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Which Netflix Discs Have Gathered The Most Dust On Your Shelf?

By Joanna Robinson | Posted Under Comment Diversions | Comments (80)

cityofgod.jpeg

Netflix has just announced that the they will no longer be the most unbelievably cheap deal this side of Del Taco Tuesdays. (You can really taste the college!) U.S. subscribers, who have previously been able to have one disc mailed to their house and unlimited streaming for the low low price of $9.99, will see a 60% increase in their monthly bill. The new pricing system will divide DVD and streaming subscriptions into different categories. The breakdown (for the cheapest one disc option) will be $7.99 per month for unlimited streaming and $7.99 for the DVD. So instead of paying $9.99 for both, you’d now pay $15.98. The price change will go into effect immediately for new subscribers and “on or after September 1, 2011,” for existing members.

You can read the full announcement on the Netflix blog.

This raises (not begs, not pleads) the question, Netflix users: What will you do? Given the option of no longer getting DVDs in the mail at all, will you switch over to the “streaming only” subscription? You compromise selection, yes, but I know many Netflix users who have abandoned the disc portion altogether. If it’s not on Instant Watch, they’re not going to watch it. Never mind that Netflix has made the mailing process as easy as they possibly could short of hiring sexy lads and lasses to come to your house and do the opening, watching, re-enclosing, sealing and mailing for you. (Net-tricks? Can we make that happen?)

I’ll admit that ever since Instant Watch has become an option I’ve found myself watching a lot more crap than I used to. They’re just there, like a J. Lo. movie on TNT’s Hangover Sunday Mornings. I’ve watched Nicholas Sparks weepers and Kristen Bell romcoms because, well, they were there. Click. Done. These are movies I would never allow myself to put in my Disc Queue. I know, I know, it sounds irredeemably snobby, but my Disc Queue has always been brimming with artsy, foreign and dramatic films that I missed in the theaters. (I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing them, Bob.) Movies that I should watch. Movies that I’m sure are good. Movies, in short, that sit on top of my DVD player and judge me for watching Fired Up! instead. They’re often, like, really tragic and I’m never in the mood, alright? Then after months and months I finally watch them and, yeah, damnit, they’re absolute masterpieces, okay? So here are the four discs that have collected the most dust on my shelf (and a bonus title from Dustin).

1) The Lives of Others (2006): This genius German film about a Stasi agent in East Germany in 1984 looked so very bleak and drab that I didn’t watch it until I was on a flight from London. That’s right, they had to strap me down to get me to finally watch it. And it was amaaaazingly good.

2) The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (2007): It’s French. He’s paralyzed. It’s really good but it took me three months to watch it.

3) City of God (2002): Attractive young Brazilian kids live out a violent and tragic existence. I had this one for over a year before finally watching it.

4) The Sea Inside (2004): Spanish. I love Javier Bardem. I love the director Alejandro Amenábar. The film won the Academy Award for best Foreign Film. Bardem is said to be a revelation. Returned, unwatched.

5) The Boys are Back (2009): “I’ve had the disc since I rejoined Netflix about a year ago. It just sits and stares at me with Clive Owen’s sad, soulful eyes. Watch me! Watch me! I just switched to streaming only, and I have 7 days to return it before they charge me. I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll end up owning my Netflix copy.”—DR

Your turn. Will you choose to stream only? Which disc have you had the longest?

Joanna Robinson knows not all of you have Netflix. But most of you do, right? She guesses techincally the disc she’s had the longest is Das Boot because she still has it and lied to Netflix about losing it.









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Comments

Netflix mails discs to you?

I haven't used the mail service portion in so long, I'll probably cancel it and go for the streaming only option.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 12, 2011 4:05 PM

I'll be dumping my disk option when this comes to pass. I'll use Redbox for any MUST SEE new releases. The ones I sat on forever are usually foreign movies that I finally mailed back unseen because I was sick of holding on to them. this was back in the 3 Disc At A Time era. Lately, I had Black Swan for 2 months. I just could never find a time it was something I wanted to see. When I finally did I liked it, but I wasn't head over heels for it. I've had "The Fighter" for about 3 weeks now. Instead of watching it we watched "Tremors 2: Aftershocks" last night.

I am a weak man.

Posted by: TylerDFC at July 12, 2011 4:07 PM

Some crappy Kurasawa movie. One of the ones that supposedly inspired "Star Wars," but was so boring I fell asleep every time I tried to watch it. Fuck you, Kurasawa. Overrated tripe.

