Official Netflix blog launched

Netflix has finally launched an official blog, but with a unique focus. Instead of being about the company, or the rental experience, or about movies, The Netflix Community blog is devoted only to the Community features of Netflix (Friends, Profiles, custom lists, etc) and we who use them. It's where you can go to discover new features or changes to existing ones, and give feedback.

Unlike Hacking Netflix, or this blog, the Netflix Community blog is written by folks who work for Netflix, "by the team that is building the social elements of the Netflix site," so it's the horse's mouth.


Via Hacking Netflix

100% Similarity

Unredeemed gift cards

Did you know you can check your Netflix account to see if the gift subscriptions you have given away have been redeemed? I gave one to a family member at Christmas, and they only just now redeemed it. I was afraid he would never activate it. What could I do if he didn't? One possibility is that I could use it myself. Netflix lets me know the code number for every gift subscription I buy.

I wonder how many subscriptions never get used, or end up on eBay?

My family member was able to use his gift subscription in conjunction with the one month trial card I gave him, so it will be months before he has to decide whether to pay for the service. He signed up for the trial period first, of course, and then added the gift later. He already has 5 profiles for himself and his family.

Action films to watch if you're going to be the next Punisher

The Seven-Ups (1973) is one of the movies watched by Thomas Jane, the actor who played The Punisher, in order to get himself psyched up for the character. After extensive preparation for the role, he is disappointed to announce he will not be playing the next Punisher, if there is ever a sequel. So if you want to prepare to take his place (good luck to you), here are some of the other titles he watched:

"Leon the Professional, Oldboy, The Seven-Ups (GREAT flick), Point Blank, Escape from NY, The Driver, Magnum Force, The Mechanic, The Great Silence, Sexy Beast, Nighthawks, Cry Vengeance (check it out), Road Warrior, Man on Fire, Outlaw Josey Wales, Rocky (think about it), Serpico, etc"

Netflix one month trial cards--UPDATED

Instead of just emailing me with a special code for a one month trial, to share with my friends and family, I received a snail-mail from Netflix yesterday, which contains two one month trial cards to give out. The mailer looks like a regular red Netflix envelope, except a bit smaller, and made of card stock. Each trial card has a unique identification number, and is made of laminated cardstock. If you got one of these in the mail, could you send me a scan, so I can post it here? (My scanner is on loan to a friend, so I can't bring you a photo of this.)

UPDATE: HackingNetflix has posted a photo. Thanks Mike!

I beat Ebert!!

As of June 12, 2005 Roger Ebert has seen 943 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

As of April 24, 2007, I have seen 944.

In other news, Roger Ebert's 9th Annual Overlooked Film Festival (aka Ebertfest) started in Champaign, Illinois today, and I'm sad that I can't be there. Ebert is being a trooper and showing up, despite his health problems.


P.S. I couldn't have done it without Netflix. I have 39 left in my Netflix queue.

P.P.S. I am using only the 2002 edition of the book.

ShatnerVision

William Shatner has an online video show, which he calls ShatnerVision on LiveVideo.com. In the current episode, he admits he "likes to attract stares at airports by flipping open his cell phone and talking into it like a 23rd century communicator." That is too funny.

Via Cinematical

Netflix brings movies out of obscurity

First, I noticed a new movie called Numb on the Netflix new releases page, in the Sci-Fi & Fantasy genre. I like Sci-Fi very much, so clicked through. No one on Netflix has reviewed it yet, and it's been rated only 26 times. That's an obscure movie. I decided to check Numb on IMDB to see if I could learn more. (Can you believe there have been five movies in the last six years named "Numb"?). I scrolled down. Didn't recognize any of the cast or crew. It's done zero at the boxoffice. There's only two user reviews. But at the bottom, a teaser for the Moviemeter (tm) showed that this movie is climbing rapidly out of obscurity at a rate of 37% since last week.

Wanna know why?

