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We're In The Endgame Now

4/24/2019

1 Comment

 
As I write this, we are just days away from the release of Avengers: Endgame. It's been a long, miraculous road, 22 films over ten years to get to this point. And as people watch and re-watch this shared universe and notice new things and new threads of interconnectivity (especially when you watch them in chronological order vs release order) I can't help but wonder how appreciative they are of the care taken with this franchise.
​
I mean, not every franchise planned things out this well. We've had 25 Bond films (as of next year) over 57 years with almost no continuity between them. Star Trek, Star Wars, each corner of geekdom has its own little battles over what is cannon. And that got me to thinking about the upcoming slate of theatrical releases, and the state of things for geeks.
​
You guys realize we really are in the Endgame now, right?
​
Think about it. Avengers: Endgame finishes off (although to hear Kevin Feige talk, Spider-man: Far from Home is the end of Phase 4) this massive Infinity Stones story arc.
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Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker will end the "saga" storyline of a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away this December. Like them or not, the X-Men movies wraps up their stay at FOX with Dark Phoenix (or New Mutants) this year. We're getting a third Bad Boys, Bill and Ted, Ghostbusters, and John Wick, and one has to wonder which of these will be the "final" outing, completing the trilogy for those series. Only one more Fantastic Beasts movie is planned, and the Wizarding World is done, two more Godzilla films on the horizon, but one has to wonder how much momentum they can sustain beyond that (or if they should). 
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The abortive "Dark Universe" over at Universal can't seem to catch a break. Tarantino has announced his retirement after only two more movies, and even Kevin Smith returning to the Askewniverse with the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot won't make another beyond that. On television, Star Trek Discovery has wildly divided fans, Game of Thrones is closing down shop as we speak,  Orange is the New Black, Gotham, Vikings, iZombie, Mr. Robot and The Big Bang Theory are all hanging it up this season.
​
My point is, that geeks are losing a LOT of content in the immediate future.
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And yes, I know Marvel isn't done making movies. Star Wars will endure. There probably will be another John Wick. J.K. Rowling will find a way to squeeze another Wizarding World movie into ours. We'll get the occasional 4th film in a trilogy, some will be Crystal Skull, some will be Fury Road. New TV shows will crop up to fill the void left by the old. (Personally looking very much forward to both The Dark Tower and Lord of the Rings).
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But still, it's hard to say goodbye to all these friends so closely to one another, especially given how so many of these are bound to end.
​
Looking at you, Thanos.
1 Comment

The Good, the Bad, and the Oscar

2/28/2019

0 Comments

 
Well, another Academy Awards broadcast in the books, and 2019 was nothing if not... interesting. Here's my thoughts on the positives and negatives:

+ NO HOST

Oscar went without a host for the first time since the Rob Lowe Snow White debacle back in 1989, but this time, I barely noticed. In fact, it seemed to run smoother without an MC, like a well oiled machine. The takeaway? I could get used to this.

+ QUEEN

Without a host, Queen opened the academy awards with front man Adam Lambert. Rocking the place with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions. It was bold, brash and in keeping with the theme of the evening, very bohemian. Any excuse for more of this!

...but oddly enough, even Queen wasn't quite enough. Perhaps it was the song choices. C'mon, be daring. We know THESE are safe. Perhaps it was Adam Lambert. He has an impressive vocal talent, but he's no Freddy Mercury. No one is. Perhaps it was Christian Bale, looking like he was barely tolerating the whole spectacle. I dunno. Something was off.

- QUEEN


+ Maya, Tina, and Amy ​

Right from the get go, the first trio of presenters Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were, riffing on the No Host controversy and making a solid case for why they should be hosting next year.

+ Pacing

The broadcast felt snappier, quicker and better paced than previous years. (Our opening trio had the first award out in eight minutes versus TWENTY last year). It was a very economical way to run the show, and it moved well.
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One of the consequences of pacing was the lack of montages. Those wonderful (yet admittedly pointless) breaks in the action that celebrate cinematography or editing with a four or five minute series of clips of great films strung together to a John Williams score. We like those. And we miss those.

- No Montages


Oddly, the one montage of clips to a John Williams score we did get this year, the in memoriam segment celebrating the lives of those Hollywood has lost, had very little emotion in it, and felt very sterile and cold.

