What to Watch Instantly on Netflix? (and now all streaming services)

[Logan]

"Oh yeah, I pay extra money so I can watch TV like poor people."

[Commo_Soldier]

Originally Posted by rowech

I've been watching Battlestar Galactica. Finished the first season tonight. It's a really good show. Like it a lot. Have also gone through first season of The League, which I found funny. Parks and Recreation which I also found funny.

Netflix had the league rated a 4.8 for me and it didn't disappoint. If you liked the first season Hulu is streaming season 2 (in addition to 1).

[Scoobz0202]

I watch 95% HD. There's not much anymore that isn't. When I turn the T.V. on, the first thing I do is flip through the HD guide. 95% of the time I find something I will watch.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Commo_Soldier

Netflix had the league rated a 4.8 for me and it didn't disappoint. If you liked the first season Hulu is streaming season 2 (in addition to 1).

I keep waiting for Netlix to get it at some point. I can't bring myself to pay for Netflix and Hulu both.

[stevew]

If you like Paul Scheer and Jason Manzoukas from the League, their Podcast "How Did this Get Made" is hilarious. They brutally riff on awful movies.

[Commo_Soldier]

Originally Posted by rowech

I keep waiting for Netlix to get it at some point. I can't bring myself to pay for Netflix and Hulu both.

Hulu has it free, watching online, you just have to watch an ad or two every commercial break. Also for those that really like it Amazon has both seasons (HD and SD) on sale for downloading (Amazon.com: The League [HD]: Season 2, Episode 1 "Vegas Draft [HD]": Amazon Instant Video)

[PilotMan]

Any wrestling fans, especially on the heels of his death, might be interested in the Randy Savage history that is new today.

WWE Macho Madness: The Randy Savage Ultimate Collection

[Matthean]

The 9 Most Devastatingly Sad Documentaries of All Time | Pajiba: Reviews, News, Quotes & Cultural Commentary

Some previous mentions:

#4 Restrepo
#1 Dear Zachary

#2 Senna is out now.

[RainMaker]

Dear Zachary made me feel like shit for a couple weeks. It's a good documentary, but I don't think I'd have watched it if I knew how it turned out.

[Scoobz0202]

I definitely would have watched it again, almost for that reason. It's shit like that that makes me feel human.

[Matthean]

Nine Feel-Good Documentaries to Lift Your Spirits after the Devastating Dear Zachary | Pajiba: Reviews, News, Quotes & Cultural Commentary

And the counter list of feel good documentaries. I really need to see Being Elmo at some point.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Nine Feel-Good Documentaries to Lift Your Spirits after the Devastating Dear Zachary | Pajiba: Reviews, News, Quotes & Cultural Commentary

And the counter list of feel good documentaries. I really need to see Being Elmo at some point.

Young at Heart is a great documentary.

[Julio Riddols]

Finally got the balls up to watch Dear Zachary myself.. In a word, it was incredible. Despite the roller coaster of emotion it takes you on, I think ultimately it is uplifting for the way it was done, why it was done, and who it was done for. In the end, I was reminded that even through the most tragic and helpless moments of life, theres always a reason to keep living. Very happy to see that the Bagby family found theirs.

[sabotai]

I've been watching Mad Men and am now in the middle of season 3. I think I've decided that I don't like the show. Every (main to some-what main) character on that show is a bad person, and I want bad things to happen to them. I think that's the only reason I'm still watching, but that's starting to fade pretty quickly.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I've been watching Mad Men and am now in the middle of season 3. I think I've decided that I don't like the show. Every (main to some-what main) character on that show is a bad person, and I want bad things to happen to them. I think that's the only reason I'm still watching, but that's starting to fade pretty quickly.

I don't understand why people like that show. Every single character is a horrible person. The setting/costumes/etc. are obviously great but the rest of the show sucks.

[Tigercat]

Wow. I don't think I find any of the regulars to be horrible people, or even necessarily bad people. Flawed people that do bad things, sure. Well maybe Betty at her worst is a bad person, just because she enjoys hurting Don for revenge, but other than that... And as far as good people, Peggy, Sal, Harry, and maybe even Cooper (among others) I would consider as "good" characters, in that I can't remember any of them doing blatantly"bad" things.

[DataKing]

The Expendables
Big Trouble in Little China

[RainMaker]

Has anyone felt like the Instant selections have been getting worse? I know they added some CBS stuff and Mad Men, but movie wise, I can't find much I'm interested in seeing.

