The husband and I decided to have a little celebration last night, mainly reflecting on the good things that have been coming our way lately. Not that we've been overwhelmed by goodness or anything, but in time of drought, even the little things are worth toasting.
Our little party included beer, burgers and a movie. I'm not sure what could have been more perfect about that.
We don't watch horror movies that often in our house. Well… correction. My husband doesn't want to watch horror movies that often in our house. There's something about me being a jumpy, screaming mess who likes to latch on to his leg and leave bruises that he just doesn't like. I can't imagine why…
In any case, not many horror movies are viewed in the house. But as it was a celebration, and as I am a huge fan of the series, my man broke down and suggested we watch Scream 4 last night. It may have been that he just wanted to stuff that blu-ray back in the mail to Netflix since it's been sitting on our coffee table for weeks, but he told me that it was because he knew I wanted to watch it, so I'll just have to believe him on that one.
Being a kid in high school in the 90's and college at the turn of the century, the Scream flicks were all pretty much canon for my cadre of friends. Knowing the movies, getting the internal and external references, and appreciating the nuance of how they transcended the traditional horror/slasher flick while maintaining the heart of the genre were all prerequisites to hang out with us. So you can understand that when Scream 4 was announced and released, I was just a tiny bit excited.
Except we didn't go see it in the theater. Again, something about me whaling like a banshee and my sudden bruise-inducing kung-fu grip embarrasses my better half. Whatever…
Back to the point: we finally watched Scream 4 last night. Conclusion: I don't think I could have been any happier with the movie.
I was thoroughly thrilled, spooked, and fooled. I relished in the nostalgic feel of the movie, and pleased by their ability to update the franchise and keep it current and relevant. And I loved that the main characters were back AND that we were still drawn in to a new cast of characters to love and appreciate.
Yes, I squealed and yelped, and yes, I may have Vulcan-death-gripped my husband's leg once or twice (I've gotten better at this, assuming there are helpless pillows around to squeeze), but that's all part of the fun for me. And although he rolled his eyes at both my antics and the silliness of some of the gore, I think that my husband liked the movie too and that he secretly enjoyed watching me squirm.
I don't think this is going to change our horror movie watching habits. I doubt that Halloween marathons or that regular viewings of Prom Night or Carrie will be on our future agenda, but I am glad that we were able to enjoy another spookfest together. Next up is getting him in to a haunted house with me. Next year, though… Next year.
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Putting In Your $1.05
One thing people tend to forget is that Freedom of Speech also means that individuals have the Freedom Not To Speak. Perhaps we should all exercise that freedom just a little more often.
We're hearing more and more stories about anti-gay weirdoes spouting off their beliefs in unnecessary or unusual places. Some of those people, like this guy, are being punished for their inopportune and unwelcome comments. And some of those people, like that same guy, are being propped up as martyrs in the fundamentalist Christian community.
The thing is that, while he does have a right to speak his mind, he doesn't have a right to do so without repercussion. We all have rights and privileges in this country, but those come with responsibilities as well. The responsibility to speak about appropriate topics in appropriate ways and in appropriate settings strongly correlates with the right to free speech.
Clearly, there are people who are unaware of the costs of their Freedoms. Perhaps if people continue to lose focus of the societal costs of their freedoms, we should enact the $1.05 policy advocated by Team America: World Police.
We're hearing more and more stories about anti-gay weirdoes spouting off their beliefs in unnecessary or unusual places. Some of those people, like this guy, are being punished for their inopportune and unwelcome comments. And some of those people, like that same guy, are being propped up as martyrs in the fundamentalist Christian community.
The thing is that, while he does have a right to speak his mind, he doesn't have a right to do so without repercussion. We all have rights and privileges in this country, but those come with responsibilities as well. The responsibility to speak about appropriate topics in appropriate ways and in appropriate settings strongly correlates with the right to free speech.
For example, I am free to discuss topics like my bedroom activities with whomever is around me. But that may come at a cost. If I choose to speak of these things with friends at a bar, that cost will be laughs or friendly jibing, but if I choose to do so in front of my boss, that cost may be the loss of my job, or if I choose to do so on Facebook, that cost may be the "unfriending" of family and friends who are not keen on participating in such discussions.
