'flix
- Wade
Contrary to rumor, I watch movies. Really. See here for proof. However, I rarely see any new movies. There are several reasons for this... First, with out little 8 month-old bundle of joy, it's more difficult to drop everything and hit the Uberplex. But that's not an excuse, because Sara and I never really did that prior to the littl'un. Second, cost. $8? Doesn't sound so bad. Multiply by two, add the gallon of Diet Coke and the silo-sized popcorn, and you're up to $21 for a movie that may or may not entertain you. Since I'm basically a cheapskate, I generally waited for movies that interested me to air on cable. Which is definitely cheaper, but takes much longer and has some drawbacks (commercials, removal of fun swear words.) Third, the closest theater to our house is the Southdale 58, and if you've ever been there, you know why it's a drawback.
Where was I?
Oh, yes, movies. So it's not that I didn't want to see new movies, it's more that I didn't want to deal with the expense and hassle. Enter... Netflix.
Netflix isn't free, but it's cheaper than going to see one movie a month. I suppose you also miss out on the excitement of the big screen, but that never was a big draw for me anyway. I can deal with Nic Cage's nostrils appearing to be one inch wide vs. two feet wide. Their setup is pretty cool-- in case you don't know, you're able to put a ridiculous amount of movies in your queue (something like 500.) Netflix ships you the first three-- when you've watched them, drop 'em in the mail and they send you your next three. Repeat. No late fees. Slick. So slick that I'm not sure how traditional video rental stores can stay in business, especially considering what Hollywood Video now charges for renting DVDs-- something like $4.00. The last time I rented movies regularly, they were 99 cents. Of course, that was Austin.
Anyway, we received our first three movies yesterday... Spider-Man 2, Luther, and Super Size Me. Because we went to so few new movies, we quickly filled up our queue with 60 titles. Which sounded impressive until Andy May confessed to me that he has over 150. Netflix' wide variety allows me to queue up DVDs that only I care about (The Ultimate Carson Collection, MST3K: The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Bullitt, Dial M For Murder), and Sara to queue up DVDs that I don't care about (13 Going on 30, Emma, Chocolat, Amelie) without those fun heated video rental store discussions. It's a win-win!
I'm excited. If we get into this as much as I think we might, I might tell Time Warner to stick their $60 cable bill where the sun refuses to shine. Of course, I've uttered that threat numerous times before, only to crumble to the temptation of Celebrity Poker, Twins baseball on FSN, and TNT Basketball.
Oh well. Who knows-- I may actually be able to keep up with Lord of the Rings references after all this.
What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some
feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
