I understand your first sentence, and I agree that for some of them that might be the case, but I still think more are made for entertainment and winning or being nominated can provide a positive signal.

To be clear I’m not saying that winning an Oscar is an automatic “best movie ever” signal. It’s a signal to take another look.

And honestly looking only at last year’s nominees and winners it is a pretty weak signal overall. But if I go back a year, I look over the winners and nominees there…

I never would have seen “Anatomy of a Fall” if it hadn’t been nominated and/or won for best original screenplay, but after it did and I read about it, I decided to watch it and really enjoyed it.

Similarly Emma Stone winning best actress for Poor Things got me interested in it. It’s not a film I thought looked interesting, but I like Emma Stone. So I decided to give it a chance. Now I don’t think I liked it as much as other people, but I think the film was worth watching, worth my time.

Awards let me know that other people have enjoyed something. If I think something looks boring, but then it suddenly wins a bunch of awards, maybe I misjudged it. Maybe I saw the wrong trailer or read the wrong synopsis. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood at that time.

I’d pay to see that crossover episode.

The “Richards Family” versus the “Toretto Family”.

Sure but what sort of signals are you looking for?

Would, “Film won an Oscar” not be a positive signal?

Why would it be a negative?

They’re definitely not giving up on theatres. The last two made billions of dollars each.

However the last film was available on PVOD after 102 days and Disney+ streaming after 173 days. Recent films, looking at Marvel and DC, usually get PVOD after ~70 days and streaming after ~100 days. I expect this film will swing a little higher in terms of days since they’ll probably have a few more special showings (more IMAX etc) after the holiday season.

Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney has a plan for an intermission if that is the feedback they get. And honestly if films keep getting longer it may become a standard thing. And if it becomes a standard then I think theaters would be exited, since they can get you to buy more candy, popcorn and soda.

They’re visually impressive fun and simple stories.

Plus they get a huge marketing budget.

Plus Cameron has a history of solid films, Terminator, Terminator 2, Titanic, and now two going on three Avatar films.

Also if you travel to Disney World Animal Kingdom there is a whole section dedicated to Avatar. In fact there is a ride in that park where the wait time is as long as these films. Is that ride worth it? Honestly, yeah, kinda.

Like you said, they’re not bad. Popularity is a different thing. Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, etc these are the popular things. Avatar? I could give you a rough idea of the plot of the last film, but I don’t really remember it. But it wasn’t bad. I’m not dying to see the upcoming film. But if it’s released and I’ve got a free evening, sure, I’ll give it a go. I know it’ll be entertaining.

That’s exactly what I’m thinking and hoping. I’ll have to wait for the reviews and longer gameplay, but if it’s Dragon Quest Builders + Pokemon then it should be a fun game.

The little info (i) box on Billboards website actually cites their data, “The week’s most popular downloaded songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Luminate.” Which I assume refers to luminatedata.com

Sadly their data (the numbers specifically) aren’t publicly available.

I think it’s worth clarifying that it’s #1 on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales. That’s a specific category.

According to https://tasteofcountry.com/breaking-rust-explained-ai-country-song in order to reach number one would only take ~3,000 purchases.

That’s a shockingly low number, so if anyone can confirm that or has better numbers, I’d love to know.

But last time I brought a digital song, they cost $1. So for a couple thousand dollars any song could be number one in this category.

If I were an AI company swimming in money, that’s a drop in the bucket for some free publicity.

It is VERY good. It may be the best film I’ve seen this year. At minimum there are beautiful scenes and cinematography that will stick with you long after the film ends.

No, but the article mentions plans for Sonic 4 being in IMAX.

Is it money?

But while domestic total ticket sales are up only 2.6% this year from 2024, IMAX’s are up 16%, according to the company. Its share of domestic and global tickets are at record highs, and its total worldwide box office is on track to exceed $1.2 billion this year for the first time.

It’s money.

