Why I’m not leaving Twitter (yet)

Also: Do streaming services hate Jesus?

Hey everyone! With Halloween, some screenings and podcast recordings this week, I’ve had to grab time where I could find it to write during the evenings, so this edition might be a little shorter than usual. But not to worry! Next week, you’re going to get a new We’re Watching Here podcast continuing our Altman series, my thoughts on some new releases I’m going to catch up with over a long weekend, and hopefully my thoughts on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the current state of comic book movies. 

This week, why don’t we tackle a few questions I’ve had on my mind over the week. 

Am I leaving Twitter? 

This isn’t really a movie-related question, but it is one that’s been floating around the culture ever since Elon Musk bought the social media site last week (the question being whether others are leaving Twitter; the Twittersphere hasn’t eagerly awaited my personal decision).  

You can’t jump on Twitter right now without being deluged with conversation about the site itself (although, to be fair, Twitter users have always loved nothing more than to complain about Twitter). I’ve seen several people announce they’re leaving the site; many of them have started Substacks so they can continue to have an outlet (welcome!). 

And they make fair points. To say Musk is a controversial and problematic figure is the understatement of a lifetime. I won’t argue with those who say he’s a genius; he is, indeed, very smart. I don’t know, however, whether that intelligence translates to business savvy (see the not-a-flamethrower debacle). He takes big, sometimes pointless, swings. And he seems to have revealed during this first week in owning the business — which he paid $44 billion for and doesn’t even seem to want — that he doesn’t really have any clue about how to operate it, or what its users want. 

The whole kerfuffle over his plan to charge $8 for verified account is just one example. Verified accounts, with their blue checkmarks, were never meant to be about prestige or access. To a (non-verified) user like me, seeing a blue check didn’t mean the source was unimpeachable, but it did mean they were someone I should pay attention to a little more than, say, some rando down the block. Turning it into a VIP account misses the point and just ensures that people not willing to play Musk’s game will cede ground to less reputable sources who are willing to pony up, likely leading to a further spread of misinformation and marginalizing those without the resources to pay. 

But I don’t think Musk cares (and that’s part of his appeal to many – he’s rich, smart and doesn’t care, which I’d argue is a highly dangerous combination). A big and legitimate point of concern is that Musk has promised to go light on Tweet moderation and potentially open the door for people to say offensive, abusive and hateful things. We’ve already seen what happens when the world’s worst person wields the platform, and thankfully Twitter stepped in there (and, to his credit, Musk has said he won’t reinstate Trump before next week's mid-term elections). The rise in racist and abusive tweets in the past week have sent many users either scurrying for the exits or planning an escape. And while I’m not joining them just yet, I can understand why they’re packing their bags. 

So why is my Twitter account still active? Part of it is necessity. As a writer and podcaster producing content in a sea of it, I need a place to promote that work. I can’t afford an advertising budget for (free) content. So, Facebook and Twitter are easy ways to send it out to potential readers. 

But also, I enjoy Twitter. I’ve seen the ugliness that is rampant out there (let’s be clear: Twitter was never not a place where people revealed their ugliest thoughts and indulged their worst tendencies). But thankfully, I have cultivated a feed of users who I follow who don’t take part in it. Twitter can be the best source for comedy out there. It’s a great place to discover new writers or follow stories as they’re unfolding (so long as you’re diligent and know to verify your facts). There are deep thinkers on Twitter whose work on the platform causes me to stop and think, and has bettered my life. If Facebook is where I keep in touch with friends and share photos of my kids, Twitter is the one place a person with social anxiety can be a bit of an extrovert and engage in conversation with strangers. So far, I’m still enjoying those conversations. If the ugliness begins to overwhelm that, I may eventually consider leaving. 

And yet, I realize that while the experience might be enjoyable for me, there are many users for whom that is not the case. And I need to keep that in mind as well. If abuse continues unmoderated and the platform gives free reign to those who use it as a pulpit to bully and harass without consequence, I probably also need to consider stepping aside for the good of my neighbor. I haven’t left Twitter, but there’s a silent “yet” at the end of that statement. 

But the older I get, the more I also wonder whether social media is of any benefit, period. And it’s a thought I want to explore more in the coming months. If I start to feel that Twitter is bad for my soul and my neighborhood, it’s likely that other social media platforms are as well, and maybe we’re at a point where we have to consider whether they are detrimental to us as a community. 

Do streaming services hate Jesus? 

If not, then why are they giving him so many crappy birthday presents? 

This week, three of the big streaming services unveiled trailers for big event movies and series for the holiday season. And I’ll be honest: I did not feel holly or jolly. 

Let’s start with the obvious “who asked for this” release, which is HBO Max’s A Christmas Story Christmas. The latest sequel to Bob Clark’s beloved A Christmas Story (of which, to be clear, there are already three) brings back Peter Billingsley as Ralphie, now a grown man, who brings his own family to Cleveland in the 1970s to have a good old-fashioned Christmas. The trailer promises that this will play the regular legacysequel game of leaning heavily on callbacks to the original and, wisely or not, bringing back several of the first film’s actors. But aside from one shot of Billingsley revealing that he can still deliver Ralphie’s childlike facial expressions and chuckle, this looks painful. 

Sure, I appreciate that director Clay Kaytis (who helmed the not-bad Netflix holiday comedy The Christmas Chronicles) leans heavily into the warm, sepia-toned aesthetics of the original film. You can’t see that house, those snowy neighborhoods or Higbees without feeling a twinge of nostalgia. But nostalgia seems to be all the film is leaning on. Ralphie’s former school chums are now drinking buddies (which just seems sad) and they’re still “triple-dog daring” each other to do dumb things. It looks like there’s a heavy dose of slapstick, which was never part of the original except in fantasy sequences, and smart-ass lines from the kids. 

