Mesa , AZ – Gateway 12 + IMAX Theatre
Phoenix , AZ – Deer Valley 30 with IMAX
Aliso Viejo , CA – Aliso Viejo Stadium 20 with IMAX
Camarillo , CA – Camarillo 12 with IMAX
El Dorado Hills , CA – El Dorado Hills Stadium 14 with IMAX
Emeryville , CA – Bay Street 16 with IMAX
Escondido , CA – Escondido Stadium 16 with IMAX
Fairfield , CA – Fairfield Stadium 16 + IMAX
Fresno , CA – Fresno Stadium 21 + IMAX
Ontario , CA – Ontario Palace Stadium 22 + IMAX
San Diego , CA – Palm Promenade 24 with IMAX
Santa Clara , CA – Mercado 20 with IMAX
Simi Valley , CA – Civic Center Stadium 16 + IMAX
South Gate , CA – South Gate Stadium 20 with IMAX
Stockton , CA – Downtown Stockton 16 + IMAX
Universal City , CA – Citywalk Stadium 19 with IMAX
Westchester , CA – Bridge De Lux 18 + IMAX
Altamonte Springs , FL – Altamonte Mall 18 with IMAX
Aventura , FL – Aventura Mall 24 with IMAX
Cape Canaveral , FL – IMAX Theater
Fort Myers , FL – Gulf Coast Town Center Stadium 16 + IMAX
Jacksonville , FL – Regency 24 with IMAX
Orange Park , FL – Orange Park 24 with IMAX
Orlando , FL – Pointe Orlando Stadium 20 + IMAX
Orlando , FL – Waterford Lakes Stadium 20 with IMAX
St Petersberg , FL – Baywalk 19 + IMAX
Tallahassee , FL – IMAX Theatre Tallahassee
Tampa , FL – Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Tampa , FL – Veterans 24 with IMAX
Tampa , FL – Channelside Cinemas Stadium 9 + IMAX
Augusta , GA – Augusta Exchange Stadium 20 + IMAX
Kennesaw , GA – Barrett Commons 24 with IMAX
Morrow , GA – Southlake Pavilion 24 with IMAX Honolulu , HI – Dole Cannery 18 with IMAX
Boise , ID – Boise Stadium 21 + IMAX
Batavia , IL – Randall 14 + IMAX
Lincolnshire , IL – Lincolnshire Stadium 20 + IMAX
Woodridge , IL – Cinemark 16 + IMAX
Noblesville , IN – Hamilton 16 IMAX
Portage , IN – Portage 15 + IMAX
Louisville , KY – Stoney Brook IMAX
Newport , KY – Newport Levee 20 with IMAX
Harahan , LA – Elmwood Palace 20 with IMAX
Boston , MA – New England Aquarium
Saco , ME – Cinemagic Saco 12 with IMAX
Detroit , MI – Detroit Science Center IMAX Theatre
Grand Blanc , MI – NCG Trillium Cinema + IMAX
Lansing , MI – Celebration – Lansing 19 + IMAX
Sterling Heights , MI – Forum 30 with IMAX
Ypsilanti , MI – Showcase Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX
Roseville , MN – Rosedale 14 with IMAX
Saint Louis , MO – Ronnies Cinemas 19 + IMAX
Charlotte , NC – Stonecrest At Piper Glen Stadium 22 with IMAX
Concord , NC – Concord Mills 24 with IMAX
Council Bluffs , IA – Star Cinema 16 with IMAX
Henderson , NV – Sunset Station Stadium 13 with IMAX
Las Vegas , NV – Brenden Palms 13 + IMAX
Las Vegas , NV – Red Rock Stadium 15 + IMAX
North Las Vegas , NV – Aliante Station 16 with IMAX
Brooklyn , NY – Sheepshead Bay 14 with IMAX
Deer Park , NY – Deer Park Stadium 16 and IMAX
New Rochelle , NY – New Roc City Stadium 18 + IMAX
Williamsville , NY – Transit Center Stadium 18 +IMAX
Columbus , OH – Easton Town Center 30 with IMAX
Springdale , OH – Showcase Springdale 18 IMAX
Bensalem , PA – Neshaminy 24 with IMAX
Homestead , PA – Waterfront 22 with IMAX
Philadelphia , PA – Tuttleman IMAX – Franklin Institute
Tarentum , PA – Pittsburgh Mills Mall 17 + IMAX
Myrtle Beach , SC – IMAX Discovery Theatre
Chattanooga , TN – Tennessee Aquarium
Knoxville , TN – Pinnacle Stadium Cinemas 17 + IMAX
Colleyville , TX – Colleyville Cinema Grille & IMAX
Garland , TX – Firewheel 18 with IMAX
Houston , TX – Gulf Pointe 30 with IMAX
Mesquite , TX – Mesquite 30 with IMAX
Sugarland , TX – First Colony 24 with IMAX
Sandy , UT – Jordan Commons 16 + IMAX
Midlothian , VA – Commonwealth Stadium 20 with IMAX
Virginia Beach , VA – Lynnhaven 18 with IMAX
Woodbridge , VA – Potomac Mills 18 with IMAX
Kent , WA – Kent Station 14 with IMAX
Lacey , WA – Martin Village Stadium 16 + IMAX
Hull , QC – Canadian Museum Of Civilization
Victoria , BC – National Geographic Theater

