Blogs
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Tall Men’ and ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’
The Tall Men Available via ScreenArchives.com Twilight Time, Western, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Clark Gable, Jane Russell, Robert Ryan, Cameron Mitchell. 1955. A substantial hit in its day that made Clark Gable give a damn because he took a percentage deal against his already meaty salary, The Tall Men is a combination cattle drive drama/wagon … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Tall Men’ and ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’”
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Did Netflix’s ‘El Camino’ Run Out of Gas?
Netflix’s big-budget “Breaking Bad” movie sequel (El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie) from creator Vince Gilligan offers a lengthy tale of morality and redemption through the gritty eyes of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) — the meth-cooking partner-in-crime to high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), whose character perished in the 2013 series finale. El … Continue reading “Did Netflix’s ‘El Camino’ Run Out of Gas?”
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Movies Anywhere and Data
Overlooked in the quibbles with digital rights collection service Movies Anywhere (Why no TV shows? Where are Paramount and Lionsgate?) is a potential killer app that those in the transactional business may have overlooked — data. At last month’s Entertainment Merchants Association OTT_X@ Pipeline 2019 conference in Los Angeles, Movies Anywhere GM Karin Gilford noted, … Continue reading “Movies Anywhere and Data”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Major and the Minor’ and ‘The Set Up’
The Major and the Minor MVD/Arrow, Comedy, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, Diana Lynn, Robert Benchley. 1942. In the first Hollywood directorial outing from Billy Wilder, a grown woman posing as a 12-year-old meets and gradually falls for a kindly and thoroughly aboveboard Army major — who probably isn’t even … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Major and the Minor’ and ‘The Set Up’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Local Hero’ and ‘Whirlpool’
Local Hero Criterion, Comedy, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, ‘PG.’ Stars Peter Reigert, Burt Lancaster, Denis Lawson, Jenny Seagrove. 1983. Better than any movie of its era, Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero comes closest to pulling off full-fledged whimsy, and this deserving Criterion release now seems like feel-good perfection. Extras: Fortsyth’s provides a commentary with film critic … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Local Hero’ and ‘Whirlpool’”
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Roku’s Rough Week
In an era of fake news allegations, manipulation of the media for market purposes can be just as insidious. Take Roku, the streaming media device manufacturer and platform that invented the subscription video-on-demand market ecosystem with Netflix more than 11 years ago. Last week after Comcast announced it would begin rolling out a free streaming … Continue reading “Roku’s Rough Week”
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Bob Iger: ‘If Steve (Jobs) Were Alive,’ (Disney, Apple) Would be Combined Companies
Pending retirement and 20/20 hindsight can do wonders for the printed page. With his departure from The Walt Disney Co. set for 2021, CEO Bob Iger has already authored a memoir on his long-running stint heading the world famous brand. The book, “The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of … Continue reading “Bob Iger: ‘If Steve (Jobs) Were Alive,’ (Disney, Apple) Would be Combined Companies”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Man Without a Star’ and ’10 North Frederick’
Man Without a Star Kino Lorber, Western, $29.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, Richard Boone. 1955. Released without too much fanfare but given some pacing oomph by a legendary director who’d found himself needing work (King Vidor), this cattle-heavy Western with sex is a Kirk Douglas vehicle through and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Man Without a Star’ and ’10 North Frederick’”
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Confusing the Consumer
Remember when things were simple? The only way to watch movies at home, on demand, was on videocassette. Yeah, they were clunky. The pause function was a flickering joke. And you had to bring them back to the place you rented them from or risk incurring an onerous “late fee.” But you knew what you … Continue reading “Confusing the Consumer”
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Subs Dive Lower
Halloween may be Oct. 31, but the real thriller in Hollywood will hit in November. Disney+ and Apple TV+ are in a sub battle to the pricing floor. After Disney+ announced its Nov. 12 launch at $6.99 a month, with special offers dipping below $4 a month, Apple TV+ Sept. 10 announced it would launch … Continue reading “Subs Dive Lower”