movies | At Home with Tech

December 22, 2024

Where have All the Movies Gone?

Finding a good movie to watch in the theater feels a lot harder than it used to be. Here’s how I’m handling it, and which films I recommend.

Are you frustrated because there aren’t enough movie options in the theaters for you? Look, I get it. It’s been a rough few years for Hollywood. First the pandemic. And the writers’ strike. Then, we all forgot how to go to movie theaters and stayed home and streamed instead. More movies started to bomb at the box office, and then they made fewer flicks.

So, there’s even more pressure on the movies they do make to deliver. And for the most part, they haven’t.

The Fall Guy
It’s not like any movie can ever be guaranteed to be a sure hit. (It’s always been that way.) Remember 2024’s “The Fall Guy?” That was a blast of a movie. So much fun. I loved it. But it tanked at the box office.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
On the other hand, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” fizzled at the same time for a different reason. This Mad Maxless flick just wasn’t that appealing for a broader audience. Sure, it had amazing stunts and cinematography, but the prequel’s story was hardly riveting, and if we’ve been paying attention to the larger story being built by director George Miller, we knew where it was all going. I would say the first half of the film had much more going for it, and then it ran out of gas.

And yes, I streamed both these movies months after they left theaters. So, I admit, I’m part of the audience problem equation. But it’s not all our fault.

No to Glicked
As I write this, I’m on holiday break with my wife and 14-year-old son. I was hoping to head out to the movie theaters with them a couple times. But there are frustratingly few options for older kids available to us.

Sure, there are the traditional ‘family’ movies for younger kids, like “Wicked” and “Mufasa.”

On the other side the scale, there’s “Gladiator 2.” The promised massive carnage is just a tad extreme for us. And “Kraven the Hunter?” Please.

But there was one choice to consider.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
We did venture out to see the animated “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” (PG-13). Our movie theater was almost completely empty, and it ironically felt like we were back in our own living room.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama and executive produced by Peter Jackson, the story is based on J.R.R. Tolkein’s appendices to “The Lord of the Rings.” So, this script only has passing references to the larger Lord of the Rings universe. There was one cameo, courtesy of reedited archival audio. Otherwise, it’s your standard standalone feudal warlords anime.

My family enjoyed this return to Middle-earth story more than I did. (My son identified additional “Lord of the Rings” references, and my wife liked the Japanese-style animation.)

As for me, I thought this prequel was just adequate, but it did succeed in checking my box of going out to the movies with the family.

But I think that’s going to be it for the season.

So, I must return to the world of streaming to provide our remaining holiday screen entertainment. Happily, there’s no shortage of good options.

Red One
In what seems like the oddest movie distribution plan ever, “Red One” (PG-13) starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans is simultaneously streaming on Prime Video and playing in movie theaters. So, of course we’re staying home to stream this silly but fun big-budget action treat about saving Santa Claus.

Here’s are a couple other newish choices on my go-to holiday movie list:

“Spirited” on Apple TV+ with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds
(2022/PG-13)
“8-Bit Christmas” on Max with Neil Patrick Harris (2021/PG)

Next Year
Is there hope for the future of movies at the box office?

In 2025, we’ve got the last “Mission Impossible” and “Superman,” the first superhero movie in the new DC universe under James Gunn. (The teaser trailer looks fantastic.)
I’m also excited for the MCU’s “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
And “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” just in time for Christmas.

Is there still hope? Yeah, I think so.

March 5, 2023

Why Does it Take 40 Minutes for the Movie to Start?

Are you also puzzled why you have to sit in your movie theater seat for so long before your flick actually begins? Is it to give you time to eat more popcorn?

Watching movie previews used to be a really fun part of going out to the films. Remember when there was even a surprise factor? Of course, today you can find all movie trailers online. So you’ve probably already seen every preview the movie theater is going to throw at you.

