What Other Good Film Rental Websites Are There Like Netflix?

If you're a movie lover and use the internet often, you will probably have heard of the online stream rental website, Netflix.com. This is a website that, for a monthly subscription fee of £5.99, allows you to access a library of around 100,000 movies and TV shows to watch whenever you like! There is big business in this market and there are several companies fighting for the consumer attention, so in this article I will have a look at the other companies fighting for a share of your attention.

Love Film
Lovefilm.com is a site with a similar business model to Netflix. Owned by the huge retail giant Amazon.com, it already has established itself as one of the main players in the online stream/rental business.

One of the packages it offers, Lovefilm Instant, is essentially the same package as Netflix, however it is just £4.99 a month! The range of titles available with Instant are less than you get with Netflix though, and reviews for that particular package are pretty poor compared to Netflix.

There is one major difference between Lovefilm and Netflix, and that is the number of packages available. Where Netflix offers one flat rate £5.99 a month all access package, Lovefilm has lots of different options, and prices to go with them. For example you can rent DVD's to your home address for a monthly fee, or stream online for a monthly fee, or combine the two (more expensive). Check my resource box at the bottom for more information on the pricing of the different packages available, plus how to get free trials with both Netflix and Lovefilm.

The one main similarity with both companies is that both offer a one month free trial of their services. This gives the consumer a chance to work out if the service is worth the fees, a very good idea. REMEMBER! If you take up a free trail with either service you must take care to cancel the service before the month is up if you do not want to pay subscription! It only takes either a phone call or a couple of clicks with each service!

Blink Box
Blink box is an emerging company in the market and is growing in popularity in recent times. This is because it has a different take on the market to the other two companies, in that it does not charge monthly subscription fees! This works to the advantage of the occasional film watcher, as you only pay for a film when you want to watch one! Also Blink Box currently has a deal with Dominos Pizza (2012) where on a Monday you can watch a movie from 99p and get 40% off certain orders at Dominos Pizza! For more information and pricing check my resource box at the bottom.

I hope this article has helped in showing the different options available to using Netflix.com. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Snow White and the Huntsman Movie Review

If you're unfamiliar with my movie reviews, here's the way it works: I go check out the latest movie everyone is talking about, drink an astonishing amount of diet soda, and then report back to you, looking for as many things to make fun of as this space allows, while trying to strike a balance with the positive highlights. Welcome. Let's get started.

THE GOOD: What we have here is an attempt at taking the most mild-mannered and somewhat pathetic princess in history, and giving her a backbone. This is not your childhood fairy tale version, with whistling dwarves and a helpless girl in a dress, running around with her hand over her mouth, always looking surprised. It's a much darker and creepier scene playing out, which frankly adds to the appeal in my opinion.

Left motherless as a small child, Snow White (played by Kristin Stewart) has to adjust to life with her stepmother Raveena (Charlize Theron) who is the epitome of the word, "self absorbed". When it becomes clear that Mommy Dearest has nothing good in store for her, Snow White escapes into the forest where she encounters all sorts of creepy things brought on by hallucinogenic spores, and where she also first meets the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who is somewhat a nice hallucination of sorts himself. Sent to kill her, the Huntsman is faced with the decision of serving the wicked Queen, or helping Snow White escape. And as the bad boy he is, you can imagine what he chooses to do.

There were a lot of positive's in this film for me - the visual effects were stunning, and Charlize Theron is so terrifying as the Queen that I found myself considering ways to make myself less attractive so I wouldn't risk encountering her soul sucking vanity. I even have to admit that Kristin Stewart, who I am not particularly impressed with as an actress, was perfect for the role - not only because it required very little facial expression, but because THIS Snow White isn't exactly "girly" - and let's face it, Ms. Stewart has never been known for acting ladylike. And to round things out, Chris Hemsworth with a Scottish accent is the stuff dreams are made of. Thank you.

THE BAD: I mentioned previously that there were no whistling dwarves in this version, but rest assured that dwarves ARE present and accounted for - they just aren't particularly cute and snuggly little buggers. I didn't mind the fact that they were all a little rough looking, but I found myself completely unable to understand what they were saying from time to time. I'm still not sure if it was the British accents or if they were all, in fact, a bunch of mumblers.

