4 ms·

I have really broad interests in film—it blows my mind when people complain that not enough good or original films come out in a given year, I can't even make i

I have really broad interests in film—it blows my mind when people complain that not enough good or original films come out in a given year, I can't even make it through half the probably-good ones each year, I don't know what they're looking at or what their tastes must be like to come to that conclusion—but definitely find Netflix's catalog to be notably weak compared to Hulu or (HBO)Max, and it's been that way for years. I'd class it with second-tier services like Paramount, but from what I've seen on there lately, even that may be better. It's got Apple TV beat, I guess, but I wouldn't call that a major streaming service. [EDIT] Oh and I'd say it's overall worse than D+, for that matter, even though that's basically an umbrella for a few niche services. Like if I could only have one of those two, I'd take D+. And D+ kinda sucks.

chuckadams 3y ago
The way Max is going, it's going to make Netflix look like the Criterion Collection in a few years.
- wharvle 3y ago
  Oh, I know. Matter of time before I drop that one. They've inexplicably decided to destroy their own streaming service, on purpose.
- hedora 3y ago
  That's especially true since I've noticed stuff max yanked has popped up on netflix. If netflix wants to lean in even further, they should pick up rights to produce additional seasons of most of the stuff Warner Brothers Discovery cancelled last year (they're the parent company of HBO and have subpar management, even by Hollywood exec standards).
echelon 3y ago
> it blows my mind when people complain that not enough good or original films come out in a given year I have a weird take on this. Before I started working on my startup, I had a lot of time to watch and even make movies. I typically would watch about ~50-100 films a year. When I was younger, it was even more. I was voracious. I tend to like indie and art house films, but I'll also enjoy popular fare. I'm not a snob. As long as the choices of the writers, directors, actors, and editors make sense, I'm typically able to assign a rating and slot the film into some kind of tier list. But I'm always left unsated by the decision envelope. The film will make its choices, but I always find myself wanting to go in other directions. Sometimes wildly different ones. I feel more like an active participant, critic, or perhaps even script doctor or producer. When the story beats of a film change, my imagination keeps predicting outcomes along various trajectories. Sometimes I'm a perfect predictor. In these instances, films tend to be full of lazy tropes and are completely unsatisfying. Other times, my predictor is way off. If the dissonance is huge, sometimes I'm also left upset by the departure from expectations. It depends on whether the rest of the work makes sense as a whole. I can't turn this off. It's always running. I only see a handful of films a decade that will sit with me for days or weeks. The themes rhyme and have an ethereal logic that transcends me. These are the films that play my predictor like an instrument. Their choices are better than mine. Surprisingly and delightfully so. They reach my soul and change who I am as a person. These are films that I wouldn't change in the slightest. That I wish I could forget and watch again, and again, and again with fresh eyes. I enjoy film, but I can't stop my overactive analysis. As I've gotten older, this attitude has only deepened. It makes it hard to call watching film entirely passive or enjoyable. I enjoy the activity, but not always the film. The feelings are fleeting, and I'm left wanting for more. Except occasionally. And I cherish those.
- quesera 3y ago
  You've thought about this a lot, and I understand it's a deeply personal thing, but I'll ask: What are a handful of recent films that were noteworthy by your criteria? And a handful of all-time noteworthies? Watching time-filler crowd-pleaser nothing-to-say movies that seem to be made simply because the world is full of non-discriminating consumers and someone needs to take their money ... leaves me feeling pretty bored. There's a time and a place for it all, I guess. But life (free time) is too short (scarce) to waste.
  - wharvle 3y ago
    (Not the poster you’re asking) What sort of thing are you into? What are some movies you really like? Would help to tune any suggestions. [edit] Meanwhile, some shots in the dark: - The Green Knight — Based on the story by the Pearl Poet and expanded and adapted with a combo of other Arthurian tales and the filmmakers’ own twists. Basically, a lonely, somewhat psychedelic (but not in a bright-kaleidoscope-colors sort of way…) dark fantasy journey with tasteful hints of dozens of influences adorning it. A great Winter watch, too. Benefits from the best screen and system you can get in front of. - You Won’t Be Alone — Broadly horror-themed but not in a Hollywood monster movie or Halloween popcorn muncher sort of way. It’s not really aiming for scares, exactly. Comically similar themes and message to a major widely-lauded off-kilter film from the same year (2022) but approached from a very different angle. Macedonian language. You may worry in the first twenty minutes that you’ve stumbled into the Easter European Indie Movie Doldrums of Mediocrity, but persevere, it starts to come together and develop purpose before long. Hard recommend for fans of The Witch who liked the “historically accurate” grossness & mythology of that film, but it’s not as firmly in the horror genre as that was. On the lighter (and not quite as good, good) side: - The Kid Detective — Semi-comedy. Imagine the stereotypical middle-aged guy who’s never topped their time as a high school quarterback. Now imagine if instead of playing football, they were a kid detective (you know, Nancy Drew sorts of stuff) and that is the thing they peaked at in high school. That’s our protagonist. Film sags at times but the premise is so fun and relatively-well-used that it’s still a good time, if that blurb above piqued your interest at all. Certainly a sort of noir, with all that entails, so if Your Hero getting his ass kicked more than doing the ass kicking bothers you, avoid (as with lots of noirs) - Spontaneous — Dark high school romance-comedy. Also, people, all over the place, have started occasionally suddenly exploding for no evident reason. That’s the movie’s deal. It took me embarrassingly long to realize what it was really about (or, at least a major one of the things it’s about) and it punched me in the damn gut when I did. Oof.

