Tag Archives: movies

Piracy cannot be stopped

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The Pirate Bay logo

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Paul Tassi, writing in Forbes, has a good overview of an underlying and unavoidable reality of the digital age in which we live: piracy cannot be stopped. Technological blocks are temporary at best, because blocking any particular digital tools for sharing content merely results in the rapid invention and deployment of new technologies. Consider Napster. When it was such down, numerous clones of its technology appeared. As the IP industry filed lawsuit after lawsuit to shut down the Napster clones, bit torrent technology was created and widely deployed, leading to Pirate Bay. Sharing sites themselves come and go as well. If Pirate Bay is shut down, it will matter little as there are dozens of alternatives already in operation.

But Tassi also notes that piracy will not kill the IP industry. The industry’s claimed number of lost sales caused by piracy are simply silly. Most pirated material is acquired by people who would never buy the content in any case, either because they don’t have the money to do so, or the content is not available in any legal fashion at the time, or because it is simply not worth the trouble or expense to buy, say, a $30 Blu-ray disc.

The real problem, in his view and mine as well, is that the IP industry has failed to adjust their its business model to something that customers actually want and are willing to pay for.   (Perhaps the exception to this is the music industry that was successfully prodded by Steve Jobs into relatively easy legal access at a modest price).

Here is how Tassi put it:

The seven step, ten minute [Pirate Bay] download process (which will be about ten seconds when US internet speeds catch up with the rest of the world) is the real enemy the studios should be trying to tackle. Right now, the industry is still stuck in the past, and is crawling oh-so-slowly into the future. They still believe people are going to want to buy DVDs or Blu-rays in five years, and that a movie ticket is well worth $15. Netflix is the closest thing they have to an advocate, but the studios are trying to drive them out of business as they see them as a threat, not a solution. It’s mind boggling.

The primary problem movie studios have to realize is that everything they charge for is massively overpriced. The fact that movie ticket prices keep going up is astonishing. How can they possibly think charging $10-15 per ticket for a new feature is going to increase the amount of people coming to theaters rather than renting the movie later or downloading it online for free? Rather than lower prices, they double down, saying that gimmicks like 3D and IMAX are worth adding another $5 to your ticket.

They have failed to realize that people want things to be easy. Physically going to the movies is hard enough without paying way too much for the privilege. Going to a store and buying a DVD instead of renting or downloading is generally an impractical thing to do unless you A) really love a particular movie or B) are an avid film buff or collector.

The essay is worth a full read.

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Blu-ray of the week

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Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)

I have explained before how I can’t resist the genre/formula Hollywood film for action and clear story-telling. I love at least the ones with good acting, and execution beyond the ordinary. Tonight I watched the Blu-ray version of Cowboys & Aliens, and I was not disappointed.

The film has no particular message or underlying truth. But it brings together two genres that, as far as I know, have never been incorporated into a one film before. It couples the western cinematic mythology of America, i.e., the bad guy with the true heart (Daniel Craig) who rises to the occasion, with evil alien creatures threatening all of humanity. You have the outlaw who joins forces with the hated and domineering rich baron of cattle country (Harrison Ford), and you add the Apaches to the mix of team-mates, all ready to save humanity from disgusting and violent aliens. There is even a cute, and loyal, dog to sweeten things up. I mean, a dog could be viewed as sort of a cheap trick by some, but not by me in this type of film.

What could go wrong? Well, actually everything could go wrong with a movie built on that premise. But the success of this movie is that it successfully pulls it all off. An alien (not one of the bad ones) translates Apache to English, allowing all groups to come together in a common defense. There is a naive boy on the cusp of manhood who actually becomes a man by being given a knife. There is the wanted killer who becomes a hero and rides off alone into the sunset. The cattle baron joins forces with the wanted man even though that man puts the son of the baron in jail. A timid saloon keeper learns how to handle a gun in the most effective way. The wanted man pines for his woman killed by the aliens.  And the aliens are disgusting creatures. The only stereotype missing is the prostitute with a heart of gold.

I know the critics weren’t fond of this treat, perhaps because no less than eight writers are credited for the screenplay which can’t be good, but it is fun all the way through.

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Blu-ray of the week

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I have understood, for some time, that there is great power in the well-produced and well-acted Hollywood genre picture.  But I find that I am increasingly impressed by some skilled applications of such formulas, despite loving independent and iconoclastic films.  Actually, while many Hollywood films profess to re-apply the tried-and-true formulas, there are few very few Hollywood films that apply the dramatic genre requirements with skill and focus. And many independent films that deliver a unique view on life and eschew the formulas. My realization is that both are worthwhile.

From the category of extremely well-executed formula Hollywood films comes Warrior, a Rocky “clone” that ups the stakes with an ultimate mixed martial arts fight between two brothers, and a Russian, in Atlantic City, in the age of YouTube. The dynamics between the two brothers, raised by an alcoholic father and suffering the loss of a dead mother, are stereotypical but deployed and acted with profound effect. The movie attacks like the fighters themselves, with every effort in a single direction of heightening the drama all the way to the end.

You really can’t go wrong with this for an evening’s entertainment.

