Netflix Caves to Warner Bros. on 56 Day Delay
January 31, 2012
Redbox tells them to screw off
Well, well. It looks like Netflix needs to borrow some balls from Redbox. Earlier this month it was announced that Netflix had agreed to an increased delay of Warner Bros. DVD releases – an increase to 56 days or double the current asinine delay of 28 days.
The studio seems absolutely convinced that if they hold their movies like little hostages people will pay the ransom of buying the DVD rather than waiting for the rental release. That is, of course, idiotic. Buyers buy, renters rent. Never the twain shall meet. Why the hell should I buy a movie I didn’t care enough to see in the theater? Answer – I won’t. I’ll wait the extra days or simply watch something else. It’s not like there’s some kind of shortage of visual media – and a lot of it doesn’t suck as much as Warner Bros. releases. Somehow I doubt that I’ll be rushing out to buy their inexplicable Queen Latifah/Dolly Parton outing Joyful Noise the day it’s released. Or ever.
In any case – Netflix caved. They agreed to the 56 day Warner Bros. delay. No other studios are following at the moment, maybe because somewhere in the bowels of their offices resides someone sane.
But Redbox said no. Told Warner Bros. to screw and that they would buy the discs retail to stock their kiosks. An expensive response, to be sure, and not guaranteed to put a copy of every new release in every customer’s hands on day 1 – but I admire their guts.
The studios that insist on delaying releases to rental companies chap my ass. I do not believe, no matter what their PR hacks claim, that such measures increase DVD sales. All it does is reek of pathetic desperation and greed. Normally when economic times are troubled, entertainment spending rises as people seek to escape their worries. Not this time. Hollywood had a rotten box office over all in 2011 and their whining was so loud and prolonged that every weepy 3-year-old in the country was embarrassed and vowed never to whine again. Boo-hoo, Hollywood. Stop making crappy movies and guess what? People might go see them. The economy may have sucked, but that didn’t mean that people were so desperate to escape that they would spend their precious dollars on remakes, sequels and prequels. Economic troubles do not automatically make us stupid.
So good for you, Redbox! I’m glad you took a stand. If there happens to be a Warner Bros. release that I’m eager to see, I’ll gladly get it from one of your kiosks, despite being a long-time and very loyal Netflix user. This kind of moxie deserves to be rewarded.
And Eddie Murphy is……..OUT!
November 9, 2011
I can’t keep up with these people.
Honestly. I was just coming around to the idea of Eddie Murphy as Oscar host. Initially, I was firmly opposed to the choice. But then I was seeing the previews for Tower Heist, thinking that it looked like the old Eddie might be back on
form. A little less of the Daddy Day Care Eddie. A little more of the Delirious Eddie. I was starting to look forward to Oscar night, anticipating the possibility of some upheaval in the status quo.
Then Brett Ratner had to open his mouth. Now really, I have nothing against the man or his work but how stupid do you have to be to throw around incendiary words and graphic tales of your sexual exploits while promoting your movie? And how much more exponentially stupid do you have to be to do so 3 months before you’re scheduled to produce the Academy Awards telecast? I’ll tell you – really freaking stupid.
So Ratner stuck both feet in his mouth, promptly apologized, withdrew as Oscar producer and Murphy followed. Now they have no producer and no host. Terrific!
Let’s see what they can put together on the fly to entertain the 50 billion (fine, that’s probably an exaggeration – I don’t know, I made it up) people who are going to watch and critique every moment of the show! Awesome.
Actually, even though it’s too bad that we won’t see Eddie have a chance to show his stuff, it’s kind of exciting. What ARE they going to do? The Academy must be a giant ball of bundled undies right about now. If there’s anything they have historically not liked, it’s unexpected complications. They like control. They like familiarity. They like their comfort zone. In searching for a way to draw more viewers to the broadcast they inadvertently set themselves up for the sort of last minute chaos that must make their sphincters clench.
So maybe this isn’t such a bad thing – maybe we’ll see some real spontaneity at this years Oscar broadcast. Wouldn’t that be a rare and wonderful thing?!? Or terrible? Who knows, but I’ll definitely be watching.
