Via his blog, Roger Ebert makes some spot on points about the current state of movie revenue, his theories are listed below.  Many of the ideas he gives are nothing new, but it’s nice to see someone who  knows what they are talking about actually step up and talk about it.  Maybe we will see some changes in the New Year?  Or maybe direct entertainment will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

He says:

Box office revenue at movie theaters “lagged far behind 2010,” an article by the AP’s David Germain reports. Partly that was because the year lacked an “Avatar.” Partly because a solid summer slate fell off in the autumn. Germain talks to several Hollywood insiders who tried to account for the general decline of ticket sales; 2011 had “smallest movie audience since 1995.” I have some theories of my own, fueled by what people tell me.

1. Obviously, the absence of a must-see mass-market movie. When moviegoers hear about “Avatar” or “The Dark Knight,” they blast off from home base and land in a theater seat as quickly as they can.

2. Ticket prices are too high. People have always made that complaint, but historically the movies have been cheap compared to concerts, major league sports and restaurants. Not so much any longer. No matter what your opinion is about 3D, the charm of paying a hefty surcharge has worn off for the hypothetical family of four.

3. The theater experience. Moviegoers above 30 are weary of noisy fanboys and girls. The annoyance of talkers has been joined by the plague of cell-phone users, whose bright screens are a distraction. Worse, some texting addicts get mad when told they can’t use their cell phones. A theater is reportedly opening which will allow and even bless cell phone usage, although that may be an apocryphal story.

4. Refreshment prices. It’s an open secret that the actual cost of soft drinks and popcorn is very low. To justify their inflated prices, theaters serve portions that are grotesquely oversized, and no longer offer what used to be a “small popcorn.” Today’s bucket of popcorn would feed a thoroughbred.

5. Competition from other forms of delivery. Movies streaming over the internet are no longer a sci-fi fantasy. TV screens are growing larger and cheaper. Consumers are finding devices that easily play internet movies through TV sets. Netflix alone accounts for 30% of all internet traffic in the evening. That represents millions of moviegoers. They’re simply not in a theater. This could be seen as an argument about why newspapers and their readers need movie critics more than ever; the number of choices can be baffling.

6. Lack of choice. Box-office tracking shows that the bright spot in 2011 was the performance of indie, foreign or documentary films. On many weekends, one or more of those titles captures first-place in per-screen average receipts. Yet most moviegoers outside large urban centers can’t find those titles in their local gigantiplex. Instead, all the shopping center compounds seem to be showing the same few overhyped disappointments. Those films open with big ad campaigns, play a couple of weeks, and disappear.

The myth that small-town moviegoers don’t like “art movies” is undercut by Netflix’s viewing results; the third most popular movie on Dec. 28 on Netflix was “Certified Copy,” by the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. You’ve heard of him? In fourth place–French director Alain Corneau’s “Love Crime.” In fifth, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”–but the subtitled Swedish version.

The message I get is that Americans love the movies as much as ever. It’s the theaters that are losing their charm. Proof: theaters thrive that police their audiences, show a variety of titles and emphasize value-added features. The rest of the industry can’t depend forever on blockbusters to bail it out.

It’s that time of year again to start thinking about great gift ideas for your friends and family, it’s just easier than saying you love them isn’t it?  Here is our annual list of great gift ideas for the film lover in your life.

Whatever you decide, it’s always best to choose gifts based on what you already know about the person. Take a look at our list and I’m sure you won’t go wrong, just keep the receipt in case they already went ahead and spoiled themselves.  Mom, if you’re reading this, no more spark plugs OK?

Do you have your own gift idea we missed out on?  Let us know in the comments below!  And go:

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy [Blu-ray]

The Lord of the Rings was released on Blu-ray last year, but to some it wasn’t the real deal as it was the theatrical versions, not the extended.  The LOTR Extended editions were released on Blu-ray [see our spec list] and is going for cheap right now ($45 on amazon).  The movies are great, and it would make for a good winter project to get through all these features.

Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection [Blu-ray]

One of the greatest movie franchises of all time came to an end this year, so bring home the entire collection in its best form.  There is word that Harry Potter will begin to be removed from shelves at the end of the year, putting them in “the vault” as it were.  Let’s not take chances.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga [Blu-ray]

There is a spec list here, it’s pretty mental.  The comprehensive 9 disc collection features numerous deleted, extended and alternate scenes, new documentaries and a cross-section of the countless Star Wars spoofs that have appeared in pop culture over the past three decades.  Check out these trailers.

