Ramsayings

Yesterday I downgraded our Netflix account from three DVDs at a time to two. Have I gotten so much as an email asking me why? Nope! Netflix may be the most successful company I use that doesn’t seem to care about catering to their subscriber base. What makes me say that? Since I signed up, I can’t think of a single feature they’ve managed to improve. You might say, “But they rolled out streaming for your precious Xbox,” but even that came with its own set of problems. Netflix is absolutely nowhere when it comes to solving the issues that would make their service better without the costly expense of new content.

Here’s what I’d like them to fix:

• Shared queues. This is a great feature that was spared the chopping block in the past year. It’s the thing that ensures that Helen and I share our account and that everyone gets their picks. Historically, Helen’s gotten two discs and I got one; she’d burn through seasons of TV while I slogged through art house flicks. It’s pretty great, right? It’d be even better if Netflix could tell us which titles were on streaming for both queues, instead of just selecting my queue and leaving it at that.
• New releases. I get it. This is an embarrassment that Netflix wants you to forget by bringing you more streaming content. I’m not convinced. Even if we can’t have new releases for 28 days plus however long it takes to get them to us, could we at least see what new stuff is out there, even if it’s just to pointlessly update our queue. Is that so much to ask?
• Social features. These were horrible when they had them, but they might’ve improved them rather than wiping them out outright. I know social features aren’t easy to do. It’s hard to know what people want. But I can’t think of any other online movie service that people love more than Netflix. I’m guessing the community could’ve made helpful suggestions. It wouldn’t have had to involve much work probably. At this point they could probably get away with some degree of Facebook integration and let that platform do the heavy lifting.

Now, I’m thrilled that they’re leveraging their streaming content to the max. Putting that stuff on any screen is great. I’ve heard plenty of people say there’s nothing good in the streaming library, but that’s just because they’re not really into the art house content. I love it! I can’t wait until I can watch an episode of 30 Rock on my iPhone as I ride the train. I just think that these tweaks will go a long way to improving the service for the long haul.

So, go ahead and surprise me, Netflix!

Very happy to finally see Inception, my first movie in the theater since Charlie was born. Far cry from the last movie I saw in the theater, which was Adventureland, if memory serves.

Great, big movie. It’s the sort of stuff that makes you want to shake anyone who tells you art should conform to the new financial realities brought to us by piracy. I love small movies, but if everything were shot on handhelds I think film art would just die altogether. What would be left to do? If the world were only filled with amateur Cassavetes, we’d be a pretty dour bunch, wouldn’t we? I mean, is there even a point to getting into the thought puzzle at the core (?) of the film? I feel like I’m still absorbing the movie.

Did anyone see The Prestige, Nolan’s stopover flick between Batman Returns and The Dark Knight? Guess not, because if they had I think more people would think of him as the M. Knight Shymalan you don’t laugh at…yet.

Speaking of Shymalan, the crowd burst into laughter once his name was mentioned in the trailer for Devil. Dude’s not hitting his way out of this slump, unless he intended to be the new Ed Wood.

Great little post over at Pullquote about how to rationalize adding even more Criterion Collection titles to your personal DVD library. Trust me, I feel this guy’s pain. When I was really a movie hound, especially when I started taking advantage of Deep Discount’s massive biannual sales, I would agonize over which titles to buy. To wit, I still haven’t purchased a copy of Resnais’ Hiroshima Mon Amour because I felt it was too expensive for one disc AND that it would surely go out of print when a new print was invariably discovered. This is the exquisite pain that only truly insane observers of the DVD remaster market can feel.

Conversely, how stupid do I feel for having ever bought Equinox, which I watched exactly one time? I think I’d hasten to add a follow-up to Pullquote’s post: how many DVDs do you own that sit on a shelf or in a drawer that are untouched? I confess to more than my fair share of these.

I feel sheepish even taking part in conversations like this now. I used to eagerly await regular emails from Criterion about their latest titles and then make notes in priority order about which I’d buy when they went on sale. Now that I’m less bullish on buying any sort of physical media, they’re hardly a blip on my radar. I will admit that I nearly jumped for joy when I read that they were releasing Red Desert, which is possibly my favorite Antonioni movie, even though I always say it’s L’Avventura.

Wondered if it was possible for anyone to actually make a film that captures the soul-crushing hopelessness of war without delivering a hamfisted message that turns people off. The Hurt Locker did that for me. Granted, it hasn’t changed the fact that we’re still heavily engaged in both Iraq and Afghanistan, despite electing a President who promised to change all that.

Work harder, Obama.

Watched An Education recently. Wondered what Band of Outsiders would’ve been like with a happy ending.