Netflix Suggestions, Anyone?

‘Cause I’ve been renting stinkers

by j. brotherlove

Okay, I need some help with my Netflix rentals. It seems I’ve been getting a lot of stinkers lately and I’m tired of it. Admittedly, I tend to gravitate towards independent, experimental and foreign films. But I also like to check out new releases to see what everyone else is watching.

I watch about 7-10 movies a week and I have seen quite a bit of films. I’ve been doing great over the years with Netflix but over the past two months I’ve just been getting clunkers. I couldn’t have tapped out all of the good stuff. Here is a list of my 10 most recent disappointing rentals:

1. Adaptation. This Spike Jonze joint had only smatterings of the smart quirkiness that made Being John Malkovich a delight. A waste of really good talent, in my opinion.
2. The Butterfly Effect. Ashton Kutcher should stick to Punk’d if he’s planning to continue starring in convoluted and unrewarding movies like this.
3. Dead Man. Despite my love of Johnny Depp and Jim Jarmusch, I’d have to rename this film Dud Man.
4. Elephant. I understand Gus Van Zant wanted the viewer to watch this film and draw his/her own conclusions. But the result for me was a big waste of time.
5. Godsend. I couldn’t make it all the way through this piece of political crap.
6. Lost In Translation. Sure, critics raved about this quiet film by industry darling Sofia Coppola. But I was disappointed overall. Murray is excellent but there isn’t enough to this fish-out-of-water story for me to hold onto.
7. Phone Booth. What some find a suspenseful, story of redemption I find to be dumb, dumb, dumb. Just shoot him already!
8. Taking Lives. Why exactly is Angelina Jolie a star again? This plot was inane and Jolie’s “acting” only made it worse. Another movie with an obvious “twist”.

9. Thousand Clouds of Peace - I was upset when I missed this film at the local art theatre. Turns out, I couldn’t get through the first few minutes of this slow-paced film. Maybe I’ll try again.
10. Twisted - I really like Ashley Judd. However, this film was a big piece of junk. I saw the “plot twist” coming after the first 20 minutes and there are more holes in the story than a slice of Swiss. A huge rotten tomato.

All of these films aren’t certified bombs but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And I wasn’t beholding much in these films. My Netflix queue is getting low. Any suggestions?

Give movielens a shot at recommendations. When you sign up, you have to rate a bunch of movies that you’ve already seen, and it uses a collaborative rating system to figure out what you would like to see. I’ve been a user for a few years and after the first 150 ratings (so it gets to know your tastes), its suggestions are on the mark every single time.

I’m hoping someone can recommend some good flicks for me. My Netflix queue is by no means getting empty, but I’ve been so engaged (obsessed) with Seasons 1-3 of Alias, I haven’t watched anything else. :)

I’ll have to come back.

Thanks Thad, I’ll check that out.

And I completely forgot about TV series, Anitra. I should throw Alias in my queue as well.