John from Phoenix just posted about the movie Moneyball, so I went to Netflix to see
what the prediction is for me. But when I typed the title in the Netflix search
box, it only gave me some other halfway similar titles of hokey looking movies.
Trying out some other searches, I realize that Netflix has now made their site
even less useful to me; their search engine is now only showing me movies that
are available for instant view. It is as if there are no other movies in the
world, only the ones Netflix has on instant view. This is a ridiculous
contraction of service continuing the same downward plunge I wrote about here
under the title “Netflix Limits My World”.
When information on the movies is not available through Netflix it also means any previews and member opinions are unavailable, and most importantly, I cannot see what rating I gave the movie or even know whether or not I have seen it. This last part seems a real breach of contract with the members; one of the reasons I have rated over 2,600 movies at Netflix is so that I could quickly determine whether or not I have seen the movie and how many stars I gave it. Fortunately I had the foresight to make my own database of movies I have seen and rated [the database that is accessible on the sidebar of this blog].
When information on the movies is not available through Netflix it also means any previews and member opinions are unavailable, and most importantly, I cannot see what rating I gave the movie or even know whether or not I have seen it. This last part seems a real breach of contract with the members; one of the reasons I have rated over 2,600 movies at Netflix is so that I could quickly determine whether or not I have seen the movie and how many stars I gave it. Fortunately I had the foresight to make my own database of movies I have seen and rated [the database that is accessible on the sidebar of this blog].
A recent article at The Motley Fool explains how Netflix has
lost streaming content and will be losing more, and would probably be wise to
sell itself before it goes under completely. I will be gleaning what I can from
Netflix instant viewing for a while longer, but the deteriorating functionality
of their web site is causing me to look to the Internet Movie Database for
filmographies, ratings and previews. Netflix and I seem to be agreeing on one thing; neither
one of us wants me to sign up for movies in the mail. So I need to get more
serious about other sources of movie viewing, like the library and Redbox, and
maybe even think about visiting a movie theater.
Jan and I watched O Brother, How Art Thou on TV. I have watched this movie many times and each time I enjoy it more. A very good movie!
ReplyDeleteI have seen it a couple times and like it a lot. I like the depression era time and feel and the the way the comedy is always there even though some serious issues are being covered. I love the bluegrass songs and can't resist singing along - another reason why I can't see movies like this in a theater.
ReplyDeleteIt is not in my list of movies because I saw it before I started keeping my own database. With Netflix continuing to shrink my info, I cannot even tell from the Netflix site how I rated it there. I have now added it to my database and it will show on my lists here when I next update them. I will give it a 3 rating, with a note "no decimal", because I saw it before I started the decimal system. I think I may have given it a 4 at Netflix when I originally saw it.
How times change. In early 2013 Netflix was reported to be the top performer in the S&P 500, due to healthy subscriber growth and production of successful original programming.
ReplyDelete