Posted by: Jarsh at July 12, 2011 4:08 PM

I don't own the right equipment to stream, except to my computer, and I refuse to watch a full length movie on that. I've only streamed "Let the Right One In" because the online subtitles were better than the DVD ones.

If I get a disk in the mail and don't watch it right away (within a week) then I mail it back and put it back on my list for later. Why keep it hanging around when there's other stuff on my list that I'm in the mood for? One of the great things I love about Netflix is that I can pop a disk in and watch a couple minutes and if I decide, "Nah!" it goes back right away and it doesn't cost me any extra. With streaming, I can do that for the online choices, but I tend to watch a lot of stuff that isn't online yet.

Posted by: BWeaves at July 12, 2011 4:08 PM

Requiem for a Dream - I've beeen given to understand that I am grateful.

I'm positive we'll keep both. It's not that much more than we pay now and streaming is totally worth it. We did give up HBO et al some time ago and have never looked back.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 12, 2011 4:08 PM

Peacock. I have had that sucker sitting on my dresser since March. I want to see it. I do. But it hasn't happened yet, and I am beginning to think that it never will. Eventually I'll just get sick of it sitting there judging me, and I'll send it back home, unwatched and disappointed.

Posted by: elleyezee at July 12, 2011 4:10 PM

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (2007): It’s French. He’s paralyzed. It’s really good but it took me three months to watch it.

Uggh, I tried to watch that, but all that wobbly first person stuff, it made me nauseous, I had give up after less than ten minutes.

As for DVDs I've got and haven't seen, shamefully, the boxset of all Ealing Alec Guinness Films, whenever I remember about them, I'm just not in quite the right mood.

Posted by: cockroach at July 12, 2011 4:12 PM

Speaking of which, I should probably return Taken seeing as I've had it for over a year.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 12, 2011 4:12 PM

Socrates_Johnson
Speaking of which, I should probably return Taken seeing as I've had it for over a year.

Life imitating movie title?

Posted by: cockroach at July 12, 2011 4:15 PM

We blasted through The Fighter the other night. Well, Mr. Julien started watching, I fell asleep and he blasted through the second half. He was very disparaging about it: formulaic, clearly a vanity project, not deserving of the hype, not enough story. He added that even given criticism like that, smaller movies such as this one can turn on one or two incredible scenes and it didn't even have those, not even for the actors who won awards for it. I was the lucky one for falling asleep.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 12, 2011 4:15 PM

How'd you know I haven't returned it because I was too busy rescuing my daughter from terrorists? (The bad guys are terrorists right? I haven't see the movie.)

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at July 12, 2011 4:17 PM

I will probably downgrade to 1 DVD and streaming.

I have had both Easy A and Date Night on my shelf since January. Last year, I had The Hurt Locker on the shelf for about seven to eight months. I suck at watching the DVDs.

Posted by: Forbiddendonut at July 12, 2011 4:17 PM

Oh lord, they're gonna make me choose?!?* I use the discs for the things not available on Instant that I need to see RIGHT NOW, like season 6 of Weeds so I can start on season 7 as it airs.

I believe we kept Pan's Labyrinth for almost a month before I finally admitted I was never going to watch it. I was never in the right mood for it.

*Yes, I know, I can pay for both, but I'm cheap.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 12, 2011 4:20 PM

I'll say this about Bale in The Fighter (and I am not one of his supporters. . .at all), he became that other person SO entirely I wouldn't begrudge him any awards. It was staggering.

Posted by: coveredinbees at July 12, 2011 4:20 PM

I've had Bright Star for well over a year. I still haven't managed to watch it, but if I ever locate it I'm pretty certain I still won't.

Thanks for making me aware of the changes. From this day on, I vow to never lose an unwatched DVD again.

Posted by: beet salad at July 12, 2011 4:21 PM

Oh, beet salad, PaddyDog and I might need to come to your house and pry your eyes open Clockwork Orange-style while we make you watch Bright Star. . .if you ever find it.

Posted by: coveredinbees at July 12, 2011 4:24 PM

The Wire, Season 1, Disc 3.

We watched the previous two. It was...OK. I wasn't even going to bother with the third, but somehow I forgot to rearrange my queue and it got sent to us, and it laid there next to the TV for about 2 months before I finally remembered that I wanted to watch My Neighbor Totoro and I sent it back, unwatched. I just didn't care.

