Chicken Soup for the Soul bought Redbox - yes really
Rouhana’s company has been on a buying spree for a few years now, strategically acquiring video assets that weren’t able to fully flourish under their previous owners.
- This includes the ad-supported video pioneer Crackle, which Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment acquired from Sony in 2019.
- Other CSSE brands include Popcornflix, Frightpix and Truli. “Each one of these has got its own sort of voice,” Rouhana said.
- By adding Redbox to the fold, Rouhana is gaining access not only to 36,000 DVD kiosks, but also a sizeable digital rental business, a FAST service with 145 streaming channels and a customer loyalty program with 40 million members — something he wants to use as a marketing vehicle for the company’s other services, as well as a source of insights.
- “People do have a life outside of Netflix,” Rouhana told me. By learning about the things people are looking for at DVD kiosks, he hopes to gain better insights to fine-tune personalized recommendations. “We’re very interested in data,” he said.
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Has anyone had AI "watch" movies and then analyze movie synopses and/or movie revews, and then have it do its own synopses and review of movies it has not been trained for? Would be fascinating to see how it did.
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My Hollywood Plan
When I decide to go Howard Hughes and go to Hollywood and make movies, I've already figured out my thing. You know, every director has a thing. M. Night Shyamalan makes movies with twists. Spielberg is simply about making great movies. Christopher Nolan makes blockbusters which you feel smart if you understand (or just say you understand so you don't appear dumb to your friends.) Ron Howard makes movies that tug your heartstrings and wistful for simpler times. George Lucas' is proving that you don't have to be a great writer to make great movies. You know, that sort of thing.
Well, when I decide to go make movies, I want to be known as the director who creates "alternate realities." I don't necessarily mean in my movies, though I might do that too. But when I have a movie come out, I want to pick a theater somewhere in the world like say- Sioux City, Iowa. And what I'll do is everywhere in the world gets the movie, except Sioux City. A theater there gets a movie with a significant difference from the rest of the world's for the first showing, and JUST the first showing. After that the alternate film is destroyed / deleted / erased.
Say, if I made 'Titanic,' Sioux City would get the version where the ship doesn't sink and everyone is rescued and Rose and Jack live happily ever after. Or, maybe, if I made Ocean's Eleven, I'd have a version shown in Icapuí, Brazil that would feature Tom Cruise as Rusty instead of Brad Pitt. Or I'd make Spinal Tap, and the version in Hasselt, Belgium would go to 12 instead of 11.
You get the idea.
I'd refuse to answer questions or ever acknowledge it. Everyone on the film would be contractually obligated to do the same.
Everytime a movie of mine came out, the world would be wondering where the alternate reality would appear. And only after the first film goers left their theater would they find out if they had just been transported to an alternate reality from everyone else.
After I die, my autobiography would come out. And, well... you can guess what I'd do with it.
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The Gray Man (3.5 out of 5 shades of gray)
I wouldn't call it great. It's a good first step for a new action franchise. It sets up the myserious "Six" and dumps him into action against his handlers. They've already greenlit a sequel and I'm not mad about it. Am I clamoring for it? Not really. But I'm a sucker for action movies.
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Disclaimer: I work for Wizards of the Coast, maker of Dungeons & Dragons.
That said - I am so excited for this movie.
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Death on the Nile (2022)
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Belgian Mustaches
Been meaning to watch it and finally sat down with Katie and her mother. Overall it was fine, but it was nothing amazing.
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Memphis Flyer - Elvis
Chris McCoy, a film critic in Memphis, wrote the linked review about the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie. But, right at the start of it, he talks about my brother's experimental short film from 2010:
The most insightful film I’ve ever seen about Elvis Presley is “The Singing Canary,” a five-minute experimental short by Memphis director Adam Remsen. It contains neither images of Elvis nor his music, only footage of astronauts and rocket launches. Remsen’s voice-over casts Elvis not as a singer or entertainer or idol, but as an explorer of new psychic spaces.
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Saw it last night and overall I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. It was VERY Sam Raimi, and he just is not a director I find really enjoyable.
I think it feels like we're in the middle of transitioning Marvel's story eras and I found this movie as a transition piece to be a bit rough and tumble.
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Can we take a moment to appreciate the murderer's row of actors in The Martian? Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Mackenzie Davis, Michael Pena.
