Movies

Released over the last decade, the Lego Star Wars ultimate collector series contains many elaborate sets, including "the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs." This "hunk of junk," officially known as set #10179, sold for $500 when it launched in 2007.

Over the course of three years, Francisco Prieto created a 3D stop-motion video of the Lego-ized Falcon being born. … Read more

I do not know whether the moon is inhabited by Nazis, though I suspect it unlikely.

However, a Finnish film director, Timo Vuorensola, decided that this would be the perfect time to consider whether, after World War II, Nazis had escaped to the moon and, in the 21st century, decided to invade Earth.

"Iron Sky," on viewing the trailer, seems to be an exciting affair, one that is moving audiences to various emotions at the Berlin Film Festival.

"They have studied our culture," it declares with full cinematic portent. "They have identified our weaknesses," … Read more

Amazon denied that it plans to soon launch a standalone video-streaming service similar to Netflix, dashing--for now--the prospect of a true head-to-head battle between the rivals.

Brad Beale, who oversees Amazon's video-acquisition unit, said in an interview with GigaOm's Ryan Lawler on Wednesday: "The bundle of benefits that come with Amazon Prime make perfect sense to offer to customers. The way that Prime Instant Video is offered today--we're going to continue that approach at least into the near future."

Even Netflix believed Amazon might spin off a standalone video service. In Netflix's fourth-quarter earnings … Read more

Last night 20th Century Fox treated me to a screening of the new 3D version of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," which is in cinemas now here in England (Friday in the U.S.). As I got to see it for free, it only seems fair I should let you know if it's worth spending actual money to see it.

First off, it's worth mentioning the obvious. No amount of 3D can change the fact that there's waaay too much about trade taxation routes in this film. The whole "is Natalie Portman grooming a child?" sub-plot is still there. Jar Jar Binks hasn't been digitally erased. But if you're reading this, you probably already have your own views about the artistic merit of this movie, so I'll stick to the techy stuff.

Read more of "Is it worth seeing Star Wars in 3D" on Crave UK. … Read more

The Web is getting re-Bourne today. As in Jason Bourne.

NBC Universal released the trailer for the "Bourne Legacy," the latest installment in the popular "Bourne" film series. Not surprisingly, the film trailer has begun to light up Twitter and is quickly circulating on the Web, even though the movie isn't scheduled hit theaters for another six months.

Who could have guessed that stories about spies and government conspiracies that are well told and acted would strike a chord with the public?

Matt Damon, who has starred in the previous three Bourne films, is not … Read more

At a time when the DVD appears to be dying, Redbox has acquired NCR's entertainment business for $100 million.

NCR is a company that specializes in automatic teller machines and retail kiosks. If you used one of those self-serve ticket machines at an airport, chances are you've used an NCR product. The company began operating more than 10,000 Blockbluster Express DVD kiosks after acquiring the brand from the original Blockbuster video rental service (Blockbuster went bankrupt and the brand and some of its stores were acquired last year by the Dish Network). Apparently, NCR couldn't make … Read more

Move over, Superman. Humans are flying over the skies of New York City, thanks to marketing agency Thinkmodo.

The viral ad company is flying human-shaped remote-controlled planes around the New York and New Jersey areas to promote the new Fox movie "Chronicle."

In the movie, three teenagers gain a host of superpowers and the ability to fly. The YouTube video showing this controlled phenomenon already has 650,000-plus views, and it's possible more people will see the viral ad than the actual movie. … Read more

Jeez, Reed, don't sugarcoat it. Tell us what you really think of the DVD's future.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who has sent mixed signals for the past year about whether the company was committed to DVDs for the long term and whether he believed discs still had a long life left, sounded a very loud death knell today for the format.

During the company's earnings call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings, BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield pointed out that Hastings had sounded much more optimistic last year about DVDs and was now making comments that suggested the company was … Read more

The recent Muppets movie no doubt brought Jim Henson back into the minds of many, and a just-unearthed commercial film he did for The Bell System nearly 50 years ago gives a hilarious glimpse of his earlier days--and of the youthful years of computing.

Discovered in AT&T's archives and posted this week to the company's ATTTechChannel section on YouTube, the 1963 short, "Robot," addresses the anxiety felt by humans in regard to machines and computers.… Read more