Maybe I would've liked it more if I could've watched it all in one go, but getting TV shows over the mail is a pain in the ass.

We also had Black Swan for about 4 weeks before I watched it, and I barely managed to finish it.

So, Netflix. They better add a LOT more content to Instant, including new releases faster, because there's no way in hell I'm paying for both services separately.

Posted by: Figgy at July 12, 2011 4:25 PM

What in the whoosefypoof is Bright Star?

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 12, 2011 4:26 PM

Shoot. I had been meaning to sign up but hadn't gotten around to it.

Hrmph. I'll probably do streaming only. Someday. When we get around to it. Probably about when the newest "have movies beamed directly onto the inside of your eyelids" technology is perfected... We're kind of late adopters on these sorts of things.

Posted by: SeaKat at July 12, 2011 4:28 PM

Easiest choice in the world - dump streaming. Less than 20% of my DVD queue is available in Instant, but 100% of my Instant queue is available in DVD. I won't switch until it's over 75% at least. I'll check back in a year and see if they've caught up.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at July 12, 2011 4:29 PM

@elleyezee - Peacock was great! I loved it. I wasn't a fan of Cillian Murphy til I saw that movie and now LOVE! HIM!

I think I've had Blue Valentine for about a month...I'm sure it's good, but I just don't feel like being depressed.

I just discovered Downton Abbey on Instant - I certainly can't give it up til I've seen them all.

Posted by: ChickaBoom! at July 12, 2011 4:30 PM

I had Irreversible for like 4 months before I gathered enough strength to watch it. I just knew it was a horribly violent rape movie and it would take a lot to get through it. I was correct. But it has my French husband in it, so, it had to be done.

Posted by: Dorothy Snarker at July 12, 2011 4:30 PM

Bright Star is Jane Campion's gorgeous biopic about John Keats. It's like black tar heroin for liberal arts majors.

Posted by: coveredinbees at July 12, 2011 4:31 PM

Yes, Irreversible. YES. That took me months to watch.

Posted by: Forever Jung at July 12, 2011 4:33 PM

I had Strangers on a Train for almost a year. It was awesome after I finally sat down to watch it. My second worse was The Social Network for about 6 weeks, it's was meh.

And WTF, how will I choose?! :(

Posted by: Laura at July 12, 2011 4:33 PM

I've had Rabbit Hole for months. I've just not had any time when I thought to myself, "I really need to watch something depressing tonight." I've had Winter's Bone almost as long. The Instant Watch selections are too tempting for this cheesy movie-loving gal. I mean, am I really expected to watch something culturally fulfilling when UHF is just a click away? That being said, discs are in the mail by the end of the week and I'll just roll with the streaming option - Netflix is getting too rich for my blood!

Posted by: SugarKane at July 12, 2011 4:36 PM

This thread is replete with nauseating, anti-elitist sentiment.

Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress tripe!?! Seriously!?!

Watching shitty movies just because they are available and they let you play with your little digital toy?

Excuse me while I vomit.

Posted by: John Zeller at July 12, 2011 4:36 PM

Most recently it was I Love You Phillip Morris.


Also, I get irrationally angry when I sit on a movie for a month or so, finally watch it or return it, and then it goes on Instant Watch a couple weeks later. That has happened several times. Somehow, I feel worse about the wasted time and potential when said film is flaunting its idleness on the Instant Watch, mocking me and my poor decision making.

Posted by: Yossarian at July 12, 2011 4:39 PM

I too have had Blue Valentine for over a month. I am currently quite in a happy mood and I don't feel like watching that one.

Posted by: Nimue at July 12, 2011 4:39 PM

The number of movies available on streaming is SO MUCH smaller than the movies available on disc... ugh, Netflix, if you want to really push the streaming thing so hard, make MORE FUCKING MOVIES available on it.

Grrrrr.

Posted by: MM at July 12, 2011 4:40 PM

I just this morning mailed a disc back (in my own envelope because I couldn't find the Netflix one). I had it since April. As bad as I am about watching and/or returning the discs, There's so much that's not available on instant. I might just do the disc and get rid of instant since Amazon instant usually has the movies that Netflix doesn't (though for a higher price.)

Who am I kidding? I'll probably pay the extra cost to have both just in case PLUS the Amazon prices and I'll waste my cash on holding onto mailed movies too long.

