Category Archives: News

2010s, Article, Coming Soon, Lists, News, Trailers

16 Most Anticipated Films of the Rest of 2018

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With the collapse of MoviePass over the past few weeks, it looks like I might need to be a little more picky in my choice of movies. I’m still going to hold onto it and I will try to use it as often as they will allow, but with service outages just about every night and no access to new releases, it will definitely be limited. Before the AMC Stubs A-List people come out of the woods to accost me, my closest AMC is about 80 miles away, so that is a no go. I’m waiting to see if Regal announces any plans, but in the meantime, I have signed up for Sinemia which allows me to see three movies a month in any format.

With that in mind, I took a look at all the upcoming films for the remaining five months of 2018 and tried my best to whittle it down to my top 15 most anticipated. There are probably three times this many that I will actually do my best to see. A lot of these only have a limited release announced and the word of mouth before and performance during that run will make the difference in whether they will ever see a national roll out. So this is me doing my part to make sure I get to see them in my neck of the woods. 

Eighth Grade – August 3rd

I figured I would cheat right out of the gate and make this list 16 instead of 15. Technically, this one hit a few theaters in July, but it hasn’t been near me until now. I haven’t seen it yet, but I am really looking forward to it. Comedian Bo Burnham makes his directing debut as we follow teenager Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she maneuvers transitioning from middle school to high school. From the trailer it looks like something wonderful that I am going to love.

BlacKKKlansman – August 10

Spike Lee’s latest movie, produced by Jordan Peele, follows the true story of a real black police officer, Ron Stallworth, who managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. This is the first I’ve ever seen of John David Washington who stars, but it also stars Topher Grace as David Duke as well as other big names like Adam Driver and Alec Baldwin. This one can join the list of 2018 films with a racially charged message (Sorry to Bother You, Blindspotting, and another coming up on this list).

Searching – August 31

I’ve heard good things about John Cho’s performance in this. It seems like he has the difficult task of holding it all together since it uses the same gimmick that we have seen a couple of times now (Unfriended), the whole movie occurs on a computer screen. 

The Predator – September 14

Director Shane Black (Hawkins from the first Predator movie), has taken the reins of the franchise for its latest chapter. Sure to be an entertaining viewing experience, the movie stars Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jacob Tremblay.

The House with a Clock in its Walls – September 21

Jack Black is hit or miss. This could be bad like Goosebumps, but the kid actor (Owen Vaccaro) looks good and it seems like a cool concept. I’m more interested in this than the next Fantastic Beasts movie. That’s saying something considering the fact that I’m currently wearing a “Become an Obliviator!” t-shirt. 

First Man – October 12

Ryan Gosling and director Damien Chazelle join forces again after La La Land for this look at Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. With Gosling as Armstrong, the movie delves into the dramatic events leading up to the historic launch.

Bad Times at the El Royale – October 12

Drew Goddard’s (The Cabin in the Woods) latest movie follows the lives of seven troubled strangers as they stay at a rundown hotel in search of redemption. Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, and Dakota Johnson lead this star-studded cast. This could easily be either my favorite of the season or a jumbled mess. There is a thin line between the two.

The Hate U Give – October 19

Based on an acclaimed young adult novel of the same name, we follow Starr (Amandla Stenberg) as she tries to figure out the right path after witnessing her childhood friend die in a fatal shooting by a police officer. It sounds like the teenage version of the recent firestarter, Blindspotting. It looks powerful. 

Can You Ever Forgive Me? – October 19

This is a rare serious role for Melissa McCarthy. I’m always up for watching an actor stretch their creative legs and show me something I haven’t seen before. Apparently, this comes from the true story of author Lee Israel who began forging letters from literary legends when her writing career was in the doldrums. If it’s really good, we could see nominations come award season. 

Bohemian Rhapsody – November 2

Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) plays Queen front-man Freddie Mercury in this look at the band before its legendary Live Aid concert. Queen is usually my answer when asked for my favorite band, and Mercury is a very interesting figure that should make for a good watch. If all goes according to plan, Malek is looking at some major award season consideration for this one.