THE UGLY: There was certainly no shortage of icky things to see in this movie: Stabbings, internal organ removals, and the Queen eating the still warm heart of a dead animal to name a few. Still, when you are faced with the glaring possibility that the Queen and her weirdo brother seem to have some sort of incestuous thing going on, all else pales in comparison. I don't have a brother, but if I did, I'd like to think that he wouldn't feel the need to watch me take a bath, nor would I feel inclined to chat it up with him as I step into a giant pool of milk. But that's just how I roll.

Bottom line, if you like your fairy tales on the darker side, with the fair maiden being less "helpless" and more "ragged mess", then this is the version for you.

The Trophy Wife gives this movie 4 trophies.

Snow White and the Huntsman has a running time of 127 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality. (No F words used) Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Phyllis and Harold (2008)

In our youth-obsessed culture, something awful happens to people of a certain age. We take away their humanity. Once white hair and wrinkles achieve a certain critical mass, we tend to think of the individual as a mute, taxidermied version of a once vital family member who gets only minimal attention. And when a couple makes it to this stage, they're looked upon as cute and cuddly - we assume happiness and harmony.

Not so with Phyllis and Harold, a captivating documentary by Cindy Kleine. It's an unflinching portrait of her parents' marriage of nearly 60 years that was anything but a storybook romance - and couldn't be told until after the death of her father.

It opens slyly with a scene of Phyllis and Harold Kleine in the kitchen, going about their day-to-day routine. They bicker. They tease. They're cute. And then, there's a cut to Kleine, who addresses the camera and tells us that for as long as she can remember she's been trying to figure out who these people are and why they were together. The answers unfold as a kind of 20th century suburban tragedy.

Harold emerges as a kind of World War II era everyman - a dentist version of the guys on Mad Men - confident and primed for success in the upper end of the post-war middle class, determined to provide his wife and two daughters with all the material comfort he can afford. He exhaustively documented his family's life, taking photographs and home movies of daily events and the globetrotting vacations he lavished on his wife. His version of their life together is a happy one.

Phyllis has a different take altogether. From her first words, Phyllis paints a picture of regret, of having settled. It's a naked confession that blows the movie wide open and turns it into something completely other than what I expected. The source of regret is an affair with a married man that began before she married Harold, but carried on into their first years as husband and wife.

Kleine interviews her parents separately, and what is striking is how alike they view the facts of their marriage, but how differently the meaning. Their interviews are intercut to a chilling effect - underscoring how people so close for so long can yet be miles apart.

Phyllis ended the affair after five years, unwilling to walk out and unable to live with the stress of a double-life. "I didn't see how you could build a building on such a hurtful relationship - all the hurt we would inflict," she said. The man "disappeared to California. But I never stopped thinking about him."

Harold, oblivious to the affair, focused on his career and a string of real estate investments, while Phyllis decorated the house and focused on their social life. Their housekeeper took care of the girls and was a source of comfort in the midst of their parents' constant battles. The Kleines come across as a family in a David Sedaris story. Phyllis systematically turned her daughters against her father through the use of secrets - withholding information from Harold that would anger or hurt him - so that, despite her emotional distance, the three were unified by a common enemy.

I would have liked to have heard more about Harold - gotten his side of the story - but I understand why Kleine gave a pat explanation for him and pushed him to the background. Secrets. That, and her mother's interviews are mesmerizing. There's a confessional quality to them that borders on the voyeuristic to watch - her emotions ranging from shame and regret to pure joy as she reflects on her true love. It's a rare glimpse into an aspect of marriage that's almost never explored this honestly.

Harold never learned of his wife's secret. He died during the making of the documentary, alleviating his youngest daughter of the burden of what to do with such hurtful material. And with him out of the way, the daughters help orchestrate a reunion with the man who siphoned off so much of their mother's attention over the years. It made me want to know more about Harold - what he did to make it so easy for his daughters to discount the betrayal and facilitate their mother's wishes.