Posted by: Paultera at July 12, 2011 4:41 PM

I dunno, John Zeller, I think the point we're all making here is that good, artistic films are judgmental bitches.

The latest Katherine Heigl crap coos to us, "Come here, lay down with me, your wife don't understand you, but I do."

Posted by: Forever Jung at July 12, 2011 4:45 PM

I do love black tar heroin...

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at July 12, 2011 4:46 PM

Alice in Chains unplugged. 15 months.

I finally returned it two weeks ago so I could watch the 80's TV masterpiece, Dance 'til Dawn.

Posted by: anon33 at July 12, 2011 4:50 PM

Went to Netflix and searched for actress "Mae Murray". Nothing. So, Netflix won't be getting my business yet.

Posted by: Pat C. at July 12, 2011 5:01 PM

I have nothing to add except I am glad you got around to watching and appreciating The Lives of Others. It is a very personal movie for me. Very deeply affecting and yeah, it sounds bleak and grey and Berlin-Wall-y and mopey but man, what a payoff.

Wait -- I have something to add: I hate Netflix. I told the lady on the phone off in terms I am absolutely ashamed I used. But I'm not sorry and I'll never go back. I have no streaming and I rent DVDs from the library or Blockbuster down the street. I hope Netflix falls into a steaming fetid pit of its own customer service.

Posted by: klingonfree at July 12, 2011 5:02 PM

My first thought was, "I can't give up either option. I need both Goddammit!"

Then I went to my Netflix account and discovered that the unwatched DVD of "The Station Agent" sitting next to my telephone in the living room has been there since 8/26/10. Almost a full year!

Oh my God.

I looked at my "Instant Watching Activity" and saw 50 (Fifty!!!) items watched since 4/4/11. (Do they just show you your last 50?) Doctor Who, Dexter, Louis CK, Sherlock, Sports Night, Iron Man 2, Kick Ass, Slings and Arrows, South Park, and many more that I wouldn't ever admit to.

I guess the choice isn't so hard after all...

Posted by: jollies at July 12, 2011 5:09 PM

The Fighter. Just cannot get my better half interested in watching it. The skinny Bale freaks her out.

Posted by: James S at July 12, 2011 5:14 PM

This raises (not begs, not pleads) the question

Fuck, that felt good.

Posted by: pissant at July 12, 2011 5:15 PM

As a public service announcement, I want to let you know that Pajiba's own Seth Freilich is in the lead. He's had a disc for five years. Top that if you dare, dear readers.

Posted by: Joanna Robinson at July 12, 2011 5:20 PM

I'm torn. I love the streaming stuff. It's great. But it's like eating McDonalds for dinner every night and then wondering why you're still hungry. It doesn't offer anything of substance. Did I get to watch all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without so much as opening my DVD player? Sure did, and it was fucking awesome. Could the same thing be said of Californication? No sir. It could not.

Here's the thing; I can get new releases anywhere. I can go down to the red-box and grab The Fighter, True Grit, and The Social Network right now if I want to. Burn them all in two hours, return them the next morning and then watch them whenever the mood strikes me. I don't use Netflix for new releases. I use it for those obscure, difficult to find gems like "Hidden Fortress" (the "crappy" Kurosawa film you were trying to place earlier, you philistine). Things which aren't on streaming.

Lets say you wanted to watch The Muppet Movie. You know there making a new one, and it stands to reason that the originals would be in somewhat higher demand than they would have been otherwise. So you pop onto Netflix to check it out. But you can't check it out. You have to put it to the top of your queue, then wait several days for it to arrive in the mail, and then check it out. Would it be fucking awesome if it were on streaming? You know it would. But it's not.

But hey, here's Tremors 2 as a consolation.

Here's the deal. The streaming has had movies that I've wanted to watch. They had "High Kick Girl" up on streaming for a while and then took it down before I had a chance to actually watch it. And why, exactly? Presumably to make room for "Paul Blart Mall Cop" or the newest Adam Sandler dreck. The streaming is just too eratic and too limited to be a real option. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for having one option over another. I know the argument to the contrary. Superasente, people must not be watching "High Kick Girl." Okay, I'll buy that. But I doubt people are lining up to watch "Gosford Park" either and that's available on instant-watch.

When the streaming is as comprehensive as their DVD selection, I'll make the exclusive switch. But not until then. If they want to take my DVDs from me they'll have to pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

Posted by: superasente at July 12, 2011 5:21 PM

They're. Up there. Should be "they're."

