Friday, August 11, 2023

The end is nigh...

 Well, this week saw the last physical disc release from the Walt Disney Company here in Australia. Guardians of the Galaxy 3. No live action Little Mermaid, no 4th Indiana Jones film and no completing any form of the cinematic universes of Marvel or Star Wars going forward on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD in the native Australian market.


Whilst the house of mouse made no official statement to the public, nor was it reported by any of the mainstream media, the death of physical media in Australia now seems imminent. Disney, along with Universal and Sony Pictures (Whose public facing website, Kicks, closed in February this year) have been looking for an out for a number of years and now that Disney has set the precedent, I doubt the wait will be long for others to follow.

With Sanity closing all of its bricks and mortar stores this year, the big box stores like Target, K-Mart and Big W having left the space years ago and JB HiFi suffering from shrinkage in its media department in favour of pop vinyl and pop culture clutter. That someone would rather collect a useless piece of pop vinyl representing a movie than a shiny disc featuring that movie says something about the state of the world of collecting as it stands now.

I suppose for Disney it is not surprising. Since the inception of home video Disney has been a staunch gatekeeper of its products. Many timed releases on VHS, as well as all of the key titles returning to the 'Disney Vault" for years on end during the days of DVD. And whilst I do acknowledge that it is apparent the physical media market is getting ever smaller globally, make no mistake, this move is actually about content control.

Just today the New York Times posted the following: "Disney’s streaming operation lost $512 million in the most-recent quarter, the company said, bringing total streaming losses since 2019, when Disney+ was introduced, to more than $11 billion. Disney+ lost roughly 11.7 million subscribers worldwide in the three months that ended July 1, for a new total of 146.1 million. "

Streaming is certainly not something they are in for the money. The outlay for disc manufacture was made years ago, realistically Disney could just be doing what Universal have been doing since the advent of Blu-ray and simply press a single disc for multiple markets. Far less overheads that way. So if they aren't making money from streaming, why cut off an arm that is still feeding them? Control. What you can watch, when and how they want you to. Disney have been censoring, editing or altering titles on its platform with little or no warning. Most recently was the censoring of a racist remark in the film The French Connection from 1971. (RIP William Friedkin).

It has also recently removed its own TV series Willow, based on the film of the same name, the show was commissioned and produced exclusively for Disney+ and yet it remained on the platform for 6 months before being removed indefinitely as a (checks notes) "cost cutting strategy". There is currently no other legal way in which to watch the series. Too bad if you were only half way through it. This brings me to the current state of Hollywood and the real reason for the removal of Willow and a pro point for physical media.

Residuals.

John Bickerstaff, a writer for the “Willow” series on Disney+, voiced his perspective on the removal through social media.

“They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel.
Before you say tax-write off: these shows have already been released and so can’t be a write-off. And in the case of Willow, they own the property outright. The only conclusion is that this is to get out of paying residuals. During a strike.
And look, eternal streaming libraries are not sustainable. We’re all going to have to adjust to that at some point. But to spend [REDACTED] on a show and then disappear it six months later is just bad business.”

Home media gave the viewer control of what they wanted to watch when they wanted to watch it, we have lost that choice and control. Residuals for home media were set at a fixed cost, streaming residuals are a core component of the current writers and actors strike in Hollywood and as John says above will not be sustainable in their current form.

Where do we go from here?. Well some have suggested that Disney might license titles to a third party for Australian physical distribution. This is unlikely, Random Space Media are an independent distributor here in Australia who already have Disney at the top of their partnership list, but have confirmed they will no longer have access to any form of local distribution. They, along with Sanity and Amazon will simply be offering Disney fare from countries that are currently not restricted from physical releases. Mainly the USA and the UK. This of course will be much more expensive for the collector and will only place a band aid on a wound that is only getting larger as more time passes.
I don’t really have a fix, but I can tell you that the ability to watch cinema quality films at home is heading towards a bleak future. One in which you not only can’t watch the film you want when you want, but when you are able to, it might not even resemble the film you remember so fondly.

A very sad week indeed. 

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

Before I begin my review of The Meg 2, a wise Jeff Goldblum once said (at least in character as Ian Malcolm) that your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. 

I really wish the current Hollywood would stop to think if they should. We are being bombarded with needless sequels that do more damage to the reputation of the films before them than help continue the story arcs, not to mention the mega franchises that try to do nothing but story arc over multiple phases or reiterations all to make a buck at our expense. 

