I admit, I am a little decision-impaired. The day last week when I switched to digital cable, and the evil cable company gave me every channel free for a month, I flipped through all 200 of them until I became paralysed with indecision, curled up in the fetal position, and watched some Six Feet Under ... on DVD.
I'm not likely to keep the movie channels, which seem to play a steady stream of films I've already seen or don't want to see, but I'm already in love with the Eastern feeds of American networks, in addition to the usual Pacific time zone stations. No more fighting against the weird inertia that causes me to rarely bother to record anything, when I have two chances to see the same show, and can spread out the Tuesday at 9 p.m. riches.
I'm also grateful for Zip.ca, the Canadian equivalent of Netflix. I've had customer service issues with them, but I'm thankful for a company that prevents me from roaming the aisles of the video stores as if the choice between The Forty Year Old Virgin versus The Constant Gardener will affect the fate of the free world. I tell them all the movies in their library I'd like to see, and they tell me when I get to see them by doling them out a few at a time in random order. I don't pay extra for those “what the hell” choices, and can keep them as long as I like – a perfect feature to catch up on TV shows I've missed, too (Lost - yes, I know, I'm the one person who hasn't seen it) or simply miss (Ally McBeal – yes, I know, but I liked it).
But I don't just love movies. I love the experience of movie going. Unlike some of my friends, who figure out what percentage of their mortgage payment each ticket would pay for and weigh the relative merits of Narnia versus overpriced condo, I'll see almost anything in the theatre. Almost. If a friend wants to see Hostel, she's on her own – I don't do well with horror or gore – but Memoirs of a Geisha? Eh, why not. I loved the book, have heard bad things about the movie, but it might surprise me. And in any case, the planet-sized Junior Mints and Coke are a special treat and always worth the price of admission. Literally.
Article comments
1 - Nik
I like metacritic a lot, rotten tomatoes is also good but a little too heavy on ads for me (and mostly just sticks to movies).
2 - Eloi Pfeiffer
Metacritic is the sh.t! Love the new TV section. Never seen anything like it.