Streaming 411

I was introduced to a great site I wanted to share with my readers that reviews and rates films beyond what so-called gurus determine is "quality".  Their rating methodology focuses on a term that they have coined that makes sense - rewatchability.  In other words, many of us wouldn't watch movies that say have won an Oscar for best picture.  In fact, I'm guessing wildly popular films like The Hunger Games will never even be mentioned at the Oscars.  YouTube's or Amazon's rating system showed a lot of confusing results - 5-star ratings outnumbered all other ratings, with 1-star ratings coming in a distant second.  So YouTube switched to a thumbs up or thumbs down, and Amazon defines 4+ stars as favorable.

Rotten Tomatoes, they assert, comes closest to rating accurately, but it relies on anonymity, so you don't know who's giving their opinion - are they a lot like you, or are they polar opposite to you?  Goodfilms notes that we tend to rely heaviliy on the opinions of our friends, and whether they simply liked a movie or loved it, or if they would never recommend it to their friends.

In fact, I think Goodfilm's assessment of the film Transformers 2 speaks for itself:

"Now, when grappling with what score to give a film like Transformers 2, you don't have to decide between 'Transformers Rock!' and 'I wish I could have transformed into a gun to shoot myself,' like the Amazon example above.  Now you can freely admit that it's a long, loud, confusing mess of a film and you like it anyway."  Well said, guys!

His most recent blog post entitled Netflix vs iTunes for Movies You'd Actually Watch is an excellent synopsys of the problem with monthly streaming subscriptions where you can access their entire library compared to a la carte rental or purchase options.  iTunes have 5 times more films that most people are watching compared to Netflix.  Problem is, you have to rent each individual title at $4 a pop, compared to just paying $8 per month.  Why the disparity?  Maddern correctly notes that "they have entirely different business models and constraints to consider."  Another issue to consider is where do you live?  Most subscribers in the United States are very satisfied with Netflix (and yes, we still rent movies from other venues once in awhile to supplement their library), but countries like Canada and the United Kingdom report much smaller libraries.  They will likely still need to rely more heavily on pay per view.

So how do you choose which service?  Many people are just interested in something to watch with "rewatchability".  A combination of a Netflix or Hulu subscription will give you tons of movies and television shows, but when you need a good flick, turn to a service like iTunes, Amazon Instant Video or Vudu to rent a film.  And when you're drawing a blank, turn to social movie reviews like Goodfilms and see what your friends are watching.

For more great sites that will help you with at-home streaming, check out our resources page.