The Sisters Brothers – November

The Sisters Brothers are John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix. That’s enough to get me interested, but it looks like a dark comedy. This could easily be the year the John C. Reilly really breaks out. I’ve been waiting for it since Walk Hard.

Ralph Breaks the Internet – November 21

Six years after the original, Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) head off on a new adventure. This time they discover what’s out in the internet after finding a pathway through a wi-fi router. I’m hoping this is a sequel more like Incredibles 2 than Cars 2 or worse The Emoji Movie. It looks funny from the trailer and the internet creates a lot of fodder for humor, but my worry is that with as quickly as things move on the internet, this could feel stale by the time it hits DVD. 

Robin Hood – November 21

Taron Edgerton as Robin of Locksley back from the crusades with Jamie Foxx as his trainer/sidekick? Sign me up! We might be in for the best Robin Hood movie since Men in Tights.

Mortal Engines – December 14

Based on the Philip Reeve book, and written for the screen by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, this film is set in a world where cities are forced to move around in a constant chase to avoid being overthrown. Essentially, this is a real life game of Agar.io. It looks amazing, but if it is too complicated, it could end up like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It also doesn’t really have many big names to anchor it except Jackson and Hugo Weaving. 

Alita: Battle Angel – December 21

I got worried when this film moved from a July date all the way back to December. Hopefully, this was so it could get away from juggernaut tentpole films and find a better viewership. I’m not familiar with the original manga also known as Gunnm, by Yukito Kushiro, but James Cameron has apparently been attempting to get a film adaptation made for several years. Now he has finally produced it with Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) directing. It looks like we can expect some amazing visuals. Let’s just hope this movie about a fighting cyborg girl has a bit more heart and substance than the Ghost in the Shell remake. 

Welcome to Marwen – December 21

Based on the intriguing 2010 documentary, Marwencol, about how a man copes with a brain injury through creating a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard, Robert Zemeckis takes that story and glosses it up with CGI. It stars Steve Carell in the lead role. I expect this to be top of some best of lists at the end of the year. But Zemeckis’ barbie doll CGI could turn some away. Only time will tell. 

Which of these is your most anticipated? What did I miss? Venom? Into the Spiderverse? Let me know what you’re looking forward to in the comments section below!

News

The Revolutionary Fall of MoviePass

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The End of MoviePass

We’re well into the second half of 2018 and it looks like the moviegoers dream experiment is coming to a close. Moviepass has run out of money and had to shut down or suspend service for around 3 million users twice in the last week.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who can do 3rd grade math. The average movie ticket in America costs around $9, and a MoviePass subscription lets users purchase as many as one standard ticket a day for the monthly price of $9.95 (or less if you pay annually). Meanwhile, MoviePass was still paying full retail price for these tickets. It’s obvious that this wasn’t going to work.

I kept waiting for them to announce that their pricing special was temporary and that they would be going back to their previous model that was closer to $40/month. Even if they let you try it for three months at $12/month then jacked your price up to $30/month if you chose to continue there would have been some financial possibility that they could stay afloat. But it looks like they are going to fade into oblivion like many other game changers. When was the last time you went on Napster to download an mp3? Often times, the revolutionary fire-starters don’t survive the blaze that they fan into existence.

Lasting Effects

They did not take into account the American appetite. We are gluttons. If we are given the opportunity to Super Size it, we will. If you put us in an all you can eat buffet we take it as a challenge. So, many people who might have casually gone to the theater once every couple of months got their hands on this card and started being a weekly regular because they had the freedom to do so. They didn’t even worry if the movie was really any good. They went because they could. I don’t think that we can separate the drastic rise in ticket sales to the content alone. As you can see in the chart above, the first half of 2018 saw ticket sales increase by 8% over the same time the previous year. That is huge since that number has been essentially on the decline since 2002.