Blu-Ray of the week: Attack of the Block

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Attack of the Block, from the producers of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is a ghost-in-the-haunted house version of an alien invasion; think Alien. Terrible creatures abound and no one knows who will be the next victim. But it is also an effective comedy and even addresses social issues.

The premise is that aliens (from space, mind you, not Mexico) invade a low-income housing block in south London. Drug dealers, rip-off artists and other ne’er to do wells are the main targets of the aliens, because one of the dealers kills the first alien to arrive, while the police seem to be unable to understand what is going on. You can think of it as Die Hard set in a ghetto rather than the Century City office building home to a retired Ronald Reagan; simply replace terrorists with aliens, add a British accent and you have the movie, more or less. The subtitle could be: terrible things happen in a high rise while the police, clueless, wait outside. And, like Die Hard, there is a slice of gallows humor throughout.

Thrilling and fun, and well worth your while. A perfect weekend popcorn movie. I mean, what do you want for a fun evening of home video other than wit and tension, carefully mixed with panache.

2012: Pixar

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I am really looking forward to this film from Pixar in 2012. Brave in 3D.

Pixar is becoming one of my “go to” favorite studios. Despite the animation, or rather because of the tremendous animation coupled with powerful realistic emotions, their films are moving and emotional and not (just) for children. And this one, obviously, is focused on a girl rather than a boy. Bravo.

And they have a new, untitled film in the works about a girl depicting her emotions inside her brain as characters. Could be great.

DVD of the week

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English: Miranda July at the Berlin Internatio...

Miranda July

I just watched a terrific movie called The Future.

It is very hard to describe effectively. It is focused on a couple in their mid-thirties and passive beyond any reasonable expectation, who decide to take 30 days to live life spontaneously, free of job responsibilities (and the Internet), and fully open to what life presents. Life presents to them a metaphysical reality (or unreality) that challenges their relationship, as well as the nature of time itself. The film is totally unique, very emotional, and powerful, yet the story is simply and directly told. It is a satire and may be annoying to some, but it deeply connected with me.

Maybe it was the rescue cat; I don’t know.

It is written and directed by Miranda July, who also is the female lead.  Take the time to watch.

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Tech quote of the day (updated)

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E.U. law precludes an injunction made against an Internet service provider requiring it to install a system for filtering all electronic communications passing via its services, which applies indiscriminately to all its customers, as a preventive measure, exclusively at its expense, and for an unlimited period.

– Excerpt from a ruling this week in the European Court of Justice, banning a statute that attempted to require ISPs to filter all Internet content sent to their customers containing possible file-sharing activity.  We need the same clear judicial statement in this country affirming that the Internet is not a tool to be run for the benefit of IP owners.

Seal of the United States Department of Justice

Update: Meanwhile, in the US:

US authorities have initiated the largest round of domain name seizures yet as part of their continued crackdown on counterfeit and piracy-related websites. With just a few days to go until “Cyber Monday” more than 100 domain names have been taken over by the feds to protect the commercial interests of US companies. The seizures are disputable, as the SOPA bill which aims to specifically legitimize such actions is still pending in Congress.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have resumed “Operation In Our Sites”, the domain name seizing initiative designed to crack down on online piracy and counterfeiting.

The new round comes exactly a year after 82 domains, including Torrent-Finder, were taken over in 2010. At the time ICE labeled the actions “Cyber Monday crackdown,” referring to the Monday following Thanksgiving where consumers are persuaded to shop online.

TorrentFreak has identified more than 130 domains taken over by the government during the last 24 hours, which makes this the largest seizure round to date. The authorities have yet to comment via official channels, but we assume that they will use the same justification for the domain seizures as they did last year.

Welcome to the land of the free.

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Blu-ray of the week

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J. J. Abrams at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego

J. J. Abrams

My entry for Blu-ray of the week is Super 8, written and directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg.  The movie is about a group of high school kids in 1979 (characters in the film don’t even know what a Walkman is and forget about cellphones) making a movie about … wait for it … zombies. What could be better? Well, you could add an alien and references to Mackinac Island. Oh, and when was the last time you heard My Sharona?

It is a genre movie and, like any genre film, it follows as tried and true trajectory. But it is a fun ride and moving if you let yourself ride along with it. On Blu-ray, the sound is fabulous and greatly improves the effects shots.  All in all, it is an extremely effective and engaging studio film in the manner that only Hollywood can pull off with such aplomb. And the skill of the director makes it definitely worth a watch.

Unadulterated pleasure, beginning to end.

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Blu-ray of the week

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You must see The Tree of Life, the latest film from Terrence Malick. Its earnest and moving focus is on creation, eternity, the nature and mystery of God, and. believe it or not, a family living in Austin in the 1950s. This epic movie won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes film festival earlier this year.  It is totally and stunning in its depiction of the universe, the beginnings of life on earth, and the emotionally reality of a single family that embodying both the pleasure and torture of each human life. The photography is startlingly clear on the blu-ray version (reflecting, I think, the care with which the underlying film was shot).  The music is powerful and deeply emotional.

I really don’t want to give too much away, but I assure you it is worth the investment in time to take a look. I won’t post a trailer here because anything you might see via YouTube would not reflect the care that went into making the film, and the beauty and pleasure of watching.

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