It’s apparently event film trailer week. Hot on the heels of Iron Man 2 we now have a new trailer for Tron Legacy that finally shows more than the light cycle stuff we’ve been seeing since SDCC last year. Let’s have a look…

I saw the original Tron in the theater at the ripe old age of 10. I certainly thought it was cool, but it didn’t have a giant effect on me. A few years later, however, I would get my first VCR as either a Christmas or birthday present. A day or two after we set it up, my mother took me up to the shopping center near our house, to the tiny, independently owned video store. She went through the laborious process one went through in those days to set up an account- I seem to recall that replacing a lost or damaged tape was quite a lot of money back then, and I think the DMV had simpler forms. I was then let loose on the store. I don’t remember if I rented anything else that day, but the one thing I do remember picking out is Tron.

I went home, put it in, and hit play. When it finished, I hit rewind, then play again. I did this at least a third and possibly a fourth time, that day. Obviously, the difference between 10 and 13 was significant.

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So, this went up after the (mostly atrocious, technically-speaking) Oscar telecast. We thought we’d give it a watch and tell you what we thought. You should tell us what you think, too.

This is one of the few areas where not being a decades-deep Marvel nerd pays off: I have just about zero preconceptions about who any of these people are or how they’re supposed to react. I know enough about Tony Stark and Pepper Potts to know that Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow did a great job bringing those characters to life. Past that? Everyone’s more or less new to me.

I still have a minor fear of character bloat; there’s a lot going on here, and too many characters on screen has been the death kiss for more than a few franchises. Other than that, I’m having a hard time finding anything to really get upset about here. I never had that much of an issue with Don Cheadle taking over as Rhodey, and the little bit more we see of him interacting with Tony here just cements the deal for me. I think I can reasonably expect to be as entertained as I was in the first one, regardless of whether or not Favreau hits the same high mark. I certainly hope he does, though.

And, apropos of nothing, the suitcase armor is hot, not that half of Twitter hasn’t said that already.

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HBO Go finally made it out of beta this week. And like EpixHD, the online video service requires a television subscription in order to access their web-based content. And FiOS customers with HBO are up first. Both EngadgetHD and NewTeeVee have taken HBO Go for a spin and came away relatively pleased with the Flash video quality. However, the movie selection (as opposed to original television programming) appears lacking. However, I’d much rather have fewer good, current selections than tons of mediocre, older flicks. But there’s a reason why we don’t see much of that from services like Netflix instant streaming… $$$.

So while I doubt we’ll see a large library of all-you-can-eat blockbuster films anytime soon, what I’d like out of Netflix is a weekly feature. Just ONE tent pole flick a week added to their instant streaming package that we can schedule movie night around. Of course, they don’t necessarily need to stop there… and are hopefully considering several new releases as part of a premium streaming tier to take HBO (and my cable provider) out altogether. As I doubt HBO will embrace the new reality and allow purely web-based video subscriptions.

I’ve threatened to expand our coverage for some time. And content is still king. It’s why we buy the gadgets we buy. So maybe it’s a wee bit ironic that we’re diving in with a primarily print medium. But it so just happens that I know a pair of comics experts in my old high school buddy Chad and his wife Janice. So let’s get this experiment rolling! -DZ

Chapter Three: 28

By: Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá
Coloring: Dave Stewart
Lettering: Sean Konot

I wanted to review Daytripper when the first issue came out, before our blog existed. We set it up and issue two came out, and I still wanted to review it. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, though, and I’m glad I waited. Reviewing this series on the first issue wouldn’t have done it any justice or allowed me to really say anything; as it stands, I’m still hesitant to speak up on the third issue, because it’s going to be a work that’s judged on its whole. In a market where a great book like S.W.O.R.D. gets cancelled by the numbers on its third issue, it’s a pretty bold statement on Vertigo’s part to release something that’s not even going to really start to make sense until issue three. A lot of things started to click for me when I read “28″ last night, however, and I feel like it’s time to talk about it.

One of the best discoveries I made in film school was the work of Krzysztof Kieślowski. He had a way of taking normal, everyday moments in life and elevating them to levels of great importance and meaning. This worked to tie the everyday existence of his characters into the arching theme of the film, oftentimes resulting in the medium itself or one of its aspects taking a role as one of the characters. The camera in Red is as much an actor as Irène Jacob; the music in Blue is working as hard as Juliette Binoche. They all, in turn, work towards the common meaning, avoiding hitting the viewer over the head with it but still carrying the message. It’s done with purpose, but not didactically, and the end result is lyrical.

