The writers’ strike might help the MCU in the long run, by giving casual fans like me (who don’t rush to see the movies on opening night nor binge the shows right away) time to get caught up while new content is on hold.
As for Spider-Verse (which I *did* see on opening night, as I will for the next one - in IMAX this time) it proves that Sony does much better with superhero movies when it *doesn’t* try to copy the MCU model and goes its own way. Ditto for Warner/DC with Joker.
Okay so the movie opens with Tom Cruise’s team—still technically Jon Voight’s team at this point—on a mission. In the midst of the mission, it goes sideways. They’ve been made. And Emilio Estevez dies, rather horribly. Knives to the eyes, baby.
This does two things: serves as a misdirect for Voight’s non-death moments later (we’ve seen one killing, we have no reason to believe any others are fake) but also sets the stakes for the whole series at “Anyone Can Die At Any Time.” Estevez was still a fairly big star at this point in his career; bumping him off puts everyone in peril at all times.
Anyway, it’s a little thing, but I think it matters.
I can't say I completely agree. I remember watching it in the theater and if I remember correctly Estevez did not event have billing. It seemed odd that a big star (he definitely was a name at the time) was in it and not mentioned. Immediately I was on guard for a cameo. I know this movie had mixed reviews when it first came out but I loved it. It was a thriller with a healthy dose of action. Since then MI movies have been about what crazy ass stunt is Tom Cruise going to pull now.
Ironically, I think our notion that streamers can’t disaggregate who is subscribing for what is really a comment on how not-well managed these businesses are at their base: no one (except maybe Amazon) has more data about each individual subscriber and its usage than streamers. That they haven’t been collecting and/or learning how to use it seems to me to be a symptom of fundamental lack of strategic management. Maybe the older generation of managers doesn’t know how to use “big data” and maybe the younger generation is so used to throwing free money at stuff and/or chasing Street approval for stock price that they haven’t thought about it. But, my oh my, never was there a bigger set of data just waiting for strategic analysis!
Sonny! That’s a hell of a teaser. You should pay it off fast otherwise I’m passing out torches and pitchforks.
On a related note, what is the statute of limitations on spoilers? Surely, 25 years is long enough, no? (I say this and think about the fact I wouldn’t spoil the ending of Citizen Kane. I’m probably just a filthy hypocrite.)
Regarding cost: I upped our Netflix sub to include the UHD stuff in anticipation of the Tour de France series (done by the folks who do the F-1 series). It’s blowing me away!! Best $5 I ever spent.
Now, I want a blu-ray release. A nice box set with “making of” and outtakes so I can pay for it twice.
Ironically, I am likely moving in the opposite direction, and downgrading to the HD Netflix stream (2 streams, $15.49/month). I had the UHD version in anticipation of upgrading my old 1080p plasma TV to a 4K model, but now I don't see that happening any time soon, and Netflix has angered me enough with its password crackdown that I don't feel like being generous. I'll probably just let my father stream off of my account and not stream Netflix myself; when he passes, then I can decide if Netflix is worth streaming again (if there's even a decision to be made at that point). I just signed up for Curiosity Stream and the Criterion Channel, which I can currently stream on my iPad; once I get a Roku installed on my old TV, I will be streaming from those two plus PBS Passport, which between the three of them offer more quality content than I can ever watch.
And like you, I will continue to purchase Blu-rays.
The writers’ strike might help the MCU in the long run, by giving casual fans like me (who don’t rush to see the movies on opening night nor binge the shows right away) time to get caught up while new content is on hold.
As for Spider-Verse (which I *did* see on opening night, as I will for the next one - in IMAX this time) it proves that Sony does much better with superhero movies when it *doesn’t* try to copy the MCU model and goes its own way. Ditto for Warner/DC with Joker.
SPOILERS for the first M:I movie to follow.
Spoilers!
Okay so the movie opens with Tom Cruise’s team—still technically Jon Voight’s team at this point—on a mission. In the midst of the mission, it goes sideways. They’ve been made. And Emilio Estevez dies, rather horribly. Knives to the eyes, baby.
This does two things: serves as a misdirect for Voight’s non-death moments later (we’ve seen one killing, we have no reason to believe any others are fake) but also sets the stakes for the whole series at “Anyone Can Die At Any Time.” Estevez was still a fairly big star at this point in his career; bumping him off puts everyone in peril at all times.
Anyway, it’s a little thing, but I think it matters.
I can't say I completely agree. I remember watching it in the theater and if I remember correctly Estevez did not event have billing. It seemed odd that a big star (he definitely was a name at the time) was in it and not mentioned. Immediately I was on guard for a cameo. I know this movie had mixed reviews when it first came out but I loved it. It was a thriller with a healthy dose of action. Since then MI movies have been about what crazy ass stunt is Tom Cruise going to pull now.
Would this be comparable to Drew Barrymore's death at the beginning of Scream?
Yes though that ended up doing something slightly different in that it set EXPECTATIONS for that first person to die.
Ironically, I think our notion that streamers can’t disaggregate who is subscribing for what is really a comment on how not-well managed these businesses are at their base: no one (except maybe Amazon) has more data about each individual subscriber and its usage than streamers. That they haven’t been collecting and/or learning how to use it seems to me to be a symptom of fundamental lack of strategic management. Maybe the older generation of managers doesn’t know how to use “big data” and maybe the younger generation is so used to throwing free money at stuff and/or chasing Street approval for stock price that they haven’t thought about it. But, my oh my, never was there a bigger set of data just waiting for strategic analysis!
This! It should be easy to track what individual accounts are watching. After all, the stream is being delivered to the subscriber.
I haven't seen MI. Knowing the spoiler is more likely to encourage me to see it than discourage me. So spill!
Sonny! That’s a hell of a teaser. You should pay it off fast otherwise I’m passing out torches and pitchforks.
On a related note, what is the statute of limitations on spoilers? Surely, 25 years is long enough, no? (I say this and think about the fact I wouldn’t spoil the ending of Citizen Kane. I’m probably just a filthy hypocrite.)
Regarding cost: I upped our Netflix sub to include the UHD stuff in anticipation of the Tour de France series (done by the folks who do the F-1 series). It’s blowing me away!! Best $5 I ever spent.
Now, I want a blu-ray release. A nice box set with “making of” and outtakes so I can pay for it twice.
Ironically, I am likely moving in the opposite direction, and downgrading to the HD Netflix stream (2 streams, $15.49/month). I had the UHD version in anticipation of upgrading my old 1080p plasma TV to a 4K model, but now I don't see that happening any time soon, and Netflix has angered me enough with its password crackdown that I don't feel like being generous. I'll probably just let my father stream off of my account and not stream Netflix myself; when he passes, then I can decide if Netflix is worth streaming again (if there's even a decision to be made at that point). I just signed up for Curiosity Stream and the Criterion Channel, which I can currently stream on my iPad; once I get a Roku installed on my old TV, I will be streaming from those two plus PBS Passport, which between the three of them offer more quality content than I can ever watch.
And like you, I will continue to purchase Blu-rays.