In short: Qwikster is DOA. more ›

Netflix's 60% rate hike went over like a lead balloon. Unfortunately, CEO Reed Hastings doesn't quit while he's ahead. more ›

As in the music industry, the high-bandwith Internet age has shifted the ground beneath the feet of cable and satellite television providers. more ›

For those of you kvetching about Netflix's subscription increases, now is a great time to consider Chicago's own video-by-mail option. more ›

Here's a map of popular movies by state, using Netflix's "Local Favorites" option. Thank whatever you deem holy we aren't Mississippi. more ›

MoviePass, the experimental $50-per-month subscription to unlimited movies in theaters which uses your phone as a ticket, goes live in a very limited beta for the San Francisco area today. Hoping that movie buffs will jump at the chance to save cash at the box office (where tickets climbed to a record $7.89 this year) and seek the convenience of bypassing the torture of waiting in a line and the "hassle" of printing your own ticket. more ›

We don't think you should necessarily cancel any plans for the next few days, but a whole heap of Criterion Collection titles are about to expire on Netflix. That means that if you find yourself looking for something to watch in the next few days, you can't go wrong with this list, and if you haven't seen any of these movies, do so immediately. more ›

Here's a scene playing out with alarming regularity: "Hey what's out that's worth watching?" someone will ask us, and before we finish rattling off an optimist's litany of new releases and revivals worth going out to take in, they interrupt us. "No, I mean something I can download or stream at home tonight," they say, and look at us if we'd given directions to Western Union when asked to borrow our cell phone. Look, we get it. Proper springtime weather has hit the snooze button again and nobody wants to make a trip out while the down payment on all those May flowers is being deposited. But if you're going to be lazy, be lazy with a purpose. Those Netflix titles available for instant streaming aren't on the list forever; those contracts expire. If you notice the total number of titles in your instant queue has mysteriously decreased overnight, it's because you waited too long. So we'd like to inaugurate a Chicagoist public service: Last Instants, a handful of movies that you only have a few more days to stream for free if you are a Netflix subscriber.* more ›

• The Medill Innocence Project got the backing of some of journalism's heavy hitters today in their ongoing battle with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office over the Anthony McKinney case. Chicago Magazine also has a great read on the case.
• James W. Lewis, the main suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisoning case, is speaking out to maintain his innocence.
• Rahmbo is not only doing his best squash those rumors of a mayoral run, he's given Mayor Daley his stamp of approval for re-election in 2011.

At the beginning of each year cinephiles always like to try and predict what the new year will bring. And not just Oscar-related stuff either. Partially due to the mega-success of Avatar, people seem even more technology-obsessed than usual. Just a few days ago we learned that 3-D television from the likes of ESPN is less than a year away. more ›

Thousands of DVDs for you to choose from can be sent straight to your mailbox with a few clicks of your mouse. Netflix is awesome. It's also a soulless corporate empire. Like binging at McDonald's, it simultaneously appears to fill a need while leaves you wanting. Surely there has to be something better out there. more ›

Netflix halted shipments of its movies earlier this week due to "severe technical issues." They started mailing movies out again midweek, but they're moving at a snail's pace, and they have no idea when service will return to normal. The lesson behind all this? Get movies with lots of special features so you have something to watch until the next DVD in your queue finally crawls through your mail slot. [Trib] more ›

Despite delays and opposition, officials hope to have the new O'Hare runway open by November 20 and hope Air Force One will be the plane to christen it. more ›