Blogs
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Remembering Russ Solomon
I’ve been thinking a lot about Russ Solomon over the last few days, ever since I heard about the celebrated Tower Records and Video founder’s death Sunday night while watching the Academy Awards. At 92 years old, he was at his home in Sacramento, drinking whisky and complaining about someone’s outfit, his son told the … Continue reading “Remembering Russ Solomon”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Hanging Tree’ and ‘Steve McQueen: American Icon’
The Hanging Tree Available via Warner Archive Warner, Western, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Ben Piazza, Karl Malden, George C. Scott. 1959. Gary Cooper made three more movies after The Hanging Tree before his death in the spring of 1961, but due to varied limitations in terms of conception and/or execution, none … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Hanging Tree’ and ‘Steve McQueen: American Icon’”
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Is Content King — or Is Data?
You may think Netflix’s business is offering subscription video streaming of increasingly original content and MoviePass’ offering subscription access to theatrical content, but there’s a hidden asset that buttresses both — consumer data. Speakers at the February Digital Entertainment World conference in Marina Del Rey, Calif., pointed out the importance of data in entertainment disruption. … Continue reading “Is Content King — or Is Data?”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘Raw Deal’ and ‘Belle Epoque’
Raw Deal: Special Edition ClassicFlix, Film Noir, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Dennis O’Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, Raymond Burr. 1948. Dennis O’Keefe, who’s something of a comfortable presence throughout Raw Deal despite its occasional pronounced brutality, found himself an ideal actor of noir, thanks to looks on the high-side of “Average Joe” and … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘Raw Deal’ and ‘Belle Epoque’”
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Netflix Blows Lid Off Hollywood’s Female Age Ceiling
Hollywood’s age cap on conventional female attractiveness has always been unfairly low when compared to male actors. Netflix appears to be disrupting this industry norm as well. It just launched a 13-episode reboot of Norman Lear’s long-running 70s-80s sitcom, “One Day at a Time,” co-starring 87-year-old Rita Moreno as an “old-school” Cuban-born mom who hardly … Continue reading “Netflix Blows Lid Off Hollywood’s Female Age Ceiling”
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Mike’s Picks: ‘The Apartment’ and ‘Captain From Castile’
The Apartment (Blu-ray) MVD/Arrow, Comedy, $49.95 Blu-ray, NR. Stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Edie Adams. 1960. Though topicality can be a trap when gauging a movie’s effectiveness, it’s a real punch to the face to see how a once controversial comedy-drama from 58 years ago can be so spot-on about sexual harassment in … Continue reading “Mike’s Picks: ‘The Apartment’ and ‘Captain From Castile’”
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A Disturbance in the Fan Force
By now, it’s no secret that the response to Star Wars: The Last Jedi has caused quite a stir. Having thoroughly enjoyed the film upon its release, as well as subsequent viewings, I was baffled by the negativity from the darkest corners of the Internet being hurled toward the film and seemingly everyone associated with … Continue reading “A Disturbance in the Fan Force”
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It’s a Netflix World
NEWS ANALYSIS – Netflix hit another fiscal home run Jan. 22, reporting record 8.3 million subscriber growth in its most-recent financial period. The SVOD pioneer now has more than 117 million subscribers globally. And it’s growing, with no end in sight. The company forecasting 6.4 million new subs in the first quarter, ending March 31. … Continue reading “It’s a Netflix World”
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HDaaaargh! Competing Formats Vie for Dominance at CES
At this year’s CES, the murmurings of HDR (high dynamic range) format competition hit a higher pitch — or should I say contrast. On the eve of the show Jan. 5, Fox, Samsung and Panasonic announced a push for HDR10+, the non-royalty HDR technology. Then, at the Jan. 8 Samsung “First Look” event, Warner showed … Continue reading “HDaaaargh! Competing Formats Vie for Dominance at CES”
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Warner Restructuring Nothing More Than Common Sense
There’s been all sorts of speculation in the media about the big restructuring at Warner Bros. that, among other changes, saw home entertainment chief Ron Sanders take charge of all motion picture distribution and Blair Rich likewise have oversight of marketing across all windows. Media wags have connected Warner Bros. Entertainment chairman and CEO Kevin … Continue reading “Warner Restructuring Nothing More Than Common Sense”