But these days, that’s not the half of it. There’s all of that bland Noovie programming with Maria Menounos that runs before the film is scheduled to begin. (It also drifts 5-7 minutes into what used to be the ‘coming soon’ zone.) And then, there are promos for TV shows. And for the final insult, there are all of the commercials.

Commercials!

Limiting my Exposure
I intentionally avoid most commercials, now that I can pay more for a commercial-less streaming experience at home. (The major exception is the commercial line up for the Super Bowl. It’s always fun grading the most expensive 30-second spots on TV.)

Yes, I pay more for our streaming subscriptions to minimize my family’s commercial exposure. I think it’s really worth it. Our twelve-year-old son has grown up consuming his media mostly without commercial interruption.

Sure, I still carry about a fair amount of parental guilt regarding how much screen time he consumes (a much more complex equation than when the debate was just over ‘TV’ time). But at least I can say that commercials don’t bathe his being nearly as much as my own experience growing up.

With this accomplishment, I am especially displeased that movie theaters have become a new Wild West for commercials.

I simply don’t want us to watch commercials before a movie.

I feel inundated, and it’s painful.

By the time we get to Nicole Kidman telling us what a great experience it’s going to be at the movie theater, I want to run away.

Talk about a terrible warm-up act.

A 3-Hour Tour?
No, the preshow isn’t all commercial content, but it bloats the entire block to an unwatchable length. Getting through it all feels like an endurance test.

When I went to see “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” with my son, I lost literally forty minutes of my life squirming in my movie theater seat waiting for the MCU to start.

That creates an almost 3-hour viewing experience. Who’s got 3 hours anymore? It’s too much time. Way too much.

Post-Pandemic Reality
I know this is not a new phenomenon, but it feels like it’s getting worse. That’s probably because I haven’t returned to an actual movie theater that many times since Covid closed them all down.

If movie theater owners want all of their customers back, punishing them with content they don’t want to watch is not an especially great plan.

I understand that the business model of movie distribution needs to work, but this is out of control.

How Long Will You Wait for your Entertainment?
Consuming commercials used to be the way people watched television for free. Then we were taught that we could pay for premium movie channels on cable. And that evolved to paying for commercial-free streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix. Sometimes, you can play less per month with ‘limited’ commercials. But for me…that pure experience without any commercial interruption is worth the extra few bucks a month.

So I pay for the programming I watch on TV, and it’s usually commercial free.

And that’s always been the business model for movies theaters. When movie ticket prices go up, you can grumble, but that’s how it works.

But then when you throw in obligatory commercials at the movie theater on top of that, it’s crossing the line.

Today, it’s hard enough to wait 5 seconds to click out of a YouTube spot before you get to watch your video. Waiting 40 minutes for your movie is ludicrous.

Times have changed. When we are offered the option to ‘skip the open’ on our favorite streaming shows, today’s movie-going experience feels entirely out of sync with reality.

Add Back 38 Minutes into your Life
Clearly, the solution is to show up at your movie theater seat about 38 minutes late (as long as you’ve got reserved seats.)

This just takes a little reset in how you schedule your time. Trying to miss the movie previews has now evolved to how to avoid the preshow entirely.

Movie theater owners need to redesign their customer experience and offer something more worthwhile during the preshow.

Or just simply play the movie. That would be quite the innovation.

New Movie Theater Business Model
Okay, here’s a scary question: Would I pay even more for my movie ticket to ensure I don’t have to watch any commercials?
(pause)

I would.

If cinema 1 is playing the movie with commercials and a 40-minute preshow, and cinema 2 right next to it has the same movie that simply starts at the posted time, yes I would pay more for a ticket to cinema 2.

And if that’s been the plan all along, then I have to tip my hat to some really smart marketers who are playing the long game.

For now, I’ll just try to be that guy who shows up a half-hour late.

December 12, 2021

The Pain of having to Wait after a Cliffhanger

To quote the original “Lost in Space” franchise, “Oh, the pain… the pain”… of having to endure the wait for a show’s next season.

