It's been said repeatedly over the years that Hollywood has run out of new ideas. But with the studios digging through the archive to remake so many "classics," it seems like Tinseltown is stuck in perpetual deja view. There's so much recycling going on, we now have multiple names for this cinematic recycling: remake and reboot. But what exactly is the difference between them? CL staffers David Russell, Joe Bardi, and Ham Bone Gravy take a stab at better defining the terms. Is Rise of the Planet of the Apes a reboot? Is Tim Burton king of the remakes? And where does X-Men: First Class fit in?
Let us know what you think of the whole "remake vs. reboot" debate in the comments section …
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2011.