- In Memorium


+ Melissa and Brian

This was one of... if not THE funniest visual of the night, and McCarthy proved that she's got the comedic timing and acting chops to not only pull stuff like this off, but to truly sell it with a rabbit puppet.

+ All Categories, LIVE​​

Academy voters had a hissy fit (and rightly so) at the idea of awards being presented during commercial breaks. We're glad we got to see ALL the presentations LIVE.
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While it was great to see every category get their moment in the sun, when the award for Best Hairstyling and Makeup was announced and the three winners fumbled all over themselves trying to let someone else go first and no one could read prepared notes and then they got played off and the microphone got cut, we almost wish they had been on during the commercial break.

- Hairstyling and Makeup "Speeches"


Okay, we get it. Winning an Academy Award is a big deal. You're nervous, excited, overwhelmed, etc... Shock is a factor. Bring notes. Be brief. Tell a witty story, go to pieces, these are acceptable. Do not thank everyone under the sun. If you start off with "oh, there's so many people I have to thank... in alphabetical order they are..." Dude, unless you brought the fucking Micro Machines guy with you I don't wanna hear it. Post that shit on the internet later because inevitably the shock is gonna make you forget someone and they're gonna be mad and you know you can't get them all in anyway.

- Bad  Speeches


+ Regina King's Speech

Not you, honey. You did just fine.

We know it's customary--nae, tradition--for the president of the Academy to deliver a speech of some sort during the proceedings. But after all the issues this year, the false starts, the course corrections, etc... it just seemed like there was an air of "How dare you show your face here!" Maybe this would have been the year to forgo that little tradition and stay hidden away backstage.

- The King's Speech


+ Shallow 

...was anything but, as Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper delivered a performance for the record books. Not only heartfelt, soulful, and--OMG are they an item?!? But the Academy shot it just like Cooper did in the movie--from the stage. It was unique and beautifully done, and took none of the luster of the foregone conclusion that the song would win.

+ Spider-verse

It was the victory I think most of us were hoping for, the one that everyone kinda KNEW was going to happen, and yet was terrified that it wouldn't. Not only was Spider-verse the best Spider-Man movie released thus far, it was the best animated film of the year. And it has the statue to prove it. It also became a nice capstone for Stan Lee's legacy.

+ Diversity

There was far more diversity on display during this year's Oscars than at any time previous. Which is not only a good thing, it's a great thing. More voices should be represented here...

...but all that diversity was tempered with Hollywood's "business as usual" with the big award, Best Picture. Now I LOVED Green Book, but I also understand it was the safe bet. Hollywood is run by OLD, WHITE, MEN. And that's the category that's the most resistant to change and new ideas. Black Panther, (IMHO) is the film that really deserved to take home the statue. But 1) It's a new idea for Oscar: a superhero film. 2) It's a sci-fi action film. 3) It's a film that has a tiny African country be revealed as more rich and powerful than any other nation state on the planet. 4) The plot involves arming blacks around the world with superior weaponry so they can rise up to fight their white oppressors. I doubt very much the OLD, WHITE, MEN who run the joint were particularly eager to celebrate the movie regardless of how well it was made. Their second option if the internet is to be believed? Spike Lee. Also not happening. Roma was a lock for foreign film, and the Academy isn't fond of doubling up, which left Green Book. The Safe Choice. But in a year of diversity, safe feels like a back step and the wrong message to send...

- Squandered  Good Will 


Ah well, there's always next year...
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Excellence In Film?

