Blogs
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‘Star Wars,’ Comic Books and the Legacy of Fox
One of the overriding concerns of the aftermath of the Walt Disney Co.’s purchase of 20th Century Fox studios has been how the House of Mouse would treat its newfound assets and the legacy of the studio in general. The immediate assumption was that the studio was bolstering its content roster for the Disney+ streaming … Continue reading “‘Star Wars,’ Comic Books and the Legacy of Fox”
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Black Friday Musings
I ventured out on Black Friday not so much in search of bargains (all right, maybe a new laptop at Best Buy) but to see if there were any significant differences at retail from prior years. The biggest change, on the home entertainment front, is that the buying process has become a lot more complicated … Continue reading “Black Friday Musings”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Christmas in July’
Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll Shout! Factory, Documentary, $24.97 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James. 1987. Keith Richards wanted to give Chuck Berry a backup band he deserved for once as part of a splashy St. Louis tribute concert that Taylor Hackford then filmed — and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘Christmas in July’”
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Despite Indifference, Netflix Reigns Supreme in By-Mail Disc Rental
Netflix has all the luck. The erstwhile by-mail disc rental pioneer’s brand name ushered in the ability for consumers to rent DVD or Blu-ray Disc movies online and receive the disc by mail 24 hours later. Disc rental has been an unrelenting cash cow for Netflix, generating operating income and crazy margins most companies would … Continue reading “Despite Indifference, Netflix Reigns Supreme in By-Mail Disc Rental”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and ‘Charley Varrick’
Days of Wine and Roses Available via Warner Archive Warner, Drama, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman. 1962. In terms of his overall career, this harrowing warning shot about how alcohol can destroy lives, livelihoods and families seems to have been a highly unusual project for Blake Edwards, and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and ‘Charley Varrick’”
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Streaming Ideal for Miniseries
Some of the most compelling content I’ve seen this year has been in the miniseries category, mostly via streaming. In recent months, I’ve streamed HBO’s Chernobyl, Amazon’s Good Omens and Netflix’s When they See Us — all miniseries. I also watched the excellent Fosse/Verdon on FX — episode by episode, over time — but would … Continue reading “Streaming Ideal for Miniseries”
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Disney+ First Impressions
The Nov. 12 launch of the new Disney+ streaming service has made quite an impact its first day, lighting up social media with several trending topics. The chatter began almost as soon as the app became available in the U.S. around midnight, with users prancing around the site eager to discover all the goodies Disney … Continue reading “Disney+ First Impressions”
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Netflix Challengers: Are There Flies in the Ointment?
This is the month when the long talked-about “streaming wars” finally get underway — at least, the first round. Both Apple TV+ and Disney+ are launching in November, with two more heavyweights — NBCUniversal’s Peacock and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max — debuting next April and May, respectively. Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) pioneer Netflix has ruled the proverbial … Continue reading “Netflix Challengers: Are There Flies in the Ointment?”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’ and ‘My Favorite Year’
David Crosby: Remember My Name Sony Pictures, Documentary, $25.99 DVD, $24.99 Blu-ray, ‘R’ for language, drug material and brief nudity. Featuring David Crosby, Cameron Crowe, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne. 2019. Filmmaker A.J. Eaton had apparently been working with Crosby for a while fashioning what came to be a combo confessional, irresistible rock-memories clip show and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘David Crosby: Remember My Name’ and ‘My Favorite Year’”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘When We Were Kings’ and ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’
When We Were Kings Criterion, Documentary, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, ‘PG’ for images of violence, brief nudity and some language. Featuring Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton. 1996. The now famed, Zaire-set 1974 Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman provided the century-caliber upset of which Oscar-winning documentaries … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘When We Were Kings’ and ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’”