A Night at the Movies

Saw the movie 16 Blocks last night -- it borrows liberally from better movies, offers few real surprises, but is straight-ahead and unpretentious enough to end just as it starts to get too cute/clever/hammy for its own good. Should you see it? Well, perhaps not for $8, but at 80 Thai baht ($2), it's a great night at the movies.

Several critics have harped on the fact that the movie is something of a remake of the Eastwood-Locke vanity piece The Gauntlet, but fail to mention that movie was garbage. Remakes of Psycho and The Manchurian Candidate are crimes against humanity, but bad films should be remade as often as is necessary to get them "right". But don't get me wrong -- those calling 16 Blocks "gritty" and "intense" are off the mark as well. If you want a gritty and intense cop drama, check out Narc.

The movie has made $36 million in the States, which is probably two-thirds of its production costs, but the major studios seem content to cash in on DVD sales and TV rights when handling anything less than a "blockbuster". Meanwhile, theatre operators front-load more and more commercials into every screening and wonder why people are finding other things to do on a Friday night. If the "cinematic experience" is to remain something other than turning on the entertainment center in your living room, the players involved need to consider multi-tiered pricing. I would have gladly paid full price to see The Aviator, Batman Begins, or Munich, but take a chance on Lucky Number Slevin? No way. Offer a discount and I would have considered an evening with The Weather Man -- unless the plan was to gross only $12 million domestically.