I will further preface by saying that I actually enjoyed 2018’s The Meg. It had the exact amount of dramedy, cheesiness and suspension of disbelief to actually work as a popcorn entertainment akin to the old B monster movies of days gone. I rated it up there with Alexandre Aja’s even more B grade Pirahna 3D. Now, much like Pirahna, The Meg suffers from a sequel that tries to be bigger, scarier and more actiony, but instead is bloatier, lazier and downright stupider.
Jason Statham is back as Jonas Taylor, Meg attack survivor, deep sea diver and eco warrior. Together with most of the survivors of the first film they embark on a research mission of the trench from which the Megs broke free. Things rapidly take a turn however when they come across a mining operation whose attempt to remain in the shadows leaves the team fighting for their lives whilst also bursting a hole in that wonderful protective thermal layer that was keeping the now many prehistoric and giant creatures from interacting with nearby beach resorts. 

Bigger is not always better and whilst it is obvious that a movie like this is written around the action sequences, rather than focusing on actually telling a story, this film can’t make up its mind. 

We have dinosaurs, mega sharks and even a giant squid (or octopus I don’t know or care) I could be wrong, but it certainly felt like each of the films three writers drew a name out of a hat went away and just wrote their own thing and then had to figure out how to put it all together. 

The film also suffers from abysmal CGI, it is so bad that for most of the film you can’t actually see anything because the CG is in fact ocean spray making sure of it! 

There is no consistency to the action either. One minute Jonas has 3 Megs directly on his tail, the next he is in the water, has time to swim back to his jet ski (which of course won’t start) and then proceed to keep trying to start it with nary a fin in sight! 

I would hope this film will be the last of the trench dwelling creatures, but given its current box office performance I dare say some other creature will be breaking free of the trench in about 5 years time.

 

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Shocktober - 31 Horror Films, 31 Days!


Well doesn't time fly when you are having fun?!?!  Can't believe it is October already in the year 2016! Ever since the days of How B Grade Movies Saved or Ruined My Life I have often challenged myself to find new ways to watch movies I haven't seen.  One such way I have been doing for a few years now is Shocktober.  31 Horror Films in 31 Days leading up to Halloween! Usually I just keep the lists to myself, but in those rare moments where I get inspired I occasionally write about them...and guess what...I seem to be inspired.

So the rules (cause what good is a horror movie without rules!)

  1. It must be a film you have not seen (Or A variant such as a Director's Cut)
  2. If you miss a day, you must make it up (gotta reach that total 31 ;) )
  3. Enjoy


So, obviously it is not October first... so here is the list thus far:


Not your typical haunted house movie, but certainly reminiscent of films like The Others, The Orphanage or Time Crimes. The film creates a pretty tense atmosphere and manages to keep its secret pretty well hidden for the duration.


This Spanish flick has been on my to watch list for a number of years now and is probably more of a thriller than a horror film, but hey, I make the rules so I can sure as heck break em.  It is quite suspenseful in parts and certainly keeps you on your toes as to what exactly is going on, but if you ever feel that you have a fool proof plan to murder someone, this film is proof positive that even the best laid plans can have unexpected road bumps and the past will always come back to haunt you.


When watching 31 films you are always bound to have a few lemons...this was the first of my 2016 lemons. Basically taking a bunch of holiday makers to a deserted location where something bad happens and one by one they get picked off.  Every character in this was unlikable and thus made you just wish they would hurry up and die already so you could move on to the next film....


And here we have the first 2016 film of my 2016 Shocktober viewings!  I was actually pleasantly surprised by this one.  Whilst it doesn't lend anything new to genre and is a little disjointed in parts it was overall quite entertaining and certainly bleaker than any of the other entries so far this year! (I do enjoy an unhappy ending!)

Well so far, so good....here's hoping the enthusiasm continues over the coming weeks!!




Thursday, February 11, 2016

Carrie (2013)


Some actors continue to get typecast in certain roles, either as a result of their particular acting style or their physical appearance, but few actors have been cast in roles that are updating or remaking previous roles asoften as Chloe Grace Moretz appears to be

Young Carrie has a rather unfortunate experience in gym class when she gets her first period. Coming from a seriously devout religious household she has not been informed of the change her body is going through and thus thinks she is injured or worse dying.  Her peers, ever wary of her oddness, rather than helping her, take to bullying her in the most disgusting manner whilst filming it for posterity. (Aren't camera phones great!)