2/12/2019

3 Comments

 
Sooo... awards season is in full swing, and I have something I need to confess:
I am an Oscars fan. I can't help it. I love the awards show. Not all of them. I'll watch the Golden Globes with a small measure of enjoyment and some excitement. I'll tolerate the MTV Movie Awards if they happen to be on in the same room as me. I loathe the Grammys and the Tonys and the Emmys and the whatever -eees happen to be on this week. Now don't misunderstand, I am not besmirching the noble work done in those fields, I am not looking down on television or music or theatre. I'm not saying those award shows hold any less weight or merit in their fields. But there is something about Oscar. The pomp, the circumstance, the overbearing superiority of it all. The class, the elegance, the history. The moments, the laughter, the tears, even the speeches.
 I love it all. Every since I was a kid, I would watch every year, and even without really understanding the magnitude of what I was watching, I knew the import of the history that was unfolding up there on the screen. I knew, in the words of Roy Neary, "This means something. This is important."
And of course I held Oscar watch parties and submitted my picks, and bought books and read up on the history and the culture and the controversy. For where would the Academy Awards be without controversy? ​
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Sure, we've had the usual how can so-and-so not be nominated for such-and-such for years. We've had the political commentary, we've had the stuck in a rut same kind of film winners for decades. Lately, the controversies have gotten more varied, ranging from super serious and topical to ultra ridiculous and back again. It started with #OscarsSoWhite when in 2016, for the second year in a row, all 20 actors nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories were white despite a slew of popular and powerful performances given by minority actors. This lead to complaints, boycotts and calls for change. Then we had Time's Up and #MeToo movements dealing with sexism and harassment against women, which Hollywood is rife with. We've all heard of the casting couch, and it wouldn't be a trope if it wasn't a thing. And Oscars addressed it. Kind of. A few more jokes were made, a few montages were shown, but in general it was light on content and impact, and it took Frances McDormand in her acceptance speech for Three Billboards to declare, “I have two words to leave with you tonight ... inclusion rider.” She had wound up the audience to expect Time's Up. Instead, she gave them instead was something concrete — a practical suggestion that could lead to real money for people of color, women of all races, and other underrepresented groups in Hollywood.
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And while the whole point of the Oscars is to celebrate excellence in film, recently the academy has become obsessed with it's broadcast ratings. The Academy has been broadcasting the awards since all the way back in 1953. But now we keep hearing about changes to keep the audience. Television viewers tend to stay away in years when heavy dramas are big nominees, the so-called "Oscar Bait" films. Comic Book/Sci-Fi/Action movies, so essential to Hollywood's bottom line, very rarely if ever get the nod. Look at The Dark Knight, which failed to earn a nomination for Best Picture despite its popularity and excellence in filmmaking. To combat that trend, in 2010 the Academy switched up the Best Picture category, allowing up to TEN films to be nominated up from five. "The Avatar Effect" as I have come to think of it, not only makes seeing everything nominated that much harder, it feels like the Academy is throwing up a few sacrificial lambs that really don't stand a chance, but were popular at the box office in order to try and fool viewers into sticking around to see what happens. The other side of the coin is getting several solid, good films, but no real standouts, which can be just as bad. Behind the scenes, the nomination process itself is ridiculously convoluted (which you can read about here).

​(Back to 2016 and #OscarsSoWhite, in my mind the Academy double goofed that year. In addition to no minority actors of color being nominated, there were only 8 films submitted for Best Picture, and Straight Outta Compton was not one of them. It ticks so many boxes that Oscar normally likes: Biopic, popular, did well but wasn't a runaway blockbuster... films like this are the very reason they went up to ten. Are you telling me they honestly couldn't fill those slots? Don't get me wrong, I harbor no illusions that those films would have won, but still, why offer up to ten if you can't find ten to honor? Why not just leave it at five?)
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This year, Black Panther was released to become box office gold. Not only was it a certified hit, not only was it a popular movie that played in theatres PAST it's home video/DVD release date, not only was it loved by critics everywhere, it was exceptionally well made.

Oh, and it was a comic book/sci-fi/action film.

​What to do? Well the Academy came up with a brilliant idea for just such an emergency, a whole new category:

​The Academy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film.

What... the actual... FUCK?!? Are you guys shitting me? Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film? What is this? The goddamn MTV Movie Awards? Evidently, cooler heads prevailed, as the Academy has shelved that particular award, at least for this year, and Black Panther has gone on to actually be nominated for Best Picture, along with five other Oscars.
And then, there's the running length. The broadcast has been running long since even before it was a broadcast. Hell, Bob Hope made jokes about the running length when he was host. And yet, Oscar seems to think it needs to cut corners by shortening speeches, cutting off presenters, eliminating segments, or the newest outcry: giving out awards during commercial breaks.
The following is a letter from Academy President John Bailey:

Dear Fellow Academy Members,

After months of anticipation and much talk, I’d like to address a topic that’s close to me.

Viewing patterns for the Academy Awards are changing quickly in our current multi-media world, and our show must also evolve to successfully continue promoting motion pictures to a worldwide audience. This has been our core mission since we were established 91 years ago—and it is the same today.

As you may remember, last summer the Academy’s Board of Governors committed to airing a three-hour show. I want to reiterate however, that all 24 Academy Award-winning presentations will be included in the broadcast. We believe we have come up with a great way to do this, and keep the show to three hours.

