Recently, I got a Netflix subscription. Some people that I knew had it, and told me that you can stream movies online for $7.99 a month. It took me a while, probably longer than it should have, to see any real benefits in this. But that began to change recently. Figured eight dollars a month really was not all that much after all, and so, I went ahead.
There was another option, as there always is. I could dish out eight more dollars a month, and get DVD's sent to my home to be watched. Just like traditional rentals, only these get mailed to your home, and you have to return them by mail, as well. For whatever reason, this did not particularly appeal to me. It might, someday. But it did not then, and still does not. At least not yet. Perhaps once I have exhausted watching all that is available of real interest to me streaming movies and shows online via Netflix, then I will go ahead with the renting of DVD's option. That's not likely to happen for quite some time, though.
But to start with, I was going to stick with the online streaming.
The thing is, I was actually a bit underwhelmed by the movies that were available here, at least at first. There really are not nearly as many as I had hoped for.
I checked, perhaps naturally, for some personal favorites. Star Wars. Nope. Indiana Jones. Nope. I actually own these movies on DVD, but lent them and have not gotten them back, and it has not been the greater part of the year. There are another couple of DVD's that I seem to have misplaced, and have wanted to see the movies again. Specifically, Into the Wild, and Mothernight.
But none of these titles were available here. There was that feeling of high expectations dashed...at least initially.
That said, it must be remembered that it is all of eight bucks a month, and while some of the more obvious movies are not available, Netflix still has a lot to offer. You just have to give it a chance.
Perhaps, your expectations need to be revised a bit, if you enter into it the way that I did. The truth of the matter is that there are things to watch here. Good things. And, once you go ahead and explore a bit, you will probably find something to interest you. Probably, you'll find a few things.
There are movies available here, and a decent selection of them. I had perused briefly, the first day or two, and was surprised perhaps by the movies that were not on here. Admittedly, perhaps, I am a part of a spoiled society with a sense of entitlement. So, I expected the best range of movies that could be downloaded, and when that did not happen, my reaction was disappointment.
But if you explore a bit, and allow yourself the opportunity to peruse, there are some very interesting things here. Once my expectations were lowered (and they were, I'll be honest), I began to look at what is available. There were foreign movies that looked actually quite enticing, and I could watch them instantly, without further charges then the 8 bucks a month. There has always been a certain appeal for me in watching movies from other countries. They offer a bit of a glimpse into that society, as well as stories and movies that simply are not usually readily available to American audiences in particular. So, that appealed to me.
The movies are split up into different genres (of which, there are quite a few), and you can explore in that way. You can, of course, look up titles, and see if the movies that you are interested in are available. Some of the movies I looked up are, such as The Adventures of Tintin (a movie that I reviewed on this blog after having seen it in the movie theaters with my son). Give it half a chance, and I'll bet there is something that is of interest to you. Perhaps it is a movie or a television series that you wanted to see or were interested in, but never got around to it. There are television series that I wanted to watch more of, but was reluctant to dish out quite a chunk of change to buy, and it did not seem worth it to rent simply to obtain copies of them briefly.
I have a seven year old son, for example, and there are tons of programs that he would be interested in. It could serve as a tremendous benefit to him in that respect, hopefully. He has already put it to good use. I can see what my account history shows has been downloaded, and there are tons of Sponge Bob episodes, as well as Marvel cartoon episodes, especially Spiderman. So, it has been quite beneficial to him.
It has also been beneficial to me. There was one television series in particular that was of great interest to me. it was Mad Men. I will try to write a review on the first season very soon on this blog, but have to finish up the entire first season before I do this. Almost there, but not quite. I had seen much of the first season before, and was drawn to it. In fact, I had been flirting for quite some time with buying them online, because despite knowing a lot of people who owned television series on DVD (whole seasons and, in some cases, whole series), no one that I know of owned these.
These were available here, as were many other television programs that I may, or may not, give a chance to. Who knows? But there are some that I am sure I will be watching. Mad Men, of course, I am already watching. And although I did not find any of the Indiana Jones movies here, I did find a television series form the early nineties, The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, that I have wanted to see now for some years but, again, was reluctant to commit a lot of money to. Now, I can check these out on my own time, which I intend to do. Plus, there is another movie related to Indiana Jones, about the fan mania, as I understand it, which I hope to check out, as well.
If you judge it by what is not available, you will likely find enough reasons to convince yourself not to go ahead with it and try it. But if you keep an open mind, particularly if you have a wide array on interests and are willing to experiment, then this could prove to be a good deal.
So, all in all, I have been pretty satisfied. It is easy and convenient, and pretty cheap to boot. Don't expect the world of movies at your feet, or anything. But if you are willing to give it a chance, you very well might find that it seems worth it - especially if you enjoy certain television series. If you think you might be interested, I'll say this - that despite my initial skepticism, it definitely seems worthwhile now, and I am glad to have gotten an account!
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