And other corrections.

Posted by: superasente at July 12, 2011 5:25 PM

I've had a netflix account, allowing me 1 dvd out at a time, for 3 years and I've only exchanged 11 discs. So, I'm pretty bad with the whole disc thing altogether.

Posted by: Cree83 at July 12, 2011 5:26 PM

I actually bought City of God over a year ago and have yet to watch it, even knowing how big of a travesty that is.

Posted by: DangadaDang at July 12, 2011 5:30 PM

Whew, you guys just made my day! I felt terrible after returning 127 Hours yesterday, unwatched, after it sat around for 2 and a half months. Yay, I'm not a total Netflix degenerate!

Posted by: baboocole at July 12, 2011 5:31 PM

Had The Kids are Alright for four months, my record. HATED IT. Annette Bening, my irrational distaste for you remains, despite you being by far the best thing about this movie. It's hard enough to believe a lesbian couple would enjoy gay male porn, but then for one of them to jump in the sack with the first guy to make a pass at her? If that was a spoiler for you, you should thank me now.

Got a wireless access point last month and have been devouring Party Down on streaming. Next up Dexter. YAY. I'll probably keep the DVD delivery because Redbox selection suxxx.

Posted by: dagnabbit at July 12, 2011 5:40 PM

Existing customer for years. My computer sucks and really old. So I'll be
switching to the dvd only plan. When I do the math though and how long
the mail it / get it turnaround *takes*, RedB*x is cheaper.

What sat on the desk for weeks was It Might Get Loud and In Bruges.
And btw, Blue Valentine was such a let down. Not feelings wise, movie
making craft wise. snore

Posted by: Ms MoMo at July 12, 2011 5:44 PM

This is sad, because I foresee the net effect of this is going to be that fewer of those quality indie and foreign films that are only on disc are going to be seen at all. And if people don't see them, that makes it tougher for more of them to get made.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at July 12, 2011 5:44 PM

I dunno about that, Darth. While I opt to see a lot of trash on the Instant Watch, I've also been able to stream a lot of independent fare that didn't even come to the art house theaters here in SF. Pajiba (particularly Dustin and Prisco) has done a great job in highlighting little-seen indie gems that are available on Instant Watch (eg TiMER or The Vicious Kind). Just because we make some bad convenience based choices, doesn't mean there isn't an upside to streaming.

Posted by: coveredinbees at July 12, 2011 5:49 PM

Oh the shame...

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang went unwatched for 10 months.

Posted by: FyreHaar at July 12, 2011 5:50 PM

Presumably to make room for "Paul Blart Mall Cop" or the newest Adam Sandler dreck. The streaming is just too eratic and too limited to be a real option. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for having one option over another.

superasente,
I'm not sure (and I recently sort of lost a NetFlix argument), but I believe they makes deals with studios and get the rights to stream certain movies for a certain time. Those contracts expire and have to be renegotiated. Anyway, I doubt it's an issue of hard drive space.

Posted by: pissant at July 12, 2011 5:56 PM

I need both. I do. My kid watches mostly Instant Watch and I watch the DVDs. But if I had to give up one, I'd give up Instant Watch.

I use Instant Watch on TiVo and about 10% of the time, TiVo will reboot during the last 15 minutes of the movie. Wish they'd fix that longstanding bug....

Posted by: Wednesday at July 12, 2011 6:08 PM

Revolutionary Road. Has been waiting for months. Why?

Posted by: Stinky at July 12, 2011 6:10 PM

Right now, we have In Bruges, one of the discs for the second season of Being Human, Trading Places, and Snatch.


They have been here for months. I finally got up to watch In Bruges (a mistake a made to watch with my parents and a friend, and they would not STFU), only to have to leave to pick up my brother. Because, you know else could get off their lazy asses to get him. So I only saw the beginning and the end, and haven't got the gusto to watch it again.

Also, my sister has clogged up our Instant Watch with shitty anime shows. Gah.

We've always paid way more than that because we wanted the 5 disc thing. Everyone complains that they don't get what they want, and they don't even watch it.

Fuck, I'm sending that shit out tomorrow.

Posted by: Candee at July 12, 2011 6:20 PM

Oh the shame... Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang sat for ten months before we watched it.

Posted by: FyreHaar at July 12, 2011 6:31 PM

You guys are giving me a great list of movies to put in my instant queue.