[RomaGoth]

Wife and I have been watching every episode of The Office via live stream on Netflix. We have seen some of them already, so we just skip ahead but it has been great because as busy as we are, we don't watch a whole lot of tv anymore. I love live streaming, and if I want to rent a movie I just go to Redbox.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Has anyone felt like the Instant selections have been getting worse? I know they added some CBS stuff and Mad Men, but movie wise, I can't find much I'm interested in seeing.

My Instant queue hovers around 90 so I have little worry for running out.

Watched Iron Monkey and Twilight Samurai. Iron Monkey was mindless fun. Twilight Samurai was a solid "simple man" type of story.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Has anyone felt like the Instant selections have been getting worse? I know they added some CBS stuff and Mad Men, but movie wise, I can't find much I'm interested in seeing.

Yeah, pickings are pretty slim. I am a child of the 60's though so being able to watch old Hawaii 5-0 and Mission Impossible episodes is worth $8 to me. Add in Cheers, Wings, etc and right now I'm ok with the service.

If price goes up, without much improved content, or selection gets worse (say Starz play disappears or my old tv shows) and I'll have no problem canceling the service.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Has anyone felt like the Instant selections have been getting worse? I know they added some CBS stuff and Mad Men, but movie wise, I can't find much I'm interested in seeing.

I've mentioned before that I dont really watch many current movies on Netflix. 90+% of the time I am watching a documentary. Before netflix I was never really into doc's, but I have noticed that there are more and more documentaries that I have been wanting to watch that isn't available there. I do not know if that is:

1.) Netflix losing movies.

or

2.) My taste and interests are expanding and it's just impossible for them to have everything.

[Julio Riddols]

Cold Weather is worth a watch.. Just make sure you give it time to get moving.

[QuikSand]

The documentary Forks Over Knives is apparently out and available to stream. Pretty powerful stuff if you're in tune at all with contemporary research on nutrition and health.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

The documentary Forks Over Knives is apparently out and available to stream. Pretty powerful stuff if you're in tune at all with contemporary research on nutrition and health.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by DataKing

The Expendables

Finally got around to watching it. It's about what I thought it was. I think Sly was a weak link which took away from it since he was the focal point of it. The storyline with the woman was underdeveloped. It was just, "we must save her."

13 Assassins.

Should have been named 13 Samurai instead. It's a remake of a 1963 film by the same name. Standard tale of a bunch of fighter types going out doing the good deal similar to Seven Samurai. It's rather violent. The big battle scene had to have run 30-45 minutes. I had to hit up wikipedia for one minor plot point that gets explained better there. It seems kind of thrown in though. There are subtitles. Still, it was rather good.

I see Roxanne is available as well. I think it gets lost in my list of great romantic comedies, so I wanted to watch it again and was just waiting for it to pop back up in my Instant queue.

[Shkspr]

Aaand it looks like Starz is out. Most of their stuff was filler, but the scary aspect of this from Netflix' point of view is that the Disney stuff was probably leaving anyway, and Starz was apparently still pushing for Netflix to raise prices on consumers again.

The big issue is that the more content Netflix gathers, the better an alternative to cable the service becomes. At the same time, the money Netflix was offering was only a third of what Starz gets through traditional cable operators. So Starz (and any other network with a library) sees huge revenue shortfalls if a Netflix subscription is good enough to cause someone to cancel cable. The interesting thing is that they were apparently pushing Netflix to raise prices immediately to bring them closer in line with cable subscription rates.

I thought it was pretty certain that in a couple of years Netflix was going to have to climb to $30-$40 per month just to afford all the content they wanted to make the streaming service attractive as a primary option. If any other content holder adopts this approach (and most all of the content holders these days also have a broadcast interest), Netflix moght see themselves put in the position of having to raise their prices just to make the deals, even if they can absorb the cost otherwise.

[Draft Dodger]

I put my money where my mouth was and pulled the plug on Netflix a couple of weeks ago.

[wade moore]

It's going to be interesting to see what this all looks like 5 years from now.

If prices get up into the $30-$40 range, then the selection certainly would have to be dramatically better than what it is now. I've already cut to just streaming at the $8/month range. At that price, I'm fine with it being empty space filler for when there are not new shows to watch.

But at $30-$40, it would have to be a cable replacement for me. It's a LONG way off from that now.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Finally got around to watching it. It's about what I thought it was. I think Sly was a weak link which took away from it since he was the focal point of it. The storyline with the woman was underdeveloped. It was just, "we must save her."

You don't watch movies like The Expendables for the plot. Or character development. Or dialog. I thought it was pretty good for what it was.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by wade moore

It's going to be interesting to see what this all looks like 5 years from now.

If prices get up into the $30-$40 range, then the selection certainly would have to be dramatically better than what it is now. I've already cut to just streaming at the $8/month range. At that price, I'm fine with it being empty space filler for when there are not new shows to watch.

