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This move, in which a theatrical property of some note bypassed theaters for streaming, was a sign of things to come. And it\u2019s likely that this will become a growing trend in 2019, as the window between the big screen and the small screen narrows. On Friday, Collider (http:\/\/collider.com\/netflix-holmes-and-watson-sony\/) revealed news that the holiday Sony bomb \u201cHolmes & Watson\u201d was peddled to Netflix, who said \u201cno.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the failure of the film in theaters, seems like not bailing Sony out was the right decision. But look for studios to turn to Netflix (and other streamers) with their troubled and broken pictures. Frankly, this is a good thing because we\u2019ll get more content\u2014stuff that populates the platform, but isn\u2019t likely to qualify as good cinema. More on the effect Netflix has on media creation later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRoma\u201d is the best film of 2018. Here\u2019s why? WARNING: Spoilers ahead!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Writer, director, cinematographer Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n gave us a near perfect combination of large and intimate story-telling. After delivering two highly-regarded, science fiction epics, the Oscar winning filmmaker wasn\u2019t afraid to return to his roots and go small, focusing on the mundanities of life. But he also knew when to go big with his soapy material in a way that proved to be artful, tragic, and really spectacular. And given the nature of \u201cRoma\u2019s\u201d release, both on the big screen and the small one, this was quite a feat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The big \u201cRoma\u201d scenes\u2014there are several. In one sequence, the film\u2019s protagonist, Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), travels to the desert to locate her boyfriend, Ferm\u00edn (Jorge Antonio Guerrero). He left her suddenly when she informed him that she was pregnant. As Cleo makes her way onto a vast, arid landscape, we see a large assortment of martial arts students standing in lines receiving instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The angles are wide, and we can see for miles with a mountain in the background that has a large sign stretched out across it. The students train in unison, each armed with a wooden staff. As the masculine ballet unfolds, Cleo joins a crowd observing those training. When a celebrity teacher steps forth and gives them an odd lesson, Cleo performs the task perfectly. It\u2019s a stunner. But, also, a subtle one, set against a large backdrop that contrasts with the claustrophobic confines of the family home where much of the story takes place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, Cleo gets trapped in a political uprising after her water breaks. Desperate to get to the hospital, the frustrating car trip along the clogged and dangerous streets is excruciating. To be fair, we\u2019ve seen this kind of thing before, but cliched, it isn\u2019t. Cleo finally gets to the hospital, is admitted, but in a painful sequence, loses the baby. It\u2019s one of the most emotionally gut-wrenching scenes of 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoma\u201d is likely to be nominated for best film, best foreign language film, best director, best screenplay, and best cinematography. A best actress nomination for first timer Aparicio is, also, possible. And the fact that Cuar\u00f3n may find himself nominated for writing, directing, and cinematography will be a real feather in Netflix\u2019 cap. It will affirm their controversial strategy of teasing out a film in theaters (an awards qualification run) followed by a quick streaming release. \u201cRoma\u201d is the one Netflix film that cannot be dismissed by the Academy, like they did with \u201cBeasts of No Nation\u201d back in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kurt Russell as Santa. Yep, Netflix gave it to us as \u201cThe Christmas Chronicles.\u201d Snake Plissken, well, the rough and tough actor who played Plissken, rides in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. This high concept film, one that seemed too good to be true, dropped just in time for Christmas and found an audience. People were talking about it. And such a movie proved to be perfect viewing while wrapping presents and sipping on egg nog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But while Russell made for one ultra cool Claus for Christmas 2018, this was nothing new for the streaming giant, who has been filling the holiday space in previous years. In 2017, for example, Netflix found notorious success with the utterly cheesy \u201cA Christmas Prince,\u201d and fittingly followed it up this year with \u201cA Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, in my household, watching these deviously bad movies has become a father-daughter holiday event. Therefore, as my daughter helped me wrap gifts (okay, she wrapped them all), I spent the afternoon watching this one and \u201cThe Princess Switch.\u201d And Netflix is completely in on the joke, as in one scene in \u201cSwitch,\u201d the characters sit down and watch television\u2014a shot of \u201cThe Royal Wedding\u201d and other originals appear on the television screen. Such self-aware winking might mean that the Netflix original universe, at least the holiday one, might end up being as interconnected as the MCU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As folks hunkered down over the holidays, Netflix smartly gave us non-festive counter-programming. The high-end \u201cBird Box\u201d was a genuine smash hit, with the streamer releasing viewer numbers claiming that 45 million of us watched the Susanne Bier directed sci-fi\/horror film starring Sandra Bullock in just 7 days. That\u2019s a blockbuster folks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, out of it seemed like nowhere, the year ended with a \u201cBlack Mirror\u201d movie event. The choose-your-own-adventure narrative feature sub-titled \u201cBandersnatch\u201d made major waves with the trailer garnering millions of views online immediately prior to the film\u2019s December 28 availability. Almost impossible to completely review, the movie is an interactive viewing experience. The viewer is given choices that guide the narrative, and because we have the power to click in our hands, choices are easy enough to implement. Such a thing isn\u2019t likely possible in theaters, although I\u2019ll bet there are plans to try it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this highlights the impact that Netflix and