Many ages ago, in my pre-Katrina life, I had embarked on an cinematic odyssey via Netflix, to see all the movies I’d always wanted to see but never had — in alphabetical order. Many people have thought this was an odd way to proceed, but it provides a nice mix. I’d get bored if I viewed my list in chronological order or by director or genre.
We were almost finished with the letter “O” when we evacuated. I left three Netflix DVDs downstairs, where they floated around in the floodwaters for a couple weeks. When Michael and I cleaned out the house, I found them and set them aside. Later, I cleaned them off and discovered they still played. Xy and I watched them and then returned them to Netflix and reactivated our account.
And so, at last, we have finished the letter O. I hereby recommence my microcapsule reviews. I’m sure Ebert and that other guy are trembling in their boots.
Top drawer:
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — 1975. Wow. Amazing. Can’t believe I never saw this.
- On the Waterfront — 1954. Yeah, I know about the McCarthy-era controversies, but that just adds a layer of interest to an already powerful film.
Good:
- The Odd Couple — 1968. Fun.
- Oldboy — 2003. Completely engrossing, although somewhat silly in the final analysis.
- Open Your Eyes — 1997. Vanilla Sky was a remake of this Spanish film.
- The Office: Series 2 — 2002. Even funnier than the first series.
Not bad:
- Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story — 2003. Oddly affecting documentary about the demo song scam biz.
- Once Upon a Time in America — 1984. Pretentious.
- The Office: Series 1 — 2001. Funny.
- The Office Special — 2004? Surprisingly sweet.
- Only Angels Have Wings — 1939. Noir lite. Somewhat silly but fun.
- One Two Three — 1961. I think we may have watched this Cold War comedy the night before we evacuated. My memories are vague. I think it was just OK.
Ugh:
- The Old Dark House — 1932. Boring.
Footnotes: These are the O films I’d wanted to see but never had; I’m not reviewing O Brother Where Art Thou? or The Original Kings of Comedy or The Others or Our Man Flint (ugh) because I’ve already seen ’em. Also, props to Netflix for the way they handled the disaster: They automatically suspended my account, and when I reactivated, they gave me a free month of service.
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I recently cancelled my Netflix subscription due to the slowness of mail in New Orleans. How has delivery speed been for you?
Amazing! We have considered joining netflix for a while. I find your anaysises quite fascinating B.
It’s nice how they suspended your account due to katrina, very good ethics on their part if I do say so myself.
Simon: I drop a disc in the mailbox in the morning and Netflix will receive it as early as the next morning. Another blogger noted this elsewhere (I’m drawing a blank now) and I’ve confirmed it myself.
LML, if you join Netflix, add me to your friends list. The same invitation applies to anyone else reading this!
“Once Upon a Time in America — 1984. Pretentious.”
How *dare* you, sir. Spatulas at dawn.
That’s a really interesting way to do it. I do Blockbuster.com, but only because I was drunk on the internet one night and saw a banner ad. I’ve been pretty pleased with them, mostly…but I have been getting their introductory rate for the last year. They’re raising rates next month. Getting 2 in-store coupons each month is nice, though. What really works out well is that my buddy Jake is on Netflix and I’m on Blockbuster, so between the two of us, we have quite a collection at our disposal.
So, I have to know…Do you ever cheat and go out of alphie order? I’d have to. Like in October, I only rent horror flicks.
What? Cheat on the alphabet? I could never do such a thing.