Hollywood's must-see movies
Dear PropellerHeads: I just saw "Inception" and it was one of the best movies I've seen in a while. What else is Hollywood coming out with this summer?
A: Oh sure, rub it in. You get to see all the latest releases while I'm roasting here in Austria waiting for all of the good movies to come this way. We are just getting "Knight and Day" this weekend and "Toy Story" the following one. Yet somehow they felt "Predators" and the "Prince of Persia" were worthy enough to get through in a timely fashion. "Conspiracy Theory!"
Hopefully I can wake up from this nightmare and find out the prince was just slaughtered by a predator. And "Inception," by and by, I have to pass the time for two more weeks and I don't like waiting.
So how do I get my movie fix filled? First and foremost, one of the true veterans of the Web: The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). This wiki-esque mountain of movie minutiae is the place to go to find out anything you want about movies and TV shows. If you search for a movie title in Google, I can almost guarantee the IMDB entry will be in the top three.
Although the homepage is as spartan as the clothing was in 300, along the left side you'll find the links to what's hot now, and what will be in the next few weeks. The true power though is in the IMDB search feature, which has never failed me, whether for movies, or actors, or characters. They even have information on movies that are just now being filmed like the Butch Cassidy sort-of-sequel, Blackthorn.
Of course, I'm a visual person and where the IMDB kind of misses is the presence of movie trailers. These are the two-minute long previews they show at the theater in seemingly endless quantities before they actually let you see the movie you paid for. Many people hate 'em like Lindsay Lohan, but I love 'em like Lucy Lawless.
I've found, with much trial and error, that Apple's iTunes (trailers.apple.com) site is the best for finding, watching and re-watching trailers for upcoming movies. Like everything Apple, it isn't just a website, or a phone, or an MP3 player - it is an experience. Competing sites like Trailer Addict (www.traileraddict.com) and Comingsoon.net just don't deliver the same eye candy, nor are they organized as simply as Apple's site.
As far as buying movie tickets, Fandango (www.fandango.com) is still king. Though, without a lot of sci-fi megahits - like "Batman" and his Marvel brethren, or "Harry Potter" - coming through at the moment, you probably don't need this service as sell-outs seem unlikely. Still, it is nice to know you have options.
Fandango is also handy at finding movie times. But recently I've just been using Google's built-in results. Search for "movies richmond," or whatever your city is, and up comes the movie times, which you can sort by film or theater. It's "Blood Simple."
Of course, how do you know a movie will be any good? I mean, you'd much rather see "Il Postinothan The Postman." I'm still upset I had a late fee for that heap of donkey dung. The freshest site is Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). Use it's Tomatometer to find out if Angelina Jolie's next movie, "Salt," is closer to her breakthrough "Gia" or the forgettable "Original Sin."
Now back to my own problems. What should it be tonight? "Marmaduke" or "When in Rome?" Eesh. Why can't I get Netflix over here?
When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. E-mail them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our Web site at www.askthepropellerheads.com.