Posted by: Stinky at July 12, 2011 6:35 PM

Except that the Netflix iPad app sucks. Didn't have ONE movie I searched for. Or, for which I searched.

Posted by: Stinky at July 12, 2011 6:47 PM

FIGGY: I am so with you on Black Swan. What a total crashing bore.

Posted by: klingonfree at July 12, 2011 7:27 PM

I just dropped the dvd option about five minutes ago. We stream or torrent, and had Sons of Anarchy Disc One for four months. I'm happy to pay $8 for Psych, Sherlock, and other detective shows, as we got rid of cable in January.

Posted by: cumdog at July 12, 2011 7:44 PM

I have a friend who claimed to still not have watched a Wonder Woman Animated DVD from Netflix sitting on her shelf just WAITING to be watched. But I do not know what became of that friend or if she ever watched and enjoyed that little bit of animated brilliance. Perhaps she just shipped it back without ever having watched it. :-P

Posted by: Ranting Raven at July 12, 2011 7:59 PM

Definitely going to drop the disc mailing service. It's only possible to get so many single discs in a month, and the lady and I tend to use Blockbuster and Redbox on top of everything. Still, it's very disappointing, and, if I may channel my inner Keanu, a major bummer.

The longest I've had a movie from Netflix was I'm Not There. I really wanted to watch it, but I didn't want to watch it alone, and my friends who liked it never wanted to watch it. I actually rented it twice, and both times it sat on my TV for a month (the first time I sent it back without even watching it). Finally, I watched it, and absolutely loved it. I'm kinda glad I waited though; I didn't know as much about Dylan the first time I rented it as I did the second time, and that movie really only makes sense if you know the background.

Posted by: ChristianH at July 12, 2011 8:07 PM

Orlando. I saw it once years ago and ordered it to watch with my husband but couldn't think of a good introduction so I held onto it until we lost it and had to pay for it and then I found it in a fit of cleaning and sent it back unwatched.

Posted by: whatevs at July 12, 2011 8:17 PM

Neither here nor there as this thread goes, but may I post here to Dorothy Snarker my congratulations to your hubby for being in a goddamn phenomenal film. I hated myself and everything around me for a solid week after watching Irreverisble.

But sooner than that I realized I was fascinated by anything and anyone associated with the movie for having the balls to make it. Can't say I would rush to watch it again but it offers an unbelievably impressive perspective on life and, in so doing, smashes to bits about 99% of the rest of the movies I've seen since.

BTW, your husband wouldn't happen to be Vincent Cassel would he?

Posted by: Johnnyboy at July 12, 2011 8:18 PM

You people are monsters. You've had perfectly good movies sitting on your shelves for Months? Well over a year? Do you people comprehend the presence of other people on this planet? I had A Prophet sitting on my shelf for almost a month, and I felt so bad about depriving others of (what Id' heard was) such a good film, that I returned it and shamed myself into buying it. There it is, sitting on the same shelf. But I'm hurting NO ONE ELSE!

I waited months for The Shield Season 1, disk 3. Months! I still don't know if Vic's autistic son got into the special retarded school. I'll never know!

Posted by: annoyingmouse at July 12, 2011 8:20 PM

Count me in on dropping the discs. But then again I'm pretty lazy and bad at managing money so I might just end up keeping both.

But it seems like if Netflix is going to justify this price hike with their customers they need to make DVDs available upon release instead of months after they come to Redbox and Blockbuster (RIP).

Posted by: THRILLHO at July 12, 2011 8:33 PM

Wow, you guys are making me feel so much better (and motivated). I've had the second disc of Being Human (the original British version) since March. It was good but didn't really grab me, and I've idly thought about the fact that I should drop it in the mail and get another movie instead. I think I'll do that tomorrrow.

I'm torn on the dropping a service issue because I do like to have the option of having a DVD, especially since their streaming list is still pretty limited. However, I think a 60% increase is pretty ludicrous (I know it's only 8 bucks but 60% seems so much more dramatic). So basically I'm going to put that decision off until about August 31st.

Oh, and MelBivDevoe, you should give Pan's Labryinth another chance. It's every bit as brutal as it is beautiful and it's definitely in my top 10 faves of all time.

Posted by: Even Stevens at July 12, 2011 8:44 PM

Maybe I would've liked it more if I could've watched it all in one go, but getting TV shows over the mail is a pain in the ass.

