Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
#26
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
I agree with the bolded statement above.
I seek out smaller, more obscure movies, and I was still disappointed by a number of them. I've gotten to a point where I feel like there's only 1 or 2 really good movies a year. It's much easier for someone to say Transformers 2 is great, where I say nothing is great. The more I see, the more disappointed I become.
I seek out smaller, more obscure movies, and I was still disappointed by a number of them. I've gotten to a point where I feel like there's only 1 or 2 really good movies a year. It's much easier for someone to say Transformers 2 is great, where I say nothing is great. The more I see, the more disappointed I become.
#27
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
If your tastes are so far out of the mainstream, then your opinion doesn't help create a working model on how people as a whole behave in regards to blockbuster movies.
#28
Banned by request
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
But the point is that people who watch more obscure films are often less satisfied than those that watch blockbusters. If the only data point is Netflix ratings, how is that an accurate depiction, if you presume that a lot of people who watch more obscure titles don't use Netflix?
#29
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
One problem with using Netflix for this article is that a film with zero votes is given a score of 2 1/2 stars, and it takes a lot of votes to move the user score one way or another. In other words, very obscure movies often have a mediocre rating simply because not enough people have rated them.
#30
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
They find that blockbusters get better ratings from the people who have watched them than more obscure ones do. Even the critically loathed “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is awarded four stars out of five.
Revenge of the Fallen is rated just a shade over two stars on Netflix. And most of the posted reviews rate it one star.
#31
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Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
It's rated 3.8/5 overall, but the 1/5 is a guess as to what I would rate it based on my other ratings.
#32
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
This paragraph bothered me the most. They're basing this notion solely on an analysis of Netflix reviews. It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that maybe those of us who get the most pleasure out of the obscure films we've discovered don't even bother to go on Netflix. Netflix doesn't have the stuff I want, so why would I even go on that site to provide reviews? How do you measure the tastes and critical responses of those of us who function entirely outside of that system? I buy DVDs in Chinatown and I order others from CDJapan and YesAsia. And I even review stuff on CDJapan. But occasionally, I see Hollywood blockbusters in theaters. So I belong in that study in some way, but their criteria for research rules out any viable way of tabulating my responses to the mainstream releases I see and the obscure ones I purchase.
But the point is that people who watch more obscure films are often less satisfied than those that watch blockbusters. If the only data point is Netflix ratings, how is that an accurate depiction, if you presume that a lot of people who watch more obscure titles don't use Netflix?
#33
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
This paragraph bothered me the most. They're basing this notion solely on an analysis of Netflix reviews. It doesn't seem to have occurred to them that maybe those of us who get the most pleasure out of the obscure films we've discovered don't even bother to go on Netflix. Netflix doesn't have the stuff I want, so why would I even go on that site to provide reviews? How do you measure the tastes and critical responses of those of us who function entirely outside of that system? I buy DVDs in Chinatown and I order others from CDJapan and YesAsia. And I even review stuff on CDJapan. But occasionally, I see Hollywood blockbusters in theaters. So I belong in that study in some way, but their criteria for research rules out any viable way of tabulating my responses to the mainstream releases I see and the obscure ones I purchase.
#34
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
I'm not saying Netflix should be the sole measure, but a big reason I use Netflix is because I can get more obscure titles that I wouldn't be able to get at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, which are unfortunately the only real rental choices where I live. For that matter, not everyone lives near a Chinatown where they can go pick up imports or have easy access to them.
That said, Netflix does have a good variety of films, but whether or not it has a lot of obscure titles depends on how you define "obscure." Netflix isn't likely to have anything that wasn't released in the US by a major distributor.
#35
DVD Talk Gold Edition
#36
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
Netflix has a huge amount of obscure/foreign/independent DVDs...I am surprised people can't find anything they want to rent there.
#38
Moderator
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
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#40
DVD Talk Legend
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#42
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Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
The newest theatre in Omaha has variable pricing (not in the sense that The Bus is talking about though). There are 5 screens at the theatre. There are 2 levels of seating for each screen. The lowest level (and closest to the screen) is the cheapest (at $7 for matinees, cheap is not the best word to use). The upper level is $1 more per ticket, but you have access to the food service. Waiters will bring you food on dishes and drinks in glasses. The 5th screen has 2 different levels of seating, with the lower level being the food service. The upper level is $5 more than the middle ticket, but you get a $5 food voucher to use on booze or concessions. You also get access to the "VIP" lounge w/ bar. All seats are assigned and all three levels have increasingly nicer seating.
#44
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
I think that was his point. The article refers to the tastes of niche consumers, but then uses Netflix's catalog for reference, which doesn't have the obscure titles that niche consumers watch.
#45
Re: Ever-increasing choice and the modern blockbuster
In 1939, TV was in the fetus stage of its life cycle and PCs were non-existent. The radio and phonograph were the only forms of technological entertainment in the home. Of course people would flock to their local movie theatres since the choices were so much more limited back then.
I notice that in both lists, both unadjusted and adjusted, the vast majority of the top movies of all time are escapist fare, often set in different time periods with plenty of fantasy, sci-fi, animation, and otherworldy settings. The biggest movies serve as an escape from the mundane nature of our everyday lives and audiences will flock to those the most.
#46
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