Here, kid. Have the keys to the candy shop.

[slipjig3]

Well, we've officially sold our souls. We got a Netflix account.

It started with simple number-crunching, and the realization that the cost of renting about four movies a month from the local joint + late fees (which we can't seem to manage to avoid) = more than a Netflix account. So we took our research to the website, and did a little spot-check of what titles are available for rental. We started with an arbitrary not-necessarily-in-stock back-catalog title—I think it was Real Genius—which they had. We then tried for a non-mainstream-controversial-foreign-film title, Anatomy of Hell. They had it.

"Okay," said rafaela, "but let's try..." as she typed in 36 Fillette. They had it. (No, I don't know why we were harping on the Catherine Breillat again. Probably because she was still stuck in our collective craw from last week.)

By that point, it had turned into a perverse game of Stump the Band. I leapt in with the one Breillat title they wouldn't have, A Real Young Girl. The one that France banned for 25 years. The one that's so squicky that most rental places won't even touch the thing. The one that's so squicky that we won't even touch the thing. They had it. Uncut version. Our eyebrows went up.

But there was one last test Netflix had to pass: Did they have the off-the-beaten-path stuff that we actually want to watch? Anna grabbed the keyboard and went for Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue, which was not only made for TV, imported and, God forbid, actually thought-provoking, but a three-disc set to boot.

Ding. Yep, we're in. At least for the free trial, anyway.

So, it looks like the first few titles in our queue are Vanya on 42nd Street for me, and a documentary on Bill Hicks for Anna, which should be arriving very shortly. Coming up, we have everything from The Times of Harvey Milk to Gymkata (shut up) to Shortbus to Metropolitan to Head, starring the Monkees. (Try and recommend something based on that queue, NetflixBot!) Meanwhile, my disappointment in not finding Paperhouse or Prospero's Books is tempered by the amazement at the presence of The Escape Artist and Allegro Non Troppo, the latter of which Anna was good enough to find for me. She knows me so well.

Amazingly, our queue still has slots to fill. So in that capacity:

[Poll #949224]

On a side note: Why don't I have a movie icon?

Comments

[icarusfallen8.livejournal.com]

ah - to have room in the queue

[icarusfallen8.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah - Tideland

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Just rented it! Have only seen part of it, but am enjoying it so far. I can't believe the critics have trashed it as badly as they have.

[daev.livejournal.com]

Recommending you a movie you haven't seen is a lot harder than making you a mix disc! How about "Shaun of the Dead"?

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Awesome movie, that. *grin*

Oh, and about The Lathe of Heaven:
1) Thank you for reminding me about it; I haven't seen it since high school.
2) Stump Netflix, my heinie: they have it. Will you be signing up now?

[daev.livejournal.com]

2) Stump Netflix, my heinie: they have it. Will you be signing up now?

I have That's Rentertainment. This makes the decision a little more complicated. It would have made Netflix irrelevant before Rentertainment jettisoned their two decades of accumulated obscure VHS films, but now it just makes it a tough call: how much do I really need to see La Vallée or Head? Hmmm...

In order that this reply not consist entirely of me thinking to myself out loud: Have you seen Highway 61? It's a great Canadian road movie, full of Midwestern Weirdness.

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

You should post your Netflix Friend Code so we can friend you ;)

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I will soonly! Thanks for the tip; we're still finding our way around at this point.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

I am not so good with the recommending of movies--I am generally preoccupied *and* introverted, therefore, even when I hear of movies, I generally forget. Bad me.

If for some reason, after meeting me in person once, you have some strong intuition that there are must-sees for me, I'd love to know. The only thing coming into my brain right now are the words "tell him you love everything by Miyazaki", particularly Spirited Away.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... *ponders* Let me get back to you on that. Oh, wait: have you seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind yet?

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. Good movie:)

[captain18.livejournal.com]

I don't have a recommendation off the top of my head, but here's my Netflix friend code if you'd like.