I know the feeling, Figgy. The wife and I spent roughly 6 months getting all seven seasons of The West Wing one disc at a time. It really started to hurt around season five when the show was dragging. But I feel like we might have burnt out on it completely if we'd gotten them all at once. However, we've been doing the one-disc-at-a-time thing with The Wire and I feel the same way you do; I keep putting off watching the next disc. Now we're in line to start season four, and I just don't care enough.

Posted by: ChristianH at July 12, 2011 9:22 PM

Annoyingmouse I am pretty sure netflix has more than one copy of every dvd. It's not your local blockbuster. Stand down.

Posted by: ok at July 12, 2011 10:41 PM

"But I doubt people are lining up to watch "Gosford Park" either and that's available on instant-watch."

Gosford Park is currently in my streaming queue. I've seen it 2 or 3 times already, years ago, but I just really love it. So it's there, waiting for me to find the time to watch it again.

I may cut down to one DVD a month, but I can't give up either one.

Posted by: elsie at July 12, 2011 11:29 PM

Yes I just watched Gosford Park on Netflix the other morning because the copy I OWN? It's a VHS. And I ain't got no VCR no' mo'.

Posted by: Forever Jung at July 12, 2011 11:31 PM

Johnnyboy, yep. Vincent Cassell is always my #1 in my Pajiba 10 list. And that movie stuck with me for days and days after watching it, too. Monica Belucci has my total respect, as well, so I guess I can support her real-life marriage to Cassell. What a power couple.

Posted by: Dorothy Snarker at July 12, 2011 11:50 PM

I have had The Fighter sitting at home for over a month now, but I think I had something even longer a while back. Instead of watching it I working my way through the seasons of "Anthony Bordain: No Reservations" on their streaming and Roku. Not sure why

Posted by: Brian at July 13, 2011 12:08 AM

I mean it makes no sense to pay $16 instead of $8 just so you can watch 1 DVD every week bc God knows it takes a while to watch those DvDs.

Posted by: Littlejon2001 at July 13, 2011 1:59 AM

Our children have ruined our lives such that we have very few opportunities to sit and watch a movie all the way through (our jobs with long hours have also conspired in this ruination). It kills me, but I think I'm going to cancel the service and just rely on the library.

A movie that sat for ages was "The Station Agent", which was absolutely wonderful.

Posted by: samantha t at July 13, 2011 9:44 AM

Ms. Julien - I had a similar reaction to "The Fighter." I did think Bale did a good job, but he pretty much always does. I thought it was disjointed and off-key. I had high hopes, too, as my family is from that part of Mass.

Posted by: samantha t at July 13, 2011 10:02 AM

I shifted down from 3 DVDs unlimited + unlimited streaming to the same thing with 2 DVDs instead, and the gigantic price change is....I'm paying about $2 less a month.

I agree with those who can't watch movies on a computer (I must have subtitles, particularly for the British films I so love) but it is nice to have another option in case The Boyfriend has something he wants to watch in the living room. Besides, Redbox is unlikely to have things like Wisconsin Death Trip, Haiku Tunnel, The Celluloid closet, or The Legend of Billie Jean. Netflix: Where I go for strange documentaries, odd indie films, and trashy 80s movies.

Oh, and I often seem to order movies because I have been told they are good/interesting/important and then realize that I really just want to watch Man of the House (Tommy Lee Jones version) for the 27th time instead. Right now, I have Gus Van Sant's Elephant collecting dust since April.

Posted by: Siege at July 13, 2011 10:36 AM

Kingdom of Heaven. What a piece of crap. What the fuck, Ridley? I told her it was bad, but she just wouldn't listen.

Posted by: HappyGobo at July 14, 2011 10:19 AM

I'm going to downshift from 2 to 1 in the mail and keep the online streaming. I just have too many films in the queue that aren't available online yet.

Oh and f**K you Netflix.

P.S. Did anyone read that Slate article about Netflix streaming using about 10% of the US and Canadian internet broadband in 2010?

Posted by: bananapanda at July 15, 2011 3:19 PM

I don't have Netflix, but I do have unopened movies bought months and years ago. The other day I watched In the Loop; I bought that last year. My record is 24 Hour Party People: my best friend gave it to me as a gift; two and a half years later, I still had not seen it. So my friend came over and forced me to watch it; I must say the beer he brought helped.

Now excuse me, I must go watch Moon, I bought it four months ago.

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