There are arthouse movie theaters throughout that play the same movies that you think are only locally shown in LA/NYC. You just need the right context (near a university, for example).

Am I wrong about this? Anything I'm missing?

It’s just a sci fi show set in that universe, that’s the way I see it. Takes the universe seriously, sets down rules for how it could work and it operates within that space.

But it’s better written, acted and art directed than most TV I’ve ever seen.

Id rank it as high or higher than Chernobyl. I’d say it’s must see TV.

But I understand your point— mid-budget studio movies (romcoms especially) have been hit the hardest by the pivot to Marvel mania and cinematic universes. Unfortunately that’s as much because of audience preference as it is studios.

I think the big thing is the financial risk of committing to a series, but it seems like if you take the films one at a time, you get to see how the last one is doing before you get too far along making the next one. Can't be that much worse than making everything a one-off.

They spent probably less than $5M total on the 3 movies (and filmed all at once), and the first two have already brought in $25M at the box office. A pretty good indie success story.

But then theres also the insidious observation. My generation are now senior writers and also the majority of the audience and between us is as much creativity as a fart.

Even movies like Big Trouble in Little Chinatown or Predator, while not necessarily having plots worthy of the next Great American Novel, at least had interesting memorable ideas.

As a discovery mechanism, I'd recommend following Vyce Victus[3], who writes reasonably well about action movies.

  [1] https://letterboxd.com/journal/direct-action-scott-adkins-dtv-film-evolution/
  [2] https://www.rogerebert.com/features/the-real-vulgar-auteurs-three-great-directors-of-direct-to-video-films
  [3] https://letterboxd.com/vycevictus/