other streamers are having on the films we will be seeing in theaters. It\u2019s the theatrical market that has truly lost its mojo, as risk averse studios turn to recycling past properties or merely adapting comic books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, so back in 1985, the movie \u201cClue\u201d was released in theaters with different cuts of the film with different endings. That, as far as I know, was a one-off experiment. But given the advances in technology, Netflix has taken such an idea to another level. With it\u2019s subscriber base consistently in place, a risk like \u201cBandersnatch\u201d doesn\u2019t seem so risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the resources that Netflix have been given let them take risks in really innovative and pricey ways. Lavish shows like \u201cAltered Carbon\u201d had the production value of a major Hollywood offering, and it ran for 10 episodes, with season two on its way in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Netflix invests in the very thing that its subscribers want: options. Content, content, content, hours and hours of it. Binge there and go nowhere else. It\u2019s an expensive strategy that, if it continues, might eventually resemble some kind of pyramid scheme. But the risky spending will have to end at some point, and when it does, hopefully, the grand Netflix content creation experiment will have yielded properties, genres, and innovations that usher in a new creative media era. Maybe that has happened already, and the ripple effects are being felt by major players like Disney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Disney takes its ball and goes home in 2019, removing its content from Netflix and creating its own streaming service known as Disney+, prognosticators are predicting Netflix\u2019 decline. But I say, not so fast, Netflix has been there before. Anyone remember Blockbuster Video? Sure, we do, even if we\u2019re not pushing 50 years old. Netflix isn\u2019t just a content warehouse in the cloud anymore, it\u2019s a bonafide studio that is smart enough to put its money where its mouth is. Disney with its fantastic and popular content will still be playing catch up in this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One wonders whether a show like \u201cStar Wars\u201d spinoff \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d will be enough to make viewers buy into Disney+. After all, the model is often to subscribe to a non-Netflix service just long enough to watch that one special series and then drop it when you\u2019ve binged the last episode. Think about the Showtime and even the Starz models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If \u201cThe Mandalorian\u201d turns out to be the next \u201cAmerican Gods,\u201d Disney might find themselves in trouble. And even if it becomes \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d I suspect that Disney+ subscribers might not hang around permanently for mere access to the Disney back catalogue. Disney, who has been there before, doesn\u2019t want their service to be the next Showtime or Starz apps, and they won\u2019t even be content with achieving HBO levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With its big swing at Netflix, a lot more is riding on Disney+ than anyone can imagine. A failure or even a so-so success won\u2019t be enough. Every single piece of original Disney+ programming has to be a hit, every single episode has to be a knock out. There\u2019s no margin for error. Netflix shows can fail, and lord knows many have, but Disney\u2019s new series can\u2019t. And the Star Wars haters, who rudely met \u201cThe Last Jedi\u201d with social media tirades, are ready to pounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Disney\u2019s monopoly of both the Marvel and Star Wars universes, what does the brand mean to most of us? It is all about the family, and material that works, often blandly, for everyone. Exhibit \u201cA\u201d is 2018\u2019s misfire \u201cSolo: A Star Wars Story\u201d with its safe narrative that refused to get dark with Han\u2019s backstory. And this is where Netflix fills the gap with their idiosyncratic experiments both for the Disney market and a slightly more, dare I say, mature viewership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s unlikely that a show like \u201cAltered Carbon\u201d will ever see the light of day on Disney+. And \u201cRoma?\u201d Forget it. Disney+ will always carry the family moniker. And while that market is plentiful, it won\u2019t be enough to make Netflix the Blockbuster Video of the streaming world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As 2019 dawns, look for more content to populate streaming platforms, and Netflix will lead the way, giving us shows that work and many that don\u2019t. But by investing in such content, and innovating with movie events like \u201cBandersnatch,\u201d Netflix is the creative force in an industry that has played it safe for far too long. And finally, ask yourself: what original programming beyond a sequel or spin-off can Disney promise in the coming year? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disney takes on Netflix in 2019, but are they already too late to the party?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1162,294,268,1072,70,1164,1163],"class_list":["post-6716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-bandersnatch","tag-disney","tag-netflix","tag-roma","tag-star-wars","tag-the-christmas-chronicles","tag-the-mandalorian","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6716"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6731,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6716\/revisions\/6731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/netflixdisney2-1024x463.jpg\")
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Don\u2019t Underestimate the power of cheese: Holiday releases on Netflix are becoming something of an event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/netflixdisney3-1024x683.jpg\")
Bird Box and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch ended the year on a high note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/netflixdisney4-1024x576.jpg\")
As a laboratory, Netflix makes so much content that experiments not possible in theaters take place.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, Disney+ joins the party, but are they too late?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/netflixdisney5-1024x809.jpg\")
Disney can\u2019t experiment like Netflix. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Netflix is broad, Disney much more narrow.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n