chuckadams 3y ago

The way Max is going, it's going to make Netflix look like the Criterion Collection in a few years.

wharvle 3y ago
Oh, I know. Matter of time before I drop that one. They've inexplicably decided to destroy their own streaming service, on purpose.
hedora 3y ago
That's especially true since I've noticed stuff max yanked has popped up on netflix. If netflix wants to lean in even further, they should pick up rights to produce additional seasons of most of the stuff Warner Brothers Discovery cancelled last year (they're the parent company of HBO and have subpar management, even by Hollywood exec standards).

echelon 3y ago

> it blows my mind when people complain that not enough good or original films come out in a given year I have a weird take on this. Before I started working on my startup, I had a lot of time to watch and even make movies. I typically would watch about ~50-100 films a year. When I was younger, it was even more. I was voracious. I tend to like indie and art house films, but I'll also enjoy popular fare. I'm not a snob. As long as the choices of the writers, directors, actors, and editors make sense, I'm typically able to assign a rating and slot the film into some kind of tier list. But I'm always left unsated by the decision envelope. The film will make its choices, but I always find myself wanting to go in other directions. Sometimes wildly different ones. I feel more like an active participant, critic, or perhaps even script doctor or producer. When the story beats of a film change, my imagination keeps predicting outcomes along various trajectories. Sometimes I'm a perfect predictor. In these instances, films tend to be full of lazy tropes and are completely unsatisfying. Other times, my predictor is way off. If the dissonance is huge, sometimes I'm also left upset by the departure from expectations. It depends on whether the rest of the work makes sense as a whole. I can't turn this off. It's always running. I only see a handful of films a decade that will sit with me for days or weeks. The themes rhyme and have an ethereal logic that transcends me. These are the films that play my predictor like an instrument. Their choices are better than mine. Surprisingly and delightfully so. They reach my soul and change who I am as a person. These are films that I wouldn't change in the slightest. That I wish I could forget and watch again, and again, and again with fresh eyes. I enjoy film, but I can't stop my overactive analysis. As I've gotten older, this attitude has only deepened. It makes it hard to call watching film entirely passive or enjoyable. I enjoy the activity, but not always the film. The feelings are fleeting, and I'm left wanting for more. Except occasionally. And I cherish those.

quesera 3y ago
You've thought about this a lot, and I understand it's a deeply personal thing, but I'll ask: What are a handful of recent films that were noteworthy by your criteria? And a handful of all-time noteworthies? Watching time-filler crowd-pleaser nothing-to-say movies that seem to be made simply because the world is full of non-discriminating consumers and someone needs to take their money ... leaves me feeling pretty bored. There's a time and a place for it all, I guess. But life (free time) is too short (scarce) to waste.
- wharvle 3y ago
  (Not the poster you’re asking) What sort of thing are you into? What are some movies you really like? Would help to tune any suggestions. [edit] Meanwhile, some shots in the dark: - The Green Knight — Based on the story by the Pearl Poet and expanded and adapted with a combo of other Arthurian tales and the filmmakers’ own twists. Basically, a lonely, somewhat psychedelic (but not in a bright-kaleidoscope-colors sort of way…) dark fantasy journey with tasteful hints of dozens of influences adorning it. A great Winter watch, too. Benefits from the best screen and system you can get in front of. - You Won’t Be Alone — Broadly horror-themed but not in a Hollywood monster movie or Halloween popcorn muncher sort of way. It’s not really aiming for scares, exactly. Comically similar themes and message to a major widely-lauded off-kilter film from the same year (2022) but approached from a very different angle. Macedonian language. You may worry in the first twenty minutes that you’ve stumbled into the Easter European Indie Movie Doldrums of Mediocrity, but persevere, it starts to come together and develop purpose before long. Hard recommend for fans of The Witch who liked the “historically accurate” grossness & mythology of that film, but it’s not as firmly in the horror genre as that was. On the lighter (and not quite as good, good) side: - The Kid Detective — Semi-comedy. Imagine the stereotypical middle-aged guy who’s never topped their time as a high school quarterback. Now imagine if instead of playing football, they were a kid detective (you know, Nancy Drew sorts of stuff) and that is the thing they peaked at in high school. That’s our protagonist. Film sags at times but the premise is so fun and relatively-well-used that it’s still a good time, if that blurb above piqued your interest at all. Certainly a sort of noir, with all that entails, so if Your Hero getting his ass kicked more than doing the ass kicking bothers you, avoid (as with lots of noirs) - Spontaneous — Dark high school romance-comedy. Also, people, all over the place, have started occasionally suddenly exploding for no evident reason. That’s the movie’s deal. It took me embarrassingly long to realize what it was really about (or, at least a major one of the things it’s about) and it punched me in the damn gut when I did. Oof.