I'm not going to pretend that anyone reading this story would be seeing JJ Abrams' Star Trek for the first time. Or even the second. But in case you didn't get to see Star Trek 3-?? times in the theater, this is probably your best, last chance...ever. Starting September 18th, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will most likely replace Star Trek. So like we said up top, you have two weeks to see it until the film is rereleased as a Disney classic in 2050. [Trek Movie via SlashFilm via CrunchGear]

Let me get started by comparing my personal experiences to Corliss's: I have used Netflix for more than six years, both in major cities (Brooklyn, San Francisco, Chicago) and small suburbs (the Pennsylvania Main Line). I've also used two of Netflix's competitors, Blockbuster and Canadian Netflix rip-off Zip.ca, not to mention scores of independent and corporate brick-and-mortar video stores. Netflix is the absolute best of the bunch, no question, and Corliss seems to be missing the forest for a bunch of trees that, on close examination, don't even exist.

Corliss complains that his shipping times are interminably long. Rent a movie on Friday, he claims, and it'll be there Tuesday at the earliest! I think he means "latest" rather than "earliest," because in my experience, even out in the 'burbs, shipping takes exactly one day each way. And I'm sorry that the USPS doesn't deliver on Sunday so Corliss could get Moulin Rouge (which, flying in the face of all other respected critics, he loved, because it may be a turd of a movie but it sure is shiny!) a day earlier, but that's really not Netflix's fault. Blockbuster was consistently a day or two longer on each end, and Zip.ca had to fight with Canadapost just to get me a DVD within a month (I exaggerate this last point, technically, but it really was slow as molasses).

His other factually questionable complaint, in which he implies that some large percentage of Netflix's films are only available after a "long" or "very long wait," doesn't square with my experiences either. Those messages are quite rare for me—in my current queue of over 50 very diverse films (old, new, studio, independent, domestic, foreign, television), exactly none are unavailable right now. Corliss also totally ignores the growing catalog of films and shows available for instant streaming, calling it "imminent" instead of, well, available, right now. "You'll be what the online corporate culture wants you to be: a passive, inert receptacle for its products," lectures Corliss, as he writes for a massive online corporate publication. How, exactly, does watching a movie you rented online make you less "passive" or "inert" than if you walked two blocks to your local poorly-stocked Blockbuster? That four-second exchange of money you share with a surly teenage clerk?

