This may have been a mistake.
With the roll-out of the new Xbox 360 Dashboard I thought I'd give Netflix a try... the service is fairly new here in Canada and is streaming-only here so far, but the free month trial seemed like a good idea to see if they've ironed out the kinks and if it does serve well then spending $8/month to stream movies and commercial-free TV shows through my console might save me money on my DVD budget.
I suspect that I'm going to see a lot more bad movies in the future, as there's now no penalty to dissuade me from trying anything that pops up.... save, perhaps, for added expenses on brain bleach.
Case in point, last night I fired up the 2008 film, The Red Baron. Such wonderful production values, such great cinematography, such excellent stunt choreography, such meticulous attention to props and costumes and sets (and aircraft!)... in the service of such a dreary plot and such flat characters. I couldn't finish it, abandoning the film with another miserable half-hour left to run. I wanted to like the movie, but all the (privately raised!) money went into the pretty-pretty and no one spent more than a dime and a commissary lunch on the script. Two stars, for the pretty-pretty... one star if you're looking for a movie.
In place of that last half-hour I switched to the first episode of 1981's The Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy as an antidote... a perfect negation of The Red Baron in that the production values are shamed by junior high school projects on YouTube today but the script is pure gold and the characters leave an impression upon one's mind that lasts longer than their screen time. Much more fun to watch. Four stars overall, five if you're willing to overlook sets and effects that make vintage Dr. Who look like Star Wars.
-- Steve strongly suspects that he'll keep the subscription after the trial runs out, so long as Netflix Canada's catalog expands faster than he can watch.
I suspect that I'm going to see a lot more bad movies in the future, as there's now no penalty to dissuade me from trying anything that pops up.... save, perhaps, for added expenses on brain bleach.
Case in point, last night I fired up the 2008 film, The Red Baron. Such wonderful production values, such great cinematography, such excellent stunt choreography, such meticulous attention to props and costumes and sets (and aircraft!)... in the service of such a dreary plot and such flat characters. I couldn't finish it, abandoning the film with another miserable half-hour left to run. I wanted to like the movie, but all the (privately raised!) money went into the pretty-pretty and no one spent more than a dime and a commissary lunch on the script. Two stars, for the pretty-pretty... one star if you're looking for a movie.
In place of that last half-hour I switched to the first episode of 1981's The Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy as an antidote... a perfect negation of The Red Baron in that the production values are shamed by junior high school projects on YouTube today but the script is pure gold and the characters leave an impression upon one's mind that lasts longer than their screen time. Much more fun to watch. Four stars overall, five if you're willing to overlook sets and effects that make vintage Dr. Who look like Star Wars.
-- Steve strongly suspects that he'll keep the subscription after the trial runs out, so long as Netflix Canada's catalog expands faster than he can watch.