While still honoring the achievements of all 24 awards on the Oscars, four categories—Cinematography, Film Editing, Live Action Short, and Makeup and Hairstyling – will be presented during commercial breaks, with their winning speeches aired later in the broadcast.

And, with the help of our partners at ABC, we also will stream these four award presentations online for our global fans to enjoy, live, along with our audience. Fans will be able to watch on Oscar.com and on the Academy’s social channels. The live stream is a first for our show, and will help further awareness and promotion of these award categories.

The executive committees of six branches generously opted-in to have their awards presented in this slightly edited timeframe for this year’s show, and we selected four. In future years, four to six different categories may be selected for rotation, in collaboration with the show producers. (This year’s categories will be exempted in 2020.)

The Academy Awards honors the year’s best films and filmmakers. It is an international show, filled with great emotion, and (we hope) stirring acceptance speeches. This year, in addition to performances of all five nominated songs, the show will feature Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing during In Memoriam, as part of their own centennial celebration.

So, buckle up! We are committed to presenting a show which we all will be proud of.

John
John, you're making it hard for me to keep defending you guys here.
CINEMATOGRAPHY?!?!
EDITING?!?!?!
​Yeah, those aren't important to the craft of fucking filmmaking or anything.
I'm not saying I have the solutions for Oscar, I don't. I don't have any suggestions for them on how to have their cake and eat it too.  I know many friends who couldn't give two shits about the Oscars. And I don't blame them. I genuinely get their frustration and apathy. But the allure of the gold keeps bringing me back, like a broken down prospector who knows his claim is played out, but wants just one more shot for it to strike. In much the same way, I keep hoping that the Academy will wise up and return to the glitz and glamor of celebrating the achievement of film and stop worrying so much about the multimedia world, the viewing numbers, and what is "proper". A good movie should be celebrated regardless of its genre, and a well crafted one should get it's moment in the sun to celebrate those who crafted it.
​Perhaps Guillermo del Toro said it best:
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3 Comments

The Nakatomi Contemplation

12/17/2018

1 Comment

 

Or, Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie?

The debate rages on: is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Some playfully say yes, some are adamant that it absolutely is. (We'll admit we are not above trolling. Our first official Flicks With Friends watch along 2 years ago was a Christmas-time viewing of Die Hard.) Others say no of course not. Don't be silly. And how dare you sully my holiday with your silly action movie! And other things. And each year the divide between these two camps gets wider and deeper than that elevator shaft.
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But is it really? What elements makes a film "Christmassy" enough to be classified a Christmas film? And does Die Hard meet those parameters? To truly answer the question, you'd have to break down all the elements of the film (wonderfully done Here by Stephen Follows)​ dissect Christmas movies, then cross check the two. Take for example, the script for Die Hard. Not only is it a taught action thriller, it references Christmas. A lot. The word "Christmas" appears 18 times, more than the words "explode" (4), "shoot" (12), "kill" (13) and "blood" (13), though not as much as "terrorist" (51). His wife's name is Holly. The intent was obviously there from the beginning to set the film at and deal with the events of Christmastime. (The screenwriter has flatly come out and said as much, that Die Hard IS a Christmas movie.) McClaine is trying to get home to his family for Christmas despite some obstacles. This makes it a holiday film just like Planes Trains and Automobiles is a holiday film. 
​On the flip side, the movie was released in July, and features no mention of Christmas on it's poster, arguably the strongest tool studios have to lure us into watching. Research suggests it's only been since 2009 when Live Free or Die Hard hit theatres (also in July) that the "Christmas Culture" sprung up around the movie. Web searches show that interest in Die Hard spikes every holiday season, but only in the last ten years or so, which indicates that maybe this wasn't the original intent, and is just a thing that has sprouted up around the movie since the birth of the net. Even Fox has gotten in on the act with the newest trailer for the film, purposely cut to seem like it is a Christmas movie.
So who's right? Is it a Christmas movie or not? Realistically, who cares? Let people celebrate the way they want. In the end it doesn't matter, just like some people have Turkey and some people have Ham. Some prefer Pumpkin Pie and others like Sweet Potato. The Holidays have enough stress associated with them already, if it puts some people in a festive mood to kick back and watch John McClane take out terrorists instead of that Christmas Story marathon, then let them have it.
After All... It's Christmas.
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All Things Must Moviepass

8/5/2018

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The subscription service moviepass has had a difficult last couple of months, culminating in a rather embarrassing crash of the app and services two weeks ago because the company ran out of money. Since then, the company has been in the news daily. It's become an almost macabre story, where subscribers and non-subscribers alike are hawkishly watching, asking, "Is it dead yet?"