But Corliss's most sneering and difficult-to-swallow complaint is that Netflix is emblematic of a move toward a world where we become like Larry David's agent in Wall-E: Fat, lazy, and fed a stream of data on our computer screens, losing touch with our fellow humans. And why wouldn't we want to spend time with our fellow film-loving humans, like those jerks at the "alternative" movie store who look with contempt at us when we rent Caddyshack for the fourth time this year? It's a variation on the complaint we see from those so out of touch with reality they actually believe anybody uses Facebook as a replacement for friendship, or that Twitter is one of the biblical plagues: The world is going to hell, and it's technology's fault.

Really, this article smacks of the same pointless, cheap contention as Slate's insane attack on fireworks this July 4th: Let's take something everybody either likes or is indifferent to, and bash it. Netflix is, in my experience, the best film distribution service ever made. They've got the largest catalog I've ever seen, and that sure as hell includes any brick-and-mortar store; they fund and distribute amazing low-budget fare like the Comedians of Comedy series; their prices are rock-bottom low; and they're quick to adapt to or push new technologies, from Blu-Ray to streaming. They're also still independent; they invented the mail-order setup and they'll almost certainly be major players when streamed video fully takes over from physical media. To announce that Netflix, a homegrown company with fresh and innovative ideas that achieved remarkable success, "stinks" because there's no know-it-all clerk to talk to, is ridiculous.

Much like the Optimus Prime mask demonstrated by our very own Autobot-aspiring Brian Lam, this Bumblebee mask uses the power of three AAs to transform your voice into a modulated mess. The good news, however, is that since it's a mask, few people will know who's wearing the ages five to adult toy. And even fewer people will risk life, limb and general reputation to check. [Hasbro via 2dayBlog via Botropolis]

This mashup by IGN, Transforminators, works on so many levels that it's almost scary. Then again, it probably explains a lot about the stylistic decisions made in Terminator Salvation. If you haven't ditched out for your extended weekend yet, kill some of the company's time...before the summer blockbusters kill you. [IGN]

The Scene:
Kirk and McCoy are on a shuttle about to head up to orbit. McCoy, true to form, gripes about space travel, saying that if there's a hull breach, "… our blood will boil in 12 seconds."

The Science:

I swear, every movie ever gets this all wrong...The temperature at which a liquid boils depends on the atmospheric pressure; at lower pressures liquids boil at lower temperatures. That's why there are high-altitude variations for some recipes...

This effect is so strong that in a vacuum, water boils at room temperature! Blood has things dissolved in it, which raises its boiling point, but even with that, at a body temperature of 37 Celsius blood would boil in a vacuum.

But if you're blown into space, your blood's not exposed to a vacuum! It's in a nice air-tight system, your circulatory system. The pressure inside your arteries and veins is kept relatively constant (unless I watch the news or Oprah, and then it skyrockets), so your blood won't boil.

There are so many more great scene analyses over at Discover. It's a solid waste of your unofficial afternoon break (or one of them, at least). [Discover via bbGadgets]

From the article:

Sharon Martin, who began watching Star Trek when she was 11, says it's almost like they're dissing the generations who grew up on Star Trek.

"They keep running this ad on TV," she observes. "It says, 'Forget everything you know.' This does not seem like a positive come-on for someone like me." So she says she will wait and watch it on DVD.

You can read the print version here, but to get the full effect, you really need to listen to the audio. There's a nicer zinger about Obama really being a Vulcan that you really shouldn't miss. [Thanks Ponies!]

As you'll see, the design is a bit more alien-organic, with terminators more alluded to through part design than outright placed, doggy-style, on two wheels.

This and other Terminator: Salvation concept art can be seen in The Art of Terminator Salvation by Titan Books. We just hope that editors were kind enough to omit the rear angle shot. There are anatomical facts about terminators that we just don't need to know. [Jalopnik, flylyf via automotto via likecool via ubergizmo and Wired]

Good news, everyone! Terminator 4 might not suck. I can’t know for sure without actually seeing the film, but I do have a good feeling about it, having flown to New Mexico a few months back to explore various hot, dusty sets and meet cast and crew.

