If you still visit a blue box store every Friday night in order to pick up and watch a movie then you, my friend, are behind the times.

As I have said before Netflix is where it at for a number of reasons, but most importantly for me is their online distribution service. While it still only works in IE (soooo… 1997) it is one of the best movie players out there, the quality is great, it is quick and it doesn’t cost you an extra sent. I actually use the online player more than I do the movies at home. Those are a nice addition to the service, not the other way around. Soon the xbox will release an update allowing you to watch all those same movies via the xbox (so on your TV) which really will push it to a new level. I’ve seen screenshots and it looks very sick.

BUT. After a certain time you use up the good movies on Netflix. They add some , but for the most part, its not the A-list talent you could be receiving via the mail. New releases are non-existent so you are stuck to TV series and older movies. This works for a while as you go through the older content but you get to the point where you want some newer, fresher, material.

Today Netflix released 2 major things. The first of which is that they signed up with Starz to have their catalog online. I got this pic from Engadget and it shows some of the movies right now Netflix is adding in conjungtion with Starz. All A movies, solid watchable flicks, not second hand-ers anymore. Awesome. I just won’t be doing any homework for the next month or two.

Also today (it was a big day) Netflix opened up their API to anyone and everyone. Black, white, red, whatever you can sign up on your own and start developing for whatever you want. So expect a plethora of new apps for your favorite device, or website to only expand the use of Netflix’s services.

If anyone has an idea for a Netflix App let me know and we can get going on one, I’m sure they will be rolling out in hours for those truly dedicated freaks of nature.

Good Day Netflix. Good Day Indeed.

The shows I have been on talking about for months are now back online. I might consider finally signing up for showtime because of them… but you can watch the season premier of both of them online right now via this handy dandy link. You do have to sign-up but its just that one page 3-field form. Then you are good to go.

While we are at it : From the director of In Pursuit of Happyness and more importantly starring Will Smith, comes another really good looking flick… in the same serious tone of Happyness but hopefully happier. Plus Rosario Dawson is not hard to look at for two hours. I can’t embed the trailer, so here you go : 

http://www.movietrailertalk.com/2008/09/will-smith-seven-pounds/

Once is a movie featuring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (hope I got that right) who you may recognize from the song Falling Slowly which got more airplay than the movie that features it. Once was just sort of under the radar in early 07 since it is a musical, but it did pick up an Oscar for its song writing.

Our characters are known only as the guy and the girl but tells of a chance street encounter and the ensuing relationship that spins from a common love of music. It is a soft musical and what I mean by that is there aren’t huge dance scenes, its not big glitzy glamourous production like Grease or anything, its shot in a very indie way with a nice string of duets between Glen and Marketa. 

It rates a 8.1 / 10 on the IMDB rating and is an enjoyable 85 minutes, I recommend it if your in for something a little bit calmer with a very good story.

Below is a video of Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova performing on Letterman :

I don’t want to do a full review of this movie, just a suggestion to go see it if you are a music fan. Its really corny in parts just look past that and its a pretty good story mixed in with some real nice music sets. Its all got a classical bent to it so if your not a fan of that you may not enjoy it, but every once in a while it can be cool.

Freddie Highmore (the kid), Kerrie Russell (I would hold her hand), Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard and Robin Williams round out a solid cast.

Rating:

Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Mathew McConaughey,Nick Nolte and one or two other big stars (one of which took me half the movie to realize) come together in what may be the most ridiculous plot for a movie ever.

They are actors recreating a secret Vietnam mission that went awry and the heroic exploits that followed. OK thats not so crazy, but throw in the drug-addict Jack Black, Robert Downey as an australian actor in black face and a water buffalo…. and you have a strange string of events.

I saw the trailer and was actually interested because it was so off the wall, and thats exactly what carries this movie through. If it any point it tried to be serious it would have lost me but it was just so…. different that I enjoyed it quite a bit, as did the rest of the theater.

I give it up to Robert Downey and Jack Black for having the best lines in this movie, and Ben Stiller for not over-doing it (which he can do oh so very easily). So if your in for something different, I think yo ushould check this out. Don’t push it aside because you’ve spent all your money on the Dark Knight and Pineapple Express. This is worth a viewing in my opinion . (I have a feeling some .. probably the more mature… will hate it.)

This is probably the earliest review of a movie that there ever will be. I’m trying to be different. No really, you gotta love teaser-trailers in their shortness and ability to get your mind going about a movie topic, even better than full-length trailers.

Here is a re-make of the classic The Day The Earth Stood Still but this time with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. Looks very intriguing I hope the rest of the movie pans out as good as this trailer did and they learn from War of The Worlds which could have been great but failed to execute.