movies - page 7

You know anamorphic, right? It’s a way of getting super widescreen film onto the relatively squarish frame of 35mm film. It’s done by using a special lens on the camera that squeezes the image sideways, and then a reverse lens on the projector that stretches it back out again when you watch it. This is why, in the bad old days of non-letterboxed video, you’d sometimes see the end movie credits squished up to fit them onto your TV screen, all while the rest of the move had just been shown with it’s sides chopped off.

Which brings us to the Anamorphic Adapter Lens for the iPhone 5/S, from Moondog Labs.

One of the essential parts in my RSS-BitTorrent-iPad TV-watching setup is iFlicks, a Mac app from Jendrik Bertram that takes a video file, adds cover art and movie/show metadata and then converts the file into an iTunes or iPad-friendly format. It even adds in subtitles if you have them in the same folder as the video file.

Now v2.0 has launched its public beta stage, so you can try out the faster, better and more powerful-er next version.

Amazon is gearing up to launch a new set-top box that hopes to compete with the Apple TV and other video streaming devices this holiday, The Wall Street Journal reports. It’s understood the device is small and resembles a Roku, and it will run apps and provide content from a variety of sources, including Amazon’s own Prime service.

The Netflix app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch has been updated to bring high-definition video streaming to devices running iOS 7. The release also adds support for AirPlay, and some improvements and optimizations that make the app more stable under Apple’s latest software.

Hey, did you see Jobs this weekend? If so, you probably saw it alone, in a theater completely empty except for yourself, a single loquacious cricket, and a theater usher sleeping one off. Why? Because Jobs absolutely tanked this weekend.

This week on The CultCast: Jobs! We’ve seen it, and now the question is — is it any good? We’ll discuss the much-hyped movie (100 percent spoiler-free), Ashton Kutcher’s performance and love for the man, plus examine if the real Jobs fits the fictional portrayal.

Then, an all new Yay & Nay: September 10th edition. We’ll yes and no our way through the rumors and what we expect at the all-but-confirmed Apple iPhone event.

Have a few laughs whilst getting caught up on this week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin. Show notes up next!

Look, I’ll be straight with you, I’m not a movie critic. Nope, just an average moviegoer. But I am an Apple fan, and probably, like you, one who greatly admired Steven P. Jobs.

So ever since last Tuesday, when I got to sit through an early screening of Ashton Kutcher’s much-hyped new movie, Jobs, people have been asking me what I think of it. Is this a film that lives up to the buzz? Did Kutcher deliver? Or more often, “Just how bad was it?”

Well…

iTunes is having an absolutely bonkers sale right now on its movie selection: you can buy every single one of the eight films in the Harry Potter series for just $59.99. The regular price is over $125. And that’s just where the deals get started: chances are, if you’ve got a favorite film series, iTunes is selling it in a bundle right now, at a crazy low price.

Just like the Disney theme parks, the new Disney Animation iPad app is saddled with a heavy price for admission—but reveals a vast trove of wonder once inside.

For $14, the app makes an immense amount of material available—almost two gigs worth—from Disney’s digitally and traditionally animated titles.

Apple has begun giving away free content today via the App Store app for iPhone. Its first giveaway is for Color Zen, “a new and addictive kind of puzzle game” for iOS which is available free for a limited time “exclusively for Apple Store app users.”

Yesterday, the makers of the upcoming Ashton Kutcher vehicle and Steve Jobs biopic Jobs released a featurette that went behind the scenes of the upcoming film.

Today, we get a new promotional clip, in which Kutcher as Jobs and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak try to figure out the name of their new computer company? Whatever could it end up being?

Netflix has begun to officially roll out user profiles today, meaning you can now share an account with your family and friends without all their horrible movie choices clogging your Instant Queue. 

IMDB released a new update for it’s iOS and Android apps today that includes a new feature that will allow iOS users to purchase movie tickets via the app. The free update also comes with a tie-in to the Amazon Mobile app that allows you to choose to buy a movie in IMDB and then order it through Amazon.

Ticket purchasing in the IMDB update is powered by Fandango. Once a user purchases a ticket it can be added to your Passbook and then scanned by theater staff for admittance just like in the Fandango iOS app. The app also has a new “Coming Soon” feature that lets you add movie release dates to your iOS calendar.