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My Philosophy on Entertainment Trailers
I constantly have friends who are befuddled why I stringently avoid most trailers. Trailers are, to me, a tool for a binary choice - Am I going to watch this thing or not? As soon as I have a decision (in either direction!) then the trailer becomes superfluous. And if my choice is "to watch" the thing the trailer is advertising, then the trailer is a potential risk for me.
If the trailer gives away too much plot, or sets my expectations wrong, etc. then it can harm my viewing of the media.
This post was inspired by everyone online talking about the new 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' trailer. And, look, without even seeing the trailer - I'm going to watch the show. I'm hyped already. So, I am not going out of my way to see the trailer. I'm expecting I'll see commercials and I won't be militant about avoiding stuff, but I am definitely not going to willfully watch anything for the show.
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The Courier (2020)
Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan in a Cold War era film. My first movie of 2022. Overall quite good though the ending dragged.
3.5/5
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Dune (2021)
I just got home from seeing Dune, and this is my spoiler free review.
TLDR: The movie does a lot to get the book to screen adaptation right, possibly too much. I'm not sure how much people who aren't familiar with the story will enjoy it.
Now my longer thoughts:
First, some very important context: I have read the book probably a dozen times. It was one of the books I'd name as being very formative for me, and has been a mainstay for me as something I regularly would revisit. I have a half-dozen copies of it in various printings. I love the book.
Second, the story itself has its problems as it comes from another era. Sexism, racism, and all sorts of other -isms. Looking at it requires looking through the lens of awareness and time.
Now, I saw the movie in just a regular theater. And, for a solid portion of this movie, I had tears leaking from my eyes at the beauty and story that was on screen in front of me.
There have been a number of previous attempts to tell this story on the big screen. First was the movie that included such names as Patrick Stewart and Sting. Second was the TV miniseries for Syfy.
This one nailed it in so many ways. I don't agree with everything. I don't agree with all of the casting. But... man they got so much right.
That said, to make the movie they did, they had to cut from the story. A lot of what they cut would have made a lot of what they kept make more sense, or in some cases, is completely needed for things to make sense.
For example, there are people in the story called Mentats. You'll know them by a black stripe on their bottom lip. They are essentially human computers. Why are they there? What do they do? You get no context to them in the movie. And there is importance for them to the sides in the story.
The soldiers in the movie all fight with blades, even though you see lasers and projectile weapons? Why? The book gives you a reason, but they skip explaining it in the movie so you are forced to just accept this.
They also barely provide the context that is the intergalactic setting for the defining conflict of the story. You get bits of it, but I am not sure how obvious it is to people who don't have the book in their head to fill in the gaps and it definitely lacks some of the larger context.
Now, I get it. Things had to go otherwise this would be a series of four four-hour epics. But I air these as examples of why I think reading the book before seeing the movie is so beneficial, it lets you appreciate the story at a deeper and more complete level.
The visuals and the way they portrayed the story is largely true to the book. It also hits the tone and epic feel of the story; unfortunately I think that to hit those things, lends to the way that many will find the movie slow and plodding.
I am thrilled to see it getting such good ratings on Rotten Tomatoes; I am just worried we're about to see those ratings dip as others are enticed to see it.
Lastly, I understand why they did it, but it was not advertised that this is not the whole Dune story. It's just "Part 1." No, I don't mean multiple books as the story of Dune. I mean the first book of Frank Herbert's series. My estimate is that they see it being a trilogy, but I have no idea if we'll get more than just this movie.
We'll see.
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Finished Season 3 of Man in the High Castle and I began Season 4 but just am not feeling it right now. I might go back to it at some point, but I switched over to HBO Max and have been reminded of one of my favorite movies: The Mummy.
Released in, oh god, 1999. It ages well and is so very enjoyable as a silly adventure movie.
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In case anyone was unsure, Hidden Figures still remains an amazing movie
I put it on the TV while I was making chili this morning. I saw it when it came out in theaters and I came home to immediately told every friend who would listen to go see it and I stand by that assessment. It reminds you simultaneously about the social low of segregation and that what is going on today is not a new issue, while also reminding you the amazing heights to which humanity can rise if given the opportunity.
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The Towering Inferno - 🔥🔥🔥/5
I was in the mood for a disaster movie last night, so Katie and I watched The Towering Inferno (1974), starring Paul Newman & Steve McQueen. Overall it was good, though in the modern day felt kind of quaint in its effects and narrative.
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