Am I the only one who’s a little freaked out about the average turnaround from theatrical to home releases for movies now? I mean, Hunger Games came out in theaters in March. It’s now August, and it’s comming out on DVD. That’s, what, four, four-and-a-half months? People who saw it in theaters can probably still remember the whole movie.

As someone who’s usually watched things on DVD rather than in theaters, I have to admit that the turnaround time has always seemed long to me. It seems that if you’ve got this great, really popular movie, wouldn’t you want to keep the hype up about it and keep people watching it? The big lag between the end of a movie’s theatrical run and the DVD release seems like it’d be antithetical to that.

But I guess they’re trying to go for those who both saw the movie in theaters and want to get it on DVD as well, and for that market, I guess maybe lag time would be good, because you’d just be coming around to the “hey, yeah, I kinda want to see that movie again” stage?

On the rare occasion I go to a movie theater, I agree. To take my two most recent examples, the Avengers and TDKR, I would love to be able to watch either on demand right now. Not only would it be great to see them again, but it would also allow me to indulge in one of my favorite pasttimes, movie nitpicking! And just plain enjoying the background stuff in movies. When you’re watching something for the first time, you miss an awful lot of stuff in the background. It’s much easier to catch it when you’re watching it on your own, with a screen a foot from your face (I watch DVDs on a computer, not a TV), the ability to pause and rewind at your fingertips.

Well, my concern is more about there not being enough time to “digest” the movie. How many movies have you seen in theater, only to come out not liking or being ambivalent towards? It’s fine for movies that you liked, but are you going to buy a DVD/Blu-Ray of a movie you only kinda enjoyed?

Examle: I saw Chernobyl Diaries in theater, and thought it was okay. Not exactly great and a bit predictable (and I’m no horror afficianado), but it killed a few hours. But would I be willing to pay $15-20 for the DVD? Probably not, because that initial impression is still fresh in my mind. However, if I saw it for sale about a year or so after seeing it in theater, I might consider buying it, because I’d probably remember enjoying (or at least not hating) the movie the one time I saw it.

What I’m getting at is that the short turn around only works if people really liked the movie/the movie made a lot of money. It might also work for those movies that were immediately overshadowed by other, bigger films, or movies that only got a limited theatrical release. But not necessarily every movie. Just something to think about.

I see what you’re getting at there, Apep. I think that’s kind of what happens with movies in those bargain bins. You see them and think, “Oh yeah, I remember that movie.” And then kind of want to buy it because you remember it not being terrible. Except in this case, they’re also cheap, so the studio doesn’t make as much money off of it as they would if it was a new release that came out sufficiently late to garner the same reaction. I still personally prefer movies to come out as soon as possible after the theater run, but I could see how studios could make more money from waiting until people kind of forget just how much they did/did not like the movie before putting it out o DVD.

Aw, my brother got scared by Psycho. It shouldn’t be cute, but it is.

decidedly average as an installment in the Bourne series

Hmm:

Identity: great
Supremacy: great
Ultimatum: great

My math is poor, but I’m pretty sure the average of those is better than ‘disappointing’ :D

Have any of you seen the old Bourne Identity TV mini-series with Richard Chamberlain? Followed a very different storyline but had some great actors involved.

I lolled … but still interested in Legacy >.>

Yeah, what Rocky said. Also, this.

Totallynotdroolingoverhisarms

Nope

Nopedynope

Especiallynotallthenicemuscle

Nothingtoseehere

Yeah. Actually, the entire reason I went to see the movie? Because Total Recall looked dumb, I wanted to see something fun with my cousin and his friend (I kidnapped them from my aunt, they were in town visiting), and when I looked at the listings I went “hey, Hawkeye! He was a bundle of fun, let’s go see that!”

Then, everything changed when the shirtless scene attacked.

Then, everything changed when the shirtless scene attacked.

Shirtless scene singular? I recall several.

I really liked Warrior, even disregarding the shirtless scenes. It was a good movie on its own merits.

Re: Vertigo. What the fuck did I just watch?

See, this is why I can’t get mad at guys who are drooling over hot chicks, because I kinda drool over hot guys too…

Yep.

Re: Vertigo. What the fuck did I just watch?

I love Vertigo!

It’s kinda slow, but the twist at the end makes it worth it.

For me, at least.

WAT.

On a better note, Raiders of the Lost Ark, having been digitally restored and enhanced, will feature a CGI Ark, better lighting effects, and Indy’s hat will be fully-rendered in 3D.

Fixed that for you.

Raiders movie is best movie.

Rest in peace.

The Hunger Games was really good. I liked how they shot it, and I think a lot of things that were wrong with the book were not wrong with the movie, which was nice.

Spoilers sort of:

Watched the second recent Sherlock Holmes movie. It was alright. I guess.

Marquis, I do hope you’re referring to the superior BBC series.

