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Many controversial movie opinions in this... but also, he's not wrong. You go Cody...
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Many controversial movie opinions in this... but also, he's not wrong. You go Cody...
Active Member
Christopher Nolan Slams HBO Max as Worst Streaming Service While Calling Out Warner Bros.
Nolan's the one with the controversial opinion here.
Throbbing Member
My view, many assumptions:Originally Posted by allegate
I think streaming simultaneously makes sense, even for post-covid. With the streaming generation, they're guaranteed monthly cash instead of getting a 50% (or less) cut of a ticket sale when one was to MAYBE decide to go to the theater (overall attendance has been falling for a few years, or so I've read). The theater takes the other 50+%, plus those expensive treats.
Taking the US household average of 2.5 people, they'd net about (9 x 0.5) x 2.5, or $11.25 for a household attendance. If we make an assumption that the usual household sees 1 movie a month, they're grossing a little more money this way with their $14.99 monthly streaming fee. People will pay that, but also still have the option to go to the theater for larger movies if they care about upping the experience. In that case, WB will have the potential to double dip, in a way, if one was a subscriber and still went out to see a WB movie. Also, more investors will show up if HBO manages to convert a lot of people.
Theaters can still be around for those who want that, they'd just cut down to a few screens for bigger movies, instead of having 20-30 screens for every living fart directors want to squeeze out.
Stubby Member
i'm interested in hearing more opinions about the warner bros streaming decision.
up until 2020, i mostly went to the theaters to catch the next big blockbuster i was pumped for and couldn't wait for home release, marvel, starwars, james bond, etc. Theaters have come a long way, reclining seats and all, but even still, i find most of their sound systems to be shit, either too loud or not loud enough, muddy dialogue, etc. and the picture quality doesn't even usually match up to my fairly cheap 5 year old 1080p 46" TV. I feel like some them had been getting better lately, but not like watching a bluray for picture quality (i have no experience yet with 4K). also you get idiots making noise, checking their phones, etc at the theater, it's just a hassle.
I would almost always choose to see a movie at home over in a theater. i have good tower stereo speakers (no surround) and an ok 1080 TV. I just don't subscribe to the "you gotta see this on the big screen" thing. i don't really find it more immersive, and frankly sometimes the screen is so big you cant see the whole frame with out swinging your head back and forth like a tennis match.
All this said, i find it odd that the big directors have this love affair with the theater. I mean, i bet christopher nolan has an amazing screening room, that's like being in a theater. Maybe these guys just have a romantic memory of going to the movies 30 years ago vs watching a betamax or vhs on a 13" tube at home and they can't get over that.
Also, maybe what i consider to be a modest, average set up isn't average at all. i mean, if people are watching at home with the sound coming though the awful factory speakers on their flat screen, that admittedly sucks.
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Isn’t the US the ONLY country that can access HBO Max though? But I suppose if a film came out I could get a Now TV subscription but it would be a pain
Throbbing Member
I have mixed feelings about all of this. On one level it does seem to me to be just a further degradation of the art form of cinema to throw everything on streaming. On the other hand I think the public at large doesn't, and hasn't, viewed cinema as art for a long time now. Its just mindless entertainment for most. I think my honest answer is that if I could just sit alone in a theatre then I'd prefer that but otherwise I'd prefer watching at home.
Last year alone was pretty hit or miss in terms of actually being able to enjoy a movie in a theatre. For example I saw Joker and this girl a few seats over talked through the entire first hour of the movie. I don't mean she talked off and on, I mean she was spouting bullshit into her dates ear the entire film. I actually went over to them and asked them to leave if they wanted to continue to talk as I had paid money to see the film. And that's not my personality at all to do that sort of thing, it was just that egregious. The guy she was with actually apologized immediately and seemed just as annoyed as I was and thankfully they were quiet after that, but the movie was ruined by then.
Earlier I had gone to see Midsommar which would have been great except that the multiplex played some spider man movie or whatever garbage marvel shat out that week right next door so throughout the entire movie there was the bass from all the loud explosion boom cgi effects and that kinda thing takes you out of the film you're trying to watch. I also saw the Lighthouse, which was great. Probably only 6 other people in the room and a great movie. It wasn't until I saw it again at home later that I really appreciated the cinematography because of how much better the picture was. And that's supposed to be where a theatre shines.
But on the flipside seeing Jordan Peele's Us and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in a packed house with the entire audience actually invested in the films made them a lot of fun.
