Consider this: On Friday, the AMC Studio 30 megaplex here in H-Town will be showing, in addition to mainstream and much-hyped Hollywood studio fare, Assassination, a terrifically entertaining South Korean action-adventure that I viewed and reviewed for Variety; Go Away Mr. Tumor, a Chinese romantic comedy that was a smash hit in its country of origin; The Love Affair, a romantic drama from The Philippines; and no fewer than four features -- Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Brothers: Blood Against Blood and Drishyam -- from India. (Also on tap: Two English-language, VOD-ready indie features -- After Words and Some Kind of Beautiful -- each screening only twice daily.)
Now, mind you, we're not talking about a gone-to-seed theater in a fallen-from-grace shopping theater. We're not even talking about a theater in a neighborhood where any single immigrant group traditionally dominates. Rather, we're talking about a megaplex in the most racially and ethnically diverse large metropolitan area in the United States. Leading me to wonder: Is this situation unique to Houston, or increasingly commonplace? That is: Have we already reached and actually gone past the point where it is standard operational procedure for theater chains to program in big-city megaplexes scads of movies that require English subtitles but aren't, strictly speaking, "art-house movies" -- that are, you know, just movies?
1 comment:
I think it is not standard operational procedure but the theater industry is moving towards unity in order to attract a larger group of audiences. The vast range of titles that they play is all unique so the spectators come from all walks of lives to encourage cohesiveness amongst all cultures. Isn’t that something positive which we all had once hoped for in our lives?
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