Cliffhangers are the norm in movie and TV storytelling these days. It’s not unusual to get to the credits of anything without a significant hanging thread compelling you to get to the next episode as fast as possible.

My family and I just watched the third (and final) season premiere of Netflix’s “Lost in Space.” And of course, our 11-year-old son was pleading at the end of the episode that we blow through his bedtime to watch the second episode. (As there are only 8, I held the line to extend the joy over these upcoming viewing weeks.)

Keeping Track of the Jupiter 2’s Course
This fun, non-stop sci-fi series has been constructed on an endless number of cliffhangers, and it’s been especially challenging as a viewer to wait between seasons to see what happens. It’s helpful that Netflix automatically served up a recap of season 2 to kick things off. The writers enjoy dropping breadcrumbs, and you really need to keep track of developing plot points across the seasons.

Yes, it’s been hard to handle the long pause between the second and third seasons of “Lost in Space.” It’s been almost 2 years! (Yes, there were Covid-19 production delays.) But the producers have committed to get the fans to the finish line. (I can’t yet speak to the characters’ success on that important question.)

Danger
You’d think that properly ending any story is an essential technique. But of course, viewership numbers can sometimes kill off a series prematurely and leave the cliffhanger… hanging.

It’s not bad storytelling. Its economics. But ultimately, it actually is bad storytelling.

For a time, I wondered if the new “Dune” would fall into this category.

Why do Movies have Cliffhangers to Sequels that aren’t Greenlit?
The writers and producers of “Dune” wisely chose to tackle just the first half of the book (unlike the 1984 flick, which tried to cram it all in).

The start of “Dune” even includes a title graphic that say “Part One.” And yes, the movie ends on a cliffhanger, although it plays more like a chapter ending. It’s arguably the film’s weakest element. But you accept it, because there’s going to be a part two… right?

Well, after I watched it with my son on the day of its premiere in October, I immediately did some Googling to see when the sequel was coming out, and I was shocked with what I found.

It’s not that they hadn’t shot the sequel yet. It’s that the sequel hadn’t even been greenlit! They were waiting to see how successful the first film is.

I get the economics, but come on!

How Good is Half of “Dune?”
Okay, so they did green-light the sequel a few days later. (The sequel will be released in October 2023.)

But imagine if the box office wasn’t so kind to “Dune.” We would only have gotten half a story.

As it turned out, “Dune” was a big success. And my son and I liked it too.

It’s a perfect family film if you’re regulars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, there’s lots of action and PG-13-level violence. But If your kids can handle “The Avengers,” “Dune” shouldn’t be a problem. “Dune” is more mature in its storytelling style and more serious in tone. And I think it’s a great next step for a young sci-fi fan.

The Economics can Ruin a Movie Fan’s Day
I can’t dispute economics, but it would have been so much better from a viewer’s perspective if both movies were made back to back, like the second and third installments of “The Matrix” series. (Can’t wait for the fourth one, even though it’s been 18 years!)

Hey, what about a three or four-part “Dune” miniseries for HBO Max? (Yes, again that means covering all of the content.)

Ultimately, If you’re going to tell one story, I feel you’ve got to commit to telling the whole story! Waiting for box office numbers can tragically lead to movies without an ending and very cranky fans.

Patience
On the other hand, maybe you’ve just got to have some faith that things are going to work out the way they should. I’m sure director Dennis Villeneuve had faith that he’d get his shot to direct his “Dune” sequel.”

And remember when the pilot of the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot came out in 2003 with a huge cliffhanger? The actual ground-breaking sci-fi series didn’t show up until 2005. So having to wait is not without precedent.

And then there’s “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” We had to wait another three years to find out Han’s fate.

But in this age of countless streaming options and a glut of great content to watch, fans can be fickle.

If there’s a cliffhanger, please don’t make us wait too long for what comes next.

Tag: movies

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