...

I actually didn’t mind Game of Shadows. One thing it did do was make me read a lot more of the original stories. And I don’t even usually like mysteries very much.

On a better note, tomorrow night me and a couple of friends are going to see The Avengers!

I finally got around to watching Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It was good for what it was, explosion-filled fighting action movie funtime, but something keeps bothering me. I have this enormous sense of deja vu about Jeremy Renner’s character’s backstory, but I can’t figure out why!

But anyway, plot holes and weird deja vu aside, it was good because it had Jeremy Renner in it, and I like him.

I don’t think that’s it, I don’t think I’ve ever read any fanfic with him in it. It’s still kinda buggin’ me, though…

Doing a Marvel Movie Marathon.

How did I forget how fucking good Iron Man is? Seriously, it’s amazing! Every four seconds, some other clever detail, or awesome line, or just general badassery. This movie.

Don’t watch the sequel though. It’s really just a 2-hour commercial for The Avengers than anything resembling a story.

I liked Iron Man 2, but not as well as Cap, Thor, and Iron Man. Which… huh. Ok, so it’s in last place, but I still thought it was awesome. VANKO* IS JUST SO ENTERTAINING, OK? HE WANTS HIS BIRD.

*Fixed. Thanks Rocky, I thought it looked funny xD

I just tried wathcing How To Train Your Dragon. Enjoyed the book series as a kid, heard that the movie was fairly entertaining.

1. Uninterrupted internal monologue went out of fashion with The Wonder Years.

2. WHY is a Viking talking with a nasal Montana accent? I feel like I’m trying to sit through one of Paolini’s vacuous interviews.

3. It is supposed to be a monoLOGUE, not a monoTONE.

Suffice to say, I didn’t get past the four-minute mark.

Aw, I love How to Train Your Dragon.

I hated that movie. Too Dreamworks-y. And obnoxious. It seems like every five seconds it’s yelling LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, I’M DEFYING EXPECTIONS! only actually it’s the same plot as every other animated movie ever BUT DEFYING STEREOTYPES HERE, LOOK HOW PROGRESSIVE WE ARE.

Brave was surprisingly predictable, especially for a Pixar film. However, it did have some charm, and the story was sweet. Absolutely beautiful animation. I thought How To Train Your Dragon looked clunky and awkward. So… yeah. Brave was equally predictable, but was rescued by charm/animation. And by childhood willingness to forgive Pixar.

I don’t know about the rest of the animation, but I really liked HTTYD’s flying scenes. Can’t comment on the storyline being too Dreamworksy because I haven’t seen many of their films. In general, it seemed pretty typical for a kids’ movie.

I was actually ok with HTTYD. Granted, I wasn’t expecting much of anything, so it’s likely that that had some influence on my decent opinion.

I’m not the biggest fan of Dreamworks (even though I did like Megamind). I think some of their movies are a little overrated.

I can’t say I liked the first Shrek much. I guess I’m too much of a fairy tale purest or something.

I was a snob, even when I was a kid.

I liked the second one for some reason. I’m not sure why.

2. WHY is a Viking talking with a nasal Montana accent? I feel like I’m trying to sit through one of Paolini’s vacuous interviews.

What exactly is a Montana accent? I’ve been to Montana and they sound the same as pretty much everyone else in North America

I’ve been to Montana and they sound the same as pretty much everyone else in North America

While Paolini himself sounds fairly midwestern, a lot of Montanans speak with a very pronounced Northern accent which is most evident in how they pronounce “ou” as in “out and about” as “oo” and speak at a slightly higher register so half the things they say sound like a question.

Apparently Viking = Scottish.

I don’t know why I never expected to like Midnight in Paris. But I loved it! :D Well, most of the characters at least. I think I enjoyed them more than the movie as a whole. They might have been inaccurate – I think some people may not be too happy about the way some characters were portrayed – but that didn’t stop me from liking Hemingway and Dali.

So Beetee, one of my favorite characters from The Hunger Games, has finally been cast. He doesn’t look like how I pictured him at all, and he doesn’t seem to look much like his book description, either.

Yeah, this guy is supposed to be a good actor, though. If he can act like Beetee I won’t mind as much if he doesn’t look like him. Cinna didn’t look like his book description at all—except for the gold eyeliner.

Jeffrey Wright is an excellent actor and helped make six hours of Human Immunnodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome mysticism worthwhile for Angels in America. Angels in America also features a very handsome Patrick Wilson from before he was Nite Owl.

Woo! Totally agree with you, Deborah. You wouldn’t think a man that big could do such spectacular sad puppy eyes.

“Can I come home?”

;_;

I didn’t think I’d like the character at the first, but he is such a golden retriever. (Have you seen the deleted scene where he and Selvig get drunk? Hilarious.)

Thirteen Assassins owns bones.