Posted 5:32 PM by Gene

The one sad thing about DVC!!!!!!!!!! is if it had been good -- really good -- it could have helped bring back movies for adults. It wasn't going to happen of course, not with that MASTER OF PROSE HERR DOKTOR BROWN, and certainly not with OPIE; but you think, what would our culture be like with movies for sophisticated adults? THE ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEES are NOT for adults; they're for winning awards, and for adult children who write blurbs, and for pontificating, and for putting people to sleep without a prescription. Here's my idea of a movie for adults: an adaptation of Pal Joey. It could have been the first noir musical but the biz was skittish about shows with heels, and unhappy endings; later Blue turned it into another paycheck. Think of it -- think of a Maltese Falcon with music, with glorious music; think of a film that isn't afraid to be sophisticated. If I make it sound like an arthouse movie (and inevitably these days that's how it would play, I fear) just immerse yourself in Goddard Lieberson's glorious and atmospheric recording and you'll know what I'm thinking.

Of course, the X-Men open again next week, then comes another Pixar CGI doodle, then another theme-park recreation, and movies for adults recede further beyond the horizon.