Moviegoers are waiting to see something new

Re “Movies just don’t matter,” Current, July 31

After reading the article on Hollywood’s summer slump, I was mystified. How could people be losing interest in the movies? So I decided to do some research. I scanned the list of films, and here is what I found: a remake of an old movie (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), two re-creations of old TV shows (“Dukes of “ and “Bad News Bears”), a revival of a not-so-old trilogy based on a comic book (“Batman Begins”) and the fifth episode in a series that spawned a TV show (“Herbie: Fully Loaded”). Hmm, maybe the problem is that audiences want to see something new? Nah.

Jason Mandell

Los Angeles

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Neal Gabler, while providing an interesting theory as to why people are not going to the movie theater as frequently today as in previous years, misses a crucial point: Mainstream movies today have hit rock bottom as far as quality is concerned. There is a sequel for “Deuce Bigalow” coming out soon. That alone proves my point.

Shiva Portonovo

Los Angeles