(bolding mine)
James Remar? Seriously? Now I have this mental image of Ajax heading down to 34th Street to “look for wool” and getting into a fight with Santa’s elves.
I agree with your first statement, Phlos, but Albert Finney’s Scrooge? That unmitigated piece of scenery-chewing and second-rate singing of fifth-rate songs?
The one true Ebenezer Scrooge is, was and always will be Alistair Sim. (And not the colourised version, either!)
Oh, and prime example of WTF remake?: - The Wicker Man.
Never saw the Attenborough version, but there was a previous Made-for-TV remake with Sebastian Cabot (Mr. French on Family Affair) as Kris and David Hartman (future host of GMA) as the lawyer.
Not good.
And the only thing good about Body Snatchers is a quite generous nude scene of Ms. Anwar (a nubile 23 at the time). That, and it’s the only film I can remember where you see an irritating little kid thrown from a helicopter to his death! 
Otherwise, heavy handed and dreadful. Even Forest Whitaker can’t save that film.
I love the 1936 version of My Man, Godfrey, with William Powell and Carole Lombard. Is it worth the effort to find the 1957, David Niven and June Allyson remake?
I have see both. The 1936 movie is great (and apparently fell into Public Domain as I own a copy I got in a Dollar Store). The David Niven remake was not as good but was lighter. It might actually be worth watching. So all in all, not a bad remake.
Jim
As it happens, my girlfriend got me a DVD of the 1964 The 300 Spartans and I watched it this weekend. Kicked ass. Okay, it’s hokey by modern standards, but clearly shows the sequence of political and military events involved, and was beautifully photographed in Greece, with the help of the Royal Greek Army, no doubt having fun playing Spartans and Persians.
I may be in a minority, but I thought Vanilla Sky was a quite good version of the same story as the Spanish original, Abre los Ojos. Interesting seeing Penelope Cruz play the same role in both versions. And Tom Cruise is good (I don’t worry about how much of a flake an actor is in real life, as long as he gives a good performance).
Since* A Christmas Carol* has already been mentioned, I put Bill Murray’s Scrooged in the ‘Good’ category.
The Good: I’ve always considered The Magnificent Seven a remake of the Seven Samurai. And a great remake at that.
The Bad: How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch with a back story? He doesn’t need a father that doesn’t love him; the fact that his heart was three sizes too small should be reason enough for his villainy.
WTF: Breathless. With Richard Gere. Who thought THAT was a good idea?
Whereas I nominate it for the ‘Bad’ AND ‘WTF’ categories.
Oh yee Gods I’d forgotten this one.
Take a classic cult film.
Remove the parts that made it unique
Add Nicholas Cage
Add pointless backstory to make the lead more “damaged”
Get everyone in the movie to overact.
Shamlessly add a rip off of the hobbling scene from Misery.
Sit back and make sure it’s barely released.
Granted, A Fistful of Dollars isn’t as witty as Yojimbo, but it’s still a good remake (if only for the eventual sequel The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly’s soundtrack :D).
Last Man Standing also pretty much plays the plot straight, although it does poke som fun at western movie cliches. Plus, it’s Bruce Willis being badass, what’s not to love about that? 
…and does Star Wars: A New Hope count as a remake of The Hidden Fortress?
(Why is it that I keep remembering more movies?)
Ben Hur’s been remade a few times, the most famous of which being of course the 1959 version.
Ditto the various works of Shakespeare, too many to name in the space of this edit window.
and you have Gone in 60 Seconds.
Of course, proceeding from The Seven Samurai and on through The Magnificent Seven we eventually reach Battle Beyond the Stars.
And then A Bug’s Life, which was pretty good.
Well, my first two have been taken. I was impressed by the way Li’s version made both sides human, rather than just a ‘rah, rah, beat up the enemy’ flick.
As for WTF: The 1997 version of Vanishing Point. I rented this one by accident thinking it was the original. Viggo Mortensen and Luke freaking Perry.
Yojimbo was based on a Dashiel Hammett story (which I haven’t tracked down); so Last Man Standing may actually be closer to the original. In any case, along with A Fistful of Dollars we have three entertaining movies based on the same story. Well, it was also redone as, no kidding, a low-budget sword-and-sorcery picture with David Carradine, called The Sword and the Sorceror. All I remember is a woman with four breasts.
Another good Yojimbo remake: Hrafninn flygur aka When the Raven Flies (US title Revenge of the Barbarians ). This one has Vikings instead of samurai or cowboys.
Has anyone seen both versions of Day of the Jackal? The original is one of my all-time favorite thrillers.
I thought Wedding Crashers was a nice remake/reimagining of The Importance of Being Earnest.
How ever Barb Wire was a terrible remake of Casablanca.
The Bruce Willis version is only related in that both movies are about an assassin. It’s not good.