For those of you that don't know, moviepass is a revolutionary subscription service for theatre goers. You pay a monthly fee and  you get to go see one movie per day for the month (no 3D or IMAX). There's an app you download to your smart phone, and you select the title and showtime of your movie. Once you check in, moviepass loads funds onto a debit card that was sent to you when you signed up. You get to the ticket window, use the debit card to pay for your ticket, and enjoy. Simple right?


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At least it was. The company made no illusions from the get go, this business model would cost them money. But their goal (ostensibly) was to get butts in seats at the theatre. I initially looked into the service when I heard about it three years ago. It sounded like a too good to be true deal then, and at that time it was $29.99 a month. I almost pulled the trigger then, (Figuring that here in Topeka, Kansas, a MATINEE showing at our local Regal Theatre is about $9.70. But I'd have to make sure to see at least three films a month to break even on the plan, which is doable. But would I really be saving any? Then factor in I'd have to buy two of them (one for me and one for Mel) and suddenly my monthly movie budget balloons to $60. Ultimately I was gun shy and took a pass.

​Until last year when suddenly moviepass jumped back into the public consciousness with a new offer of $9.99 a month.

TEN BUCKS A MONTH TO SEE UP TO 30 FILMS IN THE THEATRE EACH MONTH?!?

via GIPHY

And so it came to pass. In the middle of that rapid expansion, it did take about three weeks for us to get our debit cards. Some waited for three months as moviepass blossomed to three million subscribers. Mel and I saw three films the first weekend we had the service. No issues, no problems, no worries. If this was a test, it would pass with flying colors. I could now pass the time away in first run titles without feeling the need to pass the hat. And I would happily pass it on to all my friends. The majority of them are subscribers themselves from the praise that would pass my lips.

Okay, I'll stop now.


We knew we were living on borrowed time and intended to make the most of it. We saw films that normally I would watch a preview of and think, "Yeah, maybe I'll catch that when it comes to DVD or Netflix." Movies that I wouldn't normally give the time of day to I was now in the theatre watching. I won our yearly OSCAR ballot largely on the strength of having seen a wide swath of nominated films. Mel and I both work unconventional hours meaning we had afternoons available, so we hit matinees like the Titanic hit icebergs.

The point is, it was great.

​Until it wasn't.

Though we weren't overtly aware of the problems moviepass was enduring (other than the widely reported customer service issues or app lock ups) but when you swell to three million subscribers in such a short amount of time, there are bound to be a few glitches. And when that happens, you make adjustments.

The first tweak the company sent out was clarifying that No 3D or IMAX showings actually meant no premium showings at all. This would include special event screenings like Fathom Events. And of course, because of the nature of the app check in, you couldn't do online or reserve seats. And then they started grousing with AMC, picking a fight with the nation's largest theatre chain. Just before Avengers: Infinity War, they removed the ability to see a film more than once with the service. And then in order to make sure there was no abuse, after you purchased the ticket, you had to take a picture of it with the in app camera and submit it to them. Then came the bombshell that they were mining personal information and planning to sell it. This one rankled a few feathers among the community, but I looked at it as it was only info I had given them, (like my location at a restaurant near the theatre, so who cares if I get a few more coupons for a place I already frequent or see an ad or two for them?)

As the cash strapped company continued to bleed money, they introduced surge pricing, where select titles might cost you an additional surcharge if you saw them during "peak times". It started with Friday and Saturday showtimes, (which didn't effect us, because, matinee!) and then expanded out to opening week.

With Mission: Impossible Fallout, the company blanked it out all together, listing it as a premium showing.

The irony of all these changes is the name of the service is moviepass. The definition of the word pass (as a verb) is to advance. To go beyond. To continue. To succeed. To transcend. All of these indicate forward movement.

But the plan seems to be moving steadily backward.

Now while all this is going on, the rest of the industry keeps bemoaning the fact that the business model was doomed from the get go and it was unsustainable, yadda yadda yadda. And then three more subscription programs hit the market.

