Time Out offered a free pair of film tickets and a free month rental of DVD’s from LoveFilm two months ago. Usually disdainful of such offers I wondered what I had to lose. Nothing, and I had a free cinema ticket to gain. But whilst signed up I might as well see a few DVD’s of films I had missed in the cinema.
Suckered and sucked in. The promotion worked perfectly for me. I am hooked. My previous objection to DVD’s have weakened, and what is more, my consumption of these little packets are not affecting my moviegoing at all. So here is what I use it for (in order of cultural importance):
1) To watch acclaimed US television programmes I don’t get round to seeing
2) To watch rubbish films that even I refused to see in the cinema, often to uncover the odd under-rated gem (and improve my already obsessive completist MENTALITY)
3) To watch films from ver canon that I have never seen (cf the conversation had with Sarah Sonic, Mark S and Mark C at the last Club Freaky Trigger)
4) To double check if old favourites are still any good.
So to talk about 1 first, the watching of television I have missed. The best thing about this is that as you only get one DVD at a time, your watching of the TV series is slightly staggered. I have a few spectatorship problems with devouring an entire TV series in a day or two (as I did with 24 season 3). The programmes were not designed to be consumed this way. Also the forty minutes a US episode lasts is perfect to watch before I go to work, go to bed, on a coach journey or while in the bath. With DVD rental for VFM you want a fast turnaround time and episodes are effortless at this. And all without having to buy combersome box-sets.
I shall return to the other reasons soon…