by Mark P. Sadler

Created on: March 30, 2008

Netflix,it's so addictive I can't stop!

I just opened their site to use as a reference to write this piece, and started rating movies in their referral window immediately only to find a reference to Morgan Freeman and of course I had to click on his name and that led to rating at least five more movies...(sorry I just left and came back as I remembered another movie I wanted to see if they had), Whistle Down the Wind; I want to share that with my wife. It is an early Hayley Mills film done in black and white and co-stars the cute little boy from Mary Poppins. It is not on DVD release yet but with Netflix I can save it right now so I get it the week it's released (if it ever is). This bought me to the name Alan Bates so while I saved the movie I looked his name up. I figured an obscure British actor, probably never did anything else; I mean I've never heard of him and wow, there are over 40 other movies or TV shows he has performed in. Who knew?

That's why Netflix gets you. If you have only a vague interest in movies, (and if you didn't why would you even go to Netflix anyway!), then you get caught up in the flow. Old actors names, movies from years past come flooding back to you. I don't know about you but whenever I step into Blockbusters my mind goes blank. I have no power of recall and by the time I get home I smack my forehead and go damn it, I meant to get so and so! Well now you can. Just pull up Netflix and order. Heck if you want to see the movie really bad you can even jump it to the head of the cue and it will be the next one sent out. They mail them to you! Three movies a week for around fifteen dollars, no time out of the easy chair, no gas money to waste (and at $3.50 plus a gallon who can afford that anyway) to drive to Blockbusters to spend $9.95 to get two movies you have to have back tomorrow (more gas money!). With Netflix you just keep them as long as you want and just put them back in the mail box. Easy peasy.

At their website you pick a category to rank, Genre, New Releases, Netflix Top 100, Critics Picks, Award Winners. Each one of those is broken down minutely into smaller categories so you can select anything and everything. At the same time you get to give any movie you have seen up to a five start rating (makes you feel like you are offering an opinion and boy I like to do that!). Once you rate movies Netflix is smart enough to make additional recommendations to you based on your personal taste.

I can't stop... I just flipped back to refer to something and had to rate one more movie while I was there.

Sorry I got to go. Netflix needs me.

Someone stop me!

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