Author Archive » Matt Tobey

Hulu Voodoo

on the tubeThe line between your computer and TV gets a whole lot blurrier today with the public launch of Hulu.com. It’s hard not to be impressed by the joint NBC/Fox venture. Full episodes of TV shows from 30 Rock to House and full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects and Ice Age are all available at no charge, streaming in high-quality. Many are even available in HD.

It’s ad-supported, and playing around a little, I saw a few different advertising models. Some movies give you the option of watching one trailer before your selection or a few commercials throughout. Others don’t give you the option and you either just watch a trailer and the movie plays without interruption or a handful of commercials play at random intervals. I also saw one not-too-intrusive overlay add at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds during one of my selections.

More after the jump.

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Now on DVD: Things We Lost In the Wild

magorium dvd coverMr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: Zach Helm attempts to out-Gondry Michel Gondry in his G-rated directorial debut starring Dustin Hoffman.

Awake: What is something you will not be by the end of this movie?

Into the Wild: Emile Hirsch stars as a young man who decides to live in the Alaskan wilderness, presumably after seeing Awake and giving up on humanity.

Things We Lost in the Fire: Of the two 2007 Halle Berry movies that I’ve forgotten even exist, this is the one I’ve forgotten most. Except for the other one.

Also out this week: Mrs. Doubtfire [Special Edition] and 12 Angry Men [50th Anniversary Edition]

Now on DVD: 30 Days of Darjeelingwulf

beowulf dvdBeowulf: If you thought The Polar Express was great but would have been better with graphic violence and cartoon nudity, then here’s the flick for you, guy who only exists in Robert Zemeckis’s mind.

30 Days of Night: This film tells the terrifying tale of a small-town in Alaska that’s forced to spend a month in the dark with Josh Hartnett. Fortunately, a group of merciful vampires comes along to put them out of their misery.

The Darjeeling Limited: Easily among the top-nine best Darjeeling-centric movies of 2007.

Also out this week: Death at a Funeral, Slipstream, Goya’s Ghosts, Day Zero and The Last Emperor: Criterion Edition

Now on DVD: Michael, Margot and Kurt

michael clayton dvd coverAmerican Gangster: Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe reunite for this long-awaited unofficial sequel to Virtuosity.

Michael Clayton: Finally a movie with George Clooney playing a loyal servant to The Man who grows a conscience and stops playing ball. It’s about time.

Margot at the Wedding: If you see just one Jack Black nude scene this year, make it this one.

Kurt Cobain - About a Son: Mulattos, albinos and mosquitoes all agree that this way better than the Krist Novoselic documentary.

Also out this week: Rendition, Lust, Caution, In the Valley of Elah, Zebraman and Nightmare Detective

Now on DVD: Gone Martian Gone

gone baby gone dvd coverGone Baby Gone: Ben Affleck directs Casey Affleck in this well-received drama that I can only assume was scored by Ulysses Affleck and catered by Geppetto Affleck.

Martian Child: If you loved K-Pax, then this one is for you, Mrs. Spacey.

We Own the Night: Probably the closest I’ll ever get to realizing my dream of watching Marky Mark of the Funky Bunch duet with Johnny Cash.

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married: Writer/director/producer/actor/gaffer Perry performs out of women’s clothing opposite Janet Jackson. [Insert 3-year-old Super Bowl joke]

Also out this week: No Reservations, The Amateurs and Becoming Jane

Now on DVD: One, 2 and Ten

2 days in paris dvd coverThe Brave One: Jodie Foster stars as a vigilante bent on avenging her boyfriend’s death in this film that John Hinckley Jr. gave “two thumbs way up!”

2 Days in Paris: Actor/director Julie Delpy’s indie romantic-comedy was warmly received by critics, but disappointed theatergoers who mistook it for a sequel to One Night in Paris.

The Ten Commandments: At long last, the cross-section of animated religious epic aficionados and Christian Slater fanatics has a movie to call their own.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: There’s a scene in this where a horse walks into a bar. The bartender sees him and asks, “why the long face… and title… and movie?”

Also out: Elizabeth - The Golden Age, Feast of Love, Across the Universe and Descent.

Now on DVD: Camp, Comeback and a Pair of Kings

king of kong dvd coverDaddy Day Camp: If you squint, the leads in this look a lot like Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garland. And if you squint harder and plug your ears, watching it might not make you want to jump out a window.

The Comebacks: If you’re one of the people who propelled Meet the Spartans to the top of the box-office over the weekend… well, you probably aren’t able to read this, are you?

Ricco the Mean Machine: The English translation of the original Italian title for this 70s exploitation flick is Some Guy with a Strange Face is Looking for You to Kill You. And yes, the movie pays off on the promise of that title.

King of Kong - Fistful of Quarters: See the film critics have called one of the fifteen greatest documentaries about Donkey Kong released in the second-half of this decade so far.

The Nines: Two better than Se7en, half better than 8 1/2, but not quite as good as The Ten and far worse than 300.

The Invasion: Nicole Kidman stars in this film about cold, unemotional humanoids. It is not a documentary.

Also out today: The King of California, Right at Your Door, Feel the Noise and Rocket Science

Heath Ledger, Dead at 28

knights taleSad news out of New York:

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near body.