Best Blu Ray Titles

By on Saturday, July 10, 2010
Filled Under: Uncategorized

Blu ray was hailed as the next major innovation in upcoming movies and features. Discs with more storage space can be filled with data, which will allow the home theater experience to become more advanced than ever before. Consumers will have additional basic menu options for subtitles, viewing modes and playback options. They’ll be able to bookmark scenes to reference later with bonus materials and they’ll be able to add content to re-writable portions of the discs. They can play games and interact with other viewers too. Most importantly, they’ll receive unparalleled sound and visuals.

Some consumers may feel irritated that they’re expected to buy a new machine to play new movies. Yet, the shift has been gradual to calm dissent and there are many great features that Blu ray technology offers. For instance, creators are looking at releasing DVDs with a re-writable storage section so consumers can download updated bonus material (rather than buy anniversary editions and subsequent releases). Secondly, top movies will be seen in higher definition and 7.0 Surround Sound (compared to the old Dolby Digital 5.0). Many people are choosing to buy the PlayStation3, which plays Blu ray movies and also allows users to surf the web, listen to music, store data and play video games.

Blu ray disc players, particularly the PlayStation3, are beginning to take off, but not many people want to buy the PC drive to watch movies on their computers. “People are soon going to realize that they’ll have these collections at home, and will want to be able to watch them on the go,” argues Brian Zucker, a technology strategist at Dell. “And often, the best possible viewing screen is the one on their computer.” Now that the cost of these discs is coming down, it seems people are willing to buy movies on Blu ray now. “It’s cheaper than three years ago, when it would cost $300 or $400, but it might still be holding people back,” Zucker admits.

If you’re looking to start a Blu ray disc collection, here are some of the top new movies to consider. Braveheart was released in the new format September 1st, offering viewers special features like interactive timelines with videos, images and text; a behind-the-scenes look at production; the historical places, people and events behind the story of Scotland’s greatest patriot; new interviews with cast and crew; a featurette about Smithfield, the site of William Wallace’s execution; and 3-D models of Falkirk and Bannockburn, where military strategies, topography, weapons, troop movements and leadership information can be assessed. “Gladiator” is another must-own motion picture. The Blu ray version includes audio commentary; trivia; behind-the-scenes footage exploring historical ties to key scenes; the ability to “tag” favorite scenes throughout the movie, which they can learn more about with disc 2; a documentary with Enhanced Viewing Mode to access special interviews; an HBO special; a Learning Channel special; a featurette about the soundtrack; the personal diary of the actor who played Lucius; storyboard and costume galleries; and shot deconstruction with visual effects artists.

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Watch Movie Trailers

By on Friday, January 1, 2010
Filled Under: Uncategorized

Movie trailers can really make or break a movie. We all know that the best box office numbers are usually the opening weekend of new movies. Word-of-mouth has a way of making people hold off until movies get to the cheap show, Netflix or Blockbuster, so it’s imperative that the movie trailers clips get people excited. For filmmaker Rob Zombie, it wasn’t easy presenting his unique type of movie in a motion picture friendly way. He recently told Entertainment Weekly, “When I first saw the trailer [for Halloween II], I went, ‘this is the f—ing movie we made.’ And then [Dimension Films] was like, ‘We don’t want to use it, we don’t like it,’ and they just threw it away.” He added that the new versions made his movie look like a typical slasher movie. So when the original version leaked online, Zombie was psyched; the response was so positive, scores of people said “Wow, I didn’t want to see the movie until I saw this trailer!”

At www.reelzchannel.com, you can check out trailers for movies that are “In Theaters Now,” “Coming Soon To Theaters,” “New On DVD,” “New Movie Trailers,” “Now On TV” or “Classic and Vintage Trailers.” The easy category organization makes it a breeze to scroll down and find new movies by looking at titles and DVD cover images. You’ll also get clips so you can link to the previews in your blog, in an email or on your social networking page. At the “Find a Movie” tab, you can look up movie theaters and times nearby, as well as retrieve maps on how to get there. You can search pay per view movies here too.

A popular site to search movie trailers is Yahoo Movies. Some people like to search movies online by “Top Box Office,” while others like to watch the “Most Recently Added” clips so they can have the latest in movies news. There is also a “Most Popular” section for tested, tried and true previews. Their “My Movies” feature lets you build a movie profile of your likes and dislikes, create lists of your favorite movies, write reviews of movies, rate movies and get personalized recommendations of new releases you might like based on your preferences. Members can also save their favorite local theaters for quick access and purchase tickets right on the site.

The site www.fandango.com has quickly become one of the most popular places to watch movies trailers online. The benefit of using Fandango is that you can also purchase your tickets here and either pick them up at the theater or print them out at home. They often run promotions where you can get free tickets when you participate in a partner’s offer as well. Fandango offers special feature videos. For instance, when you look up Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds,” you can also watch the latest HD trailer, a video of the “Tarantino’s Greatest Movie Moments,” and enter to win a prize pack from the movie. You can read fan reviews, critic reviews, easily see when the last matinee show is and get maps to your local theaters.

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Lost DVDs?

By on Thursday, December 31, 2009
Filled Under: Uncategorized

While working with Netflix, it didn’t take Mitch Lowe very long to realize that this concept was keeping the industry afloat but could be done better. His idea was that he could make movies more accessible by including kiosks in grocery stores and more affordable by offering the movies for $1/night. This year has been miserable for distributors of DVDs, with sales down 13.5%. Yet thanks to Mitch’s company, Redbox, rental revenue has increased over 8%, despite low sales. Sony and Lionsgate are big supporters of the new kiosks, although other motion picture companies like Fox, Universal and Time Warner feel Redbox undermines their business.

Late last year, Universal Pictures ordered its distributors not to sell its DVDs to Redbox until the new movies had been on sale for 45 days. Fox and Time Warner also decided that their top movies should be out for at least 30 days before being available for $1 through the Redbox kiosks. This decision is being contested in court by Redbox and Netflix, who are also being affected by these new regulations. According to Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, the $1 rentals should be treated like the “cheap show” movie theaters with an appropriate window of time for the entertainment industry to make the big bucks off consumers. Yet, Mitch Lowe from Redbox argues that they can afford to pay the studios more because they’ve “significantly reduced the cost of delivering movies to consumers” and they garner more repeat business. Motion picture giants are primarily worried that the undercutting of prices is what will jeopardize their whole business model.

Blockbuster, meanwhile, is crying the blues about their $1.02 billion profit this quarter. Their sales of DVDs are down 22% and their shares have declined 16%, they complain. Part of this, they say, is due to their reduced inventory as they try to gain access to more cash. “We were also facing new and very aggressive competition that are better capitalized and would likely take share from us as we pulled back,” whines CEO Jim Keyes. The landscape is complex and challenging, given the current recession, Keyes added. Yet, competitors are seeing giant leaps in profitability by meeting consumer demands, despite distributor moves to block their access to new movies. Redbox revenue grew 110% last quarter and Netflix saw modest revenue gains of 20%.

The general idea is that eventually DVDs will be rented from television sets much like pay-per-view. Consumers will not have to worry about scratched discs, mailing items back to the company, late fees, high rental prices or other restrictions. Sony is currently experimenting with something called “Bravia TV,” which would let consumers see new movies just after they come out in theaters but before they come out on DVD. They tried a 24-hour screening of “Hancock” for $9.99 last year, but have entertained the possibility of raising the price up to $40. “The fact that this $40 pay-per-view model has worked for major sporting events suggests that there may be an opportunity for a handful of films every year — event films and franchises with the same young male demo as sports would be good bets,” says film analyst Tom Adams.

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