The Highs and Lows of Hollywood Moviemaking

I saw Batman Begins over the weekend and enjoyed it immensely. This latest installment definitely took itself more seriously than any of the previous movie incarnations; there wasn't a single joke or even vaguely light-hearted moment, but that was okay. It's an entertaining movie that draws an effective balance—in my mind, at least—between plot and action. On the way out I actually heard someone lament that "it took awhile to get to the action." That's definitely a good sign.

One thing I noticed while watching the previews is how painfully obvious it is that Hollywood is a slave to the the remake. There is an absolute slew of remakes and adaptations coming out in the near future: remakes of TV shows (Dukes of Hazzard, Bewitched), remakes of movies (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Herbie the Love Bug, and remakes of adaptations (War of the Worlds). This is in addition to the remakes currently playing: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Longest Yard, The Honeymooners and Guess Who?. And these are just the obvious movies I saw on rottentomatoes.com's listings; there are others, I'm sure, whose names have changed yet are still rehashing the same tired themes.

Hollywood just loves the sure thing. Another major profit center is the comic book adaptation, of which we've seen a resurgence in the past decade or so: Batman Begins, Sin City, The Fantastic Four are either out or coming soon, and one can expect another installment of the Spider-Man franchise at some point as well.

This is not to say that remakes and adaptations can't be good; it's just that there's just too much of everything in entertainment these days: too many movies, too many TV channels, too many programs, too many radio stations, etc. etc. etc. I mean, choice is a good thing to have, but it's just crazy. Hell, there are probably too many of us bloggers as well (hah).

I really would like to see Hollywood come out with fewer and better-quality movies. My wife and I rent a lot of foreign, independent and "little" movies. There really are some good ones out there that will open your eyes to new ways of film making. There are probably many more that never really see the light of day.