I definitely got my money’s worth out of the $90 I paid for my annual subscription to Moviepass seeing 31 movies. My hope is that the industry will see that the appetite is there and will provide more financially responsible alternatives to continue to allow the gluttons among us to see their fill of movies at a reduced rate. Especially since we’re more willing to buy concessions and merchandise if we feel like we are getting a deal.

Alternatives

Perhaps other theater chains will follow in the footsteps of AMC who created their own subscription service called Stubs A-List. It lets you see up to 3 movies a week at any of their theaters for $20/month. This would be a good option if you have an AMC in your area. However, I don’t have one within 50 miles and I have heard rumblings that they are only going to continue service for 3 months after MoviePass dies then end their plans.

Theatrical trendsetter Alamo Drafthouse announced a waitlist beta test for a loyalty program but it has not taken off yet. I’m holding out hope for Regal Cinemas to create a program, but I have to do something in the meantime.

There is only one real competitor to MoviePass that is providing a similar service for all major theater chains. That is Sinemia.  They saw the woes that Moviepass was having and dropped their prices until September for a summer promotion. I have signed up for their three movie a month plan. That’s pretty close to my average anyway and it will run me $13.99/month. The upside is that I can see IMAX and other special screenings that MoviePass forbade, I can even buy tickets in advance. However, for some reason they have gotten little press and some bad reviews, I guess time will tell if they will last especially if their subscriber base begins to grow as rapidly as MoviePass’ did.

Since I only get 3 movies a month now, I’m going to have to be a little picky. I’m going to take a look at the remaining 5 months of 2018 and hopefully my three a month will give you my top 15 anticipated films of the rest of the year. What about you? Did you get burned by MoviePass’ surge pricing? Are you an AMC fan? Are you going to try Sinemia? Let me know in the comments!

 

News, What did you think?

Website Content Questions

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I struggle with what to post on this website. I’m such a movie geek. I could easily blog about obscure movies, box office numbers, and formal analysis all day long. However, I want this to be a blog that people want to actually visit. Sadly, I don’t think the overwhelming number of people really care that much about those things. That is assuming that people actually care about movies in general anymore.

Every week, we get 3-4 more major films that hit theaters (not to mention the dozens of independent films and documentaries that fly below most people’s radar) and this constant barrage can be overwhelming. I would be happy to narrow it down for you and give you some suggestions for what to watch. But movies are like food and tastes vary wildly. A movie that I think looks laughable may be one of your favorites of the year. On the flip-side, I enjoy films that are a little strange at times and that may not match more mainstream interest.

So I am left asking my readers for their input. I’ll give you a few examples in a list. Let me know which of these you crave. Don’t forget to let me know the ones you couldn’t care less about or would rather read elsewhere. You won’t hurt my feelings.

Website ideas:

  • Coming Attractions – Movies that are more than a month away. Could feature trailers and production news.
  • Weekend Outlook – What movies are coming to theaters this weekend? Should I spend my money at the theater or just Netflix and chill?
  • New Movie Reviews – The staple that nearly every movie blog is centered around. Reviews of movies out in theaters now.
  • Classic Movie Reviews – Great older movies that you should find streaming or buy. These will generally be positive reviews. I’m not going to waste my time trashing a film that many have trashed before.
  • Streaming Reviews – A look at movies currently streaming on Netflix, Amazon, or other streaming services. Since they are essentially free to watch I could definitely get a bomb from time to time.
  • Movie Lists – Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10 of all kinds of different topics. These are fun to write and I hope that they will create some conversation since that is what this is all about.
  • Best Movie Bracket – This is a combination of classic reviews and movie lists. I’ve committed to finding the best movie of all time and I think the way to do it is through competition. I’m currently building my bracket by determining top movies for every year. Then the battles will begin.
  • If You Liked… – I haven’t done this one in a while, but I would take a well known film and suggest a handful of lesser known titles that are similar in some way.
  • Film/Scene Analysis – An in depth, sometimes shot by shot, look at a classic film to uncover what the director, cinematographer, and actors were doing and why it works. You get behind-the-scenes, film school knowledge without the student loans.
  • Box Office Predictions & News – How many millions is that new movie making (or losing) at the box office? I particularly enjoy predicting the top 5 for each weekend to see if I am understanding the trends and patterns that emerge.
  • Who did it Better? – With as many remakes and sequels that we are getting from Hollywood, I think that a side by side analysis of an original and a remake is fun to see who did it better and why?
  • Trivia – This can run the gamut from screenshot trivia, movie quotes, or interesting facts about actors or movie production. I’d love to make it a competition on the site, but it may be better to keep it confined to social media.
  • Discussion Guides – This is definitely more of a niche post, but as a pastor who loves movies I enjoy thinking of ways to use movies to provoke discussion on a variety of different topics. These could be used by families, youth groups, or pastors as a way to launch into deeper things.
  • Podcast/Vodcast – I have thought about turning any number of these ideas into a video or audio version. This makes me a bit nervous, not because I’m ashamed of my voice (although I’m not sure anyone wants to see my receding hairline), but because I think of myself as a fairly scripted person and just having dead air to cover all by myself is a bit daunting.

