movies

Turns out, the so-called Netflix box could be even cooler than initially thought.

The tiny black device from Roku was introduced to the world in May as the first box that could stream Netflix's "Watch it Now" option directly to a television.

But the company is saying there could be more where that came from.

Roku's vice president of consumer products, Tim Twerdahl, said Wednesday that, yes, more content partners are coming, but, no, he's not saying who just yet. That makes the $99 price tag look that much more attractive.

So who will it … Read more

The people have spoken: Netflix will not be eliminating user profiles, the account feature that lets you split movie rentals among separate queues for a household. The company had announced the removal of profiles earlier this month, much to user dismay.

"As someone who enjoys helping his 4-year-old daughter manage her one-DVD-at-a-time, G-rated sub-account, I identified with these thoughtful pleas to maintain Profiles," a Netflix product manager identified only as "Todd" wrote on the company's blog. "Because of an ongoing desire to make our website easier to use, we believed taking a feature away … Read more

Mark, the artist formerly known as The Intern, fills in for a busy Wilson today, and where we finally get a hold of our favorite Zoolander sound clip and abuse it all over the show. We also talk about the late PS3 firmware upgrade coming Wednesday, encourage people to be "adult" about "movies," make fun of the French military, and analyze this weekend's box office stats. Finally, take a look these stickers made by 404 listener "Tales"--We do it DIY on the 404, thanks for your support!

As I searched for something to talk about today, I came across this article from Joystiq featuring a discussion by Will Wright about Spore and the gaming industry.

For those of you who don't know Will Wright, he's not only the creator of Spore, but he's also the creator of the Sims franchise, and arguably one of the greatest game developers of all time.

And yet, I'd venture to say that at least some of you reading this have never heard of Will Wright before. I'll bet you've played the Sims and may even know about Spore, but you had no idea who Will Wright is.

If that's true, the blame shouldn't be placed on you and you certainly shouldn't be expected to perform research just to find out who develops a specific game. Instead, the blame should be placed squarely on the video game industry, and more specifically, major companies like Take-Two and Electronic Arts, for creating an environment where anonymity is not only accepted, but expected as well.

And if you ask me, that's just wrong.… Read more

Cue gravelly voiced trailer man: In a world where tech companies desperately want to look cool, there's only one thing they can do--give ginormous sums of money to film and TV producers to use their stuff...

Ever since an Apple PowerBook saved the world in Independence Day there's been a powerful feeling that every movie and TV show should feature a gadget doing something to make the world a better, safer place--or at least look cool and shiny. We've collected some prime examples here.

(Source: Crave UK)

After playing through Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, it became quite clear to me that video games have supplanted film as entertainment leaders. The game shines on so many levels, it's difficult to recount them all here. But perhaps more than anything, it allowed me to become a part of an environment that goes above and beyond anything I've ever experienced in a movie.

And after playing through this instant classic, I can't help but wonder if the video game industry has finally realized that it commands mainstream attention and must favor a new type of gaming that creates unprecedented entertainment value.

I'm a firm believer that video games have replaced movies as the de facto leader in entertainment. Games offer greater entertainment value, usually have better stories, and generally appeal to people far more than any movie currently in theaters.

The way I see it, movies are the next logical entertainment vehicle.… Read more

Blockbuster announced Tuesday it's teaming up with PayPal to offer users another payment method for purchases off its Web site.

Under the arrangement, consumers can use their PayPal account to pay for their online movie rental subscriptions. And later this summer, Blockbuster expects to launch its downloading service for movie rentals and purchases.

Eventually, Blockbuster expects to make PayPal available for use to purchase other things off the Web site, from gift cards to new and used DVDs.

Blockbuster is offering users a $10 cash back to their PayPal account, if they sign up for a new online Blockbuster rental subscription. … Read more

Fandango, the movie-ticketing company owned by Comcast since 2007, announced on Monday that it has acquired Movies.com, a movie news and reviews aggregator. Movies.com had previously been owned by Disney's Walt Disney Internet Group.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The aim of the acquisition is to provide a one-stop movie hub for the Web, executives said.

"We are pleased to expand our rich-entertainment reach through this strategic addition of Movies.com," Chuck Davis, CEO of Fandango, said in a statement. The ticketing site currently sells admission to 15,000 theaters in the United States. "… Read more

news analysis Netflix, don't take half steps with your digital-delivery service. Give your users what they want, and what they want is the latest hit movies.

CEO Reed Hastings and his management team have hit a home run--or at least a solid run-scoring triple--by partnering with Roku, the company behind the Netflix Player. The $100 device enables customers to stream movies from the Web to their TVs. Most reviewers have applauded the device for its low cost, easy setup, and viewing quality (a good Internet connection means no stalling or long download delays).

But a month after the Netflix … Read more