Netflix

We joined Netflix a few weeks ago. I'd been wanting to join since last year, but because I knew we'd be moving I decided to wait until we got settled at our new address.

I love the concept: select a bunch of DVDs from their vast library and add them to your queue, arrange the DVDs in the order in which you want to see them, change the order at any time, and Netflix will send you a DVD from your queue each time you send one back. They provide you with return envelopes with prepaid postage so you never have to worry about having stamps. There are no late fees; keep the DVD as long as you want. There are DVDs in every genre you can imagine and the library contains films you can't find at traditional video/DVD rental locations. And unlike Blockbuster, Netflix does not edit the content of the DVDs.

Netflix has a nifty feature that allows you to add 'friends' so you and your 'friends' can see the DVDs in each others' queues, read and post comments about DVDs you've already seen, and make recommendations to each other.

And speaking of recommendations, Netflix has a system by which you can rate films you've already seen, either in the cinema or via rental. Based on the films you rate highly Netflix will offer you recommendations of DVDs to add to your queue. "Since you said you really liked 'Now, Voyager', we recommend 'All About Eve'", since both of those films are classics and both starred Bette Davis. The recommendations will often recommend DVDs with the same actors, the same director, the same genre, and the same topic. The more films you rate, the better the recommendations can be.

Last night I watched 'The Night Listener', based on the book by the same title by my favorite writer Armistead Maupin. I really enjoyed the book; couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the movie too, but as I have found with other books made into movies, the movies just don't capture the depth and richness of the books. And sometimes they change big things for no apparent reason, like in 'The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'. But I still enjoyed 'The Night Listener' and recommend that anyone who sees it also be sure to watch the bonus features.

Last Sat we watched 'The Sandpiper', starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I really liked it a lot. I thought the concept of Elizabeth Taylor as a single mother who chose not to marry her baby's father to be quite controversial for 1964, the year it was made. The scenery is gorgeous too, filmed on location in Big Sur, CA. I like the fact that Netflix carries classics and older films that pre-date DVD. Most traditional video/DVD rental centers don't do that.

Drag Queen name of the day: Tara Nova