It's easy to judge, but I'm betting we all walk around with secrets, shame, and guilt that we never confess. Cindy Kleine has given us a document of one woman's unrepentant confession, and though it may be painful to watch, it's impossible to turn away.

youtube.com/watch?v=TvmFG8JEWqU&feature=related. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Phyllis and Harold (2008)

In our youth-obsessed culture, something awful happens to people of a certain age. We take away their humanity. Once white hair and wrinkles achieve a certain critical mass, we tend to think of the individual as a mute, taxidermied version of a once vital family member who gets only minimal attention. And when a couple makes it to this stage, they're looked upon as cute and cuddly - we assume happiness and harmony.

Not so with Phyllis and Harold, a captivating documentary by Cindy Kleine. It's an unflinching portrait of her parents' marriage of nearly 60 years that was anything but a storybook romance - and couldn't be told until after the death of her father.

It opens slyly with a scene of Phyllis and Harold Kleine in the kitchen, going about their day-to-day routine. They bicker. They tease. They're cute. And then, there's a cut to Kleine, who addresses the camera and tells us that for as long as she can remember she's been trying to figure out who these people are and why they were together. The answers unfold as a kind of 20th century suburban tragedy.

Harold emerges as a kind of World War II era everyman - a dentist version of the guys on Mad Men - confident and primed for success in the upper end of the post-war middle class, determined to provide his wife and two daughters with all the material comfort he can afford. He exhaustively documented his family's life, taking photographs and home movies of daily events and the globetrotting vacations he lavished on his wife. His version of their life together is a happy one.

Phyllis has a different take altogether. From her first words, Phyllis paints a picture of regret, of having settled. It's a naked confession that blows the movie wide open and turns it into something completely other than what I expected. The source of regret is an affair with a married man that began before she married Harold, but carried on into their first years as husband and wife.

Kleine interviews her parents separately, and what is striking is how alike they view the facts of their marriage, but how differently the meaning. Their interviews are intercut to a chilling effect - underscoring how people so close for so long can yet be miles apart.

Phyllis ended the affair after five years, unwilling to walk out and unable to live with the stress of a double-life. "I didn't see how you could build a building on such a hurtful relationship - all the hurt we would inflict," she said. The man "disappeared to California. But I never stopped thinking about him."

Harold, oblivious to the affair, focused on his career and a string of real estate investments, while Phyllis decorated the house and focused on their social life. Their housekeeper took care of the girls and was a source of comfort in the midst of their parents' constant battles. The Kleines come across as a family in a David Sedaris story. Phyllis systematically turned her daughters against her father through the use of secrets - withholding information from Harold that would anger or hurt him - so that, despite her emotional distance, the three were unified by a common enemy.

I would have liked to have heard more about Harold - gotten his side of the story - but I understand why Kleine gave a pat explanation for him and pushed him to the background. Secrets. That, and her mother's interviews are mesmerizing. There's a confessional quality to them that borders on the voyeuristic to watch - her emotions ranging from shame and regret to pure joy as she reflects on her true love. It's a rare glimpse into an aspect of marriage that's almost never explored this honestly.

Harold never learned of his wife's secret. He died during the making of the documentary, alleviating his youngest daughter of the burden of what to do with such hurtful material. And with him out of the way, the daughters help orchestrate a reunion with the man who siphoned off so much of their mother's attention over the years. It made me want to know more about Harold - what he did to make it so easy for his daughters to discount the betrayal and facilitate their mother's wishes.

It's easy to judge, but I'm betting we all walk around with secrets, shame, and guilt that we never confess. Cindy Kleine has given us a document of one woman's unrepentant confession, and though it may be painful to watch, it's impossible to turn away.

youtube.com/watch?v=TvmFG8JEWqU&feature=related. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

What Other Good Film Rental Websites Are There Like Netflix?

If you're a movie lover and use the internet often, you will probably have heard of the online stream rental website, Netflix.com. This is a website that, for a monthly subscription fee of £5.99, allows you to access a library of around 100,000 movies and TV shows to watch whenever you like! There is big business in this market and there are several companies fighting for the consumer attention, so in this article I will have a look at the other companies fighting for a share of your attention.

Love Film
Lovefilm.com is a site with a similar business model to Netflix. Owned by the huge retail giant Amazon.com, it already has established itself as one of the main players in the online stream/rental business.

One of the packages it offers, Lovefilm Instant, is essentially the same package as Netflix, however it is just £4.99 a month! The range of titles available with Instant are less than you get with Netflix though, and reviews for that particular package are pretty poor compared to Netflix.

