MoviePass

[bfla...@gmail.com]

How long has it been since you actually went downtown to see a movie?
Personally, I've not been in a movie theater in years. However, there
is a new kid on the block that just might entice me to wander into the
dark pit of fantasy. It's called MoviePass.

In August of this year, when MoviePass introduced a cut-rate,
subscription-based plan — go to the movies 365 times a year for $9.95
a month. MoviePass said this month that it had signed up more than
one million subscribers in just four months.

It took Netflix more than three years to reach that level when it
started selling low-priced subscriptions for DVD rentals in 1999.
Spotify was relatively quick, at five months in 2011. It took Hulu
10 months to reach one million later that year.

Here's how it works: Under the MoviePass business model, theaters
get paid full price for every admission. People who sign up receive
a membership card that functions like a debit card.

When members want to see a movie (no more than one a day) they use a
MoviePass smartphone app to check in at the theater. The app instantly
transfers the price of a ticket to the membership card. Members in
turn use the card to pay for entry. It all works independently of theaters.

[El Castor]

At one time I sold securities to branches and some corporate customers
of the bank I worked for. One of my co-workers had the account of a
chain of movie theaters. They gave him a pas -- only for their chain,
but anytime free, and as often as he wished. We were envious.

These days movie theater attendance is on a steady decline. This year
it's down 4%. Movie theaters are on the way out. I've converted a
spare bedroom into a home theater. 106" motorized screen, a few
speakers, projector, and a cheap blu-ray player and we get the same
picture quality as a theater -- no gum on the floor, the popcorn is
cheap, and bathroom breaks are a lot easier. We rent disks from
Netflix, and stream Netflix and Amazon. Not particularly expensive,
and the wife and I haven't set foot in a theater for years.

[Gary]

On Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:15:09 -0800 (PST), bfla...@gmail.com wrote:

>How long has it been since you actually went downtown to see a movie?
>Personally, I've not been in a movie theater in years. However, there
>is a new kid on the block that just might entice me to wander into the
>dark pit of fantasy. It's called MoviePass.

The last time I went into a movie theater was in the mid 1980s. Can't
recall the movie. The reason we never went back was there was so
many teenagers in there. And they spent their time walking around
and talking to each other. I suppose it was my first introduction to
the young generation of "white trash" that is now grown up and is in
charge.

We have watched a lot of movies on TV - but not in theaters.

[GLOBALIST]

I haven't been in ages, but I think St Louis theaters have a
policy that if you are disruptive for any reason, security
will walk you out and there is a little blurb before the
movie even starts about loud talking and a reminder.

[Emily]

On Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:15:09 -0800 (PST), bfla...@gmail.com wrote:

>How long has it been since you actually went downtown to see a movie?

It's been at least twenty years. When my husband and I got married,
33 years ago, we bought ourselves whatever it was that connected to
the TV and showed movies in those days and the only time I was
actually in a theater after that was once when my daughter and I went
to see a movie in which Robert Redford was running for President. I
don't remember the name of the movie. Actually, now that I think of
it, I've been twice. The other time was when I was visiting a friend
in Florida. The theater was so damned cold that I nearly froze and
the sound level was set to ear-splitting. I'm quite content to watch
movies on our TV.

[Lawrence Akutagawa]

bflanier wrote in message
news:dcd1664f-dc49-47b2...@googlegroups.com...

***** This line separates my response from the foregoing ******

If you already haven't, go see the currently playing Pixar's "Coco."

[El Castor]

Teenagers are playing a big part in the destruction of the motion
picture industry. They are the ones who go to the movies, so movies
are tailored to their tastes -- special effects up the wazoo,
violence, destruction, explosions, super heroes, super villains,
transformers, etc. That crap over and over again gets tiresome.

[Gary]

Even back then, there was a couple of ushers who walked around. But
they did not chastise the teenagers. They allowed them to walk and
talk.

[Gary]

I had never thought of that, but I think you are right. When I was
a teenager -- almost all new movies were worth seeing. Now -- I doubt
if I would sit for more than five minutes to watch one tenth of them.
The quality of new movies has been going downhill for several decades.
And ... so has the tastes of teenagers.

Let me offer an alternative thought. Maybe the taste of the modern
teenagers is so bad because of the low quality of actors these days.
When I was young in the 1950s and 60s, I always thought of the
great actors (John Wayne, Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart) as being a
little above us common folks. But what I see coming out of
Hollywood these days -- would more accurately be described as
"white-trash". Just my personal opinion :- )

[islander]

We go occasionally. There is a nice old theater on the island and the
owners pretty well understand the island culture. Most of the people
who attend are seniors. My wife and I take an elderly lady whose
parents were Gilbert Roland (Zorro) and Constance Bennett, so she really
enjoys the movies. Last year they added a bar attached to the theater,
so one can mellow out before the movie starts.