Netflix + Quikster = WTF?
October 12, 2011
Netflix appears to let 12-year-old nephew run company
I’m a longtime devoted fan of Netflix. So back in March when they raised their prices I didn’t really bat an eye. Come on – we get umpteen hours of programming a week from them, at our convenience, and they haven’t raised their prices much in all the years we’ve subscribed (despite adding streaming services and huge numbers of available titles). So I figured it was no big deal.
Apparently I was the only one who felt that way. From the whining heard around the internet you’d have thought Netflix had just snatched the last piece of stale bread from the mouths of the world’s children. And Netflix stock began to fall. Really? REALLY? This is a luxury service. Those of us who can afford it are lucky and privileged. If you’re spending your last $8 a week on Netflix, you need to refocus. When’s the last time your cable, cell phone or power company asked your permission to raise their prices? To the best of my recollection that would be…never. I figured the howling would die down as people realized what pampered babies they were being and that would be the end of it.
But no. A few months after stocks started plunging Netflix apparently placed its Wayward Nephew in charge. How else to possible explain the weird, rambling apology about raising prices? And the absolutely ridiculous announcement that the company would be splitting its DVD and streaming services into 2 companies – Netflix and the inexplicably named “Quikster”? Ideas that dumb don’t come from the heads of adults all that often, especially adults who run huge, successful companies. That’s why my Wayward Nephew theory is the only one that makes any sense.
Think about it. You’re a huge company. You have competition, but in order to continue to expand and remain dominant you need to increase revenue and do some price adjusting for your services. So you do exactly that. You’re polite and you still offer a variety of price points at which people can order your services, but you stop giving Instant Streaming away for free. Fair enough.
You customers set about wailing as if they were being waterboarded. You, rightly, ignore them. Stocks take a hit. Not entirely unexpected, but maybe more than you had hoped. So what do you do to rebound? Roll back the price increases? No, that just puts you back where you started, and with lower stock prices. You need someone who can think outside the box and works cheap. Wayward Nephew to the rescue! You need a vacation and your sister needs something to keep her delinquent child busy.
Because only the brain of a child would imagine that making the service more complicated, less convenient and just plain weirder would turn things around. Children also like to offer sincere apologies for actions they have no intention of altering. And what adult could possibly imagine that the name “Quikster” would succeed at any level, in any business, anywhere in the virtual universe? Perhaps Nephew’s only other options were “Robovideo” and “Moviesaurus Rex”.
Last week it looks like Uncle Netflix finally came home from his dude ranch hiatus and took back the reigns. There will be no Quikster. The price hikes will stay put. There will be acknowledgement of customer dissatisfaction but without groveling or psychotic business model changes. Netflix will go back to doing what it’s always done – providing DVD and streamed content with price points for almost everyone. The whiners will move on to something else and stocks will go back up as content continues to expand. Ahhh, it’s good to have my Netflix back.
Thank you, Mr. Netflix, for taking back your company. I know you love Wayward Nephew, but he was freaking the rest of us out.
Movie Rewind is on Facebook!
August 13, 2011
And Twitter! We love our social media!
It was inevitable – Movie Rewind now has its very own Facebook page! There’s always something going on in the world of movies – far more than we can post on every day. So where, oh where, to put those tidbits? On Facebook of course! Join us and give your opinion on the latest news from the world of big and small screen entertainment. As usual I’ll be on hand with some news, links to cool stuff here in Movie Rewind and probably some snark. I can’t help it.
But it isn’t all about gossip and movies and blog posts. Facebook is going to be the home of CONTESTS! That’s right, go to the Movie Rewind Facebook page, click Like and become eligible for our upcoming contests, drawings and giveaways.
You’re also going to find polls and quizzes there soon. After all, we need to figure out who should play Mitch Rapp now that the movie is going to be a prequel. We need to know what you think of the Hunger Games movies, the Emmys and Oscars and a whole host of other things. What better place to play with us than Facebook?
Once enough of you Like us we’ll start polling and quizzing and contesting like mad. So head on over, click Like and tell us what you think about, well, what we think. You can also follow us on Twitter. You never know what George might have to say on any given day.
