Chris Hicks: More evidence that Hollywood has run out of ideas

Of course, remakes aren’t exclusive to 1980s reboots. At least six other remakes are also scheduled to play this year: “The Great Gatsby,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Man of Steel,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Oldboy” and “Carrie.”

And more than a few sequels are on the way as well — “The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia,” “A Good Day to Die Hard,” “The Last Exorcism, Part II,” “Scary Movie 5,” “Iron Man 3,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “The Hangover, Part III,” “The Fast and the Furious 6,” “Monsters University,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Grown Ups 2,” “The Wolverine,” “300: Rise of an Empire,” “Red 2,” “The Smurfs 2,” “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” “Insidious, Chapter 2,” “Riddick,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” “Paranormal Activity 5,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “The Best Man 2,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas,” “Anchorman: The Legend Continues,” “Jack Ryan” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”

Whew.

And when you factor in how many more upcoming films just look so much like other movies, it really gets ridiculous. Their trailers demonstrate that “Identity Thief” (opening Feb. 6) and “The Heat” (April 5) bear more than a passing resemblance to each other. Melissa McCarthy plays what appears to be the same character in both films, only one’s a crook and one’s a cop. In “Identity Thief,” Jason Bateman takes the uptight straight man role to McCarthy’s aggressive, violent, foul-mouthed slob, while Sandra Bullock takes on those duties for “The Heat.”

And is “Warm Bodies” a remake of “Shaun of the Dead”?

And “Safe Haven” looks like … well, every other Nicholas Sparks film.

Anyway, the next time you want to argue that Hollywood has run out of ideas, here’s plenty of evidence to put on the table.

E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com