​Soooo... it's bad when they do it, but not when YOU do it?

via GIPHY

A break down of those subscription programs would look something like this...

Sinema isn't so much of a subscription service as it is a discount service. You can get a one, two or three ticket a month plan, and pay for an add on to make one of thsoe tickets IMAX or 3D available, from anywhere between $3.99 to $14.99 a month depending on which option you go with. It also has an app, but sends customers to traditional sites like Fandango to purchase their tickets. We understand this to be a decent service, but a logistical nightmare.

Cinemark offers one 2D movie ticket a month for a $9 fee and is only valid at Ciemark theatres (now that Cinemark has bought Regal, we imagine this will roll out wider across the country sometime late this or early next year.

AMC Stubs A List is probably the best value of the new plans, and the closest to moviepass. $19.99 a month for 3 movies a week, and it includes IMAX, 3D, and other premium showings. Unlike moviepass, you can buy tickets in advance. The only downside we can see is that this plan is only valid at AMC theatres (the nearest one to me is an hour a way, so now I've got to factor in transportation and time costs as well.)

It's unclear if moviepass failed to take these threats seriously, or just didn't care.


And then the crash happened.

One random Thursday, the app suddenly didn't work at all. Apparently the company had run out of money and was unable to purchase tickets for it's users. 

via GIPHY

The day after, the company took out an emergency $6 Million dollar loan to keep operating. The parent company Helios and Matheson lost 97 percent of its value on the stock market in one week, tumbling to 5 CENTS a share. Then we started getting mysterious messages that,"there are no more showtimes at this theatre." Um, its like noon. I guarantee you there are showtimes, you just won't let me access them.

Friends started bemoaning the loss of a good thing. A few canceled thier subscriptions. A few are doggedly determined to ride the ship to the bottom.

And then Mitch Lowe, CEO of moviepass sent us a very nice appology letter, stating that they were aware of the issues, and they they had essentially done a piss poor job of communicating with us, and they vow to fix both. 

But changes were coming.

The first was that more big titles like Mission: Impossible Fallout would not be available to use.

Okay, that sucks, but I'm kinda okay with it. I was always gonna pay to go see the new Star Wars or Marvel movie anyway, so those were kinda bonus freebees with moviepass. No worries. (And oddly enough, we planned on seeing M:I 6 this past week, and found we couldnt. So we changed to Sorry to Bother You. In the time it took us to get to the theatre (an AMC, as we were in Kansas City at the time) the showtime went away and "there were no more showtimes at this theatre". So I pulled up the app and searched for other near by theatres... and found that I could go see Mission: Impossible at a B&B just ten miles down the road. So we did. I'm not sure if this randomness is the result of changes not hitting at the same time while they are rolled out, or if it's on a theatre by theatre basis (B&B is a MUCH smaller chain than AMC).

The second was that not all showtimes during the day would be supported going foward, and we'd have to double check the app before we left for the theatre.

This one is a little more screwy, but still, I can adapt to live with it.

Then he promised transparancy.

Variety broke news 2 days later that the service was increasing in price to $14.95 a month. We were not told (and haven't been notified as of the time I write this.)

Again, I feel like if I was eyeballing the service at the $29.99 price point, going to $14.95 isn't a huge deal. Granted, it is a 50% price hike, and as of yet, the new, transparent movie pass hasn't told me about it.

Out of curiosity, I stated crunching numbers. I have been a moviepass subscriber for 10 months. At 10 dollars a month, that's a cool $100. The app tracks your movie watching, so there is a record of everything i've seen with it since starting my subscription. I am up to 62 films. An average of 6 films per month (far in excess of what I knew I HAD to go see to break even if I had signed up when it was $30 a month), at an average cost of $1.61 cents per film.

$1.61 per title...

Sorry haters, but at that rate, I'll live with the idiosyncrasies of the app and customer service. If the inconvenience or inaccessibility continues to throttle things, I'll re-evaluate that decision. But for now, I'm rearranging deck chairs with the rest of them. Because this too shall pass.

And there may be hope on the horizon.

​Helios and Matheson repaid the loan, in full, and early. For a company that has been bleeding cash for as long as they have, that indicates an infusion of support from somewhere, or someone. They remain committed to getting moviepass to work, which means they believe in the business model, if not the implementation of it. Other subscription services are coming into play, but moviepass has the name recognition. It's believed at this point that another company may be looking at acquiring the service and assisting in the retooling to get it profitable.