Citizen Kane Ultimate Collector’s Edition, 70th Anniversary [Blu-ray]

I posted a review on this one, it’s something special that’s for sure.  Revisit this movie or watch it for the first time; it will be a very inexpensive film school for some and a new cinematic treasure to others.  This is a great package with extras from all previous releases, the terrific HBO movie RKO 281 and Oscar nominated documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Ultimate Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray]

Someone you know have a sweet tooth?  How about great taste in movies?  Well it’s Wonka time, what a splendiferous movie with a new and exciting way to watch.  This collector set for the ultimate fan features over 192 hours of content that includes over 28 hours of total bonus content:

•     Documentary entitled Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
•     New commentary with the Wonka Kids reunited as adults to reflect on the production of the movie.
•     Featurettes: “A World of Pure Imagination” and “Mel Stuart’s Wonkavision” with a new interview with the director, Mel Stuart

And not to mention the memorabilia:

•     Collectible softcover reprint of Mel Stuart’s 2002 book (with Josh Young) Pure Imagination: The Making of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” with beautiful photos and production notes
•     Wonka Bar-shaped pencil tin with chocolate scented eraser and scratch-and-sniff pencils (Snozzberry scent included)
•     Reproductions of cast lists, memos, correspondence, and an early letter from Gene Wilder written to director Mel Stuart about the character “Willy Wonka”

“]”]

Give the gift of flix! [click for link

Everyone loves movie posters.

The movie that has it all has more now:  it’s very own video game that doesn’t suck!  Back to the Future: The Game is a graphic adventure game; the player controls Marty to explore the 3D environments.  The player can have Marty examine objects, talk to non-player characters, and perform specific actions in order to solve puzzles and progress the game.

The game is split up into five episodes that are now finally available for the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii consoles.

Roger Ebert is the best-known film critic of our time. He has been reviewing films since 1967, and was the first film critic ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.

In 2006, complications from thyroid cancer treatment resulted in the loss of his ability to eat, drink, or speak. But with the loss of his voice, Ebert has only become a more prolific and influential writer. And now, for the first time, he tells the full, dramatic story of his life and career.

This would make a great gift for any inspiring writer, blogger, critic or all around film aficionado.

Citizen Kane | Warner Bros. | 1941 | 119 min

A psychological study of Charles Foster Kane, a powerful newspaper tycoon whose idealism was corrupted as he rose to enourmous wealth and power. The story unfolds as a mystery: when Mr. Kane dies uttering cryptic last words, a magazine reporter interviews the tycoon’s friends in an effort to uncover the significance of the word “Rosebud.”

What can you say about Citizen Kane that hasn’t already been said? Not a lot, so I will keep this review short and to the point. For anyone who has never seen the movie, now more than ever is the best time to do so, because with stunning video and audio, Citizen Kane is a must-own Blu-ray release.

I was quite young when I had my first viewing of Citizen Kane, maybe too young to appreciate everything about it. The movie has so much history that once you know it all, it’s hard to look at movies that same way. Orson Welles created this cinematic masterpiece when he was only 26 years old, an age I will reach in less than a month’s time. That numeric coincidence may not be worth much to you of course, but for me it put a lot in perspective of what someone can accomplish early in their life or career. This is a great time in my life to revisit this classic film and gain a whole new appreciation for it.

It’s become a film lovers curse to list Citizen Kane as one of their favorite movies, but they have to. Citizen Kane set a standard that even today hasn’t been met in my opinion. They really don’t make movies like this anymore and you would be hard pressed to find anything else like it. Finally, the best home version of this movie has arrived.

Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece.

This is a near spotless transfer with almost like new video and a good 70 year old mono track [more tech specs below]. The extras from all previous releases are here including the terrific HBO movie RKO 281 and Oscar nominated documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane. Commentaries by Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich are included and I have to point out that Ebert’s if far more interesting, he man knows his stuff when it comes to Citizen Kane, you will learn a lot of background here and filming techniques.

Note: You don’t have to worry about Citizen Kane being converted to3D or color. Welles’s contract was quite strict in forbidding any alterations.

Revisit this movie or watch it for the first time; it will be a very inexpensive film school for some and a new cinematic treasure to others.

– Digital video is mastered by putting a film through a machine that digitally scans each frame, storing the information as a stream of pixels.
- Another machine translates these data back into an image. The higher number of pixels, the more detailed and truer is the image.
- The digital master for the 2002 DVD of Citizen Kane was made from a “high-definition” scan—i.e., with a machine that scanned each frame as 1,080 lines horizontally and 1,920 vertically, or 2 million pixels in all.
- For the new Blu-ray, the digital master was made from a “4K” scan—4,096 lines horizontally and 3,112 vertically, or more than 12 million pixels in all, per frame. That is to say, 4K scanning produces a raw image having six times the resolution of a high-def scan.
-At the moment, no commercial TV monitor can display a 4K image, nor any commercially available disc-player read it. But when digital-mastering technicians work with a 4K scan on their equipment, they can manipulate the data—correct the color, adjust contrast, clean dirt, fill in missing information—in ultra-microscopic detail. [slate]

Citizen Kane, arguably one of the best movies ever made if not the most important movie ever made is celebrating its 70th birthday and to commemorate we are going to be getting what sounds like one of the best Blu-ray releases to date.  If you’re like me and own the two-disc edition (great commentary by Roger Ebert) you have been long awaiting a version like what’s described here.

