Not necessary, but worthy.

It seems as if Hollywood has been on a major remake/refurbish kick for the last several years. Most of these attempts failed horribly. In this case I'm talking about the likes of King Kong, Bad News Bears, Shaft, Four Brothers, The Longest Yard, Planet of the Apes, and dozens more. But sometimes successful remakes happen, timeless stories receive worthy adaptations that keep them socially vibrant. In my opinion, such films include The Thomas Crown Affair, I am Legend, 3:10 to Yuma, and maybe a dozen others. Maybe.

I've recently been watching a spate of older flicks, and I've fantasized about what some of them might look like remade with today's gadgets. Now, any movie is trash with the wrong cast under the wrong director. But, if done right, some of these flicks could be top notch viewing. Here are three that would rock, including a round out of the modern cast.

Bullitt - Brad Pitt, Sienna Miller, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Voight, Richard Jenkins, Ben Affleck (redemptive role)


The Conversation - Christian Bale, James Franco, Paul Giamatti, Brandon Routh, Anne Hathaway, Mickey Rourke (surprise as straight man)


Three Days of the Condor (new name: Condor) - Chris Pine, Freida Pinto, Emilio Estevez (making a triumphant return), William H. Macy, Armand Assante, Shannon Sossamon, Brendon Sexton III


...finally, and I know this is not based in any reality, Richard Linklater will be tapped to helm a subtle remake of "The Big Chill". In doing so he re-unites certain members of the "Dazed and Confused" cast. Therefore...

The Big Chill (new name: Mercer's Bay) - make fun of me later - Matthew McConnaughey, Matt Damon, Adam Goldberg, Casey Affleck, Parker Posey, Charlotte Gainsborough, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Louise Parker