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QUESTION:On the other hand, I'm all for people highlighting the presence of
beef / cheesecake. It's nice to know about, even if it's not this
moviegoer's only decision-making criterion.
ANSWER: Yes, it is a sign that I need to get a life, but on my way back from
OfficeMax this afternoon I stopped at the Cinemark to see "Boiler Room"
for the second time. (You realize that, despite my enthusiastic support,
it's still coming in after "The Beach" in the weekend box office tally,
even though Giovanni Ribisi could be considered a sexier version of
Leonardo DiCaprio.)
It's fortunate that I'd already seen it at the United Artists since the
Cinemark presentation was a totally different experience -- sort of like
"The Making of Boiler Room." The framing was off, so we spent much of the
movie staring at the sky, the ceiling (it's a good thing the set designers
took pains to make the rooms as complete as possible), or Ribisi's hair.
The descent of the microphone boom over the head of Nicky Katt or Ben
Affleck would signal that we were about to hear a major piece of dialog.
True, I could have complained to the manager, but I was sitting in the
middle of the row, near the top of the stadium-seating tier. Besides, some
of the people in the audience may have thought that the director really
wanted to focus on Nicky Katt's pompadour.
Which brings us to the article in Thursday's San Francisco Chronicle on
the potential loss of the Metro and the Coronet theaters. The Chronicle
reports that United Artists may close the Metro at 2055 Union Street due
to poor attendance -- even though UA spent $2 million to renovate the
place two years ago. UA also told the Chronicle that the Coronet on Geary
Boulevard wasn't "performing well."
What is going on? Do all you people in The City have better things to do
than go to the movies? (OK, OK, at least you're not like those of us who
need to get a life.)
When I was in S.F., I was impressed by the number of single-screen
theaters that were in The City. During the time since I was out there two
of them, the Royal and the Alhambra, have closed, according to the
Chronicle. And The City has gained the Metreon, which appears to be an
honest-to-God multiplex like you'll find in the rest of the country. But
it seems like there should be enough demand to keep the single-screen
theaters open. A strange juxtaposition: New York City reportedly doesn't
have enough movie screens, particularly in Manhattan, while San Francisco
appears to have too many.
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