Patrick Goldstein says it is in the L.A. Times.

The only question for him seems to be how big of a flop. The headline for his post gives you some idea: "Is DirecTV's $30 movie rental test a flop of 'Ishtar'-like proportions?"  Yikes.

Why he thinks it flopped mirrors NATO's thinking on the issue precisely:

The lesson here? As long as Netflix is around the studios are never going to have any luck getting fans to spend three times what they pay for a regular theater ticket to see a movie 60 days after its release, even in the comfort of their own homes. Once you get past the initial theatrical run, the price of entertainment is heading down, not up. The DVD boom is over. We are fast becoming a nation of renters, not buyers.

Say it with me: "Once you get past the initial theatrical run, the price of entertainment is heading down, not up."

Twenty-three prominent directors and producers signed an open letter calling on the four studios involved in the early "premium video on demand" offering from DirecTV. The Hollywood Reporter covers it.

One of the letter's signers, former Fox studio chief Bill Mechanic, speaks at length with David Poland of Movie City News about the value of the theatrical release window, below:

It's a business defined by your stupidest competitor. - Bill Mechanic

More coverage at the L.A. Times and the Wall Street Journal.