Netflix FAIL
Since I'm not going to be able to catch "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 70mm at the Seattle Cinerama, I thought that Friday night would be a good night to watch it on Netflix on a nice TV in a dark room. So I queued up the movie (which I'd never actually sat down and watched), started watching it and everything was going great. Monkeys found the monolith, humans found another one and got their minds blown, HAL started to go crazy and right at the Intermission... my stream died. Huh. Okay.
So late Saturday night I decide to finish what I'd started except the movie was mysteriously gone from Netflix streaming. I checked on all of my devices as well as on the computer, and it's gone. As far as I can gather, Friday night was the last night it would be available for streaming, and when midnight rolled around, they just fucking cut me off. I wouldn't have minded if they gave me some kind of warning when I queued it up. Something like "By the way, don't be surprised when the usher unceremoniously boots you out of the theater an hour and a half into the show". Of course, the stream had to die at the exact worst moment for that to happen. Thankfully, Wal-Mart is open late, so I drove out at midnight, picked up the Blu-Ray for a modest $10 and finished the show.
By the way, 2001 is a great movie. I also can see how some people might have trouble following it. Namely, people who aren't prepared for a movie to descend full on into poetry. What makes 2001 brilliant and timeless is that it isn't a movie you go to for "plot". There is one, but you could easily tell it in 45 minutes or less. 2001 is a metaphorical statement about man's journey into space, and what it might mean. It was created shortly before we actually landed on the moon, so it's a perfect snapshot of the optimism and wonder about the cosmos that many have lost. Mostly, you should come to it for the phenomenal imagery and sound on display, letting the mood and experience carry you, and provoke those things called "ideas" that some movies put in our heads.
The film seems to examine the idea that if we were to encounter intelligent life, we might be unable to even comprehend what it actually is, let alone relate to it. It also shows our sheer wonderment at being able to fly among the vastness of space, and the elegance and beauty of man's scientific marvels. Finally, there's the chance that truly understanding the scope of the universe and our place in it might lead to a "rebirth" of man, the next step in our mental evolution. Some might call it pretentious or boring. I call it an awesome time at the movies.
So late Saturday night I decide to finish what I'd started except the movie was mysteriously gone from Netflix streaming. I checked on all of my devices as well as on the computer, and it's gone. As far as I can gather, Friday night was the last night it would be available for streaming, and when midnight rolled around, they just fucking cut me off. I wouldn't have minded if they gave me some kind of warning when I queued it up. Something like "By the way, don't be surprised when the usher unceremoniously boots you out of the theater an hour and a half into the show". Of course, the stream had to die at the exact worst moment for that to happen. Thankfully, Wal-Mart is open late, so I drove out at midnight, picked up the Blu-Ray for a modest $10 and finished the show.
By the way, 2001 is a great movie. I also can see how some people might have trouble following it. Namely, people who aren't prepared for a movie to descend full on into poetry. What makes 2001 brilliant and timeless is that it isn't a movie you go to for "plot". There is one, but you could easily tell it in 45 minutes or less. 2001 is a metaphorical statement about man's journey into space, and what it might mean. It was created shortly before we actually landed on the moon, so it's a perfect snapshot of the optimism and wonder about the cosmos that many have lost. Mostly, you should come to it for the phenomenal imagery and sound on display, letting the mood and experience carry you, and provoke those things called "ideas" that some movies put in our heads.
The film seems to examine the idea that if we were to encounter intelligent life, we might be unable to even comprehend what it actually is, let alone relate to it. It also shows our sheer wonderment at being able to fly among the vastness of space, and the elegance and beauty of man's scientific marvels. Finally, there's the chance that truly understanding the scope of the universe and our place in it might lead to a "rebirth" of man, the next step in our mental evolution. Some might call it pretentious or boring. I call it an awesome time at the movies.