Entertainment
The Web, itself a source for entertainment, is also the best resource for every other form of entertainment. No other tool can locate a movie, TV show, game, musical composition, or commentary upon request, and also deliver it to you, possibly in real time, on your personal computer screen. Knowing how to locate what you want is key: the findingDulcinea Entertainment Web Guide will tell you how to go, where to go, and what you’ll find there.
Expand All Guide SectionsMovies, Concerts, Theater, Museum, and other Activities
You know the feeling. All of a sudden, you’ve got some free time, and you don’t how to ... read more »
DVDs and Books
Just because you have no desire to get off the couch doesn’t mean you should have to be bored while you’re there. Here you’ll find overviews of stuff to do at home, information on DVDs and television shows, and even tips for book buying.
Dulcinea's Insight
- For other online entertainment, jump to the “What sorts of diversions can I find online?” section of this guide.
- If you’re considering renting or buying a DVD, you might want to thumb through The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
- The findingDulcinea Televison Web Guide helps you locate show reviews, listings, and online broadcasts. If you’re really a TV fanatic, you can also investigate how TVs work or compare and contrast cable providers.
- The findingDulcinea Books Web Guide provides you with even more book-related links. Learn about discount stores, join online book clubs, and locate reviews.
Dulcinea's Picks
For an overview of home entertainment …
ReleaseGuide is all about what’s new in TV, DVDs, theaters, books, music, and video games. Find an overview of releases this week on the homepage and click on any title or name to get a summary of the release and a list of similar releases. The only thing this site lacks is a good review section.
Metacritic compiles reviews from a number of different critics and review sites to create a “metascore” out of a possible 100 points. Read a synopsis of each film, game, album, book, DVD, or television show and snippets of what the critics are saying, along with links to the full reviews.
For DVD reviews …
DVD Review features reviews and news about DVD, HD DVD, UMD, and Blu-ray Disc releases. It also has a chat forum.
The Digital Bits provides news, gossip, reviews, and blogs about DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Discs. It’s a site for the true film fanatic with excellent eyesight—the black background makes the site difficult to read.
To purchase DVDs …
Amazon.com sets the standard for DVD shopping. If a movie is available to buy—or will be soon—it can normally be found here, along with professional and consumer reviews and free shipping.
DeepDiscount.com offers a DVD collection that rivals Amazon’s, with the added benefit of free shipping no matter how small your order. Prices run about the same; at the very least, it’s worth your while to do some comparison shopping.
eBay , the well-known auction site, has a section devoted to DVDs. You can select your desired format and genre and probably get a pretty good deal, too.
Zunafish is a site for trading media, which of course includes DVDs. Sign up and list the items you want to get rid of and the items you’d like to get. Then wait to make a match with another member.
To rent DVDs …
TopTenREVIEWS researches and reviews just about everything. Their “Online DVD Rental Report” compares DVD rental companies and their services on one easy-to-read chart.
Netflix is the original online movie rental site. The prepaid envelopes and absence of late fees make the service extremely user friendly. The company offers payment plans that allow members to rent anywhere from one to eight movies at a time.
Blockbuster operates a service (an offshoot of its physical stores) that is almost identical to Netflix. The main difference is that in addition to ordering movies by mail, you can return and exchange them at Blockbuster stores. However, the service offers around 75,000 titles, in comparison with its competitor’s more than 90,000.
For buying books …
BookFinder.com aggregates the listings of more than 100,000 online booksellers (including the two bookstore giants, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble) to make comparison shopping a snap. Just enter what you’re looking for—your query can be as general as author or title, or you can specify first editions or signed copies only—and review the prices of all new and used books matching your criteria. BookFinder even gives you the option of seeing prices with or without shipping costs.
Powells.com has a wide selection at significantly discounted prices, and it features interesting staff recommendations on its homepage and within each of its subject categories, along with the more traditional critic and user reviews. An order of $50 is required to qualify for free shipping.
Manybooks.net offers a wide variety of free downloadable books formatted for printing or use on iPods, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or eBook readers (specialized gadgets for viewing electronic texts). Most of the texts offered are from the archives of Project Gutenberg, but while Gutenberg’s downloads are only available as plain text, manybooks.net formats the texts for printing or easy installation on a variety of portable electronic devices.
Celebrity and Entertainment News
The lives of celebrities and the fast-paced worlds of the music, film, and television industries ... read more »
Diversions online
If you aren’t sure exactly what you want to do, but know that you are ready for a distraction ... read more »
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