The most wonderful news of last week was that in the wake of re-offering their "unlimited" plan, MoviePass posted on Instagram for the first time in months.
And yes, you may have noticed that little detail at the bottom of the screen. That's right: THEY ARE NO LONGER DISABLING COMMENTS!
That means their posts are flooded with pent-up mockery and rage at the pathetic mess of a non-service the service has become.
Never change, MoviePass. Never change.
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The biggest mystery of the new unlimited (or "Uncapped," as it seems to be getting branded) is what exactly will define "excessive usage" that will make them throttle your account?
Someone contacted customer service and maybe got an answer.
It sounds like ten movies a month won't get you throttled and almost no one will reach that, so maybe it's a non-worry?
But then again, you have to take anything they say and do with a grain of salt. Or many grains.
Heck, DOZENS of grains of salt.
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I read all the other media outlets reporting on the "Uncapped" story, so you don't have to.
But if you want to:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/03/19/moviepass-brings-back-unlimited-movies/3215247002/
https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/3/19/18273160/moviepass-new-plan-uncapped-unlimited-march-2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/19/moviepass-uncapped/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/20/18273941/moviepass-uncapped-price-film-screenings-movies-restrictions
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/moviepass-new-uncapped-plan-is-9-95-month-for-a-limited-time/
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/this-new-moviepass-uncapped-plan-for-995-per-month-is-similar-to-its-original-offer-16969943https://www.whsv.com/content/news/507463002.html
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2468692/moviepass-has-brought-unlimited-back-but-with-a-bunch-of-restrictions
http://www.wbrc.com/2019/03/20/moviepass-brings-back-uncapped-subscription-plan-with-few-catches/
https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/217057/helios-and-matheson-ceo-touts-moviepass-member-perks-as-the-unlimited-subscription-plan-returns-217057.html
https://the-gadgeteer.com/2019/03/21/moviepass-tries-unlimited-again-with-limits/
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/moviepass-relaunching-unlimited-plan-blames-user-fraud-for-previous-troubles/
https://theinnersane.com/2019/03/22/moviepass-is-back-with-its-9-95-unlimited-subscription-plan-but-for-a-limited-time/
https://www.wrcbtv.com/story/40175199/what-the-tech-moviepass-returning-to-original-plan-with-slight-catch
https://www.fastcompany.com/90323351/the-dream-of-moviepass-lives-on-kind-of
All I really learned from reading all of them was that you can get the "Uncapped" plan for $14.95/month if you go monthly with a credit card and that MoviePass is gonna randomly raise the price to $19.95/month soon.
Surprise.
I also learned that most of those article writers got their facts wrong and clearly have no direct experience with MoviePass.
I can't say this enough: boycott all articles about MoviePass that weren't peer-reviewed by ME prior to publication!
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Not to be outdone, Alamo Drafthouse FINALLY released some details about their long-in-beta-testing unlimited movie plan:
https://uproxx.com/movies/moviepass-unlimited-plan-alamo-drafthouse/
https://www.businessinsider.com/alamo-drafthouse-movie-ticket-subscription-plan-will-launch-this-year-2019-3
https://www.slashfilm.com/alamo-drafthouse-season-pass/
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/movie-membership-alamo-drafthouse-is-testing-a-monthly-pass/1861047286
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/alamo-drafthouse-movie-ticket-subscription-plan-will-launch-this-year-2019-3
https://www.geek.com/culture/alamo-drafthouse-moviepass-introduce-new-cinema-subscription-options-1779277/
Executive summary: They'll be releasing it later this year. It's $20/month.
Gonna respond with a firm "meh" to that.
As I recall, Alamo's original plan for their "Season Pass" service was ONLY going to be for first-run movies. Not for specialty one-off screenings.
Which is a total dealbreaker, as the one-off screenings are the best thing about Alamo theaters.
They are suspiciously silent about whether or not this new version of their unlimited plan will exclude their best offerings.
Because other than these specialty screenings, my local Alamo almost NEVER plays any movies that aren't already playing at other area theaters. It's pathetic, really. You can see the new Marvel movie or Tyler Perry comedy on multiple screens at the Alamo, but they don't play Anna and the Apocalypse, Lords of Chaos, Under the Silver Lake, or even They Shall Not Grow Old.
Much to their discredit, I saw previews for Anna and Silver Lake multiple times at the Alamo. And they never once played them. Not even for one night.
Alamo's quickly becoming another generic mainstream theater that sometimes shows a cool movie for one night only.
My local Regal does that, too. Through Fathom Events and sometimes just at random, they'll show the original Nightmare on Elm Street or a crazy anime film or a live Rifftrax show or an opera or classics like Gone with the Wind.
It's making Alamo look awfully weak in comparison.
Alamo is just as corporate as any corporate theater now.
Also their servers walk back-and-forth in front of you and/or bump the back of your seat all the way through your movie.
Don't know if I mentioned that before.
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The MoviePass CEO proudly boasted that with all the zazz coming from their new uncapped plan, they're FINALLY profitable.
The very next day he walked back that claim.
And I wonder...what shall he say tomorrow?
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One of the original MoviePass founders is working on an app called PreShow that sounds exactly like that episode of Black Mirror where ads play on the walls of your room and they can tell if you close your eyes or look away.
With the PreShow app, you can watch 15-20 minutes of ads to get a credit card loaded with credits to watch a free movie.
Stacy Spikes put his own money and Kickstarter cash (WHO SUPPORTED THIS!?) in order to create this.
Please stop talking about it, as you're just encouraging it:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/moviepass-stacy-spikes-preshow-205128475.html
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900061739/moviepass-ceo-preshow-facial-recognition-free-movie-tickets-ads.html
https://futurism.com/moviepass-eye-tracking-ads
https://www.geek.com/tech/watch-20-minutes-of-ads-to-earn-free-movie-tickets-1779635/
https://www.slashfilm.com/preshow/
https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/21/preshow-kickstarter/
https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/21/preshow-free-movie-tickets/
https://mashable.com/article/moviepass-preshow-app/#IukznUK_DsqT
This is the only article that openly advocates revolution against it, so props to that writer. Extra props for her identifying this tech as "indentured consumerism."
Apparently only this thing's Kickstarter supporters will be initially able to join in this grand experiment.
Yeah, you all enjoy that.
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This guy wrote a fairly detailed two-part analysis of lessons to learn from MoviePass' failures.
His analysis is actually pretty good and I have no serious beef with them.
They may exist. They have my permission.
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And these might be big stories, but they're pretty much just footnotes here, and in the public perception.
MoviePass hired a new CFO after the last one quit hard.
That might mean something. I guess? Time will tell.
And here's a list of awards MoviePass films have won.
Awards are pretty serious prestige things, so that might also mean something. I guess?
We all mocked Gotti (I was one of three people in the single screening that came to my town), but MoviePass' other films look pretty solid. Can confirm American Animals was pretty great.
Maybe MoviePass should just drop all the other subscription-ticket nonsense and become a film studio?
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In Sinemia news, I went ahead and filed for a chargeback with Mastercard.
Was painless.
They said it will take 60 days and will require "Additional documentation" from me.
I told them all they needed to do was Google "Sinemia." That will tell them everything.
But I'll play along. I think I'll be fine.
-B.P. Kasik/Phony McFakename
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