I guess really they have aimed Carrie at a more teenage audience... it kind of has elements of the Final Destination movies melded into it (slow motion death sequences along with blatant CGI and multiple angle repetition of shots), what I thought was a really big let down, was the missed opportunity to fit in a moral message regarding bullying, given that it is quite the issue these days. Instead it kind of hints at the whole "bullying has consequences", but takes it way too far in the end.


An interesting thing happened whilst watching this! I haven't seen the original in 10 years or so and re-watching it last night made me appreciate the remake more. (Hence the review) Don't get me wrong, I still think it was a needless remake, but seeing how dated the original is, I had to appreciate the work that went into bringing the new one into the 21st century and it did do it quite well.


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Hello World....

So in the almost 9 months of my absence, I have moved house, downsized my collection, got back into vinyl (of all things), given up on hosting both radio shows, become addicted to Instagram and pretty much shirked all of my other online responsibilities for getting out there in the 'real' world.  It has been fun, but I thought I would put the blog hat back on for a day or two and see how that works out for me....

So as I mentioned above, I have been getting back into vinyl....a week or so ago was Record Store Day here in Australia and I was able to pick up The Lego Movie Soundtrack from my local store...it is a pretty cool picture vinyl set as you can see below:


Anyway...I picked up a Audio Technica AT-LP60 and was pretty impressed by the sound quality for a $200 unit!  I have had 2 or 3 turntables lately and this was by far the best value for money! Here are a few other records I have managed to collect over the last few months...these images come courtesy of my Instagram feed so they aren't exactly detailed, but hey I am posting something so.... :P~


The Muppet Show
The Neverending Story by Klaus Doldinger and Giorgio Moroder.

The Aristocats Storybook & Songs
Empire of the Sun by John Williams
Lost in Translation (Japanese Release)
Disney Picture Album Releases - Hot Topic Exclusive
O'Brother Where Art Thou? - Various Artists
Crocodile Dundee by Peter Best
Arachnophobia - Trevor Jones & Various
The Jungle Book Storybook & Songs
The Labyrinth by Trevor Jones & David Bowie


 So there you have it! A blog post...finally....

Friday, August 29, 2014

Cinemagraphs Part 5

I hope you are sitting down!  Yes, I am posting a new blog post!!

One of the things I love about Nokia Cinemagraph is that it comes in very handy when trying to capture a moment for which a still image just won't cut it!  Here are a few of my latest Nokia Cinemagraphs at taken on my Nokia Lumia 1020! 


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Steelbook Update!


Well here we are again with some new additions to the collection.  Above is the Kimchidvd exclusve steelbook edition of Tangled featuring a lenticular slipcover. It is very difficult to photograph, but is certainly much nicer in person!  It also came with a storybook (In English), some photocards and a sticker sheet.  A very nice set indeed.  Next up we have some Zavvi releases:


I have held off buying Starship Troopers on Blu-ray, but then I jumped when this was announced.  Haven't watched the disc yet, but it is a nice steelbook.


Oblivion was a bit of a miss for me, but I absolutely loved the score by M83 and bought this simply to get the isolated score in DTS surround sound!  Basically if you treat the film as a music video it works very well ;)


Again, The Little Mermaid is not one of my favourites, but I do really like this artwork.  I am a bit pissed though that I wasn't able to secure copies of Dumbo or Lady & The Tramp, two films I would much rather own... so this may get traded.


Byzantium was a blind buy, but I really enjoyed it and the stunning visuals look fantastic on this Blu-ray.  I am actually not a fan of the artwork they have used on the back cover, but that front cover almost makes me cry admiring its beauty :P


Double dip time, Close Encounters is missing the second disc and booklet from the original release, so really I just bought it for the steelbook. I note it has now sold out.


and last, but not least.  I did enjoy Django, but I wasn't going to own it.  I picked this up for $12 and as it came with the soundtrack I thought that was quite a good deal :)

I have more goodies on the way including the new 50th Commemorative JFK release from Warner so will be posting pics of that when it arrives, I have also ordered both versions of the Kimchidvd release of A Tale of Two Sisters so I am looking forward to those too!!!