[rumpelstiltskin]

On Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:15:09 -0800 (PST), bfla...@gmail.com wrote:

>How long has it been since you actually went downtown to see a movie?
>Personally, I've not been in a movie theater in years. However, there
>is a new kid on the block that just might entice me to wander into the
>dark pit of fantasy. It's called MoviePass.

Nor have I been to a movie theatre in years. I thought that just
meant that I was weird, but apparently that in particular doesn't,
although I may be weird for other reasons. The last two
movies I saw in a movie theatre were "American Beauty", which
got lots of rave reviews from the effete show-biz crowd, though
I only found it somewhat interesting. The other was "The Pianist"
which I think is the best movie I've ever seen. It was the
creation of that guy who had to flee the USA because he had
sex with a 13-year-old girl who was dressed like an 18-year-old
girl. I saw those more than ten years ago, and I've not been
tempted to see another movie since. TV is bad enough.

>
>In August of this year, when MoviePass introduced a cut-rate,
>subscription-based plan — go to the movies 365 times a year for $9.95
>a month. MoviePass said this month that it had signed up more than
>one million subscribers in just four months.

Well that's one way to address the overpopulation problem.
Make people go to the movies every day and at least 2/3 of
them will commit suicide just so they don't have to go anymore.

>
>It took Netflix more than three years to reach that level when it
>started selling low-priced subscriptions for DVD rentals in 1999.
>Spotify was relatively quick, at five months in 2011. It took Hulu
>10 months to reach one million later that year.
>
>Here's how it works: Under the MoviePass business model, theaters
>get paid full price for every admission. People who sign up receive
>a membership card that functions like a debit card.
>
>When members want to see a movie (no more than one a day) they use a
>MoviePass smartphone app to check in at the theater. The app instantly
>transfers the price of a ticket to the membership card. Members in
>turn use the card to pay for entry. It all works independently of theaters.

365 movies a year isn't enough? I think I'd rather
experience 365 invasions by ferocious and sadistic
extraterrestrials a year. At least, unlike most
movies, that would be stimulating.

[rumpelstiltskin]

If I had to go to the movies every week, that would make
me want to take up heavy drinking too.

[El Castor]

Maybe a little of both. Hollywood has lost it's drama and glitz. In
the days before television, radio and movies were the entertainment
focal point. The movie theater was the social center of small town
America. Actors and actresses were worshipped, and everyone knew who
they were. Premiers were a huge event. Not so much today. Who cares
what Jennifer Lawrence is doing and can you name three top male
actors? Does the 20 year old beauty from small town Iowa still make
her way to Hollywood dreaming of becoming a great star? Do they even
make movies in Hollywood anymore?

[El Castor]

On Thu, 28 Dec 2017 17:41:18 -0800, islander <no...@priracy.com> wrote:

Sounds nice. The essence of the small town movie theater. You probably
all know each other. (-8

[islander]

There are regulars who we often see there, old couples out for date
night. There is a very good pizza place next door which is convenient
for after the show.

[bill bowden]

On Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 12:15:12 AM UTC-8, bfla...@gmail.com wrote:

> How long has it been since you actually went downtown to see a movie?
> Personally, I've not been in a movie theater in years. However, there
> is a new kid on the block that just might entice me to wander into the
> dark pit of fantasy. It's called MoviePass.
>

The last 2 movies I attended in a theater were "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List" around 1994 Youtube is better nowadays. You can choose the subject you like and avoid the violence. But my connection to youtube is flakey since they did an upgrade on our public WIFI. Sometimes it works in the dark when the sun isn't shining. I consulted my Nephew-in-law Xmas day who is a consultant for internet security problems and he recommended a WOP (wireless access point). It suposedly extends the WIFI range. Some sort of repeater I guess but it will have to be installed outside since the signal inside isn't that great after the silly upgrade. I should get a discount on my rent since I pay for the WIFI which I can't use without sitting at the outside picnic tables in cold weather. But we did have a good Xmas party around here and the management served 250 tamalies. I took a few home to put in the freezer.

[rumpelstiltskin]

"Upgrades" are all-too-frequently "downgrades" in effect.
I didn't allow Microsoft to "upgrade" my Windows 7 for a
long time, but then I let it. A couple of months ago, an
upgrade automatically set up "ease of access" options.
I could get rid of most of them, but not all. Now if I hover
over a picture, a big version of it pops up, obscuring the
material around it, and if I use my cursor to browse a
list of file names, I'm very likely to find all the file names
I pass over highlighted, so that I have to unhighlight them
before I do anything to the file I was actually looking for.
There is an ease-of-access setup in the Control Panel,
but IT DOESN"T WORK! If you browse the web, you'll
find trillions of people replying to Microsoft that IT
DOESN'T WORK, and Microsoft will blandly reply, every
time "Just go to control panel, ease of access..."
Trying to fix it directly through the registry doesn't work
either: I've tried that several different ways.

I have automatic updates turned off again now, to
prevent Microsoft from creating any more problems.

