A reader recently commented on one of my Oscar movie reviews, wondering how it is that I am able to watch first run movies here when in America one must go to the theater or pay the high price of a movie streaming site. I had actually never thought about it before, but the question made me curious. As far as I knew, this is how everyone watches movies nowadays. So I consulted a couple of people in America.
My second wife had no idea what I was talking about. And didn't seem to be interested in the question in any case.
My stepson, who is majoring in internet security at college, commented that such sites are "strictly illegal" in America, although people still use them if they are willing to tinker with the internet to find one that works and so on. He told me as well that "although the sites are illegal in the US, they are based in third world countries."
Well, there ya go. One of the rare benefits of living in a third world country, I guess.
Here there is no indication whatsoever that these sites are illegal or that there is anything extraordinary about them. We can very easily go to any number of sites and stream thousands of movies, both old and new. Occasionally, if the movie is very new, the online version will be labeled "cam", which means that someone has gone to a theater with a handheld camera and filmed the film from his seat, featuring, in addition to the movie itself, the sound of popcorn being chewed, ice rattling in paper cups, people coughing loudly or walking in front of the screen when they get up to go to the restroom, and so on. Best just to wait for the non-cam version.
One could pay, as well, for a dedicated site, such as Netflix, but the problem with that would be the generally slow, generally quirky internet services here in this third world country. One would feel pretty silly for paying for a dedicated site while he sat in his chair watching the revolving 'circle of death' rather than the movie he had hoped to watch. So, yeah, I'm not about to pay for something that's not about to work.
Is Hollywood suffering from the use of free streaming sites? I doubt it. But we will see on the Oscars broadcast whether actors and actresses seem to be trying to save money this year on their exotic outfits and glimmering jewels.
My second wife had no idea what I was talking about. And didn't seem to be interested in the question in any case.
My stepson, who is majoring in internet security at college, commented that such sites are "strictly illegal" in America, although people still use them if they are willing to tinker with the internet to find one that works and so on. He told me as well that "although the sites are illegal in the US, they are based in third world countries."
Well, there ya go. One of the rare benefits of living in a third world country, I guess.
Here there is no indication whatsoever that these sites are illegal or that there is anything extraordinary about them. We can very easily go to any number of sites and stream thousands of movies, both old and new. Occasionally, if the movie is very new, the online version will be labeled "cam", which means that someone has gone to a theater with a handheld camera and filmed the film from his seat, featuring, in addition to the movie itself, the sound of popcorn being chewed, ice rattling in paper cups, people coughing loudly or walking in front of the screen when they get up to go to the restroom, and so on. Best just to wait for the non-cam version.
One could pay, as well, for a dedicated site, such as Netflix, but the problem with that would be the generally slow, generally quirky internet services here in this third world country. One would feel pretty silly for paying for a dedicated site while he sat in his chair watching the revolving 'circle of death' rather than the movie he had hoped to watch. So, yeah, I'm not about to pay for something that's not about to work.
Is Hollywood suffering from the use of free streaming sites? I doubt it. But we will see on the Oscars broadcast whether actors and actresses seem to be trying to save money this year on their exotic outfits and glimmering jewels.
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