I think that is enough for now, but if you think of any others that would be of interest to you, let me know. You can leave a comment here or on social media, or you can even email me at logan@lifeatthemovies.com. Thank you for your feedback.

P. S. – Notice that I didn’t include anything about celebrity news. That is because I find that garbage intolerable. I could care less who is sleeping with who or why they are fighting or what their baby bump looks like. They are people, like you and me and they don’t deserve to have their every waking minute scrutinized by the media.

News, Superhero, Trailers

Comic-Con 2016 Trailers

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If you’ve been hiding from social media all weekend you may have missed that it was San Diego Comic-Con, and what used to be a lively gathering of comic book fans has now become the place where all the major studios release their goodies to hordes of ravenous fanboys (and fangirls). Clearly at an event of this scope they talked about more than just movies, but as this is a movie blog, I will not be discussing any of the comic or video game news.

However, because I am so thoughtful, I’ve made you handy list of all the trailers / exclusive previews for new movies (and a couple of exciting TV shows) that I could get my hands on. Marvel traditionally holds some of their stuff back for a week or two after Comic-Con so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Because of this, it looks like DC won the show with some great new content, but we haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll try to keep you up to date with other cool movie related things that come out of the convention.

Wonder Woman

Finally, a woman-led superhero movie. She is 75 years old this year and she’s never looked better. I couldn’t help but think of Star Trek when I saw Chris Pine washed up on shore, but it looks good and their might actually be some humor here that DC has been sorely missing.

Appreciated feminist tones aside (“what I do is not up to you”), the movie takes on a lighter color palette than other DC movies. It looks gritty, but not in the might-as-well-be-black-and-white monotone of movies like ‘Batman v Superman. ‘Wonder Woman was probably the best part of that movie anyway, so things are looking good.

Justice League

After the mess of ‘Batman v Superman,’ I’m a bit wary of Zack Snyder being at the helm of a superhero flick as important as this one, but this “special footage” reel (Warner Bros. isn’t calling it a trailer) actually looks quite good.

While Snyder still doesn’t seem to like colors very much, the reel takes on a lighthearted, humorous tone as Batman goes about collecting his teammates. I’m tentatively hopeful.

Suicide Squad

On the more villainous side of things, we have another trailer for Suicide Squad, which comes out in a couple of weeks.

Lego Batman

Lego Batman was the best part of ‘The Lego Movie.’ So why not give him his own movie. This one could be my favorite of what DC currently has to offer.

Doctor Strange

Alright, since DC had their fun, let’s see what Marvel had to offer. There was this awesome trailer for Doctor Strange. Probably the most visually enchanting trailer of the event. Here we see Sherlock Dr. Steven Strange learning the ways of magic. This will be one that must be seen on the big screen to be appreciated. It’s hitting theaters this November 4th.

