Upcoming Film Trailers
Posted on September 1st, 2010 by Tyler in BlogI LOVE film trailers, I don’t know why but I can’t get enough of them. I go to movies just to see the trailers in a big theatre with a nice sound system. I should really invest in a home theatre system, it’d probably be cheaper.
Anyway, figured I’d share some of my favorite (and not so favorite
Fair Game
Looks great, really interesting thriller with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.
127 Hours
A true story, which I don’t know the story of but I can guess from this trailer. James Franco stuck between a rock for 127 hours? Looks really good and directed by Darren Aronofsky.
The Winning Season
Looks really funny, not a huge cast but the premise is funny (albeit done before).
The American
George Clooney shooting people and blowing stuff up? Awesome.
Due Date
HILARIOUS! Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey, Jr. combine to take us on a hilarious road trip film. I can’t wait for this film.
Devil
The first film from M. Night that I’m actually interested in, funny that he didn’t direct this one.
Tron Legacy
It’s Tron. It’s new. It’s got awesome effects and Jeff Bridges. What more do you want?
Legend of The Guardians : The Owls of Ga Hoole
The first foray into animation for legendary director Zach Snyder. Looks awesome, despite it being talking animals.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
It’s Harry Potter, the final films in the series (which started over a decade ago). So it should be epic.
Freakonomics
Loved the book, documentary looks funny and just as good.
Decade of Disturbed
This doesn’t look THAT good, but I’m a Disturbed fan so I’m going to post it.
Movies to Avoid at All Costs
Triple Dog
This film just looks awful from a story standpoint. It tries to thrill you and scare you but ultimately I don’t see it being any fun.
Barry Munday
This film does not look THAT bad, it’s directed by first time director-multiple times writer Chris D’Arienzo. The problem I have with this film is that it’s a direct rip off of Knocked Up with a few twists. So it’s not THAT bad but you could probably live without seeing this film. Good job to Chris D’Arienzo, I wish him luck in future films cause he definitely has talent.
Cool Music Video Concept, Fake Problems “Diamond Rings”
Posted on August 31st, 2010 by Tyler in BlogThis video has a pretty cool idea, and the guys have a pretty cool sound to em too.
I think it would be awesome if a band did something like ICP/Slipknot with face paint and whatnot, but it was florescent black-light only paint. So when they aren’t performing and the regular lights are on, they appear normal but when they get into a song the lights go out they become new inner demons.. could be a cool idea to play with.
On a side note, Fake Problems is doing a show at Spaceland tomorrow (August 31) for free at 8:30 PM. Check em out if you like em.
Problems with The Digital Era and Distribution
Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by Tyler in BlogSteve Jobs is off his rocker if he thinks he is doing the right thing. Here are just a few reasons, and my commentary, on why Digital Downloads will not take off unless things are changed.
1. Prices are outrageous.
The cost to own an HD film via download is ($19.99 iTunes, $14.99 Amazon). I can buy the Avatar 2-Disc Special Edition on Bluray for $19.99 from Amazon. So I’m paying iTunes the same price I’m paying for a physical disc, shipment of the disc to a store, overhead cost for the store and packaging… plus an additional disc with special features and commentary (more on that later).
How can iTunes justify the full price tag when they have no manufacturing overhead, no shipping and no day-to-day staff overhead (as in, iTunes doesnt have to ship you anything or do anything aside from maintain their servers.. and I get that that’s overhead, but that system admin is costing them that much?).
An acceptable price for me, is $4.99 for regular movies and $9.99 for HD movies. The problem here is that places like Blockbuster rent films for $4.99. Who is going to rent a movie from them when they can buy it for the same price? Apple doesn’t care about blockbuster, but a studio does. A studio wants all the revenue they can get at, from rental prices to digital purchases. Soon though, Blockbuster and all other brick and mortar rental places will be out of business from Red Box, Netflix, et al.
But no one is going to pay the same price as a physical disc as for a digital copy. Until they lower the price, digital downloads won’t take off.
2. No Bonus Features, Commentary, etc
When you buy a physical disc, you get the bonus features. Behind the scenes stuff, commentary from directors, actors, producers, writers. You get an inside look at the visual effects, and more.
This is part of what sells discs in my opinion, that and people wanting to see a film more then once. But with the introduction of streaming online through Netflix, I can see a film as many times as I want without having to pay extra (that is, I’m already paying for Netflix, so I get it for no extra.)
3. Streaming Beats Digital Downloads
In the near future, Netflix and other online streaming services like Hulu Plus will have new release films as soon as they release on DVD (if not sooner) and once that happens people won’t buy films anymore.
This is why Warner Brothers made the deal they did with Netflix, where Netflix gets the films to stream 30-days after the release of the DVD. This forces people who want to see the film now to go buy the DVD (or rent it) and pay more for it. If Netflix got the film the same day as the DVD, people would no longer buy DVDs and studios would lose out on that window of revenue.
Streaming will take over Digital Downloads. There will always be a pay window, where you can purchase the film early to see it stream. But no one is going to pay to see it streaming now, and then in 30 days pay again to see it stream anytime.
The purchase window will be closing very soon, and Netflix will have to up their prices in order to make the studios happy.
The problem lies in the fact that once Netflix gets it streaming, there’s no longer a point to purchase it. The only thing that I can see keeping DVDs, or digital downloads or paying to rent it (streaming or otherwise) would be if they offered true 1080p, 7.1 Surround Sound video in a format other then streaming.
4. iTunes Stupid Policies
This is a real policy from iTunes:
“Once a Product is purchased and you receive the Product, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage the Product, and Apple shall be without liability to you in the event of any loss, destruction, or damage.”
I get it, they are trying to stop people from sharing once they buy it. But it’s also screwing people who have legitimate hard drive problems, they buy a new computer or reformat their machine.
It’s policies like these that make people feel like criminals just for wanting to have access to their purchased content. While these policies are still around, Digital Downloads won’t take off because people don’t want to run the risk of spending $500 to buy 25 films online and then have it all be gone if their hard drive crashes (which happens, often.)
Still Working…
Posted on August 23rd, 2010 by Tyler in BlogStill working on getting this back online. Please be patient with me.
Thanks!
