The Television Streaming Thread: Now With Felonies

People are going to want to get back to theaters when COVID is done. Theaters survived the streaming revolution somehow, seems like they can build back once the rubble has cleared.

Plenty of independent cinemas in the UK showing non-blockbuster films, thank god.

Goddammit.

1 Like

Iā€™m certainly in no rush to go back to theaters, but I hope I can eventually go back. Big blockbusters like Marvel movies arenā€™t the same at home, even with a good TV and sound setup. And sometimes its nice just to grab a bucket of popcorn with my wife and see Uncut Gems or something.

1 Like

Yeah, this was a shame. A really fun show with a great cast.

I assume most of them have other commitments so they canā€™t just postpone filming until this is over.

1 Like

People have been predicting the death of movie theaters and big budget blockbusters since the earliest days of the VCR. The industry will adapt and keep going just like it always does.

I hope the high end movie theater experience (good food/booze, nice seats/sound) is the direction this goes. Itā€™s a pretty great date night for <100 bucks. The problem is I donā€™t think it generates enough revenue split for the studios to make movies exclusively live events for longā€¦ and thatā€™s probably fine. Buying a 20 dollar new movie on a streaming service and cooking something great at home is also a pretty good date for <100 bucks.

3 Likes

Watched 4 episodes of Halt and Catch Fire, s1. There are some top-notch things about it, including the music and the subject matter (computing and the competitive landscape in the early 80s). There are also some things that are quite dicy, the character arcs, the relationship between the two main characters and their wife/gf, lots of implausible actions taken for plot reasons. Not an expert, but some of the computer info seems off and some of the technology, like headphone and walkman models and perhaps floppy and HDDs, and even some costumes, may be just a little off.

My tentative conclusion is that itā€™s a somewhat worse done Mad Men, which still puts it in the top 10-15%. May get motivated and watch some more, or may read some spoilers and decide.

1 Like

Itā€™s worth finishing imo. It has itā€™s flaws but I enjoyed it from start to finish.

6 Likes

I hated most of the characters which made it a bit of a chore to finish, still glad I watched it though

2 Likes

Nunnehi would want me to remind you that I was cast as Bill Gates in S1 of Halt & Catch Fire.

They never actually featured me as him, though. I just ended up as a person at a party.

I thought S1 was a bit up and down, but the series got really good as it went along.

7 Likes

Every time I go to one of these swanky theaters with the plush recliner seats, I cannot keep my eyes open for more than 10 minutes. When I worked across the street from a theater, I went a couple times for a matinee specifically to take a nap. Great for those days when youā€™re hungover.

Iā€™m bad at sleeping so I canā€™t relateā€¦ but yeah I can absolutely relate to buying a comfortable seat because I have a few hours to kill.

1 Like

I miss being able to catch a random movie in Times Square in the middle of a slow day at work. Always made me feel like Don Draper.

3 Likes

Agree. The later seasons get into the creation of the laptop and early online gaming. Nostalgia factor set to 100.

Havenā€™t watched it but I heard it significantly improves after season 1.

We might need a ā€œFavorite Movie Experienceā€ thread like there was in The Lounge. Seeing a cool movie in an indie theater with a small screen where you can get a craft brew is good times. Seeing a film in a refurbished old-timey theater is great too. I think thereā€™s always going to be some kind of a market for leaving your house and taking in a movie in a setting without modern distractions.

1 Like

My favorite movie experience was when my dad took my brother and I to see Total Recall in a mostly black theater.

3 Likes

Iā€™ve seen Lawrence of Arabia 3 times at the Paramount theater in Austin, along with lots of other classics. Many of those old theaters were destroyed in my lifetime, but others survived. Some were mothballed, others turned to interim uses to weather the downturn like the current Alamo Drafthouse flagship Ritz, which was once a dodgy nightclub where I almost got shot. Ultimately they were revived because people like going to movies at great venues with great crowds.

Iā€™m sure the post-Covid era is going to see a permanent change in some movie-going habits and many of them will be for the worse, but movies in theaters will always be a thing. Two of my most memorable experiences were Predator on a sold-out opening night, and Kung Fu Hustle with the perfect crowd who appreciated it exactly as it was meant to be.

I also went to a legit old-school porn theater once. Not sure that particular experience ever will or should make a revival, but it was memorable.

1 Like

I saw Nosferatu at the historic Michigan Theater with a live organist playing the music. Absolutely outstanding experience. Nosferatu is to this day one of my favorite movies to watch.