It's not hateful to call them incompetent, especially under the circumstances. I'd argue it's more hateful to call that statement "hateful trash" tbh.

At this stage the difference between film and digital is so close that it's going have the most minor effect on the quality of your film (if any). Any director hoping to squeeze a bit more enjoyment out of the audience by shooting film is likely to be disappointed.

Eh, personally I love gear. It's fun to research it and try it out and yeah, open the box the first time. It's a complimentary things to film making, it doesn't take away from it. I've made money renting gear out with me and to be frank it has inspired me at times to shoot the same kind of job I've done many times before, in a different way. I'm not ashamed of being into gear. Of course you have to choose carefully.