Digital Joe!

Sorry if such a topic already exists, but I simply must comment on how enamoured I am over this new series you guys are putting out on this site. It's as if Mr Vargo has cracked open my skull and knows exactly what's on my brain. Sorry for the bit of gore but it must be said. I have read all three editions and can't say how glad I am that somebody is finally able to voice what I've been thinking all these years about DVD's. Don't worry Jason, you're not alone in your rituals and vendettas, I feel the same way. There's no real point to this message other than to congratulate and appluade you for your efforts. Its almost as if you're like Peter Finch from Network.

I'm as glad as hell and I'm not gonna fake it anymore! (changes intended)

Keep up the good tirades!

Now I know where that blood on my hands is coming from. :) Seriously, thanks. It's good to know DJ is being enjoyed.

(Psst...your five bucks is in the mail...)

No offense, but I have to disagree. I personally prefer reading reviews, articles, etc. from someone who really loves movies. Why do I want to read the opinions of someone who has only seen 1 movie this year? I read that article with the wishlist and couldn't figure out whether it was the list of a 70 year-old, or an 11-year old - all animation and Golden Girls. I have a huge collection, and while I will admit that there is still a lot of bad stuff out there, there are a lot of movies that DJ doesn't give credit to. I like when people can appreciate movies for what they are - entertainment. Fantastic Four was not brilliant, but it was fun. Brokeback was over-rated, but not bad. Well, I suppose there are people who are more like myself on this site, in terms of their approach to movies, so I guess DJ is for the other end of the spectrum.

You don't have to agree with his choice of movies to agree with what he's saying. I'm not looking to turn this into an argument or anything, I just agree strongly with his points about movie theatre attendance, movies in the theatre and issues about DVD's.

Interplanetaryspy:

I assure you that is the list of a 26-year old, not 70 and not 11. Somehow, in your haste to throw in the "all animation and Golden Girls" idea, you neglected to mention Brokeback Mountain, The American President, Farscape and Transamerica. Not animation. These are the things I'm planning on buying right now for sure; if you read a couple weeks ago, I do happen into the store and find I can't help myself. I stay away when I can't go on a splurge. Everyone has their own lists of what they want. Would you like to put your "To Buy" list up for everyone to read? :)

One movie I did forget to put on that list because I have not heard of a firm release date yet is The Searchers Special Edition.

Additionally, I really do want you to note that I've seen one movie in the theater this year (2 as of now). That in no way says what I've seen on DVD in the same amount of time. I do utilize Netflix a great deal as well as watching movies with friends at home. I review every single movie I watch in my LiveJournal and, while I am not going to go through and count every review I've done this year (foreign films like "Bear Cub" and "You'll Get Over It" to more mainstream films like "The Butterfly Effect" and "Hide and Seek"), you are more than welcome to hop over and let me know where I've gone wrong.

I don't know how I can--or if I want to--convince you I do love movies. I love good movies that interest me. I have no interest in the garbage being thrown into the theaters and DVD. I did not enjoy King Kong but I adored Rent (definately not a popular opinion).

One last note: DJ is for everybody. It was not conceived or geared toward one "segment" over another. It is simply my take on what is going on. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. There is no liberal or conversative slant to what I write. There is no political agenda.

If you--or anyone else--has a movie I should check out, please let me know about it. That's the whole idea here: interactivity. Maybe you'll check out something I praise and maybe I'll check out yours. We may not agree, but I always want to hear what other people think.

Obviously, no one will completely agree on every movie. I realize you had Brokeback on your list - I mentioned it in my reply. As I said, a bit over-rated. I have nothing personally against you, I simply find the list a bid odd. With the exception of the original animated Batman series, I find most of the animated superhero and Disney stuff rather dull. Mermaid was one of their weakest, in my opinion. I tend to get very defensive though at the idea that there is no value to most mainstream movies. Movies are entertainment - some will make you think (Schindler's List), some will just be fun (Fantastic Four), and some will be just plain bad (Butterfly Effect), but it's hardly fair to say all Hollywood movies are garbage. We all have a different opinion of what entertains us, but generalizations and assumptions don't look good on anyone.

Just so you know ahead of time: this entire discussion will be the focus of DJ this week. I'll be linking to this conversation. I wasn't going to, but I thought about it...there's actually a whole lot more I'd like to say about this. Including a resume of the flicks I've seen in the past year (so you can see I DO watch movies and not just TV shows), among other things.

Well, I don't know what audience you played into but they may have been smoking crack. It really is not a mainstream film based on the fact that it came from New Line Cinema which is not generally known for being a mainstream studio. Second to that, it actually was a low budget film in comparison to higher produced films on the market. I still stand by the fact that the film was challenging in taking on a subject matter that has not been placed in the lime light and I enjoyed what the film makers came up with. It's not a simple happy film and does have a side to it that is more realistic to life than what we normally see. There's no happy ending and the film is generally dark in theme, and not to mention it was not afraid to be different. For Gods sake, that's what more films need to do in order to be original. However, we're supposed to judge films on whether big money was behind the black curtain, you have to be kidding? When a fim makes an effort to do something out of the ordinary it should be revered and not scoffed at no matter how mediocre it may seem. For the love of Pete, at least the film makers made an effort to make us think instead of giving us a remake of some old TV series . . . don't you think?

:p

I'd call it mainstream because of the budget, marketing campaign, and simply the use of Ashton Kutcher in the lead role. I will certainly agree that the premise was interesting and smart, but the execution was not so good. It fell apart pretty quickly for me. I know that in the "amputee" scene, the whole theatre burst into screams of laughter, and to me that means it really wasn't doing its job. Obviously the audience wasn't buying into it, and I was certainly one of those people.

Tim,

Different strokes for different folks, right? One man's trash is another man's treasure, yadda yadda yadda. Simple fact of the matter is unless I am psyched about seeing a movie when it comes out, I won't gamble I'm going to see something I'll like. (I've already made plans to see Superman Returns the day AFTER it opens, despite my huge reservations about it.)

I'm sure the upcoming Snakes on a Plane is going to hit cult status at some point and will open with HUGE numbers, but I HATE HATE HATE snakes, so there is no way I will ever watch it. (Snakes in a magazine, snakes on TV, snake toys...whatever.) I personally enjoyed The Butterfly Effect because it was smart. Ashton's character understood what was happening and didn't act like an idiot through 9/10's of the movie. This is quite evident in the ending.

I would agree it's not a mainstream film because it doesn't reinforce positive things about humanity. It generally shows people at their absolute worst. There is no happy, sappy ending in which everyone is happy and life goes on.