With word that "Top Gun" is being made into 3-D, we now have seemed to accelerate past jumping the shark on both 3-D and into reengineering already long-made movies. Remember colorizing black-and-white movies? Probably not, because it was such a bad idea that it quickly died out. The only person lately who seems to think it was a good idea to tinker with long-done work is George Lucas. (And memo to George: You're not changing the right stuff.) So you really know how good of an idea that must be.

The sad truth is that Hollywood saw 3-D and IMAX as another financial bonzana. And with "Avatar," it certainly was. But now coming off another summer of declining attendance, the season that moviemakers depend on, you got to wonder if movie studios might ever see the light and realize that maybe it was the movie that had something to do with the success of "Avatar" and not just its format. Plus, perhaps that 3-D bang on the screen isn't worth the extra bucks it costs moviegoers. If you missed the past few years of reality, the economy still is in the tank, so the folks most likely to want some movie escapism in 3-D are probably pinching their $10 bills.

Is that extra pop off the screen worth $2, $3, $4 more? The idea that people are stopping to even ask the question shows the failure of 3-D, at least when it comes with scripts and characters of no dimensions. Just to bring this back to "Top Gun": As one old enough to see Maverick and Goose on the screen in its first release, what exactly in the film is all that worthy of 3-D? Sure, there are a few dogfight sequences. But there are just as many shots of crazed, masked faces in cockpits. Not to mention that the real action of the movie, that moves the characters along, all happens outside of the airplanes as they interact with each other. Not exactly the bombastic over-the-top sequences that 3-D is perfect for.

Still, just mentioning "Top Gun" is reason enough to break out my favorite Quentin Tarantino appearance from on the screen. It's from the little-known 1990s film "Sleep With Me," starring Craig Sheffer, Eric Stoltz and Meg Tilly. And while no one bleeds or dies, there are plenty of f-bombs and adult language.