Film | by Shane “The Download Lowdown” Hnetka
Regina is getting a new movie theatre in 2018. Landmark Cinemas is planning an eight-screen theatre way, way east of the city. Landmark currently has one-screen theatres in Yorkton and Weyburn, but this new multiplex looks pretty fancy, with comfy, reclining chairs. I’m looking forward to it, though if it were up to me I’d prefer a new theatre downtown to one as far from almost everyone as possible. But then I don’t get to make (or approve) these decisions.
The Films Of Fandor
Last column, I mentioned a streaming site where you can watch independent films if you’re tired of Netflix’ Hollywood-heavy stuff. Fandor has been around for a few years now and for $10 a month or $90 a year (which works out to $7.50 a month) you get a library of 6,000-plus movies, shorts, and documentaries.
Fandor used to have the Criterion Collection too, but sadly Criterion started its own streaming service.
Still, it has an impressive library.
Say you feel like watching something made in Canada. Fandor has quite a few choices, as well as some NFB shorts. It also has lots of world cinema, a large selection of Werner Herzog films and piles of cult movies.
Fandor also has useful categories including “films directed by women”, which is nice to see, given the industry’s sexism. Each film gets a cast and crew list, a user rating out of five and, if it passes the Bechdel Test, that’s mentioned (though if it doesn’t, it isn’t).
The downside? Not a ton of new content added daily, weekly, etc. Still, it beats watching the cinema of Adam Sandler on Netflix.
Your Daily Mubi
Another streaming site that’s been around for awhile is Mubi. It’s a little different — it’s only got 31 films. Mubi adds one new movie every day and removes one that’s been around for 31 days. It’s essentially a film-a-day service that, for $7.99 a month, prompts you to watch lots of world cinema along with cult films, independents and classics. Sounds like a neat way to develop better movie-watching habits.
Shane Hnetka is a Saskatchewan film and comic book nerd who writes “Sunday Matinee” every weekend at prairiedogmag.com.
