I have to say that one of the best remakes I've seen recently was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I watched it with the kids last night and was impressed by how it successfully incorporated elements of the novel that had been left out in the previous version. I know a lot of people complained about the direction in which Johnny Depp took the Willy Wonka character, and while I may not agree with some of the decisions he made as an actor, it was not enough to negate the rest of the film.

Simply put: Well done, Tim Burton; I can finally forgive you for what you did to Planet of the Apes.

With respect to the issue of other greedy remake eras, there have been films that have been remade on several occasions (The Maltese Falcon, anyone?), but not on the same wholesale scale as the current era. Hollywood really needs to start looking outside for more novel ideas. The success of independent film in recent years shows that.