Marvel’s Iron Fist

I don’t normally cover much TV, but Marvel has some great looking offerings and they have given us quality entertainment in the past with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Here’s the first teaser for Iron Fist, set to be released in 2017.

Marvel’s Luke Cage

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ymw5uvViqPU

Luke Cage – one of the main characters in the fantastic ‘Jessica Jones’ is getting his own show, and the music in this trailer is on point!

Marvel’s The Defenders

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wBZtM8q2Z1g

The above two heroes are teaming up with Jessica Jones and Daredevil for The Defenders. This teaser doesn’t show any actual footage, but we do hear what sounds like ‘Stick’ from ‘Daredevil’ talking in the background and it gets me excited nonethless.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

We’ve got some great non-comic book movies that also released some updated and new trailers during Comic-Con. I for one am very excited to see the wizarding world come to 1920s New York. This is the most detailed trailer for the movie we’ve seen yet, although it still reveals very little in terms of overall plot. I’ve very excited to come into a J.K. Rowling movie without already knowing the ending from the book.

Kong: Skull Island

King Kong gets supersized in this reboot from the producers of the most recent Godzilla. It looks like they could be setting things up for a potential Kong on Godzilla battle. If this movie does better than Peter Jackson’s maybe we could see a Mothra movie too.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Guy Ritchie has made a name for himself with films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Sherlock Holmes, and he’s carried that same distinctive dialogue and visual style over to the Arthurian legend.

There’s an incredible cast lined up for this as well with Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, and Eric Bana. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword hits theaters on March 24, 2017.

News

Cyclops Cinema

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Tonight, I went to Cyclops Cinema here in Gainesville. It is a DVD rental shop formally known as Video Rodeo. The proprietor, Jason McNeal, took over the shop from the previous owners back in December saying that it seemed like a bad idea for it to close. I would agree. I know that it seems like movie rental stores are a dying breed, but with a library of 8,000 DVDs and BluRays featuring a wide selection of independent and foreign films not available on Netflix or in Redbox kiosks, a shop like this cannot disappear if we hope for cinema to live well in Gainesville.

Jason had further dreams beyond a simple DVD rental storefront as well. In March, he installed 22 theater style chairs in the back of the 1,600 square-foot storefront off University Avenue and Main Street. It makes a very comfortable and welcoming environment to watch a film. In this screening room, McNeal shows everything from indie documentaries to horror movies, comedies and classics that you cannot and will not see anywhere else in Gainesville. Currently, Cyclops Cinema is showing the retro-futuristic drama High Rise starring Tom Hiddleston (best known as Loki in the Thor and Avengers films). It will be showing through June 30th nightly at 8:30pm and 5pm on Sundays for just $5. You can learn more about Cyclops Cinema and keep up with their upcoming schedule on their facebook page.

Cyclops

I’ll post my review of High Rise soon, but I wanted to comment on this idea of micro-cinema. I’m not sure why I’ve never thought of it before. We have micro-breweries which specialize in the craft of beer-making, taking pride in quality over volume. We have micro-roasters that take very unique coffee beans from around the globe and prepare and showcase them for the palettes of connoisseurs. I have always been a fan of locally owned businesses that aim to present the unique flair of a particular city. That is exactly what Cyclops Cinema is doing in Gainesville.

My film appetites tend slightly more mainstream than the films that will play every week at Cyclops, and that is probably the reason for my oversight of its need. I have been satisfied with the studio productions which are raised on the multiplexes multiple times a day. The convenience and anonymity of a 16 screen behemoth is nice when I’m looking for fast food film fare like the new Independence Day film being released this weekend. However, sitting alone in a 200 seat theater watching the independent release that this corporation begrudgingly gave a 1 week run is sad. It makes sense that film lovers like me have been forced to go to streaming and buying off the internet. I thought that was my only outlet as well, but now that I have met Jason, I will be back regularly.