Bá and Moon are in the process of accomplishing the same thing with Daytripper. On the surface, each issue is a slice of Brás de Oliva Domingos’ life; not random, meaningless moments, but the normal points of focus we all encounter. The day we meet someone, the day they leave our lives. A trip somewhere you may never go again, an important milestone for someone close to you.

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The title pretty much sums it up, and this isn’t a new topic here at ZNF. The movie studios’ antiquated release window cycle doesn’t fly in the digital age. Which is costing them and their partners. Their attempts (including Netflix’s malleability) to coerce folks into purchasing content, starting with physical media, by delaying movie rentals and digital release do nothing but confuse or alienate the consumers who are paying attention. Granted, we’re probably a minority at this point. But I’d like to think I represent the leading edge. And, not only don’t I deal in physical media, I don’t purchase content. What’s gotten me agitated this time:

After coming across a decent amount of positive blogosphere and Twitterverse buzz for the SciFi flick Moon towards the end of last week, we decided to take it in Saturday evening. For spontaneous viewing, we generally look to Amazon VOD – downloaded via TiVo or streamed via Roku. Unfortunately, Moon is only available for digital purchase until next month. For reasons known only to the studios and their partners. As I rarely see a flick twice and it’s impossible to share digital purchases the way you’d share optical media, I abstain 100% of the time. And I imagine some in my situation, with my mindset might look to more illicit means of obtaining their entertainment. However, I took this as an opportunity to patronize a Redbox kiosk for the first time.

So instead of gladly paying $4-$6 for a high def digital rental (that Amazon, the studio, and perhaps TiVo/Roku would split), I made two trips to the McDonald’s for a free standard def DVD rental. Which is less than ideal. No one got paid, and I was inconvenienced for lower quality content. All it’d take is a little less greed out of the studios for happier consumers and continued revenue… Hope it’s one of their New Year’s resolutions.

Click to enlarge:

Aluratek’s got an interesting mid-tier product on its hands. When I first read the specs of the Cinepal, I was less than impressed. It’s a portable media player without the broadband connection. However, seeing it in person and talking to one of the product guys, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart. The Cinepal has a beautiful screen, and it offers a significantly better movie-watching experience than an iPod Touch or a smartphone. According to Aluratek, the reason the Cinepal doesn’t come with broadband is purely price point. At $149-$179, it doesn’t have to compete with an Archos device, it just has to compete with old-style portable DVD players.

I don’t know how many folks will purchase a Cinepal given the other options available (netbooks, high-end PMPs, etc.), but for a family with young kids that likes to travel, I can see the appeal. The Cinepal should be in stores by February.

I hope my fellow Zatz Not Funny readers are having a wonderful holiday season. Among other goodies, Santa kindly left a few Blu-ray movies under our tree. One nice thing, in theory, is that each disc is bundled with a free digital copy. Since I’m heading out to Los Angeles for business next week, I intended to put the movies onto my iPod Touch for the plane ride. For those that haven’t yet tried the digital copy, it’s very simple. Pop the disc in your computer, select video format (iTunes or Windows Media), and when asked, enter the code found on the DVD insert. A few seconds later, you’re enjoying the movie on your handheld of choice. Things were going great until I got to the Star Trek Blu-ray.

After entering my download code, I was greeted with the following message: “This code has already been used. Each code may only be used once.” That can’t be right. This was a sealed package with the security tape intact. I must have mistyped the code. My second, third and fourth attempts were rewarded with the same failure message.

Now comes the fun part. I swung by the Paramount support site and found info regarding problems with serial numbers (screengrab below). I then clicked through the Contact Us link to provide the necessary information in hopes of getting this resolved.

After filling out the form, I hit the submit button and was redirected to an Apple support page. It would have been nice to receive a confirmation message indicating the form was actually submitted. Something to give me that warm fuzzy that the data was received (and then promptly ignored). The automatic redirect seems like a brush off. And since filing my claim (twice) on Christmas day, I’ve yet to hear anything.

Some searching on the Internet turned up others with the same problem, including a related thread on the Apple support forum. A reply by Stephen Zupan, of Deluxe Digital Studios, indicates that Paramount knows of the issue and is working on a solution. Has anyone else had problems pulling down their digital copy of Star Trek?