"Reel Talk" says not to invest in Blu-Ray 1/11/2009 (1 Viewer)

My mouth hit the floor yesterday while watching "Reel talk" with film critics Jeffrey Lyons and (I believe her name is) Alison Bailes.

Ms Bailes stated after much research she would " Not invest in Blu-Ray because insiders told her it would only be around a few years and Video on Demand is where everything is heading"

She also stated she hated having stuff around where as Jeffrey Lyons said he liked collecting - it was a guy thing

(Note this Dumb bunny also said she just started to get into DVD (in 2009????? where's she been all this time??? And she's a FILM Critic?????)

I can't imagine why the station didn't edit out that comment - after all don't they want Blu-ray to sell or do they really just want Video-on-Demand (which I'm not a fan of. I really don't want to pay each time I view a film I could have owned, or for some monthly package deal that cost alot and I only watch a few films - or to find the film I want to watch has been pulled from distribution)

BURN HER!!!!!

Only by today's standards, where almost anyone can be called a "film critic". In reality, she's just a TV personality, whose sole credit before Reel Talk was reading cue cards on At the IFC (which was not very good and which the IFC Channel has now abandoned).

Film critics used to come mostly from the world of print journalism, when that field was healthy and produced knowledgeable people who were skilled at writing and research. Now they come from the world of TV, where people mostly know about looking good, or the internet, where people mostly know about getting attention.

Her show, as well as At the Movies, are a couple of the best comedies on television.

"Hi, I'm not a real film critic, but I play one on TV." *giggle*




I miss the days of printed reviews, where you could be somewhat guaranteed that the reviewer (1) had some training, not only in film criticism, but in writing; and (2) had actually seen the movie.

Still,

Do announce on broadcast tv not to buy Blu-Ray??? This aired on ABC - Wasn't Disney watching????

I watch a fair amount of TV and I've never heard of the show (though judging by Michael's comments, it's what Roger Ebert's old show is now called) so I don't think she influenced too many people.

Ebert's old show is still called At the Movies, and it features Ben Lyons (son of Jeffrey; formerly of Reel Talk) and Ben Mankiewicz (formerly of Turner Classic Movies).

When they first took over, I thought Lyons was the bigger joke, but Mankiewicz has easily surpassed him. Anyone who could pick Indy 4 as the number 1 "worst film" of the year, and also recommend Beverly Hills Chihuahua, has passed buffoonery and entered moron territory.

I don't get why a "professional critic" would even bother engaging in the practice of picking a "worst movie of the year". Personally, I would think that professional critics see so many films in a year that it would be next to impossible to compare them all to each other and determine tha absolute worst movie.

I don't watch nearly as many films as a professional critic would and I still would have a hard time deciding what the worst one was of the ones I've seen; although, for 2008 I would probably pick "Meet The Spartans". The only reason I would pick it is due to the fact that it is the only film, of the ones I've seen, that I couldn't even finish watching. 20 minutes was as much as I could stand.

The remarks that this female "critic" made in regards to BD were just due to ignorance and unquestioning acceptance of secondhand opinion without any attempt to actually research the subject. I've never even heard of her. I doubt that her opinion will influence too many people.

I miss those days of Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel, even Roper wasn't too bad. I may not always have agreed on their reviews but enjoyed and respected them.
Life goes on!

She doesn't carry any weight, and I wouldn't worry about the network editing out her comments. It wouldn't be right to for them edit a debate just because they were afraid it might influence someone. That's part of any debate.

Whether BD rules for decades or co-exists with VOD doesn't matter. I read about these forecasters all the time, who predict this or that. Always lots of forecasting at CES and elsewhere. But the truth is, collectors of media (HTF enthusiasts among others) know what they want & like.

These forecasters and "re-invent the wheel" types don't understand the market very well or they would be talking to HTF and similar enthusiasts for trends.

That's why companies like Shout! Factory and others are successful. They listen to their audience & they create content they feel they can market and sell to enthusiasts.

I remember when Siskel and Ebert talked about Laserdiscs on their show. They took the time to show how the players worked, and touted the sound and picture quality. I miss them too!

Now we have "critics" of dubious credentials spouting nothing but FUD.

I wish the special episodes (like the Laserdisc one, the black and white one, etc.) were available for viewing on the At The Movies website. I know Roger said that they would be, but I can't find them.

-R

Her next job will probably be on a financial advice program...

I try not to let film critics sway me too much on individual films. But for stuff like high quality presentation, any critic worth his or her salt has a duty to inform the public about these things.

Film criticism is a dying art. And philistines like these have their fingerprints on the body.

Nicely said.

My Two Cents: I love buying movies on discs. As long as they keep making 'em, I'll keep buying 'em.

Yes but if VOd (a horrible concept that has failed every time that it been introduced to the public) actually goes to surpass Blu-Ray... Perhaps the public will go back to...seeing great films in Theaters!!!

Yeah..I know not gonna happen.

I'm tired of hearing all the "VOD is the future" rants. BluRay sales are going up and more people are buying. VOD won't be the future until the same amount of people who can play BluRay also can download BR quality video. Anyone can setup a 1080p home theater in their home. Not everyone has a connection speed to download it where it's practical. It's the same reason why DVD took off instead of DivX. Once you have the DVD, all you have to do is put the disc in a player. Downloaded content takes special devices and setups. Not as easy as taking it out of the case.

It'll have it's place. It'll take over the space left by the Rental Market's slow disappearance. Collectors will still want physical media, people with kids will want it(Seriously, you cannot buy "Finding Nemo" 400 times which is about how many times a small kid will watch it), and people will still want physical copies of some favorites.

Physical media isn't going anywhere, it'll co-exist with VoD. VoD will also end up dislodging the cable companies and introducing a system where you only pay for what you use. Like me, I watch Lost, 24, Prison Break, Heroes, Supernatural, and the Pen's games. Give me a way to do that at my leisure, paying only for what I watch, and the cable will be disconnected tomorrow and I'll quit buying the Seasons on disc since I only watch them once.

But you will *not* get my discs for movies out of my hands. I will buy my movies on physical media everytime.

But what I will do is what I'm doing now, "Renting" the High-Def versions from Live for movies I wouldn't normally buy, like Love Guru. I kinda wanted to see it, but judging from reviews, I wasn't going to buy it. But I would pay $5 to D/l it.

Nothing will change, it's all doomsaying. It's just a new form of rental, and a long-overdue change to how TV is delivered.

Which IMO is a great thing, because shows like Firefly and Jerricho would still be alive today in a VoD system.

i had no ides this show was still on.
doesnt appear on the schedule in philly.

btw "philistine"?
people still really say that?
sounds more like "they are out to get us"
"fingerprints on the body"?


aren't we just discussing people who talk about movies?