I have movies on mine. I transfer movies from my PC to my Kindle, and use the VLC media player application, which I downloaded directly to the Kindle.
Not sure if you can watch streamed films on the Kindle or not - never tried.
Cannot answer your comment about Newspapers and Magazines - do you mean you cannot get a subscription to them in Ireland? That sounds slightly odd...
I think the Kindle is great for books, if you want to make use of Amazon. It is good for browsing the internet, emails, chatforums and the like. It is less useful in any wider context.