But at $30-$40, it would have to be a cable replacement for me. It's a LONG way off from that now.

When they start hitting $20+/month, I cut that cord as well. Spend the money on Blu-Rays and buying the occasional critical show from Amazon.

[RainMaker]

I understand that Starz may not have been a good deal for them and that the selection wasn't great. But they're really getting to a point where there is just not much at all worth streaming. I burned through a few TV shows they have and some old movies I never got around to seeing. But the selection is mainly independent stuff and cable TV shows.

I know they want to push people toward the streaming plans, but the selection will be pretty horrible without snatching up a big deal in the near future.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

When they start hitting $20+/month, I cut that cord as well. Spend the money on Blu-Rays and buying the occasional critical show from Amazon.

I think Amazon/Apple/Zune becomes a thorn in their side at some point if prices increase.

The Mad Men rights purchase seems like a bad move in retrospect. Netflix isn't necessarily about one show or movie, it's about having a huge selection to choose from. I think that $100 million would have been better off spent bringing in a large library from a studio.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I think Amazon/Apple/Zune becomes a thorn in their side at some point if prices increase.

The Mad Men rights purchase seems like a bad move in retrospect. Netflix isn't necessarily about one show or movie, it's about having a huge selection to choose from. I think that $100 million would have been better off spent bringing in a large library from a studio.

Funny enough, Mad Men is the show I'm working through on their right now .

[tarcone]

Watched Forks over Knives. Pretty interesting show. Im considering changing my diet habits. I eat a lot of meat and processed foods right now. I have Type one diabetes and am tired a lot. Im wondering if a change in this direction would help. Also, Im wondering how easy of a lifestyle transition it would be. I think I am going to go to a bookstore today and look into purchasing a book on this and see if I can do it.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

You don't watch movies like The Expendables for the plot. Or character development. Or dialog. I thought it was pretty good for what it was.

Which is why I said it was about what I though it was. 13 Assassins had a bunch of violence once it got going and it was simply a far better film outside of the one random plot point.

[RainMaker]

Sorry guys, Forks over Knives is riddled with bullshit psuedo-science. It makes rather bold assumptions on a particular study that had many other variables in play. If you take from it "I should eat more veggies" then that's good. If you take from it "I must become a Vegan to live long", then that's not good.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Sorry guys, Forks over Knives is riddled with bullshit psuedo-science. It makes rather bold assumptions on a particular study that had many other variables in play. If you take from it "I should eat more veggies" then that's good. If you take from it "I must become a Vegan to live long", then that's not good.

But Bill Clinton did it. The Vegan thing that is.

[tarcone]

This is true. I dont think I will become a vegan, but I do need to limit the processed food. I am firm believer that processed food is an issue. Especially with kids. That, central air and video games, IMO, are the main culprits of obesity is our youth today.
Plus, I have a freezer full of dead cow that we bought last spring. Love me a good steak on the grill.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I am firm believer that processed food is an issue. Especially with kids. That, central air and video games, IMO, are the main culprits of obesity is our youth today.

They're also a good bit of what makes life seem at least tolerable for both them & their parents, all three represent significant upgrades over what generations past had. If that means a few extra inches of denim in the jeans, seems like a fair enough trade to me.

[terpkristin]

I might be going disc-only with Netflix soon, and use Amazon and Hulu for streaming...

/tk

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

They're also a good bit of what makes life seem at least tolerable for both them & their parents, all three represent significant upgrades over what generations past had. If that means a few extra inches of denim in the jeans, seems like a fair enough trade to me.

But what about the billions of dollars in health care costs? Is that tolerable?
Diabetes 2 is becoming an epidemic. Habits are formed in your youth. If you grew up sitting on the couch eating doritos and drinking mt. dew, you are more likely to do that when you are an adult.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

But what about the billions of dollars in health care costs? Is that tolerable?

If I'm not paying for it ...

If you grew up sitting on the couch eating doritos and drinking mt. dew, you are more likely to do that when you are an adult.

Gosh, good thing I prefer Diet Dew.

Look, my kid eats more broccoli in a month than chocolate. By his choice mind you. (Doritos, that's a different matter). But if enjoying X,Y, and/or Z is something that makes life more enjoyable, well, ain't none of us getting out alive anyway. I'd rather live to 55 & enjoy some of the little pleasures than to 85 worrying about every moment of enjoyment. And I've yet to find a single damned thing "healthy" that's remotely enjoyable. A life without (looks back at your quote) central air, video games and processed food? You can have your life without that stuff, but if you take mine away just be kind enough to shoot me now and please don't forget that anything worth shooting once is worth shooting twice. Wounding me instead of killing me would be unjustifiably cruel.