Bitch bitch moan moan.

[islander]

I had that problem with ease-of-access some time ago, but found a
solution for it which I have long since forgotten. Sorry! Since then, I
still get the automatic updates to Win 10 and haven't had a problem. It
is probably waiting until I need the computer to meet a deadline.

[rumpelstiltskin]

I'm avoiding Win 10 for as long as I can. When I switched
from XP to Win 7, I lost some stuff I really liked.

[islander]

I can understand that. I needed to update the Office suite since I use
that a lot. I also lost Photoshop, but am attempting to use the public
domain Gimp. Not equal, IMV. Most important, I lost VectorWorks which
I had come proficient in using for 3D modeling and design. I miss that
and have not found a replacement. I could update it, but it costs
$3,745! Gasp!

[rumpelstiltskin]

I don't know what you use drawing programs for, but have
you tried "paint.net"? I love it, and unlike Gimp and Photoshop,
it's intelligible without hours or weeks of study.

[islander]

My use of Photoshop and Gimp has been primarily for retouching,
enhancing, and editing. I had gotten Photoshop while at Stanford at a
substantial discount and had successfully mastered it. I'll take a look
at paint.net to see if it might be useful for my purposes.

I used VectorWorks to design my house and would like to use it now for
designing things that I build in my shop. It is a very powerful program
and also has a steep learning curve, but I had gotten very good at using
it. Did I mention that I modeled everything in my house down to the
last board, pipe, wire and duct before actually building it? Not worth
the price for me now tho.

[Lawrence Akutagawa]

"islander" wrote in message news:p26sj8$95k$1...@dont-email.me...

***** This line separates my response from the foregoing ******

Instead of Gimp, try Paint.net -
https://www.getpaint.net/

It's (contraction, not possessive) free, easier to use than Gimp, has a lot
of functionality, and - unlike Gimp - is updated periodically.

Then, too, there is a (much) older version of Photoshop available free.
Check around the internet.

[rumpelstiltskin]

If you've mastered photoshop, it may be better for you to stick
with it. I had enough initial trouble with gimp to discourage me
from continuing with it, and what I saw about the complexity
of photoshop horrified me. I have no need of "levels" of stuff
to be handled separately and then overlaid on each other.
Quite possibly mastering such things is worth the effort for
people who do far, far more complex things than I do. I just
want to touch up photographs, and possibly collage them.

[dullo...@gmail.com]

Runple wrote:

'The other was "The Pianist"

which I think is the best movie I've ever seen. It was the
creation of that guy who had to flee the USA because he had
sex with a 13-year-old girl who was dressed like an 18-year-old

girl.'

That would be Roman Polanski, I believe.

The last two films I have seen were (don't laugh) Gone With the Wind and El Amor Bruno. The interesting thing about the third or fourth iteration of Gone, reiterated for my wife, is that I saw it at the restored Paramount Theatre in crime-ridden downtown Oakland. They have a Wurlitzer organ that rises up from below the stage and a parking garage next to the theatre, so you can run for cover if need be.

El Amor Bruno, by Carlos Saura, was magnificent, with Manuel de Falla's music in the background. It begins with people pouring into a theatre and seating themselves facing an arena where actors are milling around doing nothing in particular. Gradually the camera moves closer and closer to the arena until the audience disappears from view and suddenly, in that instant, you are transported to a camp of Spanish gypsies. ¡Olé!

El Amor Brujo means (in my opinion) Love, the Sorcerer. On their wedding day a groom is stabbed to death in a knife fight, but he casts a spell on the bride that binds her to him. Eventuality the spell is broken when the bride dances beside a magic fire in a dramatic nighttime scene, accompanied by La Danza del Fuego, which you know and almost certainly love as The Ritual Fire Dance.

I haven't needed to see another film since then.

Eugene FitzAubrey

[dullo...@gmail.com]

El Amor Brujo - Danza Ritual del Fuego & Canción del Fuego:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L18b3UQQ49I

There is nothing more Spanish and nothing more Carlos Saura. The song at the end gives me chills. (Captions are in Portuguese.)

Eugene FitzAubrey

[bill bowden]

Islander wrote:

>
I can understand that. I needed to update the Office suite since I use
that a lot. I also lost Photoshop, but am attempting to use the public
domain Gimp. Not equal, IMV. Most important, I lost VectorWorks which
I had come proficient in using for 3D modeling and design. I miss that
and have not found a replacement. I could update it, but it costs
$3,745! Gasp!
>

All I know about Photoshop is adjusting the contrast and brightness and picture resolution. But I can also open several picture files of peoples faces and drop them all into a single picture. And I can touch up a picture using the paintbrush and magnifying the photo with the (control +) option. A few drops of paint here and there makes a difference. I didn't even have to install Photoshop 6 on my netbook. I just used a flash-drive and dragged the entire folder onto my
netbook and it Works fine with no installation. I'm just a amateur.