I think it's because it's on Netflix's New Releases page. Since the movie was released on DVD a year ago, on April 2, 2006, its highest rank on IMDB was 39,429 on April 23, 2006. It went down to 74259 on Jan 7, 2007. This year, its average rank was 55,269, until this week. Since Netflix has offered the title, its rank has risen to 33,144.

What do you think?

Free cartoons

I love animated short films. LOVE them. Lurv them. Anyway, here's a bunch of clips hosted by the UCLA Animation Workshop.

New Netflix discussion group

One of my Netflix Friends has started Netflix_Cinemajig, a new discussion group for Netflix subscribers who like anything out of the mainstream. You can read the Netflix_Cinemajig archives , or join the group and post your own reviews. It's a "fun, active, diverse" group who like to "discuss movies, directors, actors and anything else film-related," who also "play daily movie-related games to jog the mind, relieve that workday boredom and most of all, remember our love for the movies."

Netflix's most profitable fan

I know I should be ashamed of myself, but it took me 18 days to return my latest Netflix. I am on the 3-out plan, and so far this month, I have rented only three movies from Netflix. I returned two today. Contrast that to February, in which I got eight movies from Netflix.

What's the deal with Carmike?

I have a bad feeling about the Carmike theater in Greensboro. I think it's the management. I have never forgiven them for ruining a movie for me. I was there to see a small film the same night that a much larger film (think Spiderman) was opening, and my film started a bit sooner than the other. Instead of making folks line up to wait to be seated, they allowed a bunch to gather in the lobby, blocking the ticket taker so those of us who should be seated right away couldn't get through. I spoke to the security guard about it, and he referred me to the manager, who shrugged her shoulders as if to say "What do you want me to do about it?" I suggested she use her staff to corral the crowd. She refused, so I requested a ticket refund and did not return to that theatre for years after. I only reluctantly go there now. If I have any choice of venues, I will do whatever I can to avoid going to Carmike.

On the plus side, Carmike is an early adopter of digital technology, but what good does it do to have great technology, if the theatre management doesn't take responsibility for what happens to the guests?

Now the Consolidated franchise has moved into town. Both the Consolidated theatres and Carmike charge over $8 for an evening show, but I'll drive further and pay slightly more to go to the Consolidated instead, because they are clean, well-staffed, organized. I have never missed a movie because of poor crowd management, even if I arrive at the last second.


I've never gone to the movies to be stepped on. I go to hear the laughter, or sighs, or surprise, to share the experience, to remember. If I saw Norbit at home on DVD, I would give it two stars, but in a theatre full of people, it gets a bonus star for surrounding me with laughter.

Netflix ads for sale on eBay

At first, I was excited to see this auction for "Casino Royale 007 Trade Ad for Netflix" on eBay Express, because I thought it was the original advertisement artwork, but imagine my disappointment when I saw that the auction is for the ad on the Netflix envelope flap. I already have several. Netflix must have mailed out millions of them. An example of one man's trash is another man's treasure, if it sells. The "Buy It Now" price is $.99, but shipping is an outrageous $5.00, since it cost Netflix just $.39 to send it to the seller. The same seller has an ad for Deja Vu for sale also.

The Jacket

I bought a used Netflix jacket on eBay, and whenever I wear it, I attract alot of attention. I don't know if it's officially licensed merchandise or not. It's not well designed, because the embroidered Netflix logo is hidden by the hood hanging in the back. But it's Netflix red, so I think it's beautiful.

When they see my jacket, people I had no idea were Netflix subscribers come up to me to tell me how much they love Netflix, like they have no idea what a fan I am. I thought I was famous for being a Netflix evangelist here in my real life, so how could there be folks who don't already know I love Netflix? How could I know people who joined Netflix without finding out about it from me first? I must be slacking off. :)

I especially love wearing my jacket when I go to theaters, which is twice a week. I want movie fans and theater staff to know that Netflix is not a threat to my movie attendance, but rather increases my love of movies.

