Chinatown is a film not a movie

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2004)

I think the fact that this a very well written, potted movie is why most
film-goers find it entertaining. It's not a bubble gum or popcorn,
blow up the car, laugh at the boob movie. It tells a story. The story of a detective who does well for himself in
a town prospering in spite of the fact the rest of the nation is going
through a depression. Jake Gittes is involved in a world that most
people don't like to think existed in a time many consider a golden
age. It's not dark. It's realistic. I think the fact that people still return to
this movie three decades after it was released illustrates what a
quality work it is. Other posts allude to this not being entertainment, but I think
entertainment is not knowing what the end of the film will be until it
ends. Who can't figure out how Home Alone 55 or Rush Hour 12
will end?