Here are the full release notes:

Disney announced this morning that it will honor Steve Jobs with a Disney Legends Award at this year’s D23 Expo on Saturday, August 10th in Anaheim, California.

As the former CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, Steve Jobs became the largest Disney shareholder in 2006 when Disney acquired Pixar. Jobs was also a part of Disney’s board of directors and remained a valuable sounding board and advisor to the company until his passing in 2011.

Disney CEO Bob Iger had the following to say about the award:

Ashton Kutcher’s cinema debut as Steven Paul Jobs is just six weeks away, so it’s about time to start plastering movie theater walls with JOBS posters.

A new poster for Kutcher’s movie was released today and features a colorful portrait of Ashton in the role of Steve Jobs, along with the tagline “Some see what’s possible, others change what’s possible.”

The movie arrives in theaters August 16th and also stars James Woods, Dermot Mulroney, Amanda Crew, and Josh Gad. Here’s the first official trailer:

The biggest pain about Netflix is how long it takes to finally decide on what to watch. You can scroll through the Netflix movie library for hours before settling on something so Netflix announced today that it is rolling out a new discovery tool called ‘Max’ that’s sort of like a cross between Siri and iTunes Genius.

Max helps users make a movie selection by asking a few questions first to gauge mood and taste, and then suggests a movie for you based on Netflix’s algorithms that predict what you might want to watch next.

Max is only available on on the PS3 Netflix app, but the company teased that it will probably come to the iPad next:

The delayed Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gadd will finally hit cinemas this August. Entitled JOBS, the movie was originally set for release back in April, but distributor Open Road Films put it on hold so that it could spend more time on marketing.

Years ago, I submitted a bug report to Apple. The problem? Teeny, tiny subtitles in the iOS Videos app, so small that even an eagle with binoculars couldn’t read them. I got a mail from Apple to follow up, and then, just one or two releases later, subtitles got big enough to read (the Lady and I have different native tongues so we usually watch everything with subs).

Now, in iOS 7, they’re not only big but completely customizable.

Hulu has unveiled a brand new Hulu Plus app for that’s been completely redesigned to focus on “discoverability, efficiency, and our overall user experience.” The company hopes that the change will make it easier for users to find their favorite shows and discover new ones.

Following the launch of its new cheaper iPod touch this morning, Apple has confirmed that it has now sold more than 100 million units of the iPod touch since its introduction back in 2007. That makes it one of the Cupertino company’s most popular products to date.

Summer is here, and you know what that means? Movies. Lots and lots of over-the-top, cheesy summer action movies. It the best time of the year if you’re into popular movies, and Apple’s iTunes Movie Trailers app is one of the best way to get acquainted with all of them.

Apple just published a new update for its iTunes Movie Trailers app that adds better video playback, the choice of HD or SD trailer viewing, and Fandango integration. With the new update users can watch trailers for any movie and then purchase tickets through Fandango. Oh, and Fandango has Passbook support too, so you’ll never have to bother with losing your tickets ever again.

Here are the release notes:

Haunting Melissa is a horror "movie" which is dripped into your real, everyday life by your iPad or your iPhone. Instead of sitting down for an hour and a half and watching the story unfold, the story comes in episodes.

The twist is that the snippets are delivered at unexpected times, and you’re told about them through push notifications sent to your iDevice.

Limelight is a new iPhone app for collecting movies and sharing them with friends. Released earlier this week by indie dev studio 9:42 AM, Limelight is pitched as a “new way to browse and organize your movie library.”

Inspired by Delicious Library on the Mac, Limelight borrows from similar digital bookshelf apps and adds a unique social element.

iTunes users spend an average of $40 a year on digital content, according to the latest report from Asymco’s Horace Dedio. And with more than 500 million users, Apple is raking in over $5.5 billion in iTunes sales revenue every single quarter.

That’s more than some technology companies see in total, and Apple’s making it on just one service.

The iTunes Store celebrates its tenth anniversary this month, and Apple is marking the occasion with a new promotion called “A Decade of iTunes.” iTunes users can enjoy a timeline that recognizes key moments throughout the store’s history, as well as a look back at ten year’s worth of chart-topping tracks and albums.