Netflix Comes to the iPhone
I’ve got Netflix. I’ve got iPhone. You probably do too. Well today is a day of happiness as the free app now allows you to watch streaming videos in the palm of your hand. On a really tiny screen that drains your battery.
A cool concept, but how does it play out? Download it for yourself, or check out Gizmodo’s stellar review of the new app. So exit question – even if it’s great…is watching movies all the time really yet another good thing to add to our deteriorating attention spans and lack of being wherever we physically are at any given moment?
- Here’s how Netflix streaming works on my 3GS: silky smooth over Wi-Fi, gimped over 3G. And I’m way more relieved about the former than I am concerned about the latter. Streaming video over 3G has always been untenable; I’m just glad they even offer up the option. But the interface is easy, the video is clear and crisp enough to make dream of retina displays, and it played back the first five twenty minutes of Futurama: Bender’s Game.
Can I fawn some more? I’d like to if you’ve got a minute. But not just about Netflix on the iPhone. That’s just one slice of the pie. It’s been on the iPad for months. It looks like it’ll be gorgeous on Windows Phone 7. Android can’t be far behind (right?). Then throw in WiMax and LTE speeds. Maybe a future in which studios embrace broad distribution instead of fight it—or Netflix pays up for earlier distribution rights, given how much money they save streaming rather than shipping. That’s when we can watch whatever we want, whenever we want, wherever we want. That’s the dream. And we’re so close.
Scream 4 Teaser Poster
The Scream series (at least the first two) is one of my favorites in the smarter scary genre. If Scream 3 is an indication, this one won’t be worth paying attention to, but they’ve brought back enough originals (Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson, much of the cast) that it just might be the nice break from the Saw/torture movies that’ve dominated the past few years.
Check out the teaser poster just released.
Nolan to Help Superman Return (Again)?
As a child, my cape sometimes was replaced by a baseball bat to be He-Man, or a belt to be Batman, but by the time I was 25 I grew out of such childish things and just stuck with Superman. I currently have a Superman bed set. And not the one that I had as a kid.
So needless to say, I’m a big Superman fan. Never much of a comic book reader, but the cartoons, Lois and Clark, Smallville, Superman I-IV, and then…Superman Returns. What was supposed to be the beginning of a Superman reboot turned out to be a clunker with a metrosexual Superman who liked a cruddy Lois Lane and fathered an illegitimate child.
With such great superhero movies since X-Men, it was sad to see the one with the most potential ruined. Some might say it’s Batman, which to this point has been the best, but Batman has a rich set of villains and a dark side. Making Superman a 4-star affair like The Dark Knight would be a much more difficult accomplishment.
So the news today is that Dark Knight helmer (and all around genius filmmaker) Christopher Nolan will be guiding an all-new reboot of the Superman franchise. With a string of failures (Superman III, Superman IV, Superman Returns) and some ill-conceived reboots that never got off the ground in 1990s, this will be a monumental undertaking.
According to the article:
DC Comics stalwart Superman to soar again on the Big Screen, and the studio has turned to Chris Nolan to mentor development of the movie. Our insiders say that the brains behind rebooted Batman has been asked to play a “godfather” role and ensure The Man Of Steel gets off the ground after a 3 1/2-year hiatus.
So which direction will he take it? The Superman story is much trickier than Batman due to the different source material, as Deadline Hollywood (where the story originally broke on the new reboot) explains..
Batman was rebooted according to Frank Miller’s film noirish take on Batman. But there’s a big difference between Superman’s cinematic incarnations and comic book version. Warner Brothers and DC Comics for a long time weren’t sure which version they liked better. The cinematic version has been squeaky clean, occasionally campy, and has more-or-less unlimited power except when confronted with Kryptonite.
The comic book version has some limits on his powers, can be darker, and fights aliens a lot more. Shortly after Dark Knight hit it big, fans assumed that Superman would be taken to the “dark” side as well. That’s because Warner Bros mogul Jeff Robinov stressed post-Dark Knight that “we have to look at how to make these movies edgier”. One of our insiders interpreted this to say: “He meant more sophisticated.”
Doing something based on the comics is risky..it’s not the Superman of Christopher Reeve (the best to date) that we know. And then there’s the currently running Smallville. While mostly dumb, they have chosen the perfect actors for the roles of Clark Kent (Tom Welling), Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and even many of the supporting cast. With good writing and effects, they could easily lead the new franchise..just would have to drop the entire Smallville story.
For me it’s all something to look forward to, especially if Christopher Nolan does take the reins. You don’t even want to see what types of things Tim Burton had in mind with Nicholas Cage in the lead role.
Full story at Deadline Hollywood.
No thanks.
Netflix Streams A Punch in Face
Netflix, of which I’m a big fan, took another hit from the movie studios today. While it looked to be the reasonable answer to the digital age in movies as iTunes was to music, apparently they won’t be going about this without a fight.
You may recall recently, new releases are beginning to be removed from Netflix. Now, one of the cornerstones of their streaming business…Starz Play on Netflix (which allows you to see relatively new releases anytime via the internet for no extra charge) may be about to lose Disney and Dreamworks films.
Not that either of these is a death knell, but once studios realize they control the deal, the rest will follow suit and it’ll be no more new releases in the mail and no more decent streaming movies either. And we know what that means. Lonely Wednesday nights watching She’s All That for the eighth time.
Check out all the details at Gizmodo.com
Disney’s currently in negotiations with Starz for the rights to its movies over the next few years, and it wants a lot more money from people who watch Starz online—like through Netflix—and if things go badly, it could mean no more Disney or Dreamworks movies on Netflix streaming (full article link).
Spider-Man 4 The Return of..No One?
I like the Spider-Man series…especially the first two. They jump started a golden age of superhero movies, and were all box office hits. I can probably do without the mess-up that was Part 3, but I didn’t expect the news that Spider-Man 4 would include none of the actors from the series and be a reboot?
I thought only 80′s movies got rebooted…but perhaps they’re rebooting the breakout 1978 TV series?
The story, according to Deadline Hollywood..
Mike Fleming and Nikki Finke have just confirmed that Sony Pictures decided today to reboot the Spider-Man franchise after franchise director Sam Raimi pulled out of Spider-Man 4 because he felt he couldn’t make its summer release date and keep the film’s creative integrity. This means that Raimi and the cast including star Tobey Maguire are out. There will be no Spider-Man 4.
And statements after the story broke make it appear to be true. Get the updates at DeadlineHollywood.
Oh well, I’m sure it will suck.
New Trailer for the Un-Superhero
As a fan of superhero movies and a lifelong wearer of a towel as a cape, my interest had to be peaked by the upcoming movie “Kick Ass.” It’s about regular folks that decide to put on costumes and become superheroes..much like my entire life before I was 12. Ok before I was 27.
The first teaser trailer was interesting, the second red-band trailer showed the film will be pretty brutal in language and violence, and the newest third trailer brings back the promise. Check it out. In theaters in April 2010.
Ghostbusters 3 for 2011?
Ghostbusters 3 has had countless rumors over the past few years, but recently they’ve started to get more definitive. Most likely, it will be a total destruction of the iconic 80′s original, but secretly millions of 35 year olds hope that its going to be awesome.
Over at SlashFilm, they’re reporting Harold Ramis (Egon from the film) is saying it’s a go for 2011. Unfortunately everything he’s touched pretty much in the past 15 years has been horrible. As long as Bill Murray’s in it, though, I’ll pony up for some CGI slimer.
Check out the full article Harold Ramis Promises Ghostbusters 3 for 2011.
