What We Learned This Week: November 16-22

Posted on November 20, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: FILM TWITTER IS SOMETIMES A BETRAYAL OF CINEMA— This lesson title matches the title of an article written by a Chicago critic colleague of mine named Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth. What he expounds on in his editorial spoke to me so well, not just because he’s a fellow Rotten Tomatoes-approved grinder who hasn’t stomped reviewing and writing during the pandemic. It spoke to me as a fellow fan of cinema in its purest form, even if we’re now charged to write on the art form. To echo Robert simply, Film Twitter has gotten out of hand, and it’s been a mess now for too long. Too many people judge and burn movies sight unseen based on the skinniest of hype or the stupidity of trailers (a rant I gladly share, as loyal readers here know). Rob’s quoted advice is solid gold, and I couldn’t agree more with the satisfaction found in taking this caution and control:

“If possible, I encourage critics and moviegoers alike to close themselves off from trailers entirely; they are terrible nowadays anyway and, typically in the case of the second one for every movie, only serves to spoil the whole damn movie. I promise it’s 1000 times more rewarding and fulfilling watching films outside of that nexus, completely unconcerned with whatever popular opinion will emerge.”

Furthermore, some targeted movies get trashed or labeled as such because people want to match some phantom importances of “trends.” If you stand apart and disagree with the trolling masses, you get the trash label next. We never really know who/what starts those fires, but they multiply like crazy for no good reason. That’s not what true movie fans do, and that certainly shouldn’t ever be what film journalism does either. I don’t use the word “trash” to describe a movie or any aspect of one. I also don’t use the word “great” either on the other end. I aim higher than trolls. Yet, here’s the cesspool side of Film Twitter and I f–king hate it. I keep an account to promote my own work and share/follow the work of my fellow critics. That’s it. Promotion is a good and essential thing for a DIY creator like me, but not at a greater price of engaging in the stupidity found wider and worse. Hang around it if you must, but don’t buy the BS slung there for any measure of time. Bravo, Robert.

LESSON #2: THE ENGINE OF COMMERCE FROM SUPERHERO FILMS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR OVER 40 YEARS— Leave it to Christopher Nolan to keep acting like Christopher Columbus sometimes by planting flags of claims and discoveries on things that already existed. Recently on a book tour, Nolan patted himself on the back for making superhero films in a time before they became an “engine of commerce.” Dude, did he miss he miss the two decades and change that came before his 2005 Batman Begins? Superhero films have been highly coveted and supremely controlled properties for studios ever since 1978’s Superman and even more so after 1989’s Batman. Fox and Sony entered that churning machine before Nolan with X-Men in 2000 and Spider-Man in 2002. Sorry, Christopher, you don’t get to make that claim. If anyone can, as some of our Feelin’ Film Facebook group members has noted, it’s Richard Donner and Tim Burton decade before you. While your work was extraordinary to strengthen the genre, Mr. Nolan, but you still played in the same system for the same benefits.

LESSON #3: THE DOOR HAS BEEN OPEN FOR INDIES— I miss blockbusters as much as the next person. You can’t beat the big screen experience of a BIG movie. And I get why, especially after Tenet couldn’t draw the masses electing for safety, business decisions are being made for tentpoles to delay or find digital homes, just as Wonder Woman 1984 did this week with HBO Max, to recover costs. The crazy thing is it’s the little indies surviving and standing tall with the multiplex battlefield clear of tanks. Low-cost and low-risk movies like Let Him Go, Unhinged, and more are your box office champions right now. Sure, the competition is nil, but the thing is they can afford taking the distribution shots with nothing else around. They have seized the day and made their money. Studios, scale it all down and adjust your business output to match the market.

LESSON #4: THEATERS NOW HAVE TO SHARE— It wasn’t long ago towards the beginning of this pandemic when Universal Pictures received a good bit of backlash from theater companies when they smartly and profitably pulled Trolls: World Tour to premium VOD. A half-year later with theaters reeling on the brink of financial closure (an estimated 70% of all theaters), their tunes have changed. They now know they have to share. An example of this is AMC’s “fully onboard” reaction to Warner Bros. making the plan to release Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on HBO Max. Another example is the deal Cinemark struck with Universal Pictures to shorten the window between theaters and streaming to a shocking 17 days, down from what was the usual 75-90 and what used to be a decade ago six months. Some may read 17 days, measure their patience, and say “what’s the point of that when I can wait and stay home.” Those consumers are not wrong to have that mentality. Beaten into submission, sad compromises have to be made and they’re making them to hang around. Still, I feel like they’re dealing away their own existence in a risky manner.

LESSON #5: MOVE YOUR TRYPTOPHAN HANGOVER FROM FOOTBALL TO MOVIES— In the final recommendation slot, I should probably open a sidebar to eat responsibly and gather safely for Thanksgiving this week. I’ll only support half of that. It’s Thanksgiving and sheltered won. Eat to your heart’s content. When that turkey coma of amino acids hits you, marvel at how many decent Thanksgiving-themed movies are available. I normally never get farther than Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but Rotten Tomatoes has a full list of 20, many of which I never made the holiday connection with right away. Peruse the streaming available with JustWatch and find a winning new blind spot to fill instead of a bad Detroit or Dallas football game.

