Tag: Movies

#TechTuesday – Better Netflix Streaming

Netflix is great for watching streaming content, but finding what to watch may not always be easy. A new website is looking to change that.

WTAM Newsradio with Bill Wills and Derek Meister

The financial news is buzzing with how Netflix added 8.33 million new streaming customers this last quarter, and has crossed the $100 billion market cap because of it.

As long time users know, while the service is great, but finding something to watch may not be. A new website, Flixable.com, is looking to solve that by being a very simple and straight-forward Netflix search engine.

When you open the site on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you’re greeted with the latest additions to Netflix (sorted by newest to oldest), with an easy-to-read ratings tab on the photos.

It’s even separated by movies and TV shows, with controls to help you narrow down your choices quickly. Click on the title you want, and it’ll take you to the streaming page.

Other tabs include “Popular Titles”, “Netflix Originals” and “Leaving”. That last one is important to many, because it helps you catch something you’ve been meaning to watch before it’s not longer available, information that’s not easy to find on Netflix.com.

What if you still can’t find anything to watch? Or what you want to watch isn’t showing up on Netflix?

Bookmark JustWatch.com to search all the popular streaming services for whatever title you’re looking for and find all the streaming, rental, and purchasing options available to you.

Electra Woman & Dyna Girl (2016)

Mistakes were made. Nostalgia for the 70s Sid & Marty Kroft show Electra Woman and Dyna Girl prompted me to watch the 2016 remake.

It was about as good as you’d expect a movie starring two YouTube personalities.

The original had 70s saturdary morning live-action kid show sets, costumes and actors, yet combined the goofy fun of 60s Batman and empowered female leads.

The remake … well … For some reason writers seem to want to tear down their heroes, both in the 2016 remake as well as the 2001 unaired pilot. Of the two leads, Hannah Hart is far better of an actor.

It’s another example the theory that the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that they are films that are often about another genre (70s political thriller, heist movie, etc) that just happen to have superheros. This remake is just a “superhero comedy”. Like My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

If you want to watch one of those, you’re better off with 1999’s Mystery Men. Or, of course, Deadpool, which is really a “screwball romantic comedy” that just happens to have superhe– well, Deadpool.

WTAM 1100 – Disney Movies Anywhere Crossing Platforms

Play Audio – WTAM 1100 Newsradio – Tech Tuesday – November 18th, 2014

WTAM 1100 Newsradio Cleveland OhioDigital content stores like Apple’s iTunes or Google’s Play have allowed us to buy and play movies on our mobile platform for some time. But those purchases have generally been limited to the platform they were purchased on. If you bought Frozen on iTunes, it’d play on your iPhone, but not the cheap Android tablet you bought for your kids to use.

One of the larger players in movie content has a new service that seeks to change this. Disney Movies Anywhere allows you to connect your iTunes, Google Play, or VUDU accounts so that any purchase on one unlocks that purchase on the others. So buy on your iPad and share with your Android phone and vice-versa. If you’re still a collector of physical media, look for Blu-ray Combo Packs that include the movie on disc, as well as a code to unlock the digital version for use on your mobile devices.

For a limited time, Disney is even offering those who sign up for the no cost, no contract account a free copy of Wreck-It Ralph.

Disney already has a wide range of releases beyond the typical movies we associate them with, which includes Pixar and Marvel movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Muppets Most Wanted. If Disney can prove this to be a successful move, expect to see other players, like Sony and Warner-Brothers follow suit.

Animalympics (and Other Oddball 80s Animated Movies)

The return of the Olympic games reminded me that I hadn’t seen Animalympics in a few decades. If you had HBO in the early 1980s, you probably saw this 78 minute animated gem about anthropomorphic animals competing in their own Olympic games several times a week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48AihwuY2OI

That of course reminded me of the other “classic” animated films seen on early cable movie channels that all but disappeared when the 80s ended… Continue reading “Animalympics (and Other Oddball 80s Animated Movies)”

Staying Home on a Friday Night

I had another Geek Squad blog entry posted today, based on the growing number of people who are spending more on their HDTVs and home theater systems in order to save money otherwise spent at the movie theater.

Doing some quick calculations in the back of my mind, I could easily see the claims from my friends about how a night out at the movies could easily cost a family of 4 nearly $75, and that’s not including the cost of industrial strength solvent you always end up needing to remove your shoes from the theater floor at the end of the movie.

You can read more about the The Geekonomics of Staying Home to Watch a Movie on the Geek Squad Blog.