AMC Theatres Best Picture showcase

If you haven't seen all of the Oscar nominated films, now is your chance. AMC Theatres is having a marathon of all the best pictures on February 24. For $30, you can watch all five films back to back in one day, with free large popcorn and large drink and a collectible pass. You can come and go as you please all day, and you get free refills on popcorn and drink.

Babel 11:00 a.m.
The Queen 1:45 p.m.
The Departed 3:45 p.m.
Letters From Iwo Jima 7:00 p.m.
Little Miss Sunshine 9:45 p.m.

Go to the Oscar Showcase Web site to find out if a theatre near you is participating. The closest to me is Charlotte, NC, but I've already seen all the films.

Awarding winning animation

Guy 101 won the British Academy award for best animated short. You can watch it here. It may never be available on Netflix, so this might be your only chance to see it.

Top and bottom ten of 2006

Of the movies I have seen which came out in 2006, these are my best and least best lists. I didn't see any real stinkers, but the least best movies were the ones that made me regret spending the money to see them in the theatre, which is what I did for all of these movies. I think you should see all the movies on the Best list, and avoid the least best, or at least wait for the video.

Best:

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Water (2005)
Queen, The (2006)
Children of Men (2006)
Facing the Giants (2006)
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Babel (2006)
The Prestige (2006)

Least best:

Black Dahlia (2006)
Cars (2006)
Hollywoodland (2006)
Let's Go to Prison (2006)
One Night With The King (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006)
You, Me and Dupree (2006)
Poseidon (2006)
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Rumors of my Netflix addiction are greatly exaggerated

Some folks are addicted to Netflix. Thank goodness I'm not that bad. I can understand why some people become addicts, because Netflix makes it too easy. For example, before Netflix, I rented maybe two movies a month, and went to the theatre about once a month. Now I'm renting three a week and going to the theatre twice a week.

I used to have 500 in my queue, but that was in 2004. Now it's down to 55. See? I'm getting better. I have it under control. I promise I'll stop once I've watched 62 more movies. Besides, now is not a good time to quit Netflix, when I'm so close to finishing the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

I just use Netflix to relax at the end of a hard day. If you knew what a hard life I've had, you'd use Netflix too. I'm certainly not as bad as these pathetic people who post comments on Hacking Netflix.

If I didn't have this blog about Netflix, I could easily give it up, no problem.

My similiarity is different from yours

Beano is a longtime Netflix Fan friend. He says he's my number one Netflix Friend, at 82% similarity. The problem is, on my Netflix Friends page, I have no friends with that level of similarity. The highest on my end is 77%. I think Netflix is figuring similarity based on different factors for Beano and me. It could be a ratio of ratings in common to movies in common, or something like that. How does Netflix calculate similarity? To find the answer, I plugged the word "similarity" into the Netflix Help Center Quick search:

Q: What does the Friends “% Similarity” number mean?
A: Based on the movies you and your Friends have watched and rated, Netflix calculates the similarity in how you rate, and the movies you select.

The calculation takes into consideration many factors, including the relative number of movies each of you have seen and for which you overlap (for instance, if you’ve rated 20 movies and overlap on them all, that is “more similar” than if you’ve rated 2000 movies and only overlap on 20), as well as the obscurity of the overlapping titles (if you both like the same rare film, that is “more similar” than if you both like a top 10 movie).

Based on these factors, you can accurately compare yourself to each of your Friends. This value will change over time as one or both of you rate more movies, and as the overlapping movies you’ve seen increases.

Netflix blanket part of charity auction: UPDATED

You can bid for a Netflix blanket which comes in a a Sundance swag bag donated by Billy Baldwin to support the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. The swag bag contains other goodies too.

UPDATE: There's another charity auction by Six Degrees for a Sundance swag bag signed by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick which contains a one-year Netflix subscription.