the low-down on the up-sides ~

okay, for all of you who are waiting on pins and needles with regard to the Netflix vs. Blockbuster comparison:

Online Queue/Interface ~ Netflix has the nicer, more convenient online queue and interface. you can really customize your recommendations and easily get it not to show you junk you don't wanna see. The Blockbuster site is a bit cumbersome, not nearly as "fun".

Selection ~ Netflix and Blockbluster have equal selection, but Netflix seems to have more copies available. Blockbuster seems to indicate more "wait" times on more movies. this doesn't mean the turnaround is delayed, but it does mean that you don't always get what's on your top priority slot. you just get what's available next.

Turnaround ~ Netflix throttles. Dunno about Blockbuster at this point, but i was told i wouldn't get my first movie until today and i actually got it yesterday, so that's a good sign.

Other ~ Blockbuster offers two free in-store rentals alongside its courier service.

my final judgment is that which store you go with really depends on what kind of renter you are. if you rent a ton of movies and aren't too discriminating and take a few days to watch them, then Netflix is prolly your deal. i've found (aside from the throttling) that Netflix has been a good service, i never had problems with scratched disks, etc. i would even go so far as to describe myself as a happy customer.

so why am i canceling and switching to Blockbuster?

overall cost/time effectiveness. Blockbuster isn't cheaper, but the in-store rentals make a huge difference for me for two reasons:

1. on more than one occasion, both my Netflix rentals come before the weekend, i return them, then have nothing to watch on sunday. with an in-store coupon from blockbuster, if i'm desperate, i can run out and pick something up.

2. i was on the $14.99 plan with Netflix to keep the movies circulating and make sure it was worth the money. with the throttling, it doesn't come out as cheap as i'd like. i can get the $9.99 plan at Blockbuster, get even a minimum of a movie a week (though i could get up to 8 a month depending on the turnaround) and my two freebie in-stores and i feel like even the minimun 6 movies is worth the price. Netflix, however, with throttling, could amount to as few as 8 movies a month (for $14.99+tax). Blockbuster is clearly the better deal $-wise.

i do want to emphasize, however, that even 8 movies a month for $16 (the $14.99+tax) is a great deal ($2 a movie, delivered!). so even though Blockbuster costs less per movie (about $1.70), to me the price isn't so much of what makes the difference as the flexibility of going to the store if i feel like it a couple of weeks a month. especially if there are "wait" times on a recent release which will be guaranteed in stock in the store. additionally, if there is an "epic" i want to watch, i can rent it and get the whole film rather than two separate disks that won't be shipped together (a major concern for me).

i really like Netflix (really like the website too!) and would stay with them, but based on my personal viewing habits and my need for flexibility, i think Blockbuster will just be better for me. i shave $5 off my rental bill and get to control my viewing habits more. we'll see how the customer service is, etc. if it sux, like i said before, i might just give up the whole thing.

: D

tim boredom and the art of old hat ~

it's no secret that i don't like tim burton's work. Edward Scissorhands will always remain the one film of his that i can get behind because in its time it was original and so freakishly "out" there that it had a sort of charm. And the character was charming himself (charmingly played by mr. depp), and the story was a nice re-envisioning of the frankenstein myth.

but burton's never done anything really worth much since. and i've watched nearly all of his films just to avoid being an: "i-hate-that-and-won't-watch-it-snob". throughout his career i've found myself offended (Ed Wood is a truly insulting movie, i think), bored (pretty much take your pick, they all leave me cold), or just flabbergasted and exasperated (Legend of Sleepy Hollow: great special effects, horrendous casting and the worst screenplay based on the ol' standby i have ever seen ~ yuck!)

nevertheless, i finally got around to seeing Corpse Bride, another mind-boggling foray into that murky world between "what the hell?" and "who cares?"

The premise is interesting, but the plot devolves into a facile good vs. bad thing, the characters are largely wooden and uninteresting (the bride is about the most lively thing on there), the songs are boring, the overall effect of the design is mostly gloomy and dull.

on the plus side, i appreciate that this was all shot in stop-motion, an art form i love and much much much prefer over computer-generated animation. but it still hangs like old moss, the story is buried under a lot of antics that are merely distractionary, and most of the characters you just want to go away the minute they appear on the screen (especially the maggot homage to peter lorré ~ barfola). somehow, in spite of superb art direction and lovely designs, this film is just flat flat flat.

i'd say more, but even though i just finished watching it, i've already forgotten most of it. burton's world and rawling's world are both of similar ilk to me: highly derivative, dependent on a set of cultural assumptions, and so over-stylized that nothing grounds you in a way that makes you care about what's going on.

so there you have it. another thumbs-down from me for burton.



this piano-playing scene was the
only moment in the film i really liked
though overall, i guess i can say the movie
at least didn't make me wish i were dead