I’m not a hater. I love A Christmas Story. I think it’s one of the best films about looking back at your childhood through adult eyes (which is why I’m also hesitant about this movie centering the story on adult Ralphie, and not his kids). It understands that Christmas is exciting and warm but that childhood is also stressful and terrifying (I think A Christmas Story holds a record for how many children it shows crying and screaming). This seems like another nostalgia-delivery service, designed to re-create beloved moments from the original without their originality or charm. I also don’t understand why HBO Max is wasting money on this when last year’s 8-Bit Christmas is also on the streamer, and is actually a solid, funny and touching update of A Christmas Story (I’ve beaten this drum a lot in the last few weeks, but I’ll keep beating it). 

Of course, I 100% understand why Disney is spending money on a revisit to its The Santa Clause property. Those original films were huge (it might seem hard to believe, but the year that the first film came out, Tim Allen had the no.1 TV show, the no. 1 movie and the no. 1 book in America). And you know what? They’re perfectly fine holiday family fare. I’ve considered re-visiting them for December’s Franchise Friday, but the latest trailer for Disney +’s The Santa Clauses has me rethinking that. 

It’s not that I don’t understand why Disney+ is trotting out the old IP; it’s doing it because that is what Disney+ does. And while this is the rare franchise where I think a remake with a fresh cast and look might be the best approach (those originals are definitely products of their time), I can understand why Disney thought getting Tim Allen back into the red sweatpants might be the best course of action. But instead of a movie, The Santa Clauses is a six-episode streaming series. Who thinks 3-6 hours of this is what the public is clamoring for (the answer: Disney doesn’t care what the public wants; a streaming series released weekly will get more views than a movie released once). The premise — in which Scott Calvin considers retiring from the role of Santa Claus so he can spend more time with his family — isn’t awful, but I can’t imagine how it will stretch out so long. And the trailer promises more shrill comedy with soft-edged family sentiment that, again, might play well in a 90-minute film but which I predict will grow very old over the course of six weeks. 

But I guess that somewhere, someone is ecstatic that they got the original Charlie and Bernard back. And I will pray for them. 

Finally, Apple TV + revealed the trailer for Spirited, it’s musical-comedy update of A Christmas Carol starring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. I’m not going to poo-poo this one outright. I’ll admit that I’ve been burned on modern adaptations of this story before, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work. And I have liked Reynolds and Ferrell before, and I’ll admit that I’m curious about the film’s musical elements. 

But oof, does this trailer not do anything for me. Reynolds and Ferrell might be funny guys, but they both have a tendency to coast on shtick, and they seem to be coasting on their personas here. The film leads hard on pratfalls and one-liners, although I’ll admit that the movie looks much bigger and more expensive than I’d anticipated, and it does seem to include some elaborate musical numbers. I’m not feeling it, but I’ll give it a whirl. 

And of course, let’s remember the two truths: One, it doesn’t matter if these are any good. Streaming services don’t care about that, so much as they can give you content that will keep subscribing in hopes that it’s good. 

And two: Of course I’m going to watch these because I’m a glutton for punishment and I consume Christmas movies with the same fervor people watch horror films in October. I totally understand I’m part of the problem.   

Are we done underestimating James Cameron yet? 

This week, we also got the second and final trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, which hits theaters in December, 13 years after James Cameron’s Avatar debuted. 

Over the summer, when we saw the first Avatar 2 trailer, I said we should never underestimate James Cameron, who has a history of making films that are ridiculed throughout production and end up being massive hits upon release. I was following the film news in early 1997, when Titanic was supposed to spell the end of not only Cameron’s career but also Paramount. And the first Avatar was preceded by Fern Gully 2 jokes; even South Park got in on the act, releasing its “Dances with Smurfs” episode a full month before the movie was released. And in the end, Cameron had the last laugh. 

And I’m going to double down on that: I don’t think it’s just a last laugh in terms of box office. Cameron’s movies aren’t just popular; they are legitimately good. You might think Titanic’s love story is corny and overwrought, but it’s pitched perfectly for the epic story he’s telling. Avatar may, indeed, be a derivative tale; but it used that familiar narrative and themes to ease audiences into a bold, breathtaking and beautiful new world. 

I could be wrong and Avatar 2 could be a snoozefest. But based on this trailer, I can’t wait to return to Pandora. I love the bright, tactical and detailed look of this world. While the MCU and other big franchises still seem haphazard with their use of CGI, I appreciate the Cameron is doubling down and using the tools at his disposal to make something that looks vibrant, immersive and spectacular. And, as we’d expect from him, Cameron looks to be playing around again with big action and even bigger emotions. 

I’m not sure whether Way of Water will be the biggest hit of the year; I think Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might have that in the bad (although Top Gun Maverick might never relinquish its claim). But I think audiences are going to go for this, and I’m ready to slip on my 3D glasses, sit in front of a giant screen and take the ride. 

Will you dare to be stupid? 

Finally, just a quick plug for my review of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which you can read over at CinemaNerdz. I’m a longtime Weird Al fan, and it’s made me genuinely happy to see him embraced as a legit genius and beloved icon in recent years. When I heard they were making a biopic of him starring Daniel Radcliffe, I was really excited. Based on a Funny or Die trailer from about a decade back, it’s a skewering of biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody that is often very funny and 100% untrue. It can’t quite escape the long shadow of Walk Hard, and it isn’t as continuously bonkers as UHF, but Radcliffe commits to the performance and the film is often very funny. It’s a shame this isn’t getting a theatrical release (it’s on the Roku Channel); this would play like gangbusters in a packed theater. 

And that’s it for this week! Like I said, I have a lot on deck for next week, so stay tuned!