NickSchaden

The bifurcation of moviegoing (and why that’s ok)

01.30.25 | film | ∞

Every year people talk about the gap between movies that garner big box office returns (e.g., Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2) and those that win awards with smaller, more cineaste audiences (e.g., Anora, The Brutalist). Those in the former category are practically everywhere, while many would be moviegoers have never even heard of the latter.

Are movies just becoming less mainstream? Is it an art form in cultural decline in favor of TV, music, gaming, and other forms of entertainment?

Box office and moviegoing habits point in this direction. Most people are heading out to theaters and splurging on PVOD less often, focusing mostly on huge blockbuster “events”. The rest of their free time goes elsewhere. If a movie doesn’t end up on their streaming service of choice, it ceases to exist.

Brief encounters with David Lynch

01.20.25 | film | ∞

I’ll never forget my first David Lynch movie and the one time I saw the visionary director in person.

Like many other budding teenage cinephiles, I was in a phase where I was actively seeking out “edgy” and “messed up” movies. It was the mid nineties, and I was on a tear: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, unrated cuts of Natural Born Killers, Scarface, and RoboCop. A friend recommended Blue Velvet as “dark shit”, so I rented it on VHS.

The film’s Rockwellian intro left me a little baffled. White picket fences, red roses, blue sky, fireman waving in slow motion — this was a dark film? But then a man watering the lawn had a stroke and fell to the ground. A nearby child looked confused by what was happening. A dog growled in slow motion as the camera pushed into the grass and the sound gave way to bugs gnawing and one of Lynch’s trademark drones. The transition from idyllic suburbia to dread piqued my interest. Lynch’s direction left me unsettled, even though nothing on screen was as explicit as the many other ultra violent movies I had watched prior.

Is the Xbox ecosystem sustainable?

01.09.25 | Gaming | ∞

It’s unsurprising to see Xbox fully embrace a multi-platform strategy. Lagging behind Sony and Nintendo in hardware sales and user base, Microsoft can ensure far larger revenue streams by porting its first party games to PS5 and Switch. It’s a strategy that reflects broader industry trends, as escalating development costs and a stagnating console market push publishers like Square Enix and even PlayStation away from long term exclusivity.

However, Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem — comprising Xbox hardware, Game Pass, and the Windows PC Xbox app — is where they generate maximal revenue and retain full editorial control. Intra ecosystem Xbox keeps the full share of revenue from their own products, while taking a 30% cut from every non-Microsoft purchase. It’s also for now the only space where Microsoft can sell Game Pass and have the technical leverage to integrate a cloud centric, cross platform solution to suit their needs.

Yet the Xbox ecosystem itself feels increasingly under threat. Game Pass subscribers have plateaued, and Xbox Series S and X hardware sales are dropping precipitously.

My favorite movies of 2024

12.27.24 | film | ∞

While their aesthetic and thematic elements differ, small scale, character-driven drama ties together most of my top ten this year. It’s a mostly international list, with only three of my ten picks from American directors, and majority set beyond US borders. I’m unsure if these commonalities reflect the recent guild strikes, my shifting tastes away from big studio offerings, or just random happenstance of what stood out this year, but it’s a trend I wouldn’t be shocked to see continue into 2025.

My list is in alphabetical order; the wide range of genres and subject matter makes pitting individual choices head to head too challenging. While mood and time available may dictate which among the below I revisit, I’d still highly recommend all of them.

My favorite games of 2024

12.26.24 | Gaming | ∞

It’s been another year where my gaming tastes fell out of sync with the critical consensus. While sprawling RPGs like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Black Myth: Wukong dominate end of year lists, their lengths don’t align with my lifestyle. Instead, my gaming focused on quirky indie titles with unique narratives and puzzle elements, alongside evergreen simulators perfect for pairing with a podcast. More so than past years, no individual game I list here has universal appeal, but for those passionate about the respective genre, they are well worth your time.

A beginner’s guide to 4K Blu-rays

12.12.24 | Technology | ∞

The holidays bring extra attention on 4K Blu-rays; gift guides and new studio releases abound, with sales on discs and players commonplace. With a parallel enshittification across many streaming services, is now the time to start investing in physical media?

For most, no. Streaming remains a ubiquitous format, its advantages of convenience and accessibility undeniable. Physical media is for film enthusiasts, with 4K Blu-rays being to movies what vinyl is to music. The format provides the highest echelon of quality available at home, but it’s only discernible to those with the equipment and tastes to appreciate it.

That said, 4K Blu-rays can be a great investment if you like to rewatch movies and own a high end video or audio movie watching setup. For audio, that means a soundbar or receiver that transmits sound through HDMI to support uncompressed audio formats. For video, you’d want a midrange to high end HDR (OLED or LCD) TV or 4K projector to notice the subtle improvements of a 4K Blu-ray’s higher bitrate.

The future of indies isn’t in theaters

11.19.24 | film | ∞

After weeks of research and anecdotal experience navigating local multiplexes, it’s painfully clear that small movies have largely disappeared from theaters. If you enjoy original, small, or otherwise offbeat movies that don’t follow the franchise IP or horror templates, you’ll likely be watching them at home.

The clearest evidence of this phenomenon comes from analyzing global box office returns against budget, for which the traditional industry rule is to aim for a worldwide box office of two to 2.5 times budget to ensure profitability. I focused my research on small to medium budget movies ranging from under 10 to 50 million.

The success stories are almost always horror movies that open wide and easily recoup their budget by opening weekend. MaXXXine took a 1 million budget and lukewarm critical reviews yet still made 22 million in theaters. Longlegs was made for under 10 million and generated an astonishing 109 million at the box office. A 2024 remake of Speak No Evil has made 76 million worldwide against a budget of 15 million.

Introspection improves what you watch

10.30.24 | film | ∞

There’s never been a larger concentration of movies available. Paradoxically, it’s often hard to actually find something you want to watch. The enshittification of streaming is the most prominent obstacle; movies disappear without notice, price hikes occur regularly, and engagement tactics prioritize the bottom line over your satisfaction.

One of the best ways to navigate such a challenging landscape is a bit of introspection. Spend a few minutes to capture why you liked a movie, and you’ll likely find the long term quality of what you watch next will improve.

While introspective notetaking at first glance sounds like lightweight film criticism, it’s actually about saving you time and money. Five minutes now could save you two hours and twenty bucks later. Practically anyone, from home theater cineastes to casual watchers, will benefit by the practice.

What is Xbox’s long term strategy?

10.18.24 | Gaming | ∞

In spite of Xbox undergoing what will be one the hardest strategic pivots in gaming history, under the stewardship of one of the most valuable companies in the world, the venerable gaming brand can’t sell (or settle on) a cohesive, long term vision to save its life. Paired against the backdrop of few Xbox first party releases, Microsoft in 2024 has found itself in a PR vacuum.

In its wake, there has been a drip feed of negative or otherwise confounding news stories. The year started off with the Xbox “business update” in February, where Microsoft heads hemmed and hawed about the reasoning behind four of its exclusives heading to Switch and PS5. In May, Microsoft shuttered multiple game studios including Tango Gameworks, with unclear reasons from studio chief Matt Booty. July saw price hikes on Game Pass and a new “standard” tier that removed day one games, the defining feature of the service. Then, in August, as part of Gamescom, Xbox showcased previews of their flagship holiday game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, only to reveal the game would also be heading to PS5 next spring.

The consensus view across the Xbox faithful and larger enthusiast gaming community hasn’t been positive, with some considering recent actions a betrayal. I find a lot of this anger misguided, deriving from a dated console warrior mentality that champions exclusives to prove one platform is somehow better than others.