2010s, Action, Comedy, News, Spy, Trailers

Trailer for Keeping Up with the Joneses

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From the guy that brought us Superbad comes a hilarious looking comedy with a skinnier Zach Galifianakis and a load of other great actors. Remember Mr. And Mrs. Smith with Brangelina? Imagine being their next door neighbors. That is the concept behind Greg Mottola’s latest comedy, Keeping Up with the Joneses. Isla Fisher and Zach Galifianakis are an ordinary suburban couple that are in for a wild ride when they figure out that Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot are not who they appear to be. I can’t imagine a better cast of characters here. The trailer had me laughing out loud a couple of times. I just hope they don’t show too much in future trailers. I’m marking this one down as a great date night movie October 21st.

2010s, Adventure, Alien/Monster, Fantasy, News, Trailers

Who is Newt Scamander?

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I’m getting more and more excited about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them with each featurette that Warner Brothers releases. Eddie Redmayne stars as Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who winds up letting loose a suitcase full of magical creatures in New York City in the 20s. It looks like they’re still finishing the FX, so most of the footage involves characters interacting. There’s some brand new shots we haven’t seen before, and plenty of discussion from author J.K. Rowling, who was much more involved in the making of this than she was Harry Potter.

Alien/Monster, News

Noomi Rapace Will Reprise Prometheus Role in Alien: Covenant

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Dr. Elizabeth Shaw will be back. Noomi Rapace is getting back on board in Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise. In the upcoming Alien: Covenant, she will reprise her Prometheus role as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, who was one of the few survivors of Scott’s 2012 sci-fi prequel.

Scott had previously stated that Rapace’s Shaw, despite working hard to escape certain death, would not be in Covenant. Now, it appears that plans have changed. The actress is joining franchise newcomers Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride, as well as her Prometheus co-star Michael Fassbender, who will be returning as the android David.

Scott is directing the feature, which is currently filming in Australia and due in theaters in August 2017. Covenant will follow a new crew of explorers that are bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy.

Lists, News

Determining the Best Film of All Time

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I have a desire to figure out what my favorite film of all time is. To do this, I am going to take a look at each year (Working backwards from 2015) and determine the best film of that year. My apologies to movies before around 1950 and those that will be released afterwards, but I need to have a top 64 and this is the only way that I can think to narrow them down without rating every movie made and just picking my top rated.

I’m sure there will be some years that I struggle to pick an overwhelming favorite, so I will be open to the possibility of carrying two films from a single year no more than 4 times throughout this process. I say 4 so they can have a runoff at the end to determine who will make it into the top 64. I’m going to attempt to do a year every other day or so, so this could take a while.

But once I have the top from each year, I will put them in a bracket. I think I will use IMDb ratings or Metacritic scores to determine seeding. Then I will have a tournament to determine the best. We will have vs. matchups which will be fun because I will get to compare and contrast some likely very different films and have to determine a winner. It should be fun.

I’m going to work my way backwards from newer to older. Obviously, there are gaps in my watching habits and films that I have not yet seen. This will of course only be the top 64 films that I have seen. I will be looking ahead to try and watch some films that others have chosen as their best of a year that i have missed, but I’m sure I’m going to leave some out. If you’d like, I’d encourage you to play along with me. I’m going to keep my list here on a page and then I will convert the list into a bracket.

Right off the bat, I’m having conflicting thoughts about the whole process, because I feel like I am going to be leaving out some incredible films in my goal to pick the best of each year. Let me also say that I am seeking to find the overall best film of all time. There are a lot of different types of films from documentaries to musicals, Drama to blockbuster, independent to big budget, and I really like all types of film.

My only limitations are the fact that I only have 2 eyes and 24 hours in a day. So my list will reflect some big Box Office smashes, to which my indie film friends may turn their noses up, and some Oscar contenders which probably slid under many people’s radar. I am a normal guy and generally don’t attend a lot of indie or private screenings so most of what I watch has to have at least a moderate release or availability on streaming services or Blu Ray.

What do you think about this goal? Anyone want to play along with me? What should I call this?