[tarcone]

But you are paying for the billions of dollars, unless you dont carry insurance or are lucky enough to be wealthy and pay for everything in cash. Thats the issue. We do pay for it.
And i get the enjoy life thing. But is life that much more enjoyable when you cant get off the couch and move around easily? When it hurts your knees to walk or you have to take medication everyday of your life or your insurance rates increase every year to cover the costs of a disease that is very preventable, thats not real enjoyable. But Im just one person. And I might be way off base.
But you are right, it is every mans choice. I just hate paying for other peoples choices through my increased insurance rates.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by tarcone

But you are paying for the billions of dollars, unless you dont carry insurance or are lucky enough to be wealthy and pay for everything in cash. Thats the issue. We do pay for it.

That was more of a subtle shot at the need to wean the gov't out of the health care business ... too subtle apparently, probably too abrupt a subject change (but that's where I was heading). Secondarily, it was a also about the need to get insurance back to what it was intended to be in the first place (hint: it shouldn't be for every sniffle)

But is life that much more enjoyable when you cant get off the couch and move around easily?

If I never left this f'n room again - assuming the AC, the 360, and the 'net connection all worked, I could probably deal. I could count the number of places I go that are more enjoyable to me than this bat cave & have plenty of fingers left over. And over 95% of my job is done from the same space to boot.

But Im just one person. And I might be way off base.

Hey, feel free to apply that to me just as much. I'm just throwing my own perspective into the pile.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I might be going disc-only with Netflix soon, and use Amazon and Hulu for streaming...

/tk

Honestly, though, if you don't think that Amazon/Hulu eventually run into the same issue, you're probably fooling yourself. Netflix is leading the curve because it's had the most growth in the space up to this point. If that growth transitions to another medium, the problems that caused that transition in the first place don't just go away. They re-manifest.

[Barkeep49]

The thing that's tempting to me about Amazon is that prime is useful. I already split a prime account with my brother. But since he's the primary on it he gets the streaming. So for a relatively modest fee I get the prime service I already use plus the streaming. But the fact that Amazon has bundled these two things I think actually only reinforces the idea that it's not a long term solution. But for the short term I think I might be just fine with it.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Honestly, though, if you don't think that Amazon/Hulu eventually run into the same issue, you're probably fooling yourself. Netflix is leading the curve because it's had the most growth in the space up to this point. If that growth transitions to another medium, the problems that caused that transition in the first place don't just go away. They re-manifest.

Well, to be frank, I haven't cut the cord nor do I intend do until something comes along that works. Truthfully, I use Netflix streaming to watch junk to fall asleep to. I don't watch much TV in general, and what they have streaming that I actually want to watch is minimal. What I really want to watch is stuff like Freaks and Geeks which can only be done via disc. So I'm not really thinking of cancelling Netflix streaming explicitly because of the Starz thing. It just barely meets my watching interests as-is.

Edit to add: I'm probably Netflix's ideal customer. I can't use Redbox for things I want to watch, so I'm probably going to keep both streaming and disc in the "short" term. And I'm kind of lazy, so I may never get around to cancelling.

I will say, though, I've had a LOT more issues lately streaming Netflix, and it's irritating me. Considering I mostly stream at 2 in the morning when I can't fall asleep or while waiting for drugs to kick in...

/tk

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by tarcone

But what about the billions of dollars in health care costs? Is that tolerable?
Diabetes 2 is becoming an epidemic. Habits are formed in your youth. If you grew up sitting on the couch eating doritos and drinking mt. dew, you are more likely to do that when you are an adult.

But processed foods and meat aren't really causing that. Eating too many calories is.

I somewhat agree with what Jon says. I mean I'm not going to put myself in a position where I die at 45. But I'm not giving up pizza during football games on Sunday.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Sorry guys, Forks over Knives is riddled with bullshit psuedo-science. It makes rather bold assumptions on a particular study that had many other variables in play. If you take from it "I should eat more veggies" then that's good. If you take from it "I must become a Vegan to live long", then that's not good.

I didn't see this movie. But my wife is a registered dietician and she's studied this stuff, the real science of it, and while I don't know what this movie is citing to, but it's pretty inrefuteable that a more plant-based diet is better for your health-wise than a more heavily meat-based diet and that processed foods can be quite harmful to you for various reasons. There's nothing "psuedo" about that.

It's one thing to acknowledge this, like Jon, me and many others I would suspect, and choose to continue to eat what they want for whatever reason, but it's quite another to claim it's not true.

Also, I don't see why deciding to be a vegan for health reasons (or whatever other reasons) is "not good"?