Janet Wilson, a Motion Picture Imaging colorist at WB working on the process said that the operation was “a painstaking, frame-by-frame undertaking”. With a 119-minute runtime, over 171,000 frames needed to be restored.  Warner Bros will be going back to the original nitrate for an HD restoration in 4K resolution. Warner Bros. is doing so much for this release, it’s all very exciting.  Citizen Kane has been a great influence on me and certainly changed the way I viewed movies at a young age.  The film and its director Orson Welles are probably cited as many filmmaker’s inspirations today, so we can all give thanks.

According to THR the collector’s edition will come with a 48-page book part of which will be a 20-page reproduction of the original 1941 souvenir program, lobby cards plus facsimiles of memos and correspondence made during the movie’s production.  The new edition will all the extras from the DVD two-disc special edition, including the Academy Award-nominated documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane, and it will contain the great TV movie RKO 281, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning HBO docudrama movie that chronicled the clash between William Randolph Hearst and Hollywood and starred Liev Schrieber as Welles and James Cromwell as Hearst.

The 70th anniversary edition will also be released via iTunes, On Demand, VUDU and Amazon Instant Video.

The blu-ray hits stores September 13th.

My thoughts exactly.

The new show will not be hosted by Ebert, but he will use his computer voice to appear on each episode with a segment called Roger’s Office, taking a look at classic, overlooked and new films. The new hosts will be Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and a yet to named replacement for Elvis Mitchell (see pilot below) formerly of the New York Times, who will bring back the classic Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating system.

A pilot for the new-format At the Movies was shot earlier this summer, see it below.  Over the last few years, Ebert has become one of the most popular opinions on the Internet. His Twitter and blog are read by millions.  He has recently posted his top picks for best movies for 2010.  Check them out here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Earlier this year ABC had decided to officially cancel their long-running movie review show At The Movies (which turned to awful when Ebert called it quits). Ebert later hinted that he was working on a new movie review show of his own. Now it’s finally here: At The Movies has been restored to its rightful owner, and in January 2011 it’s going to be re-launching on PBS under his guidance. Here’s what Ebert had to say:

“This is the rebirth of a dream…I believe that by returning to its public roots, our new show will win better and more consistent time slots in more markets. American television is swamped by mindless gossip about celebrities, and I’m happy this show will continue to tell viewers honestly if the critics think a new movie is worth seeing.”

The new show will not be hosted by Ebert, but he will use his computer voice to appear on each episode with a segment called Roger’s Office, taking a look at classic, overlooked and new films. The new hosts will be Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of NPR, who will bring back the classic Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating system.

A pilot for the new-format At the Movies was shot earlier this summer, and a sampling of that taping has been posted below.  Over the last few years, Ebert has become one of the most popular opinions on the Internet. His Twitter account is always going and his blogs as I mentioned are read by millions. Earlier this year we posted a few spots about Ebert recovery and health since his battle with cancer.  See him get his voice back here and bookmark his blog.

“Some of these people make my skin crawl…their defining quality is consuming things. They gobble food, fashion, houses, husbands, children, vitamins and freebies. They must plan their wardrobes on the phone, so often do they appear in different basic colors, like the plugs you pound into a Playskool workbench.”

“…marital crisis., Carrie thinks they should talk more. But sweetheart, Mr. Big has nothing to say. At least he’s provided you with a Manhattan apartment that looks like an Architectural Digest wet dream.”

“Miranda is a high-powered lawyer who is dissed by her male chauvinist pig boss. Samantha is still a sexaholic slut. Charlotte has the two little girls she thought she wanted, but now discovers that they actually expect to be raised. Mothers, if you are reading, run this through your head. One little girl dips her hands in strawberry topping and plants two big handprints on your butt. You are on the cell to a girlfriend. How do you report this? You moan and wail out: “My vintage Valentino!” Any mother who wears her vintage Valentino while making muffin topping with her kids should be hauled up before the Department of Children and Family Services.”

“There’s more cleavage in this film than at a pro wrestler’s wedding.  And crotches, have we got crotches for you. Big close-ups of the girls themselves, and some of the bulgers they meet.”

“That nation supplies magnificent desert scenes, achieved with CGI, I assume, during which two of the girls fall off a camel. I haven’t seen such hilarity since Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion.”

“A sample of Carrie’s realistic dialogue in a marital argument: “You knew when I married you I was more Coco Chanel than coq au vin.” Carrie also narrates the film, providing useful guidelines for those challenged by its intricacies. Sample: “Later that day, Big and I arrived home.”

“I am obliged to report that this film will no doubt be deliriously enjoyed by its fans, male couch potatoes dragged to the film against their will may find some consolation, I was gob-smacked by the delightful cleavage on display. Do women wear their lowest-cut frocks for each other?”

Click here to view the embedded video.

So the remake is going to be great!  I Spit On Your Grave is expected to hit select theatres this September; check out the trailer.