One colleague couldn’t believe how poor the 48 fps presentation looked, insisting - or hoping, more like it - that something must have been wrong with the projection. Jackson’s big, game-changing crusade for a frame rate that would part the heavens and open humankind’s hearts and minds and brains to a new way of watching film couldn’t possibly look so unpleasant. Could it?

I have made my feelings of abhorrence for the idea of any film at 48 FPS pretty well known. But I will admit even I have been getting caught up in the trailers, images, featurettes and excitement of the upcoming film.…

Still months away from its debut, and we’re learning more and more about Star Trek Into Darkness. Last week, Paramount released the official synopsis for the film, and now we have the first official teaser poster as well. Although we’ve been told that Into Darkness won’t be a rehash of The Dark Knight, the influence of the dark Batman franchise seems strong in the new poster.

Batman influence? Seriously? This is more than influence, this is a rip-off and it’s really annoying to me. What is happening to my beloved Star Trek franchise?

Wreckage creating the outline of the Starfleet…

Yes, the long finale of Revenge of the Sith has more inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact than anything by the artists you name. It’s because the art world has flat-lined and become an echo chamber of received opinion and toxic over-praise. It’s like the emperor’s new clothes—people are too intimidated to admit what they secretly think or what they might think with their blinders off.

Uh, what?!?

Lucas called this fierce fight [at the climax of Sith] between Anakin Skywalker and his Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi “the turning point of the whole series.” Fire…

The $3.5 billion Pirates of the Caribbean franchise may see another mega-star reprise in its fifth installment, and it may not just be Johnny Depp. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards may return to the franchise after an invitation from Depp.

Richards has bombarded the franchise in all four installments with his persona alone. Depp made no secret that the superstar musician inspired his flamboyant portrayal of Jack Sparrow since its launch back in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

With two great, one decent, and one terrible Pirates film out in…

The majority of homes are still on traditional set top boxes — their experience has not changed much over the past couple decades. The biggest change has been DVR and video on demand. Even in homes that have a connected TV or a connected Blu-ray player or there’s Netflix on Xbox — if you look at the amount of time spent actually consuming entertainment, the majority of the time is spent with the traditional box and the old UI. That’s the reality right now.

...

I’m not sure people want everything on demand. They still want some things live, like sports or reality TV. And there’s the…

Tommy Lee Jones’ life story is as interesting to me as his no-nonsense movie characters. It’s not often that we hear about his acting technique, relationship to his fellow stars, or his thoughts on American history.

In Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, Mr. Jones plays Congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Sharon Knolle pinned Tommy down for a fun interview.

As he says of Stevens’s and Lincoln’s often-contentious relationship, “They could laugh together.” Jones also discussed whether Stevens could exist in today’s political climate and the fiery on-screen exchange he has with Sally Field’s character,…

Anheuser-Busch is requesting that Paramount Pictures “obscure or remove” the Budweiser logo from “Flight.” Of course, Paramount doesn’t have to comply, as filmmakers don’t have to get permission to feature products in their films. And while product placment is routine in Hollywood movies, it’s easy to see why Robert Zemeckis and Co. didn’t bother giving the booze makers a heads-up (“Hey guys, we’re making a movie about an alcoholic, want a six pack in there?!”). But the Budweiser brewers aren’t the only ones furrowing their brow; the dudes over at William Grant & Sons are not pleased…

Now that’s what fans want to hear: a major, well-loved, culturally significant creative work was sold to global lines of business so they can maximize its value.

Translation: they’re going to beat Star Wars to death even more than George Lucas did, extracting every possible penny out of it until there’s no more money to be made. And that’s probably a long way off.

Well that’s a depressing way to look at it. And probably the most accurate too.

And I figured we’d get the depressing stuff out of the way this morning.

“Our lives are not our own…”

That’s certainly the way I felt when watching Cloud Atlas for three hours in the theater. My life was no longer my own, it was hijacked by a very bad movie. I have never walked out on a film, and that statement is still true even after Cloud Atlas, but I wanted to walk out of this one.

Not that there weren’t enjoyable moments, but there was no cohesive whole. And the further into this three hour nightmare I went, the more I began to question whether the film would ever make any sense.

How Many Threads Now?

I must confess here and now that I have not read…