Comments on: Penguins support Women’s Lib…

By: meander

meander — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:22:47 +0000

I LOVED this movie! As supposed hollywood blockbusters came and went (all with hype and hullabaloo), I thought “Naw, that’s not worth stirring my bones to go to”. Then I read a snippet somewhere about the Penguin movie and I felt a tingle of excitement…” Oooh, I want to see that! Hope it comes to a theater near me.” So, within 2 days of it opening, there I was (with many others as it turned out) happy to plunk down my money to watch a Nat’l Geographic documentary. Go figure! It was delightful, entertaining, made you laugh, made you cry…hey, isn’t that what movies are all about?

By: Paul Snively

Paul Snively — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:04:47 +0000

Terrye, regretably, as excellent as “The March of the Penguins” is, you’ll have to miss it: it’s the true story of the entire mating season in what the film accurately calls “the harshest place on Earth.” There are several deaths, and while the filmmakers are extremely sensitive to the viewer (the film is rated G), there’s simply no avoiding some of the images, and one scene in particular, which is deliberately long-ish in order to show the mother penguin’s reaction, is essentially a guaranteed tear-jerker.

On the other hand, you may wish to steel yourself and go anyway; the tragic moments are counterbalanced by some scenes of pure joy: a growing chick breaking free of a crowd of other babies, then throwing up his vestigal wings as if to say “I made it!” The chicks as they balance on their parents’ feet and learn to walk. The moment the mothers dive back into the ocean in search of food, and we see the glorious underwater shots that so vividly reveal that these birds belong in the water, not on the ground. And much, much more.

Sheesh, I’m going to start cying again just typing this! Maybe I should see it again.

By: Bruce Wechsler

Bruce Wechsler — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:14:51 +0000

So, Roger, will I enjoy these Penguins more than the Madagascar squad?

By: Jim Rockford

Jim Rockford — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 06:06:42 +0000

Except the Hollywood Death Spiral isn’t. At least for the studios as a whole. Revenue at Box Office is up slightly, though attendance is down. The missing moviegoers are from documentaries, independent films, and foreign films, supposedly according to the Epstein link above.

What is interesting is that the balance of power has moved from Theatrical Release to DVD. Theatrical is just a promotion for the DVD release which is where the real money is, that is still growing. Eventually declining theatrical revenue Epstein is predicting will bankrupt a lot of movie theaters.

By: Barry Dauphin

Barry Dauphin — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 04:27:30 +0000

Nightline (tonight with boy Cuomo-who has a better gig than boy Assad) had a segment on Hollywood’s dreadful summer. In the teasers they promised to tell us why Hollywood was having such a slump. Apparently, the Nightline crew thinks it’s because of the short window between the release of the movie and the release of the DVD, since Blockbusters depend upon repeat business. Add in a little bit of high ticket prices and home theatres and voila, problem analyzed.

I hope to be able to sell some of these folks some scenic land in Antarctica. There was no mention of video games, nor of how many movies suck, nor any of the other reasons mentioned in the comments on Roger’s blog recently. Geez, Roger, you need to start your own media company or something.

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 04:10:19 +0000

P.S. Roger, you need to read this:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2123286/

Hollywood’s Death Spiral

The secret numbers tell the story.

By Edward Jay Epstein

Posted Monday, July 25, 2005, at 11:48 AM PT

By: Robert Schwartz

Robert Schwartz — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 04:08:49 +0000

Just came back from watching it. highly enjoyable, Highly recomended.

It put me in mind of the terrific features Disney used to make like this. Robert Iger, take a note.

By: richard mcenroe

richard mcenroe — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 03:12:59 +0000

You get Academy screeners of summer films? Ya wouldn’t have Malibu Beach, wouldja?

By: Stace

Stace — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 02:30:20 +0000

Yeahp, gorgeous animals with incredible adaptations. And the males of most, if not all, of the 17 penguin species have amazing paternal instincts. Their drive to incubate and brood is sometimes even stronger than that of the females.

By: Terrye

Terrye — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 02:02:10 +0000

I have a client who is a quad and he said the documentary oout on quad rugby or “murder ball” as it is known is very good.

I might watch the penguin film. I love stuff like that, as long as nothing dies.