Apple may be getting the hang of the Hollywood game.
From Brian Lowry's "'Coda' is a small movie that hits all the right notes" posted on CNN entertainment:
"Coda" is a small movie, exquisitely made. Touching, funny and stirring, it would be the kind of movie you'd urge a friend to run out and see, except they'll only need to stay home and ante up to stream it on Apple TV+.
The tech giant's streaming service stepped up to buy the film for what Deadline reported to be a record sum coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, and at a moment where a lot of money's being thrown around for such acquisitions -- chasing awards prestige, attention or a little of both -- this one actually looks well spent.
Trailer:
My take: As of this morning, CODA (an acronym for Child of Deaf Adults) had scored 93% out of 188 Rotten Tomatoes reviews. I liked Lowry's because it went straight to the $4.95/month business proposition. I've cued CODA up for tonight's entertainment.
UPDATE: Bring your handkerchiefs.
CODA is a small but well formed story and yet it covers a lot of ground in a short time.
It is a coming of age story, a small town girl makes good story, a clash of cultures. It tackles a lot of things and yet the narrative holds together and seems authentic.
Did I mention I enjoyed it immensely?
And what can one say about the “audition” solo at the end of the movie. What an amazing triple-threat artist Emilia Jones is!
CODA hit a deep emotional chord. I really liked it.
$4.95/month for just one movie like this, per month, is a sensational bargain.
And that’s $4.95/month or $60/year PER FAMILY. I don’t know about you, but Donna and I can drop half of that on a single movie, if you include the snack bar….
Apple TV+ is a quality play.
I don’t see Apple customers as being binge-o-matic series watchers. They’ve got lives that go beyond the tube. When they do sit down to watch something they aren’t going to want to wade through a library dominated by tripe to find something worthy of their time.
Right now Apple is piggy backing others content, but once Apple’s library hits critical mass those relationships will disappear.