I love movies, but I don't watch them very often. I spend several hours a day inert at work and have a hard time slowing myself down afterward. Despite this fact, I am very aware of movies and have a somewhat Rain Man*-like ability to recite plots and casts for movies I haven't seen, something my family likes to take advantage of. An actual conversation that occurred when my dad was channel surfing:
Dad: "Hey, what's this movie on here?"
Me: "Umm, it looks like Se7en. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are detectives looking for a serial killer who kills according to the seven deadly sins, Gwyneth Paltrow is in it, too. Kind of noir-ish."
Dad: "Is it any good?"
Me: "Don't know, I haven't seen it. The ending is pretty gory, though."
*Note: I have only seen about 15 minutes of Rain Man
I'd really like to see more movies, there are a LOT I want to catch up on, but it usually has to be someone else's idea. I've never tried Redbox, but am somewhat put off by the limited number of movies available. They all seem to be new-ish releases and a lot of movies over the past few years haven't appealed to me. I don't like sappy movies (The Notebook, gag!), remakes of remakes, films based on TV series that have already been beaten to death (Sex and the City II, I'm talking about you), movies with kid heroes, predictable rom-coms, or stuff that just sounds stupid.
I though old-school video stores were fun, especially to visit with someone else to try to choose something everyone would like. My tastes don't always run towards the newly-released. I like movies that are suspenseful (Coen Brothers), introspective (Lost in Translation, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Old Hollywood (Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock; Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe), and, somewhat incongruously, social commentary presented in middle-school humor (South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut and Borat). I might also add that I'll happily sit through anything from the "dislike" list should it feature George Clooney or Javier Bardem. Video stores' return dates also forced me to sit down and watch the movie, which I needed. I no longer have one in my town.
Not liking either of the available choices, I recently signed up for Netflix. The ads sounded great, streaming movies on demand! But almost everything I wanted to watch was available only by mail. And now, with the new incarnation of Netflix I would've had to sign up for another, different service in order to get them by mail. No, thank you. I'm keeping the streaming version, but only because I've found a few TV shows I like.
So I suppose I'll stick to another old-school method of receiving movies: having them handed to me by friends who are movie buffs. I trust their tastes, and the inevitable "what did you think?" conversation ensures I'll actually watch!
I would totally agree with you that Redbox does not have nearly enough movies. I have always thought about signing up for Netflix but have never tried it. I heard they have a lot of old movies that you can watch through your computer or stream through xbox. It would be annoying every time you wanted to watch a movie you had to order it! For now i guess i will stick to not watching many movies and maybe catching them on TV years later!
ReplyDeleteI also wished there was a better selection at Redbox. The convenience aspect of it is great, but there is rarely something that appeals to me. I recently experience the 30-day trial of Netflix and although it was great to get caught up on some TV shows I enjoy watching I didn't like it enough to pay for a subscription. I'll stick to Hulu for now and borrowing movies from friends on rare occasions.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with both of you guys. Redbox just doesn't have the selection I like, plus the whole "wait 2ish weeks before the new movie is there" thing kinda stinks (but netflix does that too). Me and my roommates are pretty good about sending the netflix back at decent times, but the streaming is nice, they have a decent selection of stuff to watch while I do homework.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoy going to the movie store. I find more interesting movies to watch simply by browsing the shelves than by browsing netflix. I was a great way to kill half an hour on a sunday after noon when I lived across the street from The Digital Shelf in Manhattan.
ReplyDeleteNow, however, streaming is more convenient for me and my family. My mother will ask me about a movie, and Bam! I've got it on my laptop in less than 30 seconds for her, as opposed to loading my child up, driving down to the local (smaaaall) movie store to see if they have it, and if not, making the choice to drive 30 miles to the nearest Walmart to try and buy it (this has happened several times... Not. Enjoyable.) So time, gas money, and convenience all vote that streaming is a win.