You can do all of these things from here, or from any page on Movie Rewind where we now have awesome, heart shaped social media icons allowing you to keep up with us anywhere and any way. In fact, if you look to the right of this very post you’ll see those very icons. How cute are they? Super cute, I say.
So don’t wait – follow us on Facebook and Twitter today so we can get this party started! Once we get 100 Likes on Facebook I promise we’ll do our first contest. I’m thinking it’s going to involve movie trivia and have an actual Gift Card prize. Want in? Of course you do! After you like us, tell your friends, family, acquaintances and random strangers to do the same. Let’s roll!
Netflix Stiffs The Deaf
June 20, 2011
Entertainment giant drags its feet on closed captioning
I am an unabashed fan of Netflix. I’ve used their services for many years and have no intention of stopping. But shame on them.
Netflix is being sued by the National Association for the Deaf because they do not provide closed captioning for the vast majority of the material available on Netflix Instant Streaming. I always assumed there were technological obstacles to captioning streamed content, but apparently that isn’t the case. NAD claims that 5% of Netflix current Instant Streaming catalogue is captioned and that it’s a relatively simple process.
I have no ides if that’s true. But Netflix claims that they’re working on it and that a higher percentage of the content already offers captions. If some, why not all? To me, they’re saying “go away, I don’t want to deal with you” and hoping nobody notices.
They probably also figure that this issue affects a small enough number of people that they can fly in under the radar with platitudes instead of actions. They’re wrong. Perhaps the deaf community is relatively small in the grand scheme. But when you add in those who are hard of hearing it grows. When you add in the people who use captions for other reasons, it grows exponentially.
We use closed captioning all the time. The lack of captions has always been one of my major complaints about Netflix
Instant Streaming. I am not deaf. I am not hard of hearing. So why do I use it?
It started when my kids were small. We would get them to sleep, put in a movie and have a quiet dialogue scene end with an ear bleedingly loud explosion. Theatrical releases play at deafening volumes and when you watch them at home you’re forced to do the same or miss the dialogue. But with sleeping children, deafening volume is not an option. In fact, it equals children awake and no more movie. So we started using the captions so we could turn the damn movies down.
We’ve since become accustomed to using them most of the time. We no longer miss quiet dialogue or blow out the TV speakers with loud explosions. We can understand British accents with greater ease. We can eat pizza and watch TV or a movie over the sound of chewing (yeah, gross, get over it). We can more easily ignore the ruckus in the basement being made by the now teenage children.
Lack of captions reduces my ability to enjoy Netflix Instant Streaming. There’s no way I’m the only person without hearing problems that feels the same way.
I have no idea if Netflix is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. I do know that they’re being Big Fat Jerks. They make buttloads of money. More every single day. Some of it is mine. They can suck it up and caption their streamed material.
Netflix, settle this lawsuit by doing what you should have done when you were first approached about this issue in 2009. No one should have had to sue you to get you to do the right thing. Right now, I’m disgusted with you. Prove to me that you’re worth my support and stop dragging your feet. Offer closed captioning on 100% of your streamed material. If you don’t, though I love your service, I will be forced to reassess my internal judgement of your company and relabel you as Greedy Douchebags. Nobody wants that.
Kevin Costner Predicts Golf’s Future
April 7, 2011
Rory McIlroy is from Holywood, North Ireland. That’s with one “L”, thank you, although some might suggest the 21 year old golfer hails from Hollywood, California after he jumped out to lead the Masters golf tournament in its first of four rounds.
That’s because the golf prodigy who helped Europe win the Ryder’s Cup and has already played in the Masters three times before is leading after the first round.
Kevin Costner and Ron Shelton collaborated on this unlikely turn of events in 1996′s golf movie Tin Cup. Shelton had already written his share of sports movie hits and previously had teamed up with Costner in Bull Durham. Costner played Roy McAvoy, a beaten-down Texas driving range instructor who qualifies for the US Open. The pair subbed in the name of the tournament held outside Washington after they didn’t get clearance to use the Masters’ branding.
