Do You Want to See a Live Action Superman and Batman Movie?

Will superhero fans ever get to see a live action film of the 'World's Finest' -- Batman and Superman -- together at last?Shock Till You Dropasked 'Season of the Witch' producerCharles Rovenjust that in an interview yesterday. Roven is currently working on Christopher Nolan's'The Dark Knight Rises'and Zack Snyder's'Superman,'so it only made sense to find out if a Batman/Superman pairing would be happening any time soon.

Plans to unite the DC icons have failed twice before -- once with 'Troy's' Wolfgang Petersen and a second time with 'Mad Max' director George Miller at the helm -- but much to the chagrin of comic fans, the crossover isn't on Roven's mind at the moment."Right now the Batman lives in his world and the Superman lives in his world. Those stories are those stories and we haven't thought beyond each individual picture,"he told Shock.

This will be Nolan's last Batman film, so chances are a crossover feature would not involve the director or Bale as the Dark Knight. Superman's filmic reputation precedes him as the formulaic good guy. If the movie was based on the comic universe and steers clear of another Superman origin/love story -- instead allowing the Son of Krypton to get his hands dirty and do battle in a sci-fi universe -- the uniting of the two superheroes would feel pretty perfect. Batman and Superman are each great foils for the other -- and the yin and yang balance of their personalities would almost assuredly make for compelling viewing on the big screen.

Warner/DC has been keeping their eye on the Marvel universe ever since'Iron Man'hit and Disney bought the company -- restructuring their approach in an attempt to remain competitive with their arch rivals. Ideally, there'd be a scene in the third 'Batman' movie where the Man of Steel is introducedà la Captain America's shield or Thor's Hammer in 'Iron Man/Iron Man 2.' The chances of that happening are slim to none given Rosen's assertion that each character exists in his own universe. This is one thing that Marvel does so well -- creating synergy between all their different characters through cameos and clever in-jokes. DC might be well advised to start mimicking that approach.

While the absence of Nolan/Bale might dissuade some fans from watching a 'World's Finest' film, there's still bend to the comic story that the movies have barely touched on. The characters have always been larger than the directors and actors who've brought them to the screen, and passing on an opportunity to unite two of the biggest names in the DC universe feels like a gigantic missed opportunity. While some feel (with a definite degree of validity) that the characters are just too big to combine in one universe and that a film featuring both Superman and Batman would shortchange both characters, it's hard not to be intrigued by the idea. Superhero films are all about larger than life spectacle, and what could be larger than seeing the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight taking on a global menace that pushes both of them to the limit of their abilities?

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SnagFilms, Comcast and Vimeo Expand to Portable Movie Streaming

Have an iPad already? If not, here is more incentive to you movie lovers: SnagFilms has justintroduced a free app for the device, allowing you to stream 50 of the most popular documentary titles available through the site. And unlike Netflix Watch Instantly, which also works on the iPad, these films don't cost you anything. Some highly recommended titles offered free through the app: 'The Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Jazz on a Summer's Day,' 'Super Size Me,' 'The Future of Food' and 'Dig!'

Also coming soon is the opportunity for Comcast cable subscribers to stream movies and TV shows on their iPads (and other Apple as well as Android devices) via the Xfinity TV app, which currently appears to solely function as a guide and remote control.According to a press release, this new"play now"feature will bring 3,000 hours of On Demand and live programming to the app. Soon there will also be access to social networks for you to share what you're watching with friends.

Hopefully other cable companies will follow suit -- Time Warner Cable has been teasing about something similar -- but for now there are still plenty of ways to watch feature films on the iPad. iTunes, obviously, is one. Netflix, while not free, has plenty of titles to make the cost worth it. And of course there's always YouTube and Hulu. Even Vimeo, which has been a great venue for shorts so far, is getting into longer form content by offering its Plus members the abilityto now upload 5GB of video.

There are per-title rental apps likemSpotand set-schedule services likeCinema for iPad, both of which appear to have a very mixed bag as far as user reviews go. Meanwhile,Air Videostill seems a good way to stream other video content to your device by way of your PC. There's also aFlixFlingapp for that.

We're sure to hear about more movie apps and services this week as the CES show in Las Vegas continues. Additional teases coming out of the convention includea Boxee appthat will allow its licensed content to be streamed on the iPad. And then there are also the iPad competitors, like the Motorola Xoom, being unveiled that could offer their own alternative and exclusive apps in the future. Either way, the more movies and more ways to watch them, the better.

iPad users: what apps do you use for streaming movies on your device?

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