IMAX costs more but it also offers something you can’t get at home, so it making more money makes sense.

For me personally, IMAX is neat but not something I actively seek out. I’m willing to put in the extra effort to see a film in IMAX maybe once a year, but it has to be a film I’m really excited for. Dune? Sure. Sonic the Hedgehog? Naw.

In terms of future films, Donkey Kong is an easy choice. Luigi’s Mansion would also be a logical follow up. A film up against Wario & Waluigi, then even giving them a villain “solo” movie, or Bowser. But! That’s all Mario adjacent.

Nintendo properties generally have a silent protagonist, so you need someone who can talk. A Kirby film could work if you add a talking hat or something.

I’d love to see a Metroid film, but I think a PG horror/thriller/isolation film would be hard.

Splatoon could be an interesting choice. With the success of K-Pop Demon Hunters I could see a Splatoon movie that leans heavily into music.

Star Fox would actually be an excellent choice but we haven’t had much in that franchise for a while.

I’ll defend Speed Racer (2008). It’s a beautiful film, full of color and fun. Sure the story is simple, but it’s just so much fun.

Lol, I underestimated how many “Moto G” phones there are. I have the “Moto G 5g” at the moment, but had the “Moto G power” historically. But there are like 5 phones a year with “Moto G54” or similar branding.

I found what looks like active wallpapers on my phone, but I didn’t see any ads. For me it was hidden away in the settings and I only recall seeing it when first setting up my phone since my launcher handles the wallpaper now.

I do remember a bunch of apps like TikTok and some random Solitaire game being installed “for my convenience” when the phone was first setup, but I could remove them completely.

I wonder if very specific versions install different crap.

It’s a bummer if so because it’s what I recommend to friends if they ask.

I’d be curious to know which phone model. I’ve only been using low end Motorola phones for years but I’ve never seen such a thing. I think mine have all been the Moto G series.

For Batman specifically I think it starts as a way to clean up Gotham. He’ll quit just as soon as Gotham is cleaned up. But of course it’s a neverending task. Plus even if he cleaned up Gotham, how can he stop there? How can he stop when there is so much left to do.

But! That’s why I like Batman working with the Justice League and Superman specifically. He can never go back to being Bruce Wayne, he’ll always be Batman, but at least with Superman he gets his moments of comfort, however brief they may be.

Batman is cursed to be Batman and not Bruce Wayne. That’s his character.

I’m not against changing some aspects of his character. And as you noted other characters strike a balance. But those are other characters. If we’re changing too much of a character, maybe we just tell that different character’s story instead.

As for Spider-Man, that is a character who, depending on the story and timeline of that story, does try to strike a balance. In terms of being poor I think it’s a matter of being independent. Whenever he works for someone, they tend to want to do things their way. Even if he agrees or he’s doing what he wanted to do, there is still that layer of dependence.

In any case I’m guessing it hasn’t had enough users to justify funding from Canonical.

in 2017 after shutting down the Unity development team and laying off nearly 200 employees.

Just in case it wasn’t clear, Canonical has no interest in funding it anymore. The project was then picked up my community maintainers, which based on the article was just one person who was 12, now ~15 years old. I bring up the age just to point out that, yes, school is a more important thing to focus on.

The psychological scarring is an interesting point, but that only works if you know why the snap happened.

By the end of Infinity War most of Thanos’s army and underlings have been defeated. Thanos then (within a few days/weeks) goes into retirement. So he’s not spreading word of his accomplishments or reasoning.

Carol mentions at the start of Endgame that a lot of other worlds need her help. So she could spread some information on what happened, but I’m not sure it’s going to really stick. You need the trauma of Thanos actually showing up (or his underlings and then the Avengers filling in the gaps).

Yes, but that was lazy remake, this one they put effort into, probably.

FWIW I did enjoy this remake, but it did have some janky looking cutscenes.

Also if this movie does well I want another crossover film.