This week seems to have presented Netflix‘s decision-makers with another high-stakes craps game. At this point, you have to wonder whether the suits simply rip a bunch of pages out of a Mad Libs book, toss them up in the air, and then go ahead with whichever ones land face-up, because the tactics are all over the place here.
Indeed, a rare case of the streamer inspiring hope was found in potential incoming special treatment for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, only to take that hope behind the barn and place the what’s-what between its eyes by condemning The Power of the Dog to the exact opposite fate. And don’t even get us started on the mind-boggling decision to unnecessarily reboot two long-standing, picked-out-of-a-hat franchises — to say nothing of the fact that one of those reboots just might, against all odds, end up being a great idea.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio could be coming to Blu-ray
With the ruthless state of streaming these days (more on that later), the value presented by the realm of physical media is looking more and more attractive with every passing day, and while Netflix exclusives are called exclusives for a reason, Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning animated adventure could help shatter that ceiling.
Indeed, with Pinocchio seemingly on its way to Blu-ray now, even more folk will have the opportunity to experience del Toro’s darkly delightful take on the classic story, and we can only hope that this will open the floodgates for more streaming originals that manage to strongarm their overlords into getting them a disc variant; no more threat of the vault!
As for one of Netflix’s other Oscar darlings, that very vault is calling
On the other side of the news spectrum, The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion’s roaringly successful psychological drama, which racked up 12 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and a win for Best Director) and has since been named as one of the best films of the 21st century, will be leaving Netflix’s library later this summer.
It will only be leaving the United Kingdom library at the time of writing, but axing a Netflix exclusive — one as richly acclaimed as The Power of the Dog, no less — from the only place you can watch it continues a deeply disturbing “lost media” trend among streaming services, one that’s only getting more rampant as time goes on.
We can only hope that The Power of the Dog won’t be gone forever, or that it at least finds its way to a physical release before Netflix decides to swallow the key or possibly expand this purge to other nations, but Aug. 19 will be a dark day for cinema nevertheless.
But don’t worry, everyone; we’re getting another Spy Kids movie
Remember when we all first found out that Spy Kids: Armageddon, the next entry in the very-much-out-of-steam Spy Kids franchise would be dropping this Fall as a Netflix exclusive? I personally found out about 12 seconds ago, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is one of the boldest gambles the streamer has ever taken on.
Robert Rodriguez, my guy, I’m going to need you to take it down about three notches with this one. Spy Kids was great, Island of Lost Dreams was also great, and even that Machete movie was something adjacent to great, but then you banked on one of cinema’s cheapest gimmicks back in 2003 and it’s all just been downhill from there. I’ll mostly be blaming Netflix for enabling you here, but it’s time to take some responsibility and move on.
…and a new Beverly Hills Cop? That… might actually be good?
We haven’t seen Eddie Murphy slap on Axel Foley’s tactical vest since 1994, but that’s all about to change thanks to Netflix’s surprising tenacity when it comes to keeping the most random, unlikely projects afloat, despite acting as the torpedo itself when it comes to other series or films (The Power of the Dog, anyone?).
In any case, 30 years in development hell is never a good sign for any movie, but high-flying test screenings arguably hold much more weight, and that’s exactly the situation that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is finding itself in right now. It remains to be seen when Netflix will be putting this one on the front lines, but as much as we’d hate to see the streamer genuinely benefit from an asinine, almost pathological gamble, the world could always use more good media, so here’s hoping Axel Foley solves viewership malaise as deftly as Axel solves the case.