Thursday, December 14, 2006

Netflix Has Set Me Free

I love movies. But, since I don’t like crowds of people, unruly children, and having my hearing impaired by the booming surround-sound, I don’t like to go to the theater. OK, mainly I don’t like those itty-bitty theater seats that I’ll have to sit sideways in, if my butt gets any bigger. The last movie theater I went to was in Omaha and it had nice, plush seats with arm rests that could be raised, which added just enough room to feel comfortable. The theater here has seats made of sparsely upholstered plywood, and stationary arm rests, and by the time the movie is over, I’m numb from the waist down. These seats would make an airline proud.

But, problem solved. I have discovered Netflix. I know, I’ve come late to the party, but it takes me a while to accept change. So sue me.

The first two movies I ordered were "Walk The Line", which I think I've already mentioned, and “Capote”, which I found fascinating. If anyone out there is old enough to remember Truman Capote when he used to appear on talk shows (“The Tonight Show”, for instance), you will quickly realize that Philip Seymour Hoffman nailed that performance. Beautifully underplayed it. Capote was always so flamboyant that it would be easy to turn him into a caricature. On the other hand, Catherine Keener, who played Capote’s lifelong friend, Harper Lee, didn’t have much to worry about, because nobody much knew what she was like, anyway, except that she was one of the world's most reclusive authors, and wrote " To Kill A Mockingbird".

“The Village” was on television the other night and I really enjoyed it until I made the mistake of reading some critic’s review that made me feel as though I had watched a whole different movie. He carped on and on about all the things wrong with the movie, and how silly it was, how unrealistic, yap, yap, yappity-yap.

I finally came to the conclusion that this critic had never heard the phrase, “suspension of disbelief”. He’d have been a lot happier if he had approached M Night Shyamalan’s movies the way he would “Harry Potter” or "War of the Worlds" or "Star Wars". Maybe then he wouldn’t have been so rigid in his assumption that Shyamalan was trying to make a docudrama, where everything had to be believed.

The movie was certainly full of big-name stars: Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrian Brody and a not-big-star-yet, but she will be, Bryce Dallas Howard (Opie’s daughter. Yes, I said Opie!).

Today, for a change of pace, I watched the next Netflix movie on my list, “The Prairie Home Companion”. I couldn’t stop laughing. And, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep were hilarious, as was the rest of the cast. Even Lindsay Lohan couldn't stink this one up.

Next on the list is “The Devil Wore Prada”, and I can’t wait. It should be here by Monday or Tuesday.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the Prairie Home Companion movie, too. I want to see it again because I'm sure there are things I missed.

I love Netflix, too. I'm not too quick to watch the movies and get them back, though, so I think they are making money on me. But I still like it. I have the Da Vinci Code and Ice Age II to watch.

Kell

Anonymous said...

Let me know what you think of "The Devil Wears Prada." I keep hearing all these wonderful things about Netflix. I think I might hook Hoop and I up with it soon. Ya know, once we have an actual house. :P

Tink

patsy said...

i watched the capota movie, i thought it was a good movie. i have some of his books. i have a beta blog now so i can comment but the life and times still lives. they are still leting me post!

patsy said...

by the way green chicken is patsy in green forest.

Anonymous said...

I don't like crowds or loud noise, but I do like the wide screen at the cinema. So I have recently started going to the movies. Now I also live in a big city and it probably makes it much easier.
Thanks for dropping by at my blog.

Annie said...

Betty, you're ahead of me. I haven't done NetFlicks yet. I have heard of it at least - and that's something.

I did see Prairie Home Companion. This week I saw The Queen. Those are my last two movies and, as you might guess, I saw them in a theater where my ears were assaulted.

That bunny on my post was installed down by the river market this past summer. The city fathers and mothers are doing their best to make the place interesting and attractive to visitors from near and far.

Joy Des Jardins said...

Isn't Netflix the best? Only thing is..I've got two movies sitting here to watch....haven't gotten to them, which is rare for me. But...I love not having to go anywhere to get all the movies I want. I can hardly remember what life was like before Netflix.

dot said...

I tried Netflix for a while and really enjoyed it. It was nice to sit at home on my computer and pick what movies I wanted to watch. I think I quit because they wouldn't send the next movie quick enough.

Peggy said...

I like your movie choices. They're exactly what I like too. I wish my husband had our good taste. He's in the front room watching Land of the Dead. Naturally, I'm in here on the computer.

SongBird said...

I loved The Devil Wears Prada. Meryl Streep is terrific in it, but then she is always terrific in my opinion.

katy said...

not heard of netfix give us a clue then? we enjoy going to the movies, we dont get out much!

DirkStar said...

My wife and I love the NetFlix! We have the big screen television and it is like having a movie theater in our home.

Narnia, it is a geat movie.

Big Fish, great movie.

Merry Christmas!

Newt said...

We just joined up a few months ago. It is rather nice. But I think I will have to visit the local video place once in a while just to browse the shelves and make a list. My parents still rent from blockbuster so while I visited them we went and got movies and forgot how "zen" it can sometimes be to look through the shelves. Sort of like getting lost in Barnes and Noble.

Word Tosser said...

Also you missed the other reason why Netflix... you can pause and run to the bathroom..without missing a beat.
Homecoming with Anne Bancroft was a great movie too...Without a Paddle for a comedy is too funny.
Like your blog..see you have Maxine on yours too...