🎬 Plot twist: “Here” follows Tom Hanks and Robin Wright across a 60-year span, de-aged entirely by AI. A few years ago, this wouldn’t have been possible without Marvel-level budgets. Now? They’re pulling it off for $50 million. The trailer gave me goosebumps!
Shocker: The real price of Amazon Prime
Do you have any idea how much you’re paying for Amazon Prime? If you said, “Probably around $100 a year,” try again. You might be spending over $300 annually and not even realize it. Let me explain.
Priming the pump
Come with me back to Feb. 2, 2005. That’s when Amazon announced that for $79 a year, you could get free two-day shipping on most items with no minimum purchase. The price of Prime remained $79 annually until 2014, when it jumped to $99 a year.
In 2018, Prime membership costs increased again to $119 annually. In November 2019, Amazon raised the price for 100GB of photo storage from $11.99 per year to $19.99 a year. And in 2020, Amazon’s Whole Foods delivery came with a new $9.95 charge.
It doesn’t make cents
In 2022, an Amazon Prime membership jumped $20 more to $139 annually. In 2023, Amazon Fresh grocery delivery minimums skyrocketed from $35 to $150, only to be lowered to $100 later. Amazon Music Unlimited also went up, hitting $99 a year.
Now, ads have crept into Prime Video. If you can’t stand the interruptions, it’ll cost you an extra $2.99 monthly … which doesn’t sound as bad until you realize it’s $36 a year.
Outside of Prime Video, Prime members can subscribe to other major streaming channels, including HBO Max, Showtime and Starz. Each has its own subscription cost (typically around $8.99 to $15.99 per month, depending on the channel).
If you enjoy reading, Amazon Kindle Unlimited will set you back another $9.99 per month. Prefer to listen to books instead? An Audible membership costs $14.95 a month. Got children? Amazon Kids+ gives Prime members kid-friendly books, movies, TV shows and apps … for another $4.99 per month.
Know how much you’re really paying
Here’s how to see your current membership type (monthly or annually), your next renewal date and the price you’re being charged:
- Use this link to see how much you’re paying for Amazon Prime.
- You can also sign into your account on Amazon’s website. Then, hover over Account & Lists at the top right to open the dropdown menu. In the menu, click Prime Membership.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
📼 Need a weekend movie rec? Hit up MovieWiser.com. Type in the mood you’re going for and it’ll spit out a list of movies that fit the bill. I typed in “festive comedy for the family.” Options included “Elf,” “Home Alone,” “A Christmas Story,” “Polar Express” and “Jingle All the Way.” Nailed it.
Get free eBooks, movies and more
When’s the last time you got something for free? Your local library offers tons of free eBooks, audiobooks, movies, and more — all online!
A wicked amount of money: A mom is suing Mattel for $5 million. The “Wicked” movie doll she bought for her daughter had a link to a p*rn website instead of the film’s official page. Mom says visiting the site caused lots of emotional distress for them both … that only money can help.
Before Netflix was Netflix, it had a placeholder name for paperwork: Kibble. When it was time to roll out the real thing, one name was not considered. Was it … A.) Quickflicks, B.) Directpix, C.) Replay or D.) Luna?
9,000,000 tulips
Planted for the “Wicked” movie. The movie’s director wanted real flowers in the scene for “Over the Rainbow,” not CGI. The flowers were grown on 500 acres at Belmont Farms in Norfolk, England. Only an American could’ve written “The Wizard of Oz;” anywhere else, he’d be “The Wizard of 28g.”
“Moana” is now the No. 1 movie in streaming history: It just clocked over 1 billion hours of viewing time. The twist: It flopped in its 2016 box office release. Theories for its comeback range from its catchy songs to our love of island life (paywall link). A groaner for the kids: What is Moana’s cat called? Meowui.
Sharing is caring: Bruce in Reno called my show with a bright idea. He just got an iPad and wants to watch movies on it with his wife on an upcoming trip. “Is there a way to split the audio signal?” There sure is, Bruce. This handy gadget connects two sets of Bluetooth headphones to any device with a headphone jack. Sweet.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
🙊 Not that kind of Barbie girl: Mattel says it’s deeply sorry for printing the wrong URL on boxes of its “Wicked” movie-themed Barbie dolls. The mix-up swapped the movie’s site for trailers and tickets for another wicked site that offers a very different kind of girl-on-girl action — porn.
🎬 Plot twist: “Here” follows Tom Hanks and Robin Wright across a 60-year span, with de-aging done entirely by AI. A few years ago, this wouldn’t have been possible without Marvel-level budgets. Now? They’re pulling it off for $50 million. The trailer gave me goosebumps! At least there are still some scenes with real actors.
50-plus years
Christmas classics “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” are moving from CBS to NBC. “Frosty” will air on Dec. 5 at 8:30 p.m., and “Rudolph” will air on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. If you have cable, both will also be on Freeform’s “25 Days of Christmas” lineup starting on Dec. 7.
Hardware nerds are snapping up old Redbox DVD machines: They’re figuring out how they work and trying to release the movies still inside. But there’s a weird issue — nobody can get the 1996 disaster flick “Twister” out. It’s a problem across all kiosks, with theories ranging from a licensing dispute to a software glitch. What in the hail?
🎄 ICYMI: It’s not the holidays without a Hallmark movie (or five). Luckily, Hallmark just released its holiday movie schedule. Here’s a link so you can print it out for friends, family — or yourself. ‘Tis the season!
3,000-plus parts
Make up the new walking, talking Buzz Lightyear robot. For a whopping $599, you can recreate the “Toy Story” franchise’s scenes and missions. That’s a lot of money for a toy the kiddos will use for a week and never look at again. I know what you’re thinking: “My bathroom scale is nicknamed Buzz Lightyear. When I step on, it goes to infinity and beyond.”
🐲 Time keeps on tickin’: Check the time commitment before you let someone lure you into the extended-cut “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Bingeclock is great for movies. Tiii.me has TV show times. (Btw, it’s 11 hours and 22 minutes for LOTR.)
Stop buying movies on Apple, Amazon and others: A new California law will force digital stores to admit you’re licensing content and you don’t actually own it. This is in response to companies like PlayStation and Ubisoft deleting games from players’ accounts after shutting down the servers.
It’s not the holidays without a Hallmark movie or five … And here’s a link so you can print this list out if you want.
👩🍼 Bundles of joy: Bundles can save you money by combining services at a lower total cost. Try Apple One, which bundles cloud storage, music, games and movies — or streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Share it with family and it’s even cheaper.
What was the first feature film to use computer-generated imagery, aka CGI? Was it … A.) “Star Wars: A New Hope,“ B.) “Tron,“ C.) “Westworld“ or D.) “Alien“?