You see, I am free to discuss my bedroom antics, but I am also subject to the cost of that freedom. Conversely, I am free to simply not speak of such things, thereby avoiding any cost, and I am free to selectively share, thereby incurring only the costs I am willing and able to pay.
Clearly, there are people who are unaware of the costs of their Freedoms. Perhaps if people continue to lose focus of the societal costs of their freedoms, we should enact the $1.05 policy advocated by Team America: World Police.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Trading One Service For Another
Like pretty much every Netflix subscriber out there, the husband and I received an email last week informing us that, "to better serve their customers," Netflix had decided to hike their prices again. Well, really they broke out their pricing to be to different plans, one for streaming movies and one for the DVD/Blu-Ray rental-by-mail service.
Bottom line: they want an additional $5 a month from us.
It's an interesting move, because Netflix's streaming plan is now $7.99 a month. Alone, that's not a bad price point for hundreds of movies and TV shows to instantly stream to your laptop, iPhone, gaming console or other internet-connected device. But since it used to be included in the price of our Blu-Ray by-mail rentals, being charge anything extra for it feels a bit insulting.
So we've decided to give Hulu Plus a shot. Hulu by itself is a fantastic service. I've been using it since it's beta days a few years back and my husband and I have been using it heavily for the past couple years to catch up on the shows we never get to watch when they air live. But Hulu Plus gives us the ability to stream those same shows to our laptop, iPhones, gaming console or other internet-connected device (sound familiar?). It also gives us access to full seasons of shows and quite a bit of other content that free Hulu users do not get.
Hulu Plus also has movies, but that selection is a bit limited. I haven't perused the movie selection in a hot minute, but last time I looked it included all the best of late 80's and early 90's cinema… thrilling. Like Netflix, content on Hulu is served up at the studio's whim: when they decide that they tire of allowing people to enjoy their decade-old show they simply tell Hulu to remove the show and that's that.
Plain old Hulu includes ads in the shows you watch, just like watching TV except that there's only one ad, maybe 2, during each commercial break and it's almost always the same tired ads over and over again. Hulu plus also allows you the opportunity to view these ads, which is a bit annoying. If I'm paying to use your otherwise free streaming service, I should not be required to watch the ads. That gripe aside, the streaming quality is almost always nice and the player works well.
I'm not sure what to think though. Hulu Plus also costs $7.99 a month. And you can't always stream all their content on your various devices. We're basically trading a large selection of streaming movies and a smaller collection of streaming TV shows for a large collection of TV shows with a smaller collection of movies. For the same price. And adding ads to the mix. And we're doing this because Netflix decided to hike the price on us, but we'll still be spending the same amount of money in the end either way.
I'm not sold on the idea yet, but I'm definitely up for giving it a try. As it is, we watch way more TV shows than movies (of which I watch virtually none while my husband watches lots of anything that involves explosions and cheesy acting), and we do use Hulu on a daily basis whereas we use Netflix streaming occasionally to rarely. I'm just not sure whether paying for Hulu will be worth it for us either, but I suppose we won't know until we give it a shot.
Bottom line: they want an additional $5 a month from us.
It's an interesting move, because Netflix's streaming plan is now $7.99 a month. Alone, that's not a bad price point for hundreds of movies and TV shows to instantly stream to your laptop, iPhone, gaming console or other internet-connected device. But since it used to be included in the price of our Blu-Ray by-mail rentals, being charge anything extra for it feels a bit insulting.
So we've decided to give Hulu Plus a shot. Hulu by itself is a fantastic service. I've been using it since it's beta days a few years back and my husband and I have been using it heavily for the past couple years to catch up on the shows we never get to watch when they air live. But Hulu Plus gives us the ability to stream those same shows to our laptop, iPhones, gaming console or other internet-connected device (sound familiar?). It also gives us access to full seasons of shows and quite a bit of other content that free Hulu users do not get.
Hulu Plus also has movies, but that selection is a bit limited. I haven't perused the movie selection in a hot minute, but last time I looked it included all the best of late 80's and early 90's cinema… thrilling. Like Netflix, content on Hulu is served up at the studio's whim: when they decide that they tire of allowing people to enjoy their decade-old show they simply tell Hulu to remove the show and that's that.
