Hacker News Reader

> I rarely go to movie theaters because what is available on streaming is so much better, it's not a close call.

Better seats, better sound (for me this means not being deafened), better food, better drinks, better price (and no dick moves to get a few more $), no parking issues, less annoying lights/sounds etc from other patrons. I also haven’t seen a theatre with a wood burner.

It misses is the feeling of it being an occasion, but as a plus it also misses any Covid anxiety.

I completely agree with you.

The real killer of the streaming for is that there is a pause button. I missed out a whole 5 minutes of Avengers Endgame thanks to my bladder.

I want intermissions back.

Some would argue that your bladder was doing you a service ;)

I think the films were fairly enjoyable as long as you don't turn up with a film critic's hat on. But yes, missing 5 minutes probably wasn't a big deal at the end of the day.

It's gerting harder to be less of a snob. Years ago I decided to stop turning my nose up at "dumb" movies and just enjoy them but it feels almost as if the industry saw it as a challenge to make people like me scoff. The fandom and fauning is just endless and inescapable to the point tbat it is very hard to ignore.

It was also easier when we were getting big budget art pieces like "No Country" and "The Master" but those seem to have all but disappeared.

The trick I find is to drink enough alcohol before you get there not to give a shit any more. Whether or not that's a good or a bad idea I haven't established yet.

The pause button is just one part of the "complete control" package the in-home experience is.

Missed a sentence? Rewind it. Watch some international movie? Turn on the subtitles. Enjoy some explosion scenes? Turn up the bass? Wanna relax with a drink and chat? Lower the volume. Watch a food scene and suddenly feel hungry? Put a pack of popcorn in the microwave.

I'd only go to theater for social events, not for the movie itself anymore. I'm way too spoiled by the freedom at home.

No adverts.

Subtitles!

The open-mouthed chewing, soda slurping, and bag rustling is unbearable for me. It completely takes me out of the film, particularly during quiet scenes.

I once endured A Quiet Place (wonderful movie) while some teenaged kids behind us spent the movie loudly making out. Of all the movies to do that in!

My killer feature at home is volume levelling or whatever you call it when you quieten the load bits and raise the volume of the quiet parts.

I’m using some Sonos thing to do it, but I’m sure there are loads of variant (presumably with the Sonos proprietary crap).

Usually that's only necessary at home because the movie's mixed for a huge surround sound system, though.

("Usually" because there are some exceptions like, say, the way that Christopher Nolan films have repeatedly had garbage sound mixes even in theaters.)

There is indeed lots of great art about at all levels, but what Diller is complaining about is the business of balancing mediocre productions that ae sure to be popular and make money with stuff that almost certainly won't be popular in the short term but deserves to be financed and produced so people can catch up to it later (which might be decades).

Diller worked in a business where studios banked on a combination of taste and business skill. What we have now is algorithmically curated entertainment product. That's why it's so easy to and amusing to make up imaginary Netflix categories like 'comedic survival-horror' or 'superficially profound movies you can quote at dinner parties while chasing a promotion.'

I agree with you in one way, but in another you're having your existing tastes affirmed within safe boundaries, and StreamCorp's goal is to be better at doing that than your friends or circumstances. You'll get lots of great viewing material that meets your aesthetic preferences, but not anything that really surprises or shakes you; you won't ever have a movie experience that causes you to walk around for 3 hours in the rain because you changed.

> in another you're having your existing tastes affirmed within safe boundaries, and StreamCorp's goal is to be better at doing that than your friends or circumstances. You'll get lots of great viewing material that meets your aesthetic preferences, but not anything that really surprises or shakes you; you won't ever have a movie experience that causes you to walk around for 3 hours in the rain because you changed.

That doesn't describe what I watch at all. It may be what many people see, but I'm saying that there is another way for Diller and them, and that I've witnessed it.

Also, people have been saying that 'it's not like the old days, when we weren't so focused on money' probably for Diller's entire career. I've heard it for my entire life. I think today it's particularly misplaced now, when there is more availability and outlets for artistry in film than ever before. And also, some of it is funded by FAANG.

Perhaps it's a bit off topic, but do you mind sharing some recommendations?

I'm always in the lookup for new stuff, but the one thing I think has become worse for me is finding sources of recommendations. The age of old forums is gone and mainstream sites like IMDb are very hit or miss for me.

I'll take both movies/shows, and the places where you discover them :)

From the same commenter:

https://pastebin.com/S3Px6RA6

Enjoy!

Where's the data? Let's have some references to all this high quality stuff.

Well The Expanse quite frankly teabags to death 20 years of science fiction moves. I can't watch anything else now.

The quality of genre work has increased mightily but it really does feel like the budget has fallen out of more high minded stuff like "MOON" and "GATTACA". Maybe this isn't real. After all, we've had some pretty good snooty stuff. Ex Machina, Interstellar, Arrival, etc.

Very much could be just how much Avengers flicks have absolutely dominated the marketing. I think it's akin to how music seems to have died of you listen to the radio because the decline in listenership has resulted in more pop stations playing the absolutely most widely appealing stuff. But there is a thriving ecosystem off to the side that's way fuller and more varied than anything we had in the 90s.

One also can't forget the power of survivorship bias. 'Old [thing] was better' tends to go along with most of the the low-quality instances of [thing] being lost and forgotten about because nobody cares about them.

The local cinemas have at most a dozen movies available at any one time, maybe one of which is interesting. One viewing requires $10-50 in assorted expenses.

For $10-50 monthly, I have available approximately every movie ever made - and I don’t have to leave this chair.

That is, at any given moment, one good movie vs all movies ever. Data sufficient.

Certainly not. Even the most torpid of us doesn't find the time or interest to watch all movies ever. Must likely the major cost here isn't your subscription fee, but the amount of limited leisure time and energy you can allocate. I'd be doing well too watch one movie a week if I was trying and I'd say that's not much to worse than average.

It’s not that I can watch all movies ever, it’s that I have all ever to choose from. Every movie I watch can be great, thanks to streaming.

From the same commenter:

https://pastebin.com/S3Px6RA6

Enjoy!