The Ones that Got Away: the Movie Version

(spoiler below)

I hated that it was populated with flat caricatures and not nuanced characters. I thought the ending (decide on a miniscule fine at the last moment) was a lame cheat. I thought the movie was pompous and ponderous, and the topic deserved better.

.....

Sometimes, I hate the movies.

Often times, like with Napoleon Dynamite or Seabiscuit, I'm very comfortable in my position, even though it seems like most everybody loved the movie.

Other times, like with Inherit the Wind or Adaptation or True Romance, I feel like a film cretin for hating the movie.

I wonder why the difference.

....

The New York Times recently ragged on Mark Cuban for paying to take Landmark Theaters digital, while the Regal Cinema chain waits for Hollywood to pay for it. That's bogus.

The article rightly points out that digital projection is not a visual improvment over conventional film stock. But that's not the point.

First off, you can't compare the two situations. Cuban is creating an enjoyable filmgoing experience, while Regal Cinema would put bone marrow sucking machines in their theater seats if they thought it would increase revenue.

Second, Cuban is a vertically integrated dude; maybe his moviemaking efforts are helping finance the shift to digital.

Finally, striking and shipping film prints is frickin' expensive. Digital means that Landmark can acquire works from talented filmmakers on a budget.

I don't give a rat's ass about Mark Cuban, but I respect what he's doing for the cinema.

(Cuban responds here.)

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Just because I canceled Netflix doesn't mean that I don't love them, because I do. And it pisses me off that some scumbag lawyer has filed a bogus class action lawsuit against them.

Netflix (sensibly) wants to settle to avoid the risk of litigation. The settlement, however, brings a pittance to the subscribers and $2.5mil to the lawyers.

This payoff sucks. Subscribers ultimately will foot the bill, and I don't want the rates to go up when I rejoin. Fortunately, there is an effort to stop this sham.

.....

My (movie loving) girlfriend is planning to go out of town to be with family for the holiday. She said she needs to pick up some food for the plane.

"No, sweetie," I told her. "Planes don't want food. They use jet fuel."

Thankyou, thankyou. I'll be here another two weeks.