I second the request for strikethrough.

That's an interesting problem. Reluctance to re-watch something for the fear of ruining the first-time magic. I've had this with old TV shows that I loved when a kid e.g. Blakes 7, Space 1999, Thunderbirds, Hitchhikers. Now they'd all probably just be camp, lame, dumb, and cheap, etc. Humour, in particular, can date fast.
Better not to re-watch ,and preserve the pleasant memories.

In a related way, watching old FX movies/TV now released on 1080p Blu-Ray reveals their flaws. What seemed awesome at the time is now riddled with obvious composits, grain differences, etc. The 1980s were full of blue-screen composits and stop-motion that don't date well and take you right out.

That's why every classic film needs to be re-made, over and over again, as each FX studio upgrades their plug-ins

Thank God for Transformers 1-3 then

It had to happen. From runnings zoombies, we now have co-ordinated (ant colony) zombies rendered in Massive.

Is there anybody who isn't sick of zombies/vampires? Ironic that the undead genre won't die.

My theory is that Ridley Scott got so much mileage out of the 'Is Deckard a Replicant?' debate, that he wanted to deliberately 'vague it up' and hired the right (second) script-writer for that job. From what's come out in the aftermath, Lindelhof was given specific instructions to add more questions than answers so (Scott assumed) the nerds would debate it for years to come, just like Blade Runner. It was a cynical exercise and it backfired, although not so much that it wasn't a financial success. In Scott's mind, the box office vindicates his approach. It depends how shielded he is from the backlash. His commentary reveals only smug satisfaction with the movie and acknowledges no weaknesses.

Man, those robot cops are useless. They only kill innocent passers-by and never hit their target.

If only most of the classic movie monsters weren't copyrighted... they could have really gone to town in the last act.

Exactly. It was a genuine surprise. And they better do that for Smaug as well.

Yes, it's completely the opposite now. The King Kong Production Diaries showed just about everything over a year out. Likewise with The Hobbit, Skyfall and Prometheus where, if you saw all the pre-release publicity videos, you've seen about 10-15 minutes of the movie well before it even screens. Then there's the problem of trailers giving away too much of the plot and reviewers dropping too many spoilers. 

I was in an IMAX cinema last week to watch Skyfall and they were showing behind-the-scenes stills from the movie as the audience took their seats.

For Dark Knight Rises, I could only see it in the second or third week, so I had to have a virtual internet blackout to avoid any leakage. Even knowing a simple thing like 'it's a hit' or 'it's a dud' can subconsciously alter your expectations, and consequently your enjoyment of the movie.

But yes, I'd love to (not) see a studio shoot Blue Harvest VII in secret. A 30-second teaser compiled from scenes only from the first third of the movie is all I need.

Carrie Fisher to reprise her role...

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts … 2110147331

Spielberg has gone on the record for wanting to helm a Star Wars film. And I'd like to see Nolan or Fincher have a go. Or Peter Jackson. Or Trey. Or Dorkman. But Ridley Scott can stay the fuck away.

Hollywood has been threatened by TV since TV began. All the innovations (wide-screen, surround sound, 3D, etc) were to keep one step ahead of TV.

For me, seeing a movie has become like going to the theatre/opera now. With premium IMAX tickets, you've gotta book a long time in advance to get the good seats and it costs over $50 for two.

DiF have discussed the changing "tent-pole to regular movie ratio". It does feel like there's fewer quality mid-budget movies being made. Avengers made a bucket-load, so 10 more of those. And after a while they become bland white-bread empty calories. But if the newly emerging markets (e.g. China, Brazil, India, etc) lap them up, then Hollywood movies will become like cigarettes (i.e. past peak saturation in the west, but taking off in the developing world).

What started with Jaws (A & B movie swap budgets) ends up with wall-to-wall teen superheroes.

But Hollywood has bounced back from crises before, so I'm an optimist. I'm not even sure it's a crisis. There's gotta be something to supply  the demand for new content. Future content may not be screened in traditional cinemas, but so what?