Wait a second--? Hey, that's new.

Indeed, developer Flixster has made a number of improvements large and small to since I first . The latest version, which is optimized for the iPhone OS 3.0 update, is much more stable. The geo-location feature that gave me such fits last year works much better now, thanks. The app will let you enter a ZIP code or use GPS to find theaters near your location. Along with the user reviews, you can also browse films by their ranking (which sometimes varies widely from Flixster ratings-- didn't fare nearly as well). The app also features photo galleries for most of the films, from which you can pick and save images and use as wallpaper.

Many Facebook users may already be familiar with the Flixster application, which lets users rate and share their favorite films with their circle of friends. The iPhone app has a very powerful social networking component incorporating Facebook Connect, letting you review and add to your list of favorites from your handheld. Once you log in with your Facebook account, you can rate movies, mark films you want to see, and share ratings with your friends. You can also see your friends' ratings, either from their Facebook pages or from the Movies app.

As before, Movies provides the latest information on box office winners and losers, new DVD releases, and upcoming theatrical releases. The app links to thousands of movie trailers (you need a 3G, EDGE or functional Wi-Fi connection to watch the videos, which users can view in high-quality or optimized for the fastest loading times). You can also search by film title, actor and director.

With DVDs and Flixster user ratings from Facebook, the app's database is actually quite extensive, making Movies a useful tool not just for finding and buying tickets for the latest releases but also similar to utility for looking up the name of that guy who played the reporter in the conspiracy movie about the faked mission to Mars you saw on TCM the other day. (It was ----in , a so-so movie with a .)