The three themes I heard over and over during my set visit were “Batman,” “Macs,” and “T3 sucked.” It was like attending some strange but beautiful techno-mass that was worshiping Gizmodo’s own holy trinity.

“In the same way Warner Bros. took Batman and really turned the franchise on its head and made it really dark and really cool, we’re going through the same whirl with our Terminators,” production designer Martin Laing explained to us in front of a wall of concept art.
He showed us robots, lots of them. But unlike the slick and crafty T1000, these machines are constructed of dark, dirty alloys. They’re big. They’re bad. And they’re driven by crude mechanics like pistons. The T600, a completely new, Frankenstein-ian Terminator is evidence of this trend. Standing over seven feet tall and modeled to be the product of a Soviet tank factory, the T600 has a blatant disregard for personal grooming as his rubber skin cracks away in the desert heat. He makes the Schwarzenegger T800 look like a sleek sports car, a fitness model... a politician.
“Imagine your first Mac,” director McG explains later over the bounties of the crafts services. (That's movie-talk for free food.) “You had a IIcx. You had two megs of memory. And now you have a MacBook Air. It’s leaner, faster. Technology is more and more space efficient and that’s the language we’ve been following with the machine development.”

Indeed, McG and Laing both mentioned Macs and Batman, an unlikely combination that makes a whole lot of sense in terms of SkyNet’s learning curve in eradicating the human race, especially as I inspect the giant exoskeletons, the retrofitted robotic motorcycles, and the huge bulldozer-esque people “Harvests.”

This is the post-apocalyptic Terminator Salvation world we have to look forward to, one that’s crude and imperfect—not just unpolished, but smeared in a deep mixture of oil and dirt.

“Anybody can flap their lips and say that this is going to be the greatest thing since sliced bread,” McG admits. “All I know is that Bale doesn’t fuck around—he’s already Bruce Wayne, he doesn’t need to be John Connor.”
That's pretty much all I can say for now, but rest assured you'll hear more from my visit later on.

I don't claim to think that I can in any way influence your purchase of The Dark Knight on Blu-ray ($24) or DVD ($15/$21). In fact, I don't really want to. I couldn't care less if you buy it, rent it or stomp any loose copies you spot at the store.

But to me, the 3-disc Blu-ray set (2 discs of content and an extra disc for the digital copy) has brought an unparalleled experience to my home theater. And I'm going to fanboy out a bit for 30,000 or so words.

The Movie
In one respect, a 1080p display could never hope to capture the multi-story IMAX experience. And it doesn't. But seeing the first shot of the movie, that of a less recognizable Chicago skyline, rekindled what it was like to sit in the theater and see film as I'd never quite seen it before. It was also the prettiest high definition moment I've experienced yet.
Just as in its theatrical release, the IMAX footage plays at a different resolution. It fills an HDTV in 1.78:1 aspect while the rest of the movie plays back with black bars in 2.4:1. And just as in its theatrical release, the transition is barely noticeable.

But despite all of this video glory, I've never felt so torn over a DVD release. On one hand, The Dark Knight is a technical masterpiece—sharp, colorful, vivid and pretty much any other advertisement-inspired words you could imagine. On the other, its inability to be contained on a 40-inch LCD reminds me of why we will always need theaters. A big movie simply cannot be captured on the small screen scale, even though it's a lot of fun to watch The Dark Knight try.

