Movies

You've just sat down to watch "Les Miserables" and Russell Crowe's opened his mouth to bark, when the air is filled with the sound of... marimba? As you scramble to switch your phone to silent, you can look forward to Microsoft's vision of a future in which phones silence themselves when they realize they're in a movie theater.

Microsoft has filed a patent, spotted by InfoWorld, that allows your phone to put itself into "an inconspicuous mode of operation" in certain circumstances. Inconspicuous mode makes it sound like KITT going invisible when … Read more

Time Warner Cable and Netflix are reportedly talking to each other about partnering on the streaming provider's content delivery network (CDN), but the cable provider isn't too pleased about the service.

Speaking to Multichannel in an interview published yesterday, a Time Warner Cable spokesperson criticized Netflix for only delivering its higher-quality high-definition service, Super HD, and 3D videos to customers whose cable providers have signed up with Netflix's Open Connect.

"While they call it Open Connect, Netflix is actually closing off access to some of its content while seeking unprecedented preferential treatment from ISPs," the … Read more

It's one of the biggest film franchises of all time. It's also one of the biggest merchandising franchises of all time. It's spawned dozens of novels, countless comic books, spoofs, video games, and even was responsible for the name of a controversial military defense system.

We're talking about "Star Wars," of course, George Lucas' mammoth empire that started back in the early-1970s as a much, much smaller creation. But don't think that Lucas didn't have big ideas. From the earliest days of working on the script of his sci-fi space opera, the &… Read more

Netflix and Warner Bros. have signed a deal that will deliver several popular shows to the streaming service.

The companies announced today that they have signed a deal that will see several Warner Bros. Television Group shows make their way to Netflix, including "Revolution," "Fringe," "The West Wing," and "666 Park Avenue." According to the companies, Netflix will be the exclusive online home to complete prior seasons of the shows.

All told, eight shows are included in the deal, but in the future, more could be added.

Time Warner, which owns Warner … Read more

Sometimes it's easy to forget the incredible social power of the Internet, but this story about director J.J. Abrams granting a dying man's "Star Trek" wish serves as a great reminder.

Last week on popular link-sharing site Reddit, a user named ideeeyut described how his 41-year-old friend Daniel -- a Manhattan man who has been afflicted with leukemia, another unrelated cancer, and additional health problems -- wanted to see the latest "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie but may not have the chance.

To get a taste of the upcoming sci-fi epic before his … Read more

Epix, the joint venture between a host of prominent movie studios including MGM and Paramount, has announced plans to bring its service to Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita devices.

At some point during the first quarter, Epix will be available to PlayStation 3 users. The console will offer support for over 3,000 Epix titles, including newer releases, like "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" and older titles. Epix's library of comedy, music, and sports events will also be available.

The PlayStation Vita will also receive Epix films and events, but owners of that device will … Read more

I've tried what I thought were some ambitious Lego builds in my childhood, but I never got close to making anything that could be considered life-size. That's why I'm tipping my hat to the insane quest of the Lego builders who made a life-size Bag End in honor of "The Hobbit" movie.

The Bag End creation is impressively detailed. There's a big round door and life-size characters running around, including Bilbo and Gandalf. If you look closely in one of the photos, you can even see smoke coming out of the chimney. I don't think that part is made out of little plastic bricks. … Read more

PETALUMA, Calif.--Driving along the back roads of this idyllic, easy-going Northern California town, you'd never know that behind the walls of one of the most unassuming buildings around is perhaps the best collection of geek memorabilia in the world.

Welcome to Rancho Obi-Wan, Steve Sansweet's homage to his life's passion -- "Star Wars," a non-profit museum dedicated to serving "the public through the collection, conservation, exhibition and interpretation of [the films'] memorabilia and artifacts." Formerly Lucasfilm's head of fan relations and a Los Angeles-based reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Sansweet … Read more

Rumors of an Angry Birds movie have been flying about like Red Birds in the digital sky. Now we finally have some more concrete details on the film, which is expected to come out in the middle of 2016.

No surprise, the film will be a 3D CG-animated production. There goes my dream of seeing Robert DeNiro playing a live-action Mighty Eagle with Lily Tomlin as Pink Bird.… Read more