Eager to impress Dr. Molly Griswold (Renee Russo), Costner’s McAvoy shots a course record 62 in the movie to qualify at the tournament. A stubbornness central to the plot causes McAvoy to drop from his tournament-leading position on the tournament’s last day as you can see in the clip below.
And real-life Rory McIlroy?
Playing less than a year ago on the world’s oldest golf course in Scotland, McIlroy shot a 63, the lowest ever first round in tournament play there. Like his movie counterpart, he shot an 80 the next day and ended up finishing third in the tournament.
Today he sits atop the leaderboard at the Masters, playing against some of the pros who made a cameo in Tin Cup. And while Rory didn’t make the cut in 2010′s Masters or US Open, he is doing quite nicely, thank you, with $6.2 million in lifetime earnings. Embattled golf champion Tiger Woods is tied for 24th. Phil Mickelson who appeared in Tin Cup was tied for 7th place in early play. And Kevin Michael Costner is getting ready to shoot the Superman reboot soon. This time, the actor plays Supe’s foster daddy, Papa Kent.
The Golden Globes Were Sunday. Whoopee.
January 18, 2011
Don’t let my enthusiasm overwhelm you.
Sure, I’m supposed to be the Movie Lady. I’m supposed to Love Movies. I’m even supposed to Write About Movies. And I am, I am and I do. But I have no love for the insipid Golden Globe Awards. Or most other awards shows, for that matter.
This time of year rolls around and all anyone can talk about is who is going to be nominated for what, who will get
overlooked, who has the best marketers, how it’s all politics and no merit, blah, blah, blah. I fully admit that I have never seen some of the movies most awarded in these shows and I never intend to see them. Winning an award does not create interest where before I had none.
I do love the Oscars, though. I know – it’s really all the same thing over and over and the Oscars just top the whole kerfuffle with a big, lavish, expensive cherry. But still, I love the ceremony and formality of it all. No, I don’t love the speeches by people I’ve never heard of – I’m only human - but I love the pageantry of it all. And I still think an Oscar means something in terms of quality, at least sometimes. If I’m on the fence about seeing something, this is the only award that will push me off.
The Golden Globes are just a wannabe Oscar, strategically placed to steal a little of Oscar’s thunder and act like they predict the Big Man. Mostly they’re just another excuse for more expensive parties and celebrities to honor themselves while the whole world watches. You know, like every other day. Can you smell my disdain? I bet you can.
Oh, the Drama!!!
Someone shut these people up.
So if it weren’t bad enough that every print and online news source sees the winners of these stupid awards as a newsworthy event, we inevitably get at least one or two cat-fights to add some drama. You know, just in case we weren’t paying attention. LOOK AT THEM, THEY’RE STARS! THEY WERE ON TV LAST NIGHT! NOW LOVE THEM SOME MORE!
Vomit. This years version of “trauma” came in the form of British comedian Ricky Gervais and his acid tongued style of hosting the “event”. I guess he made some nasty jokes about these overpaid babies and they don’t like it. Boo-frickin’-hoo, people. Cry me a river and pass over your next paycheck. Ricky can make all the jokes about me his little heart desires. Seriously, Hollywood, grow a pair and suck it up.
Sad to say, Robert Downey, Jr</a> (who I have long assumed can do no wrong) is tops among the complainers. Seems Gervais made mention of his extensive and unpretty past brushes with substance abuse and law enforcement. Old news, right? But the word is that RDJ got his feelings hurt and others felt the same. I didn’t see the broadcast. I watched several episodes of the second season of Monk on Netflix Instant Streaming instead. So I can’t judge the veracity of the claims of malice. But what I can do is keep right on not caring.
Don’t make me choose between snark and RDJ. The cognitive dissonance would be unbearable.
The Winners! Gasp! Sigh! Swoon! Barf!
Fine, here’s a list of the big winners, if you care.
Best picture, drama: The Social Network
Best Picture, musical or comedy (stupid category, stupid pairing): The Kids Are All Right
Best Actress, drama: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor, drama: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress, musical or comedy: Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Best Actor, musical or comedy: Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
TV Series, drama: Boardwalk Empire (never heard of it)
TV Series, comedy or musical: Glee (heard so much about it I never want to watch it. ever)
This is the end, the only end my friend
I’m on awards show overload, just like last year.
