Regarding yesterday's post...in my web surfing last night I came across several sources stating that there will be a remake of The Manchurian Candidate to be released next year. It will supposedly be directed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Silence of the Lambs) with Denzel Washington set to play Frank Sinatra's role, Maj. Ben Marco. This irks me for a couple of reasons:

1. I'm always wary of remakes. Nobody likes seeing someone take their favorite movie and try to "update" and stylize it. Having Jonathan Demme at the helm makes me feel a little better and Sinatra's daughter Tina is producing so I'm guessing she'll do her best not to murder the film her father was most proud of. However, that still leaves...

2. Denzel Washington.

Now I know I may get hate mail over this one but it's got to be said. I've only got two words to describe Denzel Washington. Over. Rated. Now granted, he's pretty good at what he does. You know, that whole indignant man fighting against all odds with a penchant for self-righteous monologues thing. (Think John Q, Remember the Titans, The Hurricane, The Bone-Collector, The Seige, Fallen, Courage Under Fire, Crimson Tide, Philadelphia, Malcom X, the list goes on...) He's just not versatile...at all. Okay, maybe I'm being a little hard on him. His performance in Training Day was pretty good. I'm just a little bitter because everybody got so excited that he finally attempted some sort of departure that they awarded him an Oscar for it. A little extreme, if you ask me. But back to my point, it just seems like ever since he got an Oscar for Glory, he's kinda been in a rut, playing the same role over and over. But then again, the Maj. Ben Marco role fits right into this niche so maybe we're okay. Maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to rail on a lovable icon of American cinema. Well, regardless, I enjoy the opportunity to rant now and then. Thanks for indulging me.