Rivoli Theatre co-owners Clara and Jon Gelatt in studio discussing the changing landscape of movies — stemming from Matt Damon’s criticism of Netflix — a YouTuber’s horror film coming soon thanks to fan emails and how they stay relevant with community events ranging from politics to the outdoors.

One of the nice things about going to a theatre is you’re basically commanded to put your phone away. We talked about comments recently by Damon suggesting movies are now being made to be the "second screen" — dumbing down the film because people aren’t paying attention.

This led to Jon’s "research" on the ideal movie runtime. While long epics like Lord of the Rings have their place, Jon breaks down why 90 minutes is the sweet spot for both viewers and theatre owners, and why the 110-to-130 minute range is often a "cursed" era for film quality.

On the flip side, fan requests have brought YouTuber Mark Fischbach’s film Iron Lung to the Rivoli at the end of the month. We talk about that changing landscape, plus how they decided to give the go ahead on bringing a YouTuber’s film to the big screen.

Before that happens, Jon will host another Cult Movie Night on Saturday — if you want to get out of the house, despite the cold — featuring a 16-year-old Tom Cruise in Legend (1985) and a 36-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer (1984).

Beyond these unique ways to get people to the theatre, we also previewed the upcoming La Crosse Adventure Film (LAF) event and post-viewed the Civics and Cinema discussion.

LAF happens Feb. 6 — a free event thanks to the Beer By Bike Brigade, B.L.A.C.K. and ORA Trails. It is at capacity, but check with LAF to get on the wait list — featuring multiple short films about the outdoors, including one about, coincidentally enough, Greenland.

We also recapped the Civics and Cinema series that happened earlier this week, where they watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The viewing was followed by a civics conversation led by Sam Scinta and Rick Kyte as part of the Rebuilding American Civics series with Viterbo’s D.B. Reinhart Institute.

Lastly, we talked about the perks of owning a theatre — 2 a.m. movies all to yourself, unlimited popcorn, Christmas gatherings or playing MarioKart on the big screen.