The Extras
As for the extras, I was shocked to find no commentary by director Christopher Nolan. It's rare that I actually watch those things, as much as they've successfully tipped the scales on me making many a DVD purchases. But I wanted to hear Nolan's unscripted reminiscences of filming in Chicago, flipping trucks and blowing up cars on the streets of my hometown.
What we get instead is about an hour of featurettes that can be called up during relevant parts of the movie or just played from the main menu. While I was initially pretty bummed about the unworthy substitution, I will say that these short documentaries were lovingly assembled, providing incredibly detailed accounts of pulling off a chase sequence on shady Lower Whacker Drive with only ambient lighting, and loading an IMAX camera onto a steadicam rig...only to snap the metal suspension bar under the camera's weight.
I hadn't realized that the film used minatures for some of the great Batmobile sequence, which was entertaining in the most childish-fulfilling way. But maybe even more impressive was when the crew submitted to the impossibility of shooting Batman's base jumping scene over Hong Kong. They used a stunt double on a green screen instead—a stunt double that still dropped 120 real feet in a studio.

There are countless little bits of trivia like these along with lots of behind the scenes footage (all shot with decent HD cameras, btw). From the Batpod to all of Batman's tiny gadgets, we get access to it all in this fantastic hour of features.

That's disc one.

Disc two contains is technically the one containing all the extras, but honestly, it's the first disc that's more impressive. There are two History Channelesque documentaries (one on Batman's gadgets and the other on Batman's psyche). Both are extremely professionally assembled, and they tend to explore the Batman from comic books as much as the Batman from recent films. I enjoyed watching the CIA discuss Batman's utility belt from 1960s comics and getting a look at how we build bulletproof ceramics in real life.

But the rest of the features disc is filled with about an hour's worth of faux newsreels known as Gotham Tonight. It's bad internet content that's filling up room on the back of The Dark Knight box. And it's just awkward to watch b-list talk about Batman sightings and Gotham politics, frankly.
There's also a notable series of slideshows, but the pictures should really go full screen.

The BD Live
As for BD-Live content, you've got to remember that this is Warner Bros' first BD Live enabled disc, and it actually offers something really, really promising with the platform. You can record your own commentary track. The only catch is that you actually do the recording through Warner Bros' site while you watch the film streamed (before you later download it to your Blu-ray player). But it's a neat idea for BD Live and it will be interesting to see what the fan base does with it. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the website working yet.


The Heroic Ending
Like I said, it's more than a bit futile to review The Dark Knight on Blu-ray. It's almost a sure thing to outsell its predecessors. The most popular movie of the decade will certainly be the best selling BD of the last handful of lackluster years.

But I do think that Warner Bros. did the material justice, even if the discs have a bit of worthless filler. The film is, of course, excellent. And the extras that are worthwhile really are worthwhile, representing the upper echelon of behind the scenes film content.

If I had one complaint, it's that Nolan and Bale clearly didn't have contracts that were binding enough to force them to sit in the same room for two and a half hours, making awkward, human small talk over a film that's grown so legendary in its reputation and lore.

One thing we meant to mention: The BD and premium DVD versions of the film also include a free VOD copy of the movie along with the digital version if purchased from Amazon.

Oh sure, Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 and are out, as are Rudy and Jerry Maguire, and there's nothing special on the $35 Blu-ray edition that's not the the DVD of Baby Mama (other than hi def). But roughly half of the Gizmodo staff has a crush on Tina Fey (with the other contingent splitting their votes between 30 Rockers Alec Baldwin and that dude who wears the funny hats) and we're quite loyal to those we picture in various states of undress. Here are this week's other Blu-ray releases:

—Baby Mama (Universal)
—Blu-ray Zombie Bundle (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn0 (Anchor Bay)
—Cool Hand Luke (Warner)
—Day Watch (Fox)
—The Fall (2006) (Sony)
—The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate)
—Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Fourth Season - Expanded (Walt Disney)
—How the West Was Won (Warner)
—Jerry Maguire (Sony)
—Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Buena Vista)
—Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (Walt Disney)
—Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Buena Vista)
—Masters of Horror Bundle: Season One (Anchor Bay)
—Night Watch (Fox)
—Rudy (Sony)
—Smallville: The Complete Seventh Season (Warner)
—Superman Returns (Remastered Audio) (Warner)
—Then She Found Me (Image)

Disney DVDs have a history of top-notch A/V transfer, and Tim Burton's masterpiece of stop-motion animation should take full advantage of Blu-ray's higher resolution. On top of that, you get a slew of bonus features—everything from the original DVD set along with a few more, including a feature-length commentary by directors Tim Burton and Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman. Also, you can (legally) transfer the film to your iPod via the bundled DisneyFile Digital Copy—you know, for if you need to watch the movie at all times and all places.

