Dirty Discs

Jim and I love a movie in the evening as a break - a great way to relax from the work day. We have a Netflix "2" subscription so we are rotating two films or more through here every week. The hard part is keeping up with the queque. Making choices. My mood when I open up Netflix to add to the queque has a lot to do with our eclectic "play bill".

This list of some of the films we have watched recently gives you an idea of what I mean:

IRIS - a touching film about British novelist Iris Murdoch's journey as Alzheimers took her away from reality. Dame Judi Dench, as always, is superb in the role.

BASQUAIT - an interesting downer in the story of a young Haitian artist who was overcome by his quick " Cinderella" success in the New York art world that made him an international art star. Befriended by Andy Warhol he was adrift when Warhol died and he himself died of a herioin overdose at age 27. Not a pretty story.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY - a beautifully filmed story of a man, whose brain is intact but he is locked, mute, , in his immobile body, following a stroke. After a time he learns to communicate by blinking his eyelids and saves his spirit by releasing his imagination. Inspiring.


JACKSON POLLOCK x 2
The Ed Harris bio pic
The BBC Documentary
For some reason I ordered both these films about the mythic expressionist painter of the 1950s who became a legend through his art work and his alcohol soaked life and death. Ed Harris plays Jackson Pollock in the first film and in the second Pollock's friends talk about him. Take your pick, if you are interested - the story comes out the same.

MURIEL's WEDDING - I picked this Australian film starring Toni Collette from the COMEDY list but its not one. Its a melancholy, sad, and touching story of an awkward "ugly duckling" who finds herself as a swan.

All these films had one thing in common - the discs arrived dirty and at a crucial moment in each film the **** disc stuck -
talk about frustrating. At least in the movie theater you can clap, stomp your feet,or holler at the projectionist. We started over, wiped the disc, jumped it from scene to scene - no luck.

I hope Netflix customer service takes my message to heart.

Tip: Check your disc before popping in the player.