Do you watch the commercials on your DVR?

By Zack McGhee | Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 09:29 AM

A recent New York Times article about the DVR cited a Nielsen study that “46 percent of viewers 18 to 49 years old for all four networks taken together are watching the commercials during playback.” Why?

The Times quotes Brad Adgate, Horizon Media’s senior vice president for research, as saying, “It’s still a passive activity.”

This statistic shocked me. Do you watch the commercials on your DVR’d shows?

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Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ is almost perfect

By Zack McGhee | Thursday, October 29, 2009, 11:11 AM

If I could make four changes to Michael Jackson’s This Is It, it would become perfect:

• Remove opening studio credits
• Restore slow motion final frames to normal speed
• Remove closing MJ “Love lives forever” graphic and just end on a still frame of the man himself on stage
• Remove cheezy, post-credits “Heal the World” graphic

Director Kenny Ortega and Sony Pictures strive with every edit to give us the closest thing to a final product, but it is the raw, incomplete nature of this footage that makes it so powerful. Watching Michael Jackson’s creative process unfold is the great value of this documentary.

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What will you see this weekend?

By Zack McGhee | Friday, October 23, 2009, 02:50 PM

A bunch of movies open this weekend in Dayton. Saw VI, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, and Astro Boy are the major releases. Though I will bow to tradition and see the latest in the Saw franchise, I’m most excited about Chris Rock’s documentary, Good Hair, and two new movies opening exclusively at the Neon: The September Issue and Lorna’s Silence. (Also at the Neon is It Might Get Loud, which has gotten good reviews, but isn’t really in my wheelhouse.) What will you see this weekend?

P.S. Apologies for any appearance of impropriety from my blog post about the Little Art’s annual horror marathon. I can understand how it looks, but I also have to consider that it’s something I would’ve written about regardless of my involvement. How often, for example, do three classic films get 35mm screenings in the Dayton area? (Then there’s the area premiere of an upcoming and much anticipated horror title, plus the three digital screenings.) I’d also ask you consider that I’ve done work with the Little Art for almost three years in varying capacities, and this may be the first time I’ve ever touted the theatre on this blog.

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All-night Horror Marathon Saturday

By Zack McGhee | Thursday, October 22, 2009, 01:06 PM

For three years now, with the generous support of Jenny Cowperthwaite and several volunteers, I have planned the all-night horror marathon at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs. This year’s marathon features seven movies, plus more than 50 trailers, a costume contest, and other giveaways. It starts Saturday, October 24 at 9:30 p.m. (Doors open at 9 p.m.) Tickets are $20 each, and can be purchased online now. Tickets will also be for sale in person at the box office starting Saturday at 8 p.m.

The lineup this year is pretty exciting. On 35mm, we have Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, the area premiere of The House of the Devil, Stuart Gordon’s cult classic Re-Animator, and Roman Polanski’s Repulsion. We’re also showing Shaun of the Dead, the original Friday the 13th and George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in high-def digital projection. In addition to the films, we have the usual variety of popcorn and gourmet concessions, and we offer Domino’s Pizza.

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Watching ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’

By Zack McGhee | Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 10:29 AM

Sorry to be remiss in my usual roundup of the latest high-def releases during my extended wisdom teeth excursion. (To be honest, yesterday’s selection was pitiful, so I’m not too torn up about it.) I’m back now, though still heavily medicated. Perhaps it was this state that led me to pick up the critically reviled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Blu-ray disc yesterday.

This was a blind buy for me (I skipped it in theaters), and I must be honest: I didn’t hate it. That said, I can’t really think of anything good to say about it. It has no quality, it was merely entertaining enough to hold my interest, even at an undoubtedly long two-and-a-half hours. There are, however, a number of bad things to be said that all jump immediately to mind, despite my mild affection for the movie as a whole. Its blatant racism, its vulgarity masquerading as “edge,” that makes-no-sense slutty girlbot (since when can the Transformers replicate human flesh???). All in all, however, I must say that I found this one slightly more coherent than the original. That is, I usually understood what was going on and who everyone was, which was not always the case when I first saw Transformers in theaters two years ago.

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This weekend: ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ & more

By Zack McGhee | Friday, October 16, 2009, 11:42 AM

I’m still sore and swollen from Wednesday’s wisdom teeth adventure, but thought I’d check in with an update on what’s opening in Dayton theaters this weekend. I’m also curious about what (if anything) you’re planning to see in theaters or at home, so be sure to comment.

One of the year’s most anticipated films opens this weekend: Where the Wild Things Are, adapted from the widely adored children’s book by Maurice Sendak by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze, and directed by Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adapation.). Wild Things is getting rave reviews in many publications, but some critics have been underwhelmed. I hope to have a review for you on Monday.

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At home sick? What are your favorite movies to watch?

By Zack McGhee | Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 05:50 PM

Hi, everyone. I’m checking in with a briefer-than-usual blog post, because I had my wisdom teeth out this morning. So far, I’m recovering fine, and everything went smoothly, but I don’t really have the energy for a proper blog post. I do, however, have the energy to nap and watch TV. Which leads me to pull out a blog post I wrote more than two years ago (!) asking readers of this blog to share their favorite movies to watch when they’re at home sick.

Normally, I would opt for an old favorite like Clueless (as I did in the aforementioned blog post), Clue, The Princess Bride (itself book-ended by a home-sick Fred Savage), Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (also apropos), Rear Window, Star Trek IV: The One with the Whales, etc., etc.

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