Here are the rest of this week's Blu-ray releases:

• Action Starter Pack (Universal)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (Warner)
• Afro Samurai: Season One (FUNimation)
• Blue Man Group: How to Be a Megastar Live! (Rhino)
• Dude, Where's My Car? (MGM)
• End of Days (Universal)
• Heroes: Season One (Universal)
• Heroes: Season Two (Universal)
• Miami Vice (2006) (Universal)
• Pale Rider (Warner)
• Postal (UMVD)
• Redbelt (Sony)
• U-571 (Universal)
• What Happens in Vegas (Fox)

Anything you'll be picking up? [hidefdigest]

Iron Man : Yeah, He Can Fly

Iron Man may already be out, but that doesn't mean we should just forget about it. With the great flight scenes, cutting edge tech and the fact that it is just an excellent film, I plan to use any and all excuses to keep talking about the best superhero movie ever made (as well as the sequel).

Wall-E : Don't (or Do) Watch While Dropping Acid

Wall-E is probably the movie I'm most excited for this summer. From the gadget/robot factor, to the CG eye candy, I get hyped just thinking about it (especially with the righteous toys and promo gear). And did I mention Jonathan Ive helped design one of the robots? In any case, with films such as Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille under their belt, I find it hard to believe Pixar would miss the mark with Wall-E (Cars never happened).

The Dark Knight : Ambien's New Corporate Slogan
For all its positive transformation in Batman Begins, the Batman franchise just hasn't really held up too well on the gadget front. While you shouldn't expect to see any sonic batarangs or batnet guns in The Dark Knight, fans and other, less intentionally strange people have been picking up the slack. If I want to (and I do) I could go out right now and get myself, for example, a Batman MP3 player. I could use it to listen to the old Batman theme while I'm driving the original Tim Burton Batmobile. I might pull up at a stoplight next to nice young lady driving a much flatter, much more street legal Batmobile. I could even ask her out to see the premiere of The Dark Knight. Most importantly, If all goes well (or if she tries to escape) I could finally try out a pair of Batcuffs. Theoretically speaking.

The Incredible Hulk : Suck On That Eric Bana. And Everything Else, Too
The Hulk doesn't give a shit about gadgets. He's not all like "HULK FINGER TOO BIG FOR UMPC, HULK DEMAND EXTERNAL KEYBOARD," mainly because that'd be stupid. If that stupid green Luddite could calm down for five minutes he might realize that just because he's apparently given up electronics, they haven't given up on him. Any of those items would provide Mr. Hulk with a sizable increase in daily productivity.

For a little fun he could always play Hulk Operation, but there's always the risk that if he buzzed he'd flip out, get huge and ruin everyone's family night with another of his obnoxious tantrums. He could do with a pair of carthartic Hulk Gloves, so he could punch some of that energy out every now and then. But I wouldn't watch that movie half as hard as I was going to watch The Incredible Hulk.

Well, that's the summer lineup, and I personally plan on seeing all these films. Also, if you're interested in my two cents, Iron Man kicks way more ass than Batman.

(The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk roundups by John Herrman)

The studios thought to have signed on Apple's dotted line include Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and New Line—all of whom have a rental deal with iTunes. Smaller houses, such as Magnolia and Image Entertainment are included, but MGM is out of the picture.

Most at risk from the news is, undoubtedly, Wal-Mart. Apple has already usurped the retail giant this year as the number one seller of music. Amazon and Microsoft, with their respective operations, Unbox and XBox Live Marketplace, are also expected to be affected. [Yahoo!]