I’m glad the Golden Globes are over. I wish everyone would shut the hell up about a few snarky jokes. I wish there were fewer than 1000 awards shows before the Oscars. I just want to do my thing – watch the Oscars in my jammies in peace. Also, I want to eat vast numbers of Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups while doing so. It’s tradition.
Leave me alone, wannabes. I’m saving myself for Oscar.
photos by Bryan Derkson and Iconshock
Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer Due March
December 19, 2010
Bosch fans, rejoice! Michael Connelly’s series about Harry Bosch’s half-brother Mickey Haller hits theaters March 18.
Lionsgate spared no expense in bringing the best-selling series to the big screen, signing Matthew McConaughey as Haller, the California defense attorney who works from the back of his Lincoln, defending Ryan Phillipe. Look for Oscar winner Marisa Tomei and Oscar nominee William H. Macy in the legal thriller’s cast. Country superstar Trace Adkins also joined the cast as did TV favorite Bryan Cranston and Michael Pare.

Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey, left) and Detective Lankford (Bryan Cranston, right) in THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Photo credit: Saeed Adyani
We’re starting to see images from The Lincoln Lawyer and the cast gives McConaughey a full spectrum of emotions to play against.
One of my favorites is watching Cranston stare lasers through McCounaughey’s infamous smirky grin. This is Bryan Cranston with Breaking Bad’s intensity, not Malcolm’s dad.
The beauty of taking a well known series like Michael Connelly’s Bosch/Haller books or Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series is that the actors have an entire universe created from the minds of best-selling authors who have sold millions of books. As we always say, any series can launch just on the inertia of its fan base.
But The Lincoln Lawyer has the possibility of becoming a franchise especially with the acting power this cast brings to Connelly’s characters. Take a gander at William H. Macy’s gaze as he plays McCoughaney’s investigator. Don’t you just want to hear Macy zing some one-liners off his boss and their client, played by Ryan Phillippe.
I still think Breach is Ryan’s best performance outside of Gosford Park, and the energy he used with Chris Cooper in that 2007 film is probably only a fraction of what Macy wrings out of him
Right now the release schedule has March 2011 as a heavy science fiction and comedy month. The Lincoln Lawyer, already a smart, well-told story by a veteran best-selling author, could clean up at the box office with adults who are ready for a legal thriller with a great cast and a smart story.
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Channing Tatum Back To School?
October 20, 2010
Dear John fans, don’t worry. Your favorite member of Team G.I. Joe has more projects lined up.
Breaking news yesterday from Mike Fleming at Deadline.com is that writer Jamie Linden is looking to finance his first shot at directing, an ensemble piece about a 10 year high school reunion with the working title My Generation Becomes A Movie, The Big Chill Reboot, okay it’s called Ten Year.
I like Big Chill II for this one, but the cast, rumored to include Tatum and Haylie Duff, isn’t old enough for angst yet. Maybe petulance.
It’s not that we don’t love Channing Tatum. He’s actually going to be a fine actor and as long as keeps working with directors like Sodebergh (2011′s upcoming Haywire) and Ron Howard (The Dilemma, also due next year), he will learn his craft well. That is the path Tom Cruise took a generation ago.
After Top Gun, Cruise could write his ticket to do anything. With the exception of Cocktail, his next movies were directed by A-listers like Scorsese (The Color of Money), Levinson (Rain Man) and Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July). His co-stars were Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman and even Nicholson after a few more missteps. Then again with Sorkin writing, Rob Reiner directing and a cast that included Nicholson, Demi Moore and Kevin Pollock, I could have starred in A Few Good Men.
The point is that Cruise took his time, worked with a variety of scenery chewers and legendary directors. When it was time for him to carry movies, he had the chops to go along with the face. If Tom Cruise doesn’t do that highly paid but tough apprenticeship, he may have still been stuck on a winsome smile a la Cocktail rather than able to pull off Magnolia or Jerry Maguire.
