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All together, now: Dun, dun, dun-dun DUN, dun, dun-dun Bwaaa-da-daaaa… Bwaaa-da-daaaa….
And here you thought I was going to go with the obvious: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to download the first four “Mission: Impossible” movies before Paramount discovers that it’s giving them away for free!
Talk about impossible, am I right? Update: Guess I was right, as it appears the promotion has ended. So sorry, cheeps — I don’t know what logic Paramount used in terminating this in the middle of the day. Oh, right: none.
And, yet, there they are: “Mission: Impossible,” “Mission: Impossible 2,” “Mission: Impossible 3” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” all full-length, all HD, all free.
You win, Paramount: I will go buy a ticket to “Rogue Nation.” (I was gonna see it anyway. Suckers!)
Two strings attached, if you can even call them strings: You have to sign up for a Paramount Movies account (which is free), and you have to then link it with an UltraViolet account (new or existing, also free).
So here’s the process: Click through to the promotion link, then choose one of the movies. After you complete the Paramount and UltraViolet sign-ins/sign-ups, you should end up at your library page — with that selected movie ready for streaming or downloading.
Now head back to the promo page and choose another movie. Wash, rinse, repeat until you have all four. From there you can stream/download the movies to your PC or install the Paramount or Vudu app for viewing on your mobile device. You can even download them to a phone or tablet for offline enjoyment, which is sweet.
Once you’ve wrapped your brain around getting four seriously awesome movies for free, head to the comments and nominate your favorite of the series.
Although I loved the first one, I think “M:I-3” is the best of the bunch; I even rate it among the all-time great action movies. The second one bored me to tears, and the fourth wasn’t especially memorable (though I’m glad I now have the chance to rewatch it). Your thoughts?
Bonus deal: If you’re an amateur or even semi-pro filmmaker, you know that it’s possible to capture some amazing footage with just a smartphone — provided you keep it steady, of course. One of my favorite tools for that is on sale: StackSocial has the iStabilizer Dolly for $38.99 shipped. Price elsewhere: closer to $60. This four-wheeled skate incorporates a multijointed arm that lets you capture ultrasmooth panning and rolling shots. It’s not only effective, but also ridiculously cute. Just be prepared to wait 2-3 weeks for delivery.