Jen Smash!In this day and age, I feel it's ridiculous that a Western country like Australia can be so far behind. Aussie scientists and academics regularly lead their fields, but why can't we grasp something as simple as Tivo or getting a movie on time? Oh there it is, the point.
Today I saw an advanced (hah) screening of Gone Baby Gone, a movie that came out months ago in the US. Tell me honestly, are legal issues really stopping these films from coming to us? Really? Then why did we get 10,000 BC at the same time, or any Harry Potter film? If I were Ben or Casey Affleck, I'd be PISSED right now.
I think whatever it is that's stopping these films from coming here when they should is dimwitted film distributors who can't understand that every movie loving person with an internet connection already has a damn copy...and they wonder why movie theaters are closing!
Look, the whole concept is quite simple. I'll start with me, a prime example. I read IMDB and various movie sites daily, and watch trailers religiously. Not only movie buffs do this...any US based site (yahoo ffs) is going to have an ad for a movie on its home page and if you build it in flash, people will click. I see that a movie starring Casey Affleck and directed by brother Ben is coming out, and that it sounds pretty damn good. Then I wait, patiently for the film to come to the country where I live. I don't like waiting.
I realise that by the time it comes to the movies here, I could have ordered the film from eBay and/or have downloaded any number of illegal copies. Film distributors and studios have apparently crawled through molasses to bring the flick to cinemas (eventually) in Australia, along with a big F U to flick fans.
I'm really getting sick of this. When almost all the cinemas in Australia, the beautiful or ugly popcorn smelling dream houses, close down then maybe they'll realise. Typical of humans, eh? Fix it when it's already too late.
I'm sorry for being negative and having this rant but as a Film Critic, it's hard to keep up when something like this happens. It's downright embarrassing, especially if the film has already been on DVD in the US for a specified amount of time. It looks like I review the film as an afterthought, and makes me look careless and sloppy. Fellow Americans, I assure you this is not the case. I'm diligent, even though they are not.
I've come to realise, after moving from Texas to Australia, that for the most part life is simply better here. It's not that much of a struggle to have a pretty decent life where I am and all my basic needs are met, including health care thank jeebus. However, for someone like me it's very frustrating when the technology is there, but no one is using it. When people's backs are against a wall, where do they turn? Desperate people do illegal things, and even though downloading is common, it still makes me feel a little bit ill when I'm forced to do it. Yep, forced.
I'd gladly pay for these films, if I could only just see them when I should be able to, though I'd rather go to the movies any day. I just can't help that it feels so good to watch something with a bunch of strangers and feel the same emotions and be connected to them all for just a little while. It makes me feel damn good actually.
I'll never endorse illegal downloads, but hey, what else is there to do? I can't move back to America, or rather won't, but I still love movies and feel like a child with no rights who's forced to wait until after dinner to eat the cookie. I'm an adult now damn it, and I want the effin' cookie! NOW.
Today I saw an advanced (hah) screening of Gone Baby Gone, a movie that came out months ago in the US. Tell me honestly, are legal issues really stopping these films from coming to us? Really? Then why did we get 10,000 BC at the same time, or any Harry Potter film? If I were Ben or Casey Affleck, I'd be PISSED right now.
I think whatever it is that's stopping these films from coming here when they should is dimwitted film distributors who can't understand that every movie loving person with an internet connection already has a damn copy...and they wonder why movie theaters are closing!
Look, the whole concept is quite simple. I'll start with me, a prime example. I read IMDB and various movie sites daily, and watch trailers religiously. Not only movie buffs do this...any US based site (yahoo ffs) is going to have an ad for a movie on its home page and if you build it in flash, people will click. I see that a movie starring Casey Affleck and directed by brother Ben is coming out, and that it sounds pretty damn good. Then I wait, patiently for the film to come to the country where I live. I don't like waiting.
I realise that by the time it comes to the movies here, I could have ordered the film from eBay and/or have downloaded any number of illegal copies. Film distributors and studios have apparently crawled through molasses to bring the flick to cinemas (eventually) in Australia, along with a big F U to flick fans.
I'm really getting sick of this. When almost all the cinemas in Australia, the beautiful or ugly popcorn smelling dream houses, close down then maybe they'll realise. Typical of humans, eh? Fix it when it's already too late.
I'm sorry for being negative and having this rant but as a Film Critic, it's hard to keep up when something like this happens. It's downright embarrassing, especially if the film has already been on DVD in the US for a specified amount of time. It looks like I review the film as an afterthought, and makes me look careless and sloppy. Fellow Americans, I assure you this is not the case. I'm diligent, even though they are not.
I've come to realise, after moving from Texas to Australia, that for the most part life is simply better here. It's not that much of a struggle to have a pretty decent life where I am and all my basic needs are met, including health care thank jeebus. However, for someone like me it's very frustrating when the technology is there, but no one is using it. When people's backs are against a wall, where do they turn? Desperate people do illegal things, and even though downloading is common, it still makes me feel a little bit ill when I'm forced to do it. Yep, forced.
I'd gladly pay for these films, if I could only just see them when I should be able to, though I'd rather go to the movies any day. I just can't help that it feels so good to watch something with a bunch of strangers and feel the same emotions and be connected to them all for just a little while. It makes me feel damn good actually.
I'll never endorse illegal downloads, but hey, what else is there to do? I can't move back to America, or rather won't, but I still love movies and feel like a child with no rights who's forced to wait until after dinner to eat the cookie. I'm an adult now damn it, and I want the effin' cookie! NOW.
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