There is one major difference between Lovefilm and Netflix, and that is the number of packages available. Where Netflix offers one flat rate £5.99 a month all access package, Lovefilm has lots of different options, and prices to go with them. For example you can rent DVD's to your home address for a monthly fee, or stream online for a monthly fee, or combine the two (more expensive). Check my resource box at the bottom for more information on the pricing of the different packages available, plus how to get free trials with both Netflix and Lovefilm.

The one main similarity with both companies is that both offer a one month free trial of their services. This gives the consumer a chance to work out if the service is worth the fees, a very good idea. REMEMBER! If you take up a free trail with either service you must take care to cancel the service before the month is up if you do not want to pay subscription! It only takes either a phone call or a couple of clicks with each service!

Blink Box
Blink box is an emerging company in the market and is growing in popularity in recent times. This is because it has a different take on the market to the other two companies, in that it does not charge monthly subscription fees! This works to the advantage of the occasional film watcher, as you only pay for a film when you want to watch one! Also Blink Box currently has a deal with Dominos Pizza (2012) where on a Monday you can watch a movie from 99p and get 40% off certain orders at Dominos Pizza! For more information and pricing check my resource box at the bottom.

I hope this article has helped in showing the different options available to using Netflix.com. Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.

Snow White and the Huntsman Movie Review

If you're unfamiliar with my movie reviews, here's the way it works: I go check out the latest movie everyone is talking about, drink an astonishing amount of diet soda, and then report back to you, looking for as many things to make fun of as this space allows, while trying to strike a balance with the positive highlights. Welcome. Let's get started.

THE GOOD: What we have here is an attempt at taking the most mild-mannered and somewhat pathetic princess in history, and giving her a backbone. This is not your childhood fairy tale version, with whistling dwarves and a helpless girl in a dress, running around with her hand over her mouth, always looking surprised. It's a much darker and creepier scene playing out, which frankly adds to the appeal in my opinion.

Left motherless as a small child, Snow White (played by Kristin Stewart) has to adjust to life with her stepmother Raveena (Charlize Theron) who is the epitome of the word, "self absorbed". When it becomes clear that Mommy Dearest has nothing good in store for her, Snow White escapes into the forest where she encounters all sorts of creepy things brought on by hallucinogenic spores, and where she also first meets the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who is somewhat a nice hallucination of sorts himself. Sent to kill her, the Huntsman is faced with the decision of serving the wicked Queen, or helping Snow White escape. And as the bad boy he is, you can imagine what he chooses to do.

There were a lot of positive's in this film for me - the visual effects were stunning, and Charlize Theron is so terrifying as the Queen that I found myself considering ways to make myself less attractive so I wouldn't risk encountering her soul sucking vanity. I even have to admit that Kristin Stewart, who I am not particularly impressed with as an actress, was perfect for the role - not only because it required very little facial expression, but because THIS Snow White isn't exactly "girly" - and let's face it, Ms. Stewart has never been known for acting ladylike. And to round things out, Chris Hemsworth with a Scottish accent is the stuff dreams are made of. Thank you.

THE BAD: I mentioned previously that there were no whistling dwarves in this version, but rest assured that dwarves ARE present and accounted for - they just aren't particularly cute and snuggly little buggers. I didn't mind the fact that they were all a little rough looking, but I found myself completely unable to understand what they were saying from time to time. I'm still not sure if it was the British accents or if they were all, in fact, a bunch of mumblers.

THE UGLY: There was certainly no shortage of icky things to see in this movie: Stabbings, internal organ removals, and the Queen eating the still warm heart of a dead animal to name a few. Still, when you are faced with the glaring possibility that the Queen and her weirdo brother seem to have some sort of incestuous thing going on, all else pales in comparison. I don't have a brother, but if I did, I'd like to think that he wouldn't feel the need to watch me take a bath, nor would I feel inclined to chat it up with him as I step into a giant pool of milk. But that's just how I roll.

Bottom line, if you like your fairy tales on the darker side, with the fair maiden being less "helpless" and more "ragged mess", then this is the version for you.

The Trophy Wife gives this movie 4 trophies.

Snow White and the Huntsman has a running time of 127 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality. (No F words used) Providing articles, reviews and writings on movies online.