Does anyone have recommendations for reliable TV or movie critics whose opinion is based on writing quality in the movie or show rather than the social message it's trying to force on you? Something like the critical drinker but in print form and that covers a wider sample?
Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
241–250 of 363 posts
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#242This article is a fascinating explication of the core reason that, without any respect paid to my millennial nostalgia at all, we need to preserve the physical cinema. The digital "attention economy" introduces such immense layers of abstraction between the audience and the business that none of us should feel confident that it will allow us to express our tastes for entertainment with anything close to intentionalit…
In my experience, when technology advances, and the original thing to be replaced still holds some value, it doesn't continue existing as such, it may survive binging on momentum, habits or nostalgia.
But then it splits, the useless aspect discarded and the useful merged with other old and new fragments, in combinations tried by the experimental startup ecosystem.
In the end we may have for example entertainment venues for both playing arcades and watching movies and theater plays, perhaps with dinner for example. (We already have this actually.)
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love apocalyptic movies (even ones that are not considered great) but the few I started watching on Netflix were really bad.
Can you name a good apocalyptic movie? I'm really struggling to come up with one. Twister, sort of, and that's neither good nor apocalyptic really. Edit: Twelve Monkeys. I think that counts.
There are loads, some skirt the horror genre for obvious reasons.
A quiet place, 28 days later, Children of Men
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#244Does anyone have recommendations for reliable TV or movie critics whose opinion is based on writing quality in the movie or show rather than the social message it's trying to force on you? Something like the critical drinker but in print form and that covers a wider sample?
>reliable TV or movie critics
>critical drinker
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#245Nowadays, whenever I browse Netflix, I feel like that Bruce Springsteen song, "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)."[a] Sure, there are lots of choices, but they all kinda suck . I find myself wondering, why? The OP weaves an insightful, opinionated narrative that explains how we got here. Much of it rings true. This passage, in particular struck a chord with me: > Several screenwriters who’ve worked for the streamer told m…
There is still good cinema and television, it's just shockingly difficult to find. The first person who figures out how to sort the wheat from the chaff and does so with no interior motive could be a millionaire immediately.
"could be a millionnaire immediately" is precisely the kind of techbro ulterior motive that creates these situations in the first place.
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#246> Oh help me! Oh, help me! My life is in danger! > Oh help me! Oh, help me! My life is in danger! > The venomous monster is drawing upon me > And I can’t escape him. > How near is his bite, > With teeth sharp and white! > Oh gods above! > Why can’t you hear my mortal cry? > Destroy the beast or I will die! > Or surely, I will die! The opening lines to The Magic Flute (which continues in a similarly expository tone fo…
Man. I like that you’re bringing opera into the conversation, but I don’t think comparing two different mediums that way is useful. Die Zauberflote is easy to understand because it’s a fairly light work, and you’re meant to be staring at the lavish staging and costumes. The performers narrate the action because that’s the convention for the genre - it’s a sung story. They break into more conventional dialogue for the…
> They break into more conventional dialogue for the recitative sections (a tradition that went out of style with Verdi.)
The comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan were contemporary to Verdi's work and still feature lots of dialogue, so they are very approachable. You still won't be able to use your phone, though - you'll be too busy laughing!
My recommendation for an introduction would be the 1982 Canadian production of The Mikado by the Stratford Festival. It is currently available in its entirety on YouTube:
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#247It’s just slop par excellence. I’ve been watching a number of movies with my wife over Christmas. Everything is so bland, repetitive and ‘design by committee’. It goes further than merely announcing what the characters are doing (in that new wannabe Die Hard movie we hear that they are expecting a baby three times in 5 minutes), you just know there are certain metrics used for every genre of movie accounting for ever…
This is precisely the tepid, data-driven "future of entertainment" that the genAI boosters are desperately trying to sell. Remember the hubbub about that ridiculous AI Seinfeld stream? Turgid LLM nonsense, but hyped to the skies by people who presumably haven't watched Seinfeld and have no clue what makes it a funny and iconic sitcom.
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the best modern productions are now the series rather than the films as there's so much more time to tell the story and have room for characters to breathe etc. Just look at the artistry and story-telling skill displayed in both seasons of Arcane - there's so many brilliant examples of "showing, not telling" on display there. As a counter-example, I enjoyed watching the "Flow" film the other day - an animated…
Maybe 5 years ago but can't say I agree any more. Netflix in particular stretches 2-hour scripts into 10-hour limited series. I'm trying to watch Black Doves right now and continually get bored at how much exposition and background there is. There was clearly a tight, fun script in there somewhere before the committee performed surgery on it. I don't need everything explored and explained to death, give me something…
That's just reminded me of an article I read recently about "What We Do In The Shadows", where Clement/Waititi originally thought that the idea was a ten minute sketch ("vampires, but they're stupid") that they managed to stretch out into a whole film. Of course, then they stretched it out even further into 6 seasons of a series (not counting Wellington Paranormal).
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#249It’s just slop par excellence. I’ve been watching a number of movies with my wife over Christmas. Everything is so bland, repetitive and ‘design by committee’. It goes further than merely announcing what the characters are doing (in that new wannabe Die Hard movie we hear that they are expecting a baby three times in 5 minutes), you just know there are certain metrics used for every genre of movie accounting for ever…
Let's be real here look at the movies that make a billion at the box office. It's never the highbrow stuff.
I'm more interested in movies that make money through the long tail of DVD sales. Box office numbers have always favoured blockbusters. The long tail content tends to be better, less one-size-fits-all, and allows room for multiple films trying different things, across different genres. That era appears to be over however.
Re: Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that
#250Does anyone have recommendations for reliable TV or movie critics whose opinion is based on writing quality in the movie or show rather than the social message it's trying to force on you? Something like the critical drinker but in print form and that covers a wider sample?
>reliable TV or movie critics >critical drinker
What, is critical drinker not high brow enough or something? Feel free to make a better suggestion.