Ch-ch-ch-changes

I changed the name of this blog to reflect that most of these reviews will cover video rentals. I have a long list of films that I want to cover - movies I've seen before and want to praise or disparage. But I'm no one-trick pony, and I go to movie-theaters less often now.

It's much more fun to see a movie for the first time and share my thoughts on it. Also, I tend to see my favorites as seldom as possible, and my posting schedule shouldn't depend on that - some films, I don't even want to re-watch for a review.

Thus, the bulk of my writing will center on the third wave of my film education (college and pre-college being the other two). And this education will rely largely on Netflix. I came up with the title, and I thought the connection was a great coincidence.

Some folks disparage Netflix (you know who you are), but I'm a fan for the sheer variety of films they carry. It reminds me very much of my old college days. You see, I was coming of age back in the days before you could get everything through the internet.

In 2009, you don't need to leave the house or have a life because you can get music, television, sex, and rare memorabilia using a computer, internet access, and a P.O. Box. Back in the old VHS days, though, you had to hope for some well-stocked stores to find movies that were "underground," or outside Hollywood's system.

If you were lucky enough to live in a city like New York, you had Tower Video and Kim's Video as your mainstays. And, between the two, they had almost every film in existence. Tower, in particular, had several sections dedicated to kung-fu, or cult films - and set up (weekly) displays that centered on Blaxploitation, classic G movies, female revenge stories, etc.

Kim's had every foreign film you could name, and was dedicated to updating its collection constantly; if you wanted to see Kubrick's 1950's work, you had to go to Kim's. But both of those NYC icons are long-gone now (yes, I was all maudlin when they shut down).

Fortunately, Netflix is here, and it stocks movies of all genres, eras, and nationalities. I'm grateful because I can catch up on work I haven't seen before - Malle, Bergman, Bertolucci. The queue system helps me alternate horror, film noir, and Bollywood, so I don't get worn out.

They're not perfect - I feel it when I only find dubbed versions of Jackie Chan films. Still, if all I'm missing is a true viewing of "Project A" or "Drunken Master II," there's enough non-adulterated work to keep me busy for a while. Most of my future reviews will cover what I've seen, for the first time, because of Blockbuster Video's antithesis. Cheers!