If you've read this site with any regularity over the past number of years, you can probably gather much of this information simply from what we do and do not review. But since you do not know the specifics behind review requests and the dealings with assorted public relations groups, I thought a look behind the curtain would be of some interest. I take it that the way the studios and their agencies treat me is a reflection of how much they care about you, the readership, and the business you provide them. Something to keep in mind the next time you are trying to decide between one studio's disc or another? Perhaps. And also a way to publicly call some attention to the troubling uncooperativeness, incompetence, and utter disrespect that a few have offered in a business where you'd think the customer and the press should be kept happy. So here it goes: the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to studios...

The studios that care about you:

1) Paramount - There was a year when we fell off their radars when they switched agencies with nary a head's up. Since then, though, their press people have been the quickest, most courteous, and most reliable to deal with. The sliced UPCs on review product are annoying and the mostly television CBS library is handled by one of the weaker agencies, but their respect trumps these shortcomings. I so wish they did not just sign away most of their catalog to Warner.

2) Anchor Bay (and Weinstein) - Their regular agency is one of the best around; they fill requests in a fast and friendly manner. Wish they had better films beyond Weinstein's new fare (R.I.P. promising Overture Films). There have been just a few notable but forgivable misses from them.

3) Disney - What's that, were you expecting them to be #1? Though our coverage of Disney DVDs extends further than any other studio, and their primary online agency goes all the way back, we somehow don't get offered every title they release, bizarrely enough (more likely the agency's fault than the studio's). And yet some have the audacity to think that they own this site. (You're grasping for straws, studio that shall not be named!) Blemishing their record is Marvel Studios, whom I'll address separately.

4) Criterion - The company that puts the most effort into their DVD and Blu-ray releases is pretty terrific about sending what you ask for, though I do wish we were able to cover a bit more of their usually top-notch output.

5) Sony - Sony divides its output among various agencies, some of which have a better track record than others. Generally, they all are quite good, but some of the smaller agencies they rarely align with have snubbed us on huge titles (think Best Picture nominees and winners) and others have sometimes disappointingly sent DVDs instead of the Blu-rays requested.

6) ARC Entertainment - This little studio gets us their output regularly in time for review. I just wish their output wasn't so often so terrible.

7) Echo Bridge - They don't have the best reputation among DVD or Blu-ray collectors and their catalog includes a lot of junk, but they always send the product we request in an extremely timely fashion that makes reviewing easy.

8) Mill Creek - Another value studio with its detractors, although their Blu-rays have been much better than the few overpacked DVDs I've seen. They send out product late and don't have the most extensive of output.

9) Acorn Media - I wish I could cover more titles from this studio that specializes in British TV; unfortunately, most of their sets are huge ones requiring a lot of time.

10) HBO - This was the last major studio we connected with, so they are not very on the ball (and they rely on the oft-frustrating agency that handles Lionsgate), but so far, our few experiences with them have been pleasant.

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't (split personality studios):

12) Shout! Factory - The television side is quite good (though often sending us stuff too time-intensive or niche to cover), but the rest of the studio's catalog is off-limits by way of ignoring.

13) Warner Bros. - As far as new theatrical output goes, the studio has been terrific at enabling our coverage. All the other departments, however, whose output is the most extensive of any studio, would prefer to reach sites with a tiny fraction of our readership for unknown reasons. It's particularly distasteful when you see just how extensive and popular our many reviews of catalog titles through 2010 were. Even those handling the Warner Archive titles seem to have gone dark recently.

14) Lionsgate/Summit - Hit and miss for a very long time; how much of that falls on the studio versus how much of it the various agencies that handle them, I don't know. It is frustrating, but their catalog is one of the weakest around.

Do not care about you at all:

15) Fox (and MGM) - It's strange because for a long time their overstaffed press agency was the very best at sending product and collaborating in creative ways. In 2010-11, I'd have probably ranked them one of the top three. Now, they snub us for sites with no traffic and don't even have the decency to respond or explain. Virtually every major 2012 movie we didn't cover is the doing of that disappointing agency (who also handles some Universal titles). Fox is also troubling in other ways, like their use of watermarked compressed DVD-R screeners (which they sometimes bafflingly still send) and their withholding of review product until street date or later. I guarantee you that movie pirates don't make their living in film journalism, Fox.

16) Universal (and Focus) - The longest and most serial offender. We spent a grand total of about two months on their auto-mailed list before getting inexplicably pulled, which sites with negligible traffic remain on. They do not seem to care, no matter how pertinent the title. Interestingly, these are also the only studios whose theatrical releases aren't covered by the agency that handles all the rest in my area. It looks like they think they know best, but clearly most of the time do not.

17) Marvel Studios - Though Marvel is owned by Disney, they want to remain their own company and play by their own rules. It's ridiculous that the studio exerted force and withheld The Avengers from many respectable outlets, including this one, while randomly serving less popular sites. How a studio that made as much money as they did on that film could pull such a stunt on such an acclaimed film boggles the mind and it doesn't bode well for covering their future films, like this year's two high-profile sequels.

18) Olive Films - Not a single word from them, while sites with negligible (if even that) traffic cover them. Their rudeness is especially lame, since they have a strong catalog.

19) Cohen Media Group - See #17, minus the strong catalog part.

Destined to care:

Flicker Alley - We're only about to start covering them, not for any reason other than there's a lot of studios to cover out there! I have hope for both their classic output and their regard.

I've reviewed from other studios on occasion, but none with enough frequency or interest to warrant placement in any of these three sections here.

Ten most flabbergasting review snubs/agency fails of 2012:

You wanted these reviewed, we wanted to review them, and yet... it didn't happen.

1. The Avengers (Click Communications for Disney/Marvel)

2. The Artist (Digney & Co. Public Relations for Sony)

3. ParaNorman, Pitch Perfect (mPRm for Universal/Focus)

4. Prometheus, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Watch, Red Tails, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: S7, American Horror Story: S1, The Princess Bride, The French Connection, and The Grapes of Wrath (THINKJAM for Fox)

5. Moonrise Kingdom, Ted, Snow White and the Huntsman (THINKJAM for Universal/Focus)

6. The Great Mouse Detective: Blu-ray (Click Communications for Disney)

7. The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season (SPPR Inc. for Anchor Bay)

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Carl Samrock Public Relations for Sony)

9. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial: Blu-ray (Click Communications for Universal)

10. Every Catalog Title, especially The Town, Casablanca, and Unforgiven (Warner Home Video)