Apple’s late CEO and Chairman Steve Jobs undoubtedly left a major impact on the company, with principles that drive the company to this day since his death in late 2011. Following his death, a number of video tributes began to appear online, as well as rumors that there were multiple films coming out about the Apple co-founder’s life.

Late last year, it was confirmed that that the Steve Jobs biopic starring actor Ashton Kutcher would premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this month. The movie now has a timeframe for release, which is slated for April 2013.

Distribution, both international will be handled by Open Road Films and Inferno Entertainment. This biopic is different from the film that is currently in production by Sony Entertainment and is being written by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin’s version of the film is based on the official biography, called Steve Jobs and written by author Walter Isaacson.

Sorkin’s film currently does not have a date of release. However, the biopic starring Kutcher is confirmed for April, likely in the first several weeks before other fils from Sundance begin to be released.

{Via iMore}

Early Wednesday, Amazon released an iPad app for its Instant Video service, Amazon Prime Instant Video. The service allows subscribers to rent and buy movies and television shows for offline viewing and competes with other major streaming giants such as Netflix. Amazon’s streaming also gives users the option to stream Prime Instant Video titles when connected to the internet.

Currently, other services such as Netflix only allow users to stream on the internet and do not provide an offline option. Now, these services will be available on the iPad, allowing Amazon to not only keep many of the customers they have but lure in new customers with the offerings on Apple’s popular tablet. With content on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video now available on iPad, users can stop streaming on one device, and resume on numerous others such as TV’s, a Mac or PC, and Amazon’s own Kindle Fire.

With Amazon Instant Video, you can:

– Stream thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with a Prime membership, or watch over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store
– Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library
– Shop over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by visiting Amazon
– Add videos to your Watchlist from a PC, Mac, or Kindle Fire for later viewing on your iPad
– Subscribe to a TV Season Pass by visiting Amazon and episodes will automatically be available on your iPad the day after they air
– Start watching on your iPad, and resume watching right where you left off on a Kindle Fire, PS3, PC, Mac, or hundreds of models of connected TVs and Blu-ray players with Amazon Whispersync.

With this new service, it seems that Amazon is trying to get a leg up on Netflix and build a similar service but is using its Kindle Fire device to grab market share. Amazon Prime is available for $79 a year and also offers its customers free two day shipping and discounted overnight shipping.

Overall, this comes out to be a much cheaper and more convenient option when considering Netflix’s $7 a month charge which adds up to be more money and does not offer discounts on other products.

Amazon Instant Video is currently free {Direct Link} in the App Store and requires a subscription for log in.

{via MacRumors}

Because this app has a single purpose the interface is very easy to use with a simple search feature to find you movies and then two lists, To Watch and Watched.

The search results are comprehensive and I’ve yet to be beaten in finding movies, even some obscure movies from my youth are listed thanks to the apps integration with the themoviedb.org which even provides a snapshot of information about each movie.

Once you’ve added a movie to your To Watch list you can share it via Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email and, once you’ve watched the movie move it to your watched list. You can even choose to show badges for the movies on your To Watch list so you have a constant reminder of how many movies you have still to watch.

The simplicity of the app makes it very easy to use and movies can be added and moved between lists with a couple of clicks. While the lists can be sorted based on release date, alphabetically and the order in which they were added it would be nice to be able to edit the order manually so that you could prioritize the order in which you want to watch them.

For movies that are yet to be released at the movie theatre yet you can also choose to be notified via push notification when it does happen.

There are apps out there that offer more functionality than ToDo Movies but if you want to keep things simple then you could download this app by spending 99 cents.

What we like

• Excellent list of movies
• Push notifications for new releases
• Simple design

What to know

• No manual ordering
• Limited functionality

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has long been selling movies and television shows on its iTunes Store. Now, according to a Reuters report, the company is reportedly planning to bring EPIX movie streaming to the Apple TV, and likely the new rumored Apple television set. AAPL has been rumored to be in talks at this point, with no specific dates as to when the service will be available, if it ever does happen.

One of the sources told Reuters that any discussions would apply to its set-top box and also to upcoming devices that stream content. Apple is widely expected to unveil a full-fledged TV product later this year or in early 2013 to drive its next phase of growth and potentially revolutionize the industry.

Sources for the Reuters report suggest that negotiations between Apple and EPIX are still developing and that no deal should be expected in the near future. Bringing EPIX content to Apple TV and future Apple devices would allow the Cupertino company to develop and sell exclusive content, not available on a number of other devices.

