My wife and I sat down to watch a video for the first time since I can remember. We watched "The Devil Wears Prada," a cute movie about the cutthroat fashion industry. While the movie was fun, I was more impressed by Netflix.com. I signed us up for Netflix, the online video rental site, because we don’t have a motor vehicle here in Virginia and don’t have easy pedestrian access to a video store. Plus, I suspect that we won’t have access in Paraguay to a good, convenient video store stocked with English-language Hollywood videos, so I thought that Netflix would fit the bill. If you already use Netflix, you know the drill. You make a list of videos you want to see, rank them, and Netflix will ship them to you based on the subscription plan you choose. After you watch one, you mail it back in the free mailer Netflix provides, and Netflix will send you your next video. While the price comes to about $3.00 per DVD, not exactly a bargain, it’s worthwhile to subscribe to Netflix when you are living overseas or don’t have easy access to a video store. Plus, with 75,000 titles, it’s fairly easy to find movies you want to watch. Most video stores carry far fewer titles. Of course, a search for the movie "The Honorary Consul" turned up empty, but I was able to find "Moon over Parador" on Netflix (both movies prominently feature Paraguay).
I remember times when I would walk around the New Release section of a video store and scratch my head looking for something to watch. Friday nights were especially trying. I could always find copies of "Vampire Girls from Mars" and its ilk, but who wants to waste money on leftover videos? I would much rather go online, make a list of videos I want to watch, pick them up in the mail, send them back by mail when they’re done, and pay by credit card. So, I’m sold. Netflix should work out just fine.