​Admittedly, this is a ton of speculation at this point. But for now, moviepass refuses to pass over to the other side.

* EDIT 8/6/18 - The daily saga continues... DarkHorizons.com is reporting that moviepass has announced they WILL NOT be raising the price to $15 a month as previously mentioned, but WILL be limiting subscribers to three movies a month. Helios and Matheson said in a statement that only 15% of its subscribers had used the service to watch four or more movies a month and the new model won’t impact them.

Sounds like they wanna pass the buck to me.


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The Gunn Pointed at the Guardians of the Galaxy

7/30/2018

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Rocked by the recent news that Disney has fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, I felt like maybe I had to weigh in on the matter, if nothing else than to wade through my complicated feelings on it.

​For those of you who don't know, Gunn has been vocal about his disapproval of Trump and his administration. A group of conservative trolls engaged a smear campaign, and dug up offensive tweets Gunn made between nine and twelve years ago.
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​The tweets were bad jokes about rape and pedophilia. Disney reacted by firing Gunn, saying the tweets did not fit in to the studio mindset.


Okay, where to begin with this?

I don't disagree with Disney's decision. At least, I didn't initially. Rape is not something to be made fun of or joke about. Neither is pedophilia. These are just... non funny topics. And yes, they are very much at odds with the Disney philosophy. And coming on the heels of Roseanne, a response of somekind was needed.

But was it a knee jerk reaction? Was it justified? Was it overkill? I mean, we are talking about jokes made by Gunn as part of a shock persona, not his literal mindset. We're talking about a man who, by all accounts, is beloved by all of his coworkers. We are talking about tweets from over a decade ago, before he was ever associated with the company. We're talking about tweets, which were out there in public, not hidden away in a basement filing cabinet or on a protected server. We're talking about a politically motivated smear campaign, spearheaded by a guy who himself has tweeted "date rape does not exist".

Am I defending Gunn because I want to like him? Because I admire him as a filmmaker? Because I follow him on Facebook and Twitter and admire most of what he says, how he interacts with fans and where he comes down on things? Because I hate to see things get political?

Am I willing to overlook this for the simple and selfish reason that I want GOTGv3? 

I don't think so.

Roseanne was fired because of a tweet she made DURING her employment (and not the first one, either). Gunn's were from years ago. Hell if you pinned me down I'm not sure I could even remember what my mindset was on topics from ten years back, let alone what I said or joked about them.

Gunn has shown obvious growth as both a filmmaker and a person since then. The James Gunn I "know" from his interactions with people and the way he presents himself is not a man who should be thrown under the bus for the sake of "political correctness".

They were jokes. Off-color, taboo, and not funny, but jokes nonetheless. Blazing Saddles is regarded as one of the funniest films ever made, and it features a rape joke. Are we now to go after Mel Brooks?

I could go into the ramifications of the decision that stretch far beyond one movie. Guardians 3 isn't just the kick off for the next phase of Marvel, but Gunn was going to be in charge of all of the Marvel Cosmic stories going forward, guiding their development. Does keeping him on or bringing him back to the project hurt the brand?  With the current state of the Guardians following Infinity War, should the next film be shelved entirely? The first two are a perfect duo, and could easily stop the story there with no harm done. Would another director (like fan choice Taika Waititi) be willing to step in and step on Gunn's toes? Would it be an albatross of a project to even attempt it? Would Disney be looking at a Ron Howard Solo situation, or is the MCU impervious at this point to this kind of directoral shell game? Marvel has weathered the controversial firing of popular directors before (Edgar Wright on Ant-Man).

But for all the uncertainty the project faces, one thing I am certain of now: 

The James Gunn I know doesn't deserve this. I stand by him.

#IStandWithJames #RehireJamesGunn #WeAreGroot




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New Graphic for the Blog

7/6/2018

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May the 4th Be With You

5/4/2018

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As an old school fan, the rise of Star Wars day kinda upset me. All these... commoners running around wishing people a happy "May the 4th be with you" grated on my nerves. It smacked of bandwagoning, of insincerity, of the media getting a hold of something I held to be special and marketing and commercializing and popularizing it.

I mean, how DARE I get upset over Star Wars being commercialized, right?

