at this point we’re far enough removed from the last two films that there’s probably no point in wondering whether this will fit in as a continuation; it could well just trade on the basic premise. (For the record, the first US version was better than it had any right to be, but I can barely for the life of me remember seeing the second.) Given that the original premise involved a videotape that seemed to trigger the deaths of viewers seven days after they watched it, the obvious question is: what to do with the story now that few people actually have VHRs at home? Make it nostalgic, and rather like Scream? We don’t know, but THR says “one potential scenario involves teens finding a VHS player that still works.” I think that’s rather absurd — they’re not that rare.

I know, there are so many films coming out in 2012 and these are just the sequels. I think next year I may have to invest in an unlimited cinema card just so that I can see everything that is coming out.