One thing I will never be on board with though, is food at the cinema. When watching a film, picture and sound are the only things that matter, anything that distracts or detracts from that is sub optimal. So why did anyone ever think it was ok to have every other mouth breather in there slurping up sodas and shaking the ice and crinkling the rapper to the snickers and chewing milk duds and popcorn the whole goddamn time. I mean there was even a dude eating nachos one time for christ sakes. Its a fucking movie and these people sell the loudest foods possible.
At home it may be a smaller screen but the picture is better and I also have some speakers (which is probably more important than picture but most people don't realize it and use stock tv sound) so I'm pretty happy with it. Turn off all the lights and it feels more immersive than the theatre. Its more comfortable, cheaper, and no 30 minutes of adds to watch beforehand.
I mean I don't want to see cinema die, but one way or another its going to move to home viewing. Real film fans will invest in equipment that makes it as enjoyable as possible. The other 95% of people will watch it on their phones. The same people that talk and eat and snore in the theatre anyways and then claim the movie sucked. I for one won't miss them one bit. Maybe the future is theatres become niche and only films fans actually go to them. Maybe that would help the experience some but it does feel like change is already happening and there's no going back.
This Cannot Continue
Yeah, apparently due to how Warner did their international licenses they just don't own their stuff internationally to offer the service...which is fucking nuts when you think about it. That also puts in doubt just how the rest of the world will get the streaming, some might come to NOW but with a large markup, some might not be able to even stream internationally.
I'm firmly of the "i think this is good for the pandemic but utterly sucks for cinema and peoples jobs" A large chunk of WB's films are big screen spectacles that need that vision and sound. With my current home set up i wouldn't even try watching them, it would suck and spoil my experience BUT for the none big blockbuster...this might be a great thing. Smaller indie films will reach a much bigger audience which can only be a good thing. I dunno i guess i'm mixed on this, valid arguments for and against here.
Bored
Denis Villeneuve is not happy about that HBO Max thing:
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/d...234851270/amp/
I think we should have a new thread to talk about this. What I thought was brilliant a few days ago is a lot less shiny now. Not because of Denis, but because I've been thinking.
Mmm...
House Always Wins
I'm pretty sure that's gonna kill most revenue for that movie. Unfortunate considering it was gonna be a two parter.
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I have had enough of the whole streaming service competitiveness - who can afford to subscribe to Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc all at the same time? Not to mention you physically can't access HBO outside of US (and Canada I presume?)
Stubby Member
I started a new thread for Theatrical Release vs Streaming Debate, apologies if there was a better way to split this off.
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Spielberg should have stuck with creature features. I find he does tension and suspense pretty well but to me, most everything else falls boringly flat.
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People talking about Suicide Squad in the DC thread made me look up David Ayer and I read something that made me go WTF. Apparently he was supposed to direct a remake of Scarface but was let go as his script was TOO DARK. How the fuck do you get too dark for Scarface? I mean chainsaw dismemberment? Are they going to get Joss Whedon to direct and add some jokey lines to it?
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Finally watched the trailer for Hillbilly Elegy and if I didn't know any better I'd swear it was an SNL digital short.
Active Member
Just reading an article about the new Batman where they say Bruce Wayne is inspired by Kurt Cobain?? Does that mean we can expect a Bruce Wayne dressed in flannel or cardigans, not how I imagine Batman
Active Member
So there will be a... Bathorse?
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Pretty sure that heroin's not going to be brought up but you never know.
Active Member
The new Batman visually reminds me of Garth Brooke’s weird fictional persona, Chris Gaines.
also there’s a new playlist of music Batman would like. Except for Beach House who I’ve never heard, I love all those bands but I’m getting a bit fed up of people shoehorning pop culture references into film just as a promotional thing to get people talking about it. I think it actually takes me out of a film and dates it. I love a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy but the obsession with cheesy music was a really annoying aspect to me
clearly I’m not the first to notice the Chris Gaines thing
Last edited by WorzelG; 02-04-2022 at 06:19 AM.
Active Member
Instead of continuing in the Jurassic Park thread, here's me complaining about editing some more.
I saw most of these while watching the movie, not re-watching, and they're really terrible mistakes. the chopsticks one stood out to me because I knew it prior to watching the film so when he did it and she corrected him I was like, oh cool. and then they do it again and I'm just left wondering if anyone bothered to pay attention in the edit room or what.
RA-MEN ROPPAI
Although I enjoy both directors immensely, I find Alfred Hitchcock's catalog of work to be much more of a slog to work through than Rainer Werner Fassbinder. I'm sure it's just my preferred type, and the type of "autuer" I prefer.
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