But the biggest beef I had with it? As any old school fan will tell you, Star Wars day is May 25th. From the moment A New Hope entered theatres on THAT fateful day in 1977, THAT's the day that I would always think of as Star Wars day, and that would be the day that I celebrate.

But as I have gotten older, certain aspects of my curmudgeonly exterior have softened a bit, especially around the fandom edges. Oh, I can still rant with the best of them, but I'm a little more selective about what I rant about. And I have decided to let the peasants have their fun. Sure, May the fourth is catchy. It allows for the funny Revenge of the fifth to follow. It provides multiple excuses to watch Star Wars. But perhaps most importantly, it makes people happy.

And if your fandom doesn't make you happy, why bother being a fan?

Happy Star Wars day guys. May the fourth be with you.
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Hey You, Get Offa My Cloud

4/26/2018

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A friend posted a link to an article from The Concourse yesterday, (that I will link to HERE) that claims you should be buying physical copies of media instead of relying on streaming services like Netflix.

And while some of his reasons are a little far fetched and wonky, I agree with the sentiment. Everyone I know, and I mean EVERYONE has been moving to digital media the last few years. People are ripping films to their computers and ditching their collections. People are subsisting off Netflix, and Hulu and Amazon Prime. People are snagging digital codes and filling out their Vudu dance cards.

And yet they still come to my house to borrow movies.

Why? Because the movie they want isn't on Netflix. Or Hulu or Amazon. Not at the time they want to watch it anyway. That's reason one. In the instant gratification nation we live in, I don't want to wait for Top Gun to show up somewhere if I feel the need for speed. I own it. I'll watch it. Oh, the sixth movie in that franchise is coming out this summer and you want a refresher before hand? Got you covered. 

I'm the guy who can get it for you. 

Mostly because I've already got it. I'm even a contentious buyer, always choosing the BluRay/DVD combo pack if it's available, because I know some people haven't upgraded to blu ray yet, and this way I can still loan things out.

I’ve championed physical media for years, first VHS, then laserdisc, then DVD, now BluRay, and maybe 4K down the road.  Between my girlfriend and I, we have over 3500 titles, all alphabetized, catalogued in a computerized database and stored on custom built bookshelves. No worries about a film dropping off Netflix, or that a storm knocked the internet out. or my Plex server is acting weird.

​Are there inconveniences? Sure. Moving sucks. When we moved into our new place, the first thing we set up, before the bed, or the kitchen or bathroom (you know, essentials) was the DVD shelf. I had to, so that I could unpack the 26 boxes of movies and get them out of the way before the rest of the furniture arrived. And yes, physical media is prone to scratches, or kids with peanut butter hands. But you know what? Just like anything else important, with a little care you never have to worry about stuff like that. Not really. Treat em like you would books. Don't break the spines or dog ear the pages. Oh, and if I wanna watch something, I do have to go all the way downstairs to get it.

These are things I can live with.

I’ll admit, I’m a package whore. I love all the little bonus things like collectible posters and lobby cards and figures and poker chips that they package in special editions. We collect Steelbooks, so it's not even uncommon for us to spend hard earned cash on a movie we already own just to upgrade to a better edition or cooler box. I love the box art, I love browsing in stores just taking in the artwork, original theatrical poster or otherwise. And yes, I even go so far as to set up the box on the TV stand after popping a disc in to showcase what's "now playing", just like we used to do at the video store. I love the special features (even if I don't watch them), director's commentary (check out Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger on Total Recall for a hoot). I love the menus, especially when they are clever and pretty.

​Sure, streaming is convenient, but nothing will ever replace the tactile experience of scanning the shelf, pulling down a title, and setting it to spin. And when the inevitable apocalypse comes and brings the media clouds crashing down, I'll fire up my doomsday generator, pop some corn and watch a flick while you all fight the zombie hordes.
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Flicks With Friends Presents... ULTIMATE Movie Themes

4/17/2018

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​Flicks With Friends presents.... the ultimate playlist of awesome theme music from movies. The themes that inspire you, captivate you, take you back, feel nostalgic, make you cry. Great for study or chill, or even to jam.
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    About the Author

    Shaun Collins is an international award winning filmmaker, and has 20 years experience behind a video store counter, and thus a unique perspective on movies.


    The Blog of Eternal Stench Audio Theme -
    "Twisting " Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/



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