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later), Horror Obsessive, and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication. As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#146)

What We Learned This Week: October 5-18

Posted on October 16, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: WARNING LABELS CAN EDUCATE AND ARE BETTER THAN EDITING— Media giant and streaming player Disney has started to add on-screen warning messages in front of some of their Disney+ selections that include antiquated and misrepresented depictions of racial and ethnic stereotypes. I’ll gladly add my applause to that effort for two big reasons that aren’t mentioned in the cited news article. First, Disney has gone a wonderful educational step further with its connected “Stories Matter” website that presents company goals as well as individual descriptions of the “what/why” for each label film and its content. That has tremendous value. Second, they’re leaving the content itself alone and not tinkering with edits, cuts, and corrections (at least for now). That’s honorable integrity from a company that sometimes looks to just be about optics only. Now that they’re asses are covered, it’s time to release Song of the South already.

LESSON #2: BOUNCING BACK TAKES A COMBINATION OF DEATH AND SURVIVAL— Immediately after my last #WhatWeLearnedThisWeek column was posted, the huge and unfortunate news broke of the permanent closure of Regal Cinemas theater locations. Their demise has forced fellow chain AMC Theaters to consider bankruptcy with the prospects of running out of money in six months. We all hoped this wasn’t possible, but the astute among us saw this coming since March. You cannot sustain a business, large or small, that needs a steady stream of people and product offerings. Not enough of either are there right now, and the money was going to run out. Higher help is not coming. Unlike economy pushers like the auto industry, there is no leverage or advantage for the government to bail out the movie industry. Classic want vs. need there.

That said, I don’t buy all the bleak extinction talk, no matter how bad Tenet failed as a savior. Sad as this news is, moviegoing will survive this. It has made it through worse times than one bad year. What I do buy is change. The industry needs to adapt to the times and change for their survival. Beer companies changed their products and practices during Prohibition and they returned just fine. Movies need to do the same. If switching gameplans towards streaming as that vessel for the foreseeable future, just as Disney has suggested with Soul and their whole future, so be it. Maybe we need more drive-in theaters that allow spacing. Maybe we need to take those 30-screen multiplexes and turn them into 15-screen venues instead with more spacious seating and less contact surfaces. This is like a forest fire that spurs regrowth through destruction. Some of this shit (i.e. price gouging and bad practices) needed to be burnt to the ground.

LESSON #3: YOU CANNOT CUT QUALITY AND CONTINUE TO CHARGE EQUAL OR MORE FOR SAID MISSING QUALITY— Maybe I’m just a perceptive former fat kid, but it just me or have the portion sizes of fast food burgers and candy bars gotten smaller in the last few decades? The reasoning most often cited is meeting stricter nutritional caps with less so-called sticker shock with calories. The prices, though, sure haven’t changed for getting less. That’s not supposed to happen with the movies. Size, noise, and bandwidth can and should keep improving if premiums are being paid to get them. That’s why resolution snobs and tech experts are squinting and calling early BS on Netflix’s plan to cut 4K bitrates on their streaming platform. You can’t sell diminishing results (as reported in the cited article) for the same extra charge. Check your wallets and maybe trim that bill down for a bit until that gets tuned better.

LESSON #4: HOW F’N BROKE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?— Speaking of wallets, how much poorer are all of you movie consumers after the last month? Between Amazon Prime deals, Target bundles, a few Best Buy drops, shocking deals from the mysterious GRUV coming through, a recent Criterion sale, and little sales from Deep Discount, Olive, Arrow, and Shout, the bounties coming home for the physical media shoppers among the Feelin’ Film Facebook Group has been glorious to witness and join in. We’re all going to pay for this with crackers and soup for the rest of the year. But hey, we’ll be enthralled and entertained while starving!

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later) and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication. As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#142)

What We Learned This Week: April 27-May 3

Posted on May 3, 2020 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: THEATER CHAINS DO NOT HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON— I’m not going to lie or sugarcoat. I couldn’t be shaking my head and laughing harder at the puffed chests of theater chain companies like AMC and Regal this week and their little tiff with Universal Pictures over Trolls: World Tour. Companies like that on the ropes of bankruptcy trying to boycott/ban a studio’s offerings is the equivalent of biting the hand that feeds, especially when they’re starving. Sure, it’s cute to see more than one theater chain taking a stand, but what happens when the studios take a stand to trump them. This is billionaires arguing with zillionaires and no one wins, especially the quarantined theater-goer.

LESSON #2: LIFE WILL BE DIFFERENT WHEN THEATERS DO OPEN AND IT HAS BE— It looks like Texas is going to attempt to re-open some public places including movie theaters first and their guidelines are a really substantial swerve from the way things used to be. They’re saying be ready for “airport-style security” and possibly temperature checks. It’s not going to feel very welcoming, but maybe it will be safer. And that’s the point of all these new hurdles. In our current climate, we flat-out need to accept these changes. The trouble is we know people are going to complain about the inconvenience. Fine, if you don’t like it, stay home.

