Streaming Videos

Have a pile of post-holiday cards now lining stocking after stocking? With a long weekend ahead of us, there's plenty of time to make use of the stack of $25 iTunes gift cards. Fill your downtime with an impromptu 2011 cinematic retrospective, by renting these six movies (all $4 per rental) that debuted this year.

• Apollo 18 — Why didn't NASA send more astronauts to the moon? The found footage-style film explores what really exists on our satellite.
• Super 8 — The charming tale of budding kid filmmakers in a 1970s small town takes a sci-fi twist with a crop of disappearances.
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes — The modern prequel to the classic film may have you wondering whose side you'd be on: human or ape.
• X-Men: First Class — The precursor to the X-Men saga reveals the creation and early days of our favorite superheroes.
• Cowboys & Aliens — Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford team up as fearsome cowboys to protect Earth and the Old West from alien takeover.
• Thor — By the hammer of Thor, this was one of the year's better superhero movies. Dazzling action scenes perfect for a comic book junkie.

Now consider yourself caught up on the year's sci-fi and superhero movies, with $1 to spare!

Source: Apple

It's a huge bummer that Netflix will raise its fees. Many plan to cancel or downgrade their subscription. Netflix claims that it's raising its membership price to $16 a month for unlimited streaming and one DVD out at a time to stay competitive in the market. However, it still seems like they offer the best deal out there. Check out the rest of Netflix's pricing breakdown, and take a look at these alternatives if you're looking for a change.

• Hulu Plus: For $8 a month, Hulu Plus offers over 33,000 episodes from current and classic shows in high definition for view on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or gaming console. While the service provides hundreds of movies and documentaries, you're mostly looking at independent, lesser-known titles rather than mainstream films. In addition, Hulu Plus members still have to watch ads, because the company claims that helps keep monthly fees down.
• Blockbuster by Mail: The service supplies one disc out (DVD, Blu-ray, game) at a time for $12 a month with no due dates or late fees. The company claims it provides new releases 28 days before Netflix and Redbox, and you can send the movie back by mail or switch it out for another rental at a Blockbuster location. Blockbuster On-Demand has a limited amount of instant play movies for free. The majority cost $3 and up per movie, which can really add up.
• Redbox: For $1 a day per movie, you can reserve a movie or game you want to rent, then go to the selected Redbox kiosk to pick up the rental. This might be a great idea if you find yourself renting less than eight movies a month from Netflix. Another option is you could use Redbox for your DVD rentals and Netflix for your instant play rentals. However, Redbox renters beware: the movie is due by 9 p.m. the next day, so if you don't return it, you will have to pay an additional dollar.
• Amazon Video On Demand: This is a free service that requires you to purchase most of the streaming video rentals independently. If you are a member of Amazon Prime, you have unlimited, commercial free access to thousands of movies and TV shows, but again, most of the content requires purchase. Amazon Video is a good competitor for iTunes, because the videos are streaming rather than require a download.
• iTunes Store Video Rental: In the iTunes store, movie and TV show rentals can be purchased. While the videos do require a download as opposed to being streaming, the video and sound quality is much higher than the other counterparts. You can watch the video via your computer or upload these rentals to your apple devices. One deterring feature is when the rental period has elapsed, even if you haven't had a chance to watch the video, it will disappear from your iTunes library.