Apple may also be waiting out a contract between EPIX and Netflix, which doesn’t end until later this September. Once this contract has ended, Apple will likely go ahead and secure a deal with EPIX.

{via MacRumors}

iTunes Movie Trailers {Free} has several screens that make it easy to see what’s soon-to-be-released, what‘s popular, what’s coming out when, and what’s in theaters now. It takes its visual cues from iTunes, but concentrates just on movies.

iTunes Movie Trailers puts the newest and most exclusive movie previews in HD in your hands. Browse trailers, clips, and featurettes for the biggest Hollywood blockbusters and independent cinema; view stunning HD photos; explore a year-long calendar of movie releases; find showtimes near you and get ticket info directly from your iPad or iPhone.

The app adds a few new views that give users choices to find the information they’re looking for, whether that is the next available show time, a release date, the cast members, or ratings, among other things.

This app makes viewing movie trailers much easier than searching for them through iTunes. It promises to be a one-stop shop for information on current movies. If you love to watch trailers or know about the latest movies then this app is certainly recommend.

March of the Dinosaurs Review: March of the Dinosaurs was released earlier this year to pretty good reviews. It tells the story of two dinosaurs and their adventures growing up in the Artic. March of the Dinosaurs for the iPad is the companion which not only tells the story but also provides detailed background on some of the dinosaurs that are in the movie.

The app begins with a dramatic trailer for the movie, I say trailer, that could easily be replaced by the word advertisements especially as there is a link directly in the app that will take you to the App Store to purchase the app, although at time of writing the link doesn’t work.

Once you are past the trailer an animated navigation screen gives you access to the 12 chapters of the story, you can jump to each of the chapters directly or begin the story from the start.

The whole story is narrated to you, although it can also be turned off, so you can read along with it and each page includes additional detail regarding the subject of the current part of the story.

Each page also provides a link to the Meet the Dinosaurs page where 11 of the dinosaurs in the movie are brought to life via interactive animation and looping video clips taken directly from the movie. The clips aren’t long but they are high quality and really help to bring the app to life.

Whether you’ve watched the movie or not if you like dinosaurs March of the Dinosaurs will be a pleasure to use and comes recommended, although some may take a sharp intake of breath at both the price, $7.99 and size 500+ meg.

What we like:

• Movie clips direct from the film
• Scientific details on all the dinosaurs from the movie
• Full story narration

What to know:

• Only 11 dinosaur details included
• Over ½ GB in size

Gallery

Orange, one of the leading telecom providers in the UK has launched a promotion offering a free iTunes movie rental every week. The service, dubbed Film To Go is only available in the UK and will feature a pre-selected movie every week for users to download and enjoy.

The movies that are selected will be available to view for 30 days but once the movie is started, you have 48 hours to complete it. To begin receiving the free movies from iTunes, Orange customers just need to text FILMTOGO to 85060. They will then receive a text message with a code to allow the free download via iTunes. The text message itslef will cost users 35 cents, although the movie itself will not be charged.

The movie can then be viewed on any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. This is something fairly new that is being offered up by service providers that may attract more customers and could ultimately arrive in the US if deemed successful. Verizon, one of the major carriers in the US already has similar offers with Android phones in the past, and may offer up something similar for the iPhone in the near future.

Upcoming films for the service include My Blueberry Nights scheduled for this week and The Wrestler for the following week.

{via TiPb}

‘Paranmanjang’ tells the story of a fisherman who catches a dead woman’s body on his hook. After fainting, the man awakens to find himself living through the eyes of the woman. Reports claim that the film will be screened in local cinemas on January 27th.

At a press screening on January 10th, Park told reporters, “From hunting for a film location, shooting auditions, to doing a documentary on the filming process, everything was shot with the iPhone 4.”

Park said that, apart from using the iPhone’s small camera, the movie went through all the same film-making processes. Night scenes were shot in black and white to make up for the iPhone’s video recording limitations, however, Chosun Ilbo claims that the movie’s picture quality is actually “fairly good.”

Of course, Park’s ‘Paranmanjang’ isn’t the first film to be made using Apple’s popular smartphone – back in June Michael Korbel’s short film ‘Apple of My Eye’ was not only shot using the device, but it was also edited using iMovie for iOS.

{via PC Magazine}