LESSON #3: TEMPORARY CHANGES CAN STILL BE GAMECHANGERS— Easily the biggest industry news of the week was the shift of eligibility requirements for the Academy Awards. The Academy leadership is waiving the requirement for a 7-day theatrical run in the Los Angeles area to qualify. The gates are not fully open as they sound. The catch is films “must be made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member-only streaming site within 60 days of the film’s streaming or VOD release.” So, you’re good if you give your film to them and not just everyone. The plan is for this to be a temporary one-year switch, but watch this catch on and sway members with the convenience and the openness. Watch this get a chance to stick around. I’d put a gentle bet on the table it could become the new standard.

LESSON #4: ELEVATE TO ATTEND A FILM FESTIVAL AT HOME— If you’ve never been to the flush fullness of a film festival, you have a chance to absorb one from home later this month. YouTube is teaming with Tribeca for We Are One: A Global Film Festival curated with works from the Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, and Venice levels of prestige. Mark your calendars for May 29-June 7 and follow the channel here. Discover some excellent, enriching, and eclectic content you wouldn’t get anywhere else from the comfort of your living room or toilet seat (because we all know you crush a few binges while crushing a few other binges from this place).

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based and Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. His movie review work is also published on 25YL (25 Years Later) and also on Medium.com for the MovieTime Guru publication. As an educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle and a member of the nationally-recognized Online Film Critics Society. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film now for over two years, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties, including the previous “Connecting with Classics” podcasts. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium to follow his work. (#131)

What We Learned This Week: June 17-30

Posted on July 1, 2018 by everymoviehasalesson.

LESSON #1: PRODUCER KEVIN FEIGE KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING AND TALKING ABOUT— Marvel film producer czar Kevin Feige has been a busy man with the soundbites this summer, three of which I’ll feature this week. Success has put him in a powerful place, but a man doesn’t get to that level without smarts and savvy. First, I loved his sentiments on whether or not Marvel films should no longer be overlooked as Oscar contenders saying “I would much rather be in a room full of engaged fans.” He knows that’s the true victory and how awards aren’t everything. Second, he explained the new three-movies-per-year quota that Marvel is churning out, where he’s not sweating saturation and relishes the chance to expand on the multiple franchise that have been started. His logic on the matter is solid. Finally, he’s gained and earned wisdom through his work. When he was asked about what the DCEU can do to improve their product, he respectfully pointed to Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie and called that the “paradigm by which we should all still follow.” I love that use of “we” where he sees everyone striving for the same endearment. Over and over, Kevin Feige is a guy who flat out “gets it.” More studio heads should follow his mentality and steady patience.

LESSON #2: UNDER-PERFORMING MIGHT FINALLY HAVE CONSEQUENCES— I know I have long shouted from the soapbox that these blockbusters we see come and go are “too big to fail.” They may not meet inflated financial expectations that studio execs shoot for on some wish list spreadsheet, but they always, always, always make money. And because they never lose money, I never think a big studio is really going to dramatically change their ways. We’ll see little course corrections, but never wholesale change. As mentioned last time here on WWLTW, we’re teetering on that point with Warner Bros. on their third DCEU head with Walter Hamada bumping Geoff Johns after he replaced Zack Snyder. That’s the DC mess. I never fathomed big changes would happen at the juggernaut that is Disney controlling LucasFilm no matter the perception of backlash that makes little click bait headlines and social media rants, but it’s happening. The spinoff Solo won’t really lose money, but its disappointing haul has slowed plans for more A Star Wars Story anthology films, which presses the pause button on upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett films. Mistakes were made with that film and its marketing and timing, but the surprising derailment is real. Add to that the likely “firing” or “stepping down” (pick one) of Kathleen Kennedy at LucasFilm and you have real changes afoot. What looked untouchable and unstoppable is reeling in its own way. By the way, Kevin Feige is not going to take over LucasFilm, so calm those heart palpitations.

LESSON #3: MOVIEPASS MAY BE FAILING, BUT THEATER OWNERS STILL WANT YOUR BUSINESS— The caveat to that lesson title is that the theater owners want all of the business. They don’t want to share the dimes you’re spending with with a middle-man service. With MoviePass plugging more leaky holes in its business boat than it has dollar bills or hands, other companies want to fill that void. Here comes AMC Theaters and their launch of their new “A-List” service. Their pitch is up to three movies per week including any and all premium options including Dolby, IMAX, and 3D for $19.95/month. No matter the provider or perks, price point is still the ultimate motivator. $20 for as many as 12 premium movies a month sounds outstanding to me. We’ll see if AMC can handle the financial gambles.

DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson and also on Medium.com where he is one of the 50 “Top Writers” in the Movies category. As an elementary educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. He is a proud director and one of the founders of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends while chipping in with guest spots and co-hosting duties on a podcast every now and then Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, and Medium.

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