Movies

If you thought the unskippable FBI warning about piracy included on every DVD was annoying before, prepare for an additional pre-roll message, brought to you by Homeland Security.

Summer may be when studios put out their biggest movies, but after a horrendous 2011 at the box office, Hollywood is going all out starting in the spring: This rapid-fire slate of potential blockbusters should turn heads this season.

John Carter is just the latest disappointment: Is Disney snuffing the creativity out of its Pixar and Marvel purchases?

It's not as if DreamWorks Animation had an awful year at the box office. Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots combined for a healthy $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales. But that's down from 2011's $1.6 billion take when Shrek Forever After was in theaters.

Every year, tax season inspires Americans ... to gripe and complain. But rather than focus on the depressing side of your yearly ordeal, why not consider the more enjoyable things that taxes have inspired -- namely, a long list of films. On Oscar weekend, there's no better time to recall these taxing classics.

DVDs -- and even their more modern Blu-ray siblings -- are gradually fading to black, as VHS and LaserDisc did before them. Movie studios have seen this coming for some time. Problem is, it's part of a bigger trend they may not be able to overcome.

Amazon.com may be gearing up to start charging for the unlimited video streaming service it now includes free with Amazon Prime. Sound familiar? Of course it does -- just rewind a few months to a summer that Netflix would certainly prefer to forget.

Just six months ago, consumers loved Netflix for its all-you-can-eat video services, and investors did too. These days, after a series of customer-aggravating missteps, the dot-com darling has become a dot-com dud on Wall Street. But are the analysts right to be so down on Netflix?

Recession-weary Americans trying to save on home entertainment just took another punch in their DVD slots. Blockbuster Express just became the third major distributor to increase its video prices recently -- doubling the fee to rent its semi-new releases to $2 as of Tuesday.

It's not enough to be a movie star and a singer. Taryn Manning learned early on that she also needs to be a business woman to keep afloat financially -- and to earn enough to keep doing what she enjoys. Here's her guide to saving money and boosting her income.