Movie News & Miscellany

"WB has decided it no longer requires movie theaters in order to survive."

Much like electric cars and solar power, it's coming, and if you insist on clinging to the old way*, you're gonna get run over.

--Patrick
*Incidentally, as regards electric cars, there's this tidbit: One in six Cadillac dealers opt to cease operations rather than sell electric cars.
 

Much like electric cars and solar power, it's coming, and if you insist on clinging to the old way*, you're gonna get run over.

--Patrick
*Incidentally, as regards electric cars, there's this tidbit: One in six Cadillac dealers opt to cease operations rather than sell electric cars.
1) No, the average person cannot recreate the theater experience at home. If you care about matching screen and sound quality, you will have to drop a minimum of 10k to truly set up something comparable. And that is a lot of money for many people. It takes more than buying a “cheap 4K HD tv” (which is not cheap for many - what a load of privileged bullshit).

2) The audience experience is about more than just sitting in the dark next to strangers. Science has proven that jokes seem funnier to us if others laugh; sorrow is more poignant if others feel it too; tension is higher if you are in a group that feels it with you. They have to be in the room with you, and so the online group watching experience is not going to cut it. And many of us don’t feel as misanthropic as that author clearly does.

3) Going out to see a movie is an event that social activities can be built around - and not everyone is happy or comfortable going to a person’s home. Dinner and a movie doesn’t always work if you don’t know or trust the other person (maybe it’s a first date?). Sometimes your friend with the awesome home theater lives far away, or the rest of the house is shit, or the neighborhood is a problem for some reason.

4) Luxury theaters offer a special experience that cannot be replicated. The smell of popcorn, maybe some wine or beer, movie trailers/posters to discuss with your friends, comfortable recliners, etc. are all part of a night out.

5) Always staying at home is lame. This pandemic has shown us that people need social interaction. Movie theaters offer that outside social interaction at a reasonable price.

6) Kids birthday parties! I cannot convey how much nicer it is when a young child’s party is outside of your home, so you don’t have to handle all the logistics and cleanup.

7) Theaters and the movie industry employ a lot of people. Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to applaud their demise, since we’re are talking about a massive amount of people losing their jobs.

I could go on and on. We should not be so quick to cheer for the loss of theaters. Watching at home is NOT a superior experience at all. And it sounds like the same gleeful cackling of people who claimed that e-readers like the Kindle would kill libraries and book stores. They’re still here, and theaters will stick around too.
 
Last edited:
I could go on and on. We should not be so quick to cheer for the loss of theaters. Watching at home is NOT a superior experience at all. And it sounds like the same gleeful cackling of people who claimed that e-readers like the Kindle would kill libraries and book stores. They’re still here, and theaters will stick around too.
I agree with everything you said, and probably more, besides.

But I expect the studios will not feel the same way, and will use their control over distribution to happily grind theaters up against the viewing public until there's nothing left except whatever handful of theaters has become their favored few, at which point physical theaters will be spread too thin to be relevant to anyone not willing (or able) to make the trek. They're going to end up suffering the same fate as video arcades.

--Patrick
 
It’ll be 20 years since LOTR was released in the theaters this year. That blows my mind. I still remember taking shrooms and going out of my mind when Galadriel showed her true self. Time goes by too fast.
 
It’ll be 20 years since LOTR was released in the theaters this year. That blows my mind. I still remember taking shrooms and going out of my mind when Galadriel showed her true self. Time goes by too fast.
Man... I remember when Fellowship was first released, and like a couple of days later my dorm roommate had a pirated copy on his computer. I think it was from a screener sent to awards show judges. He was watching it with his girlfriend, and I passed by his room, and I was all like, "What's this movie?" And he was all like, "Lord of the Rings." And I was all like, "No way, how'd you manage to download it already? Can I watch it with you?" And he was like, "We're actually almost done with the movie, but I can burn it on a few disks and lend it to you." (They were already at the part of the movie where they're fighting the Uruks) And I was all like, "Awesome, man!"

Also his girlfriend was really hot.
 
I remember seeing Return of the King with my girlfriend at the time. We shared a giant cup of root beer. By the end, she really needed to use the bathroom, but she was also stubborn and didn't want to miss the ending. So during the gazillion endings RotK had, she was squirming, crossing her legs, and by the end she was saying, "Get on the boat, get on the boat, GET ON THE BOAT YOU FUCKING HOBBITS!"
 
Last edited:
I saw Fellowship at opening night. First public showing, starting at midnight. After it had ended I went over to my workplace which was way nearer than home, started up the computer and told some friends my first impressions per mail right away. Afterwards I went to the first aid room, dropped down on the hard couch for a two hour nap and then got up, refreshed and cleaned up in the bathroom and went to work, coffee machine first. :)
I would not survive such a thing today, it was hard enough back then...
 
Now do one about popular music/standards!
"Powerhouse"
"Turkey in the Straw"
"The Gold-digger's Song"
and of course who could forget...
"Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms"

--Patrick
 
Dove Cameron is one of Disney's A-listers right now. She had a popular show and she starred in all 3 Decendents movies. Judging by all the Halloween costumes I've seen in the past few years, if this is aimed at kids, she's going to be their biggest draw. I had to look up Yana Perreault, but it seems she's a singer and Broadway actor.

Part of me wonders if they're really going to stay in those costumes the whole time, or part of the plot is that they can't recapture the same feeling they did as little girls. But much like the Space Jam trailer, it's got me wondering WHO is this for?
 
Dove Cameron is one of Disney's A-listers right now. She had a popular show and she starred in all 3 Decendents movies. Judging by all the Halloween costumes I've seen in the past few years, if this is aimed at kids, she's going to be their biggest draw. I had to look up Yana Perreault, but it seems she's a singer and Broadway actor.

Part of me wonders if they're really going to stay in those costumes the whole time, or part of the plot is that they can't recapture the same feeling they did as little girls. But much like the Space Jam trailer, it's got me wondering WHO is this for?
My money is on this being something they wear just before deciding to claim their own identity and get real superhero outfits.
 
I'm really hoping this is way more light-hearted than a Riverdale. If they can play it serious in the show while holding on to the patently ridiculous nature of the cartoon, it could actually be fun. If they go full-on angsty, it's going to be a terrible trainwreck.
And it all hinges on...
 
Dove Cameron and Chloe Bennet are both really hot, so I'm interesting in taking a gander at this show.

I'm sure Yana Perreault is beautiful as well, but I'm not familiar with her.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
Toy manufacturer Mattel is turning Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots into a movie

Wait, I thought they did that already. It was called Real Steel and it starred Hugh Jackman.

"[Mattel's] film division has announced plans to develop Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em, the tabletop game featuring battling robots, as a live-action movie starring Vin Diesel."

Oh
....

Speaking of "an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine", I wonder why Short Circuit hasn't gotten a reboot.
 
Top