Channing Tatum has that chance too. Maybe a first-time director isn’t the best way to go, but with so many opportunities ready to launch in 2011-2012, the big screen will be seeing much more of Tatum than we did when Dear John missed. And for those of you keeping score at home, wannabe director Linden, who did a hell of a good job writing We Are Marshall, also adapted Nicholas Sparks’ novel that starred Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.
Channing Tatum isn’t Tom Cruise. He’s not even Tom Berenger yet. But a few more projects with some great directors and co-stars should have him to the point where he can carry a film.
Channing Tatum photo: David Shankbone via CC 2.0 license/Wikimedia/Flickr
Can We Have Oscar Movies on DVD from Netflix? Pleeease???
March 23, 2010
Providing DVD dates for the Big Movies. A Public Service just for you.
I know – I feel it, too. I want to know when I can get all the big Oscar movies on DVD from Netflix. Well, how about I tell you! Lots are already released (more nominees, fewer releases to theaters at the last minute). The dates for others are out there, some have only estimates. Let’s just have them all in one place, shall we?
Best Picture Nominees:
Up (also Best Animated film win) - Currently available on DVD (released November 10, 2009) and at Netflix
Inglourious Basterds (also Best Supporting Actor Win for Christoph Waltz and Best Director nomination for Quentin Tarantino) - Currently available on DVD (released December 15, 2010) and at Netflix
District 9- Currently available on DVD (released December 22, 2009) and at Netflix
The Hurt Locker (also Best Actor nomination for Jeremy Renner, Best Director Win for Katherine Bigelow) - Currently available on DVD (released January 12, 2010) and at Netflix
A Serious Man- Currently available (released February 9, 2010) and at Netflix
Up in the Air (also Best Actor nomination for George Clooney, Best Supporting Actress nominations for Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga, Best Director nomination for Jason Reitman) - Currently available on DVD (released March 9, 2010) and at Netflix
Precious (also Best Supporting Actress Win for Mo’Nique, Best Actress nomination for Gabourey Sidibe and Best Director nomination for Lee Daniels) - Currently available on DVD (released March 9, 2010) and at Netflix
The Blind Side (also Best Actress Win for Sandra Bullock) - DVD release date set for March 23, 2010 (hey, that’s tomorrow!)
An Education (also Best Actress nomination for Carey Mulligan) - DVD release date set for March 30, 2010
Avatar (also Best Director nomination for James Cameron) - DVD release date set for April 22, 2010
Additional titles with acting nominations:
Julie & Julia (Best Actress nomination for Meryl Streep) - Currently available on DVD (released December 8, 2009) and at Netflix
The Lovely Bones (Best Supporting Actor nomination for Stanley Tucci) – DVD release set for April 20, 2010
Nine (Best Supporting Actress nomination for Penelope Cruz) – DVD release date set for May 4, 2010
The Messenger (Best Supporting Actor nomination for Woody Harrelson) – DVD release set for May 18, 2010
Crazy Heart (Best Actor Win for Jeff Bridges, Best Supporting Actress nomination for Maggie Gyllenhaal) – Estimated DVD release date of April, 2010
A Single Man (Best Actor nomination for Colin Firth) – Estimated DVD release date of May, 2010
Invictus – (Best Actor nomination for Morgan Freeman, Best Supporting Actor nomination for Matt Damon) – Estimated DVD release date of May, 2010
The Last Station (nomination for Helen Mirren as Best Actress and Christopher Plummer as Best Supporting Actor) – DVD release estimated for June, 2010
Netflix tends to have movies available on the day they are released on DVD – I’ll be hoping to have The Blind Side in my mailbox by the weekend. There might be a wait for that one, but I’m guessing it won’t be long.
Interesting that so many of the Best Picture nominees are already out, but many of those with nominated performances have yet to set dates. I don’t know what that means (probably nothing) but it is interesting. Okay, maybe just to me.
So there you have it, DVD watchers! Lots of this year’s Oscar Biggies are already out there and others are arriving very soon. Most have or will have both regular and Blu-Ray versions available. If there’s a movie I missed, leave a comment and I’ll try and find out when you can get your hands on it. Let’s watch us some movies!
*thanks to Amazon, Netflix, the L.A. Times Oscar Cheat Sheet and Video ETA for all their awesome info!*