Plain old Hulu includes ads in the shows you watch, just like watching TV except that there's only one ad, maybe 2, during each commercial break and it's almost always the same tired ads over and over again. Hulu plus also allows you the opportunity to view these ads, which is a bit annoying. If I'm paying to use your otherwise free streaming service, I should not be required to watch the ads. That gripe aside, the streaming quality is almost always nice and the player works well.
I'm not sure what to think though. Hulu Plus also costs $7.99 a month. And you can't always stream all their content on your various devices. We're basically trading a large selection of streaming movies and a smaller collection of streaming TV shows for a large collection of TV shows with a smaller collection of movies. For the same price. And adding ads to the mix. And we're doing this because Netflix decided to hike the price on us, but we'll still be spending the same amount of money in the end either way.
I'm not sold on the idea yet, but I'm definitely up for giving it a try. As it is, we watch way more TV shows than movies (of which I watch virtually none while my husband watches lots of anything that involves explosions and cheesy acting), and we do use Hulu on a daily basis whereas we use Netflix streaming occasionally to rarely. I'm just not sure whether paying for Hulu will be worth it for us either, but I suppose we won't know until we give it a shot.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Discovering Fran Lebowitz
I came across a Martin Scorsese documentary about Fran Lebowitz last night on HBO called Public Speaking and it raised a few questions for me.
First: Why was I familiar with the name but none of her work? I've known the name Fran Lebowitz for quite some time, but only knew it as one of those names I should know to seem like I'm in tune with culture.
Turns out she is (was, really) an essayist and a writer for a few magazines, was part of Andy Warhol's entourage, and has since been a public speaker doing college tours and other venues where people pay her to tell them her opinion. Or, to put it another way, someone who worked for a time, put out great material, and then proceeded to simply exist. Awesome!
Second: Why is she so right? Part of her shtick is that she is always right. She talks about it in the movie as well. That sounds absurd just hearing it, but after watching the documentary, I've come to the conclusion that she's pretty much correct.
For example, this quip from the movie: "writers have to know things." This is in reference to how writing is inherently a different form of art from the others, in that to paint one just needs a pretty landscape, a brush and some paint, or to act one just needs to regurgitate lines in front of an audience. But to write, one must know something worth writing about.
This ties in to her belief that there are just too many writers and that the things we chose to write about are pretty much worthless. Funnily enough, I agree… but that's not going to stop me from writing here anyway!
I plan on picking up her two published essay collections, even if they are 30+ years old at this point, because I'm going to guess that they are packed full of snarky wisdom, and I need that right about now in my life.
If you happen to see Public Speaking on HBO or Netflix or wherever, I'd definitely give it a watch. With a natural born opinionated talker being filmed by an amazing director, the movie turned out to be very interesting even without knowing much about Fran Lebowitz before hand.
First: Why was I familiar with the name but none of her work? I've known the name Fran Lebowitz for quite some time, but only knew it as one of those names I should know to seem like I'm in tune with culture.
Turns out she is (was, really) an essayist and a writer for a few magazines, was part of Andy Warhol's entourage, and has since been a public speaker doing college tours and other venues where people pay her to tell them her opinion. Or, to put it another way, someone who worked for a time, put out great material, and then proceeded to simply exist. Awesome!
Second: Why is she so right? Part of her shtick is that she is always right. She talks about it in the movie as well. That sounds absurd just hearing it, but after watching the documentary, I've come to the conclusion that she's pretty much correct.
For example, this quip from the movie: "writers have to know things." This is in reference to how writing is inherently a different form of art from the others, in that to paint one just needs a pretty landscape, a brush and some paint, or to act one just needs to regurgitate lines in front of an audience. But to write, one must know something worth writing about.
This ties in to her belief that there are just too many writers and that the things we chose to write about are pretty much worthless. Funnily enough, I agree… but that's not going to stop me from writing here anyway!
I plan on picking up her two published essay collections, even if they are 30+ years old at this point, because I'm going to guess that they are packed full of snarky wisdom, and I need that right about now in my life.
If you happen to see Public Speaking on HBO or Netflix or wherever, I'd definitely give it a watch. With a natural born opinionated talker being filmed by an amazing director, the movie turned out to be very interesting even without knowing much about Fran Lebowitz before hand.
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