Browsing Netflix

Taking my cue from Ben, I’m browsing Netflix to see what it’s recommending for me. Of course, I can’t actually watch this stuff on my nice big-screen TV because PSN is down due to a super-fun security breach and for some reason they won’t let me watch Netflix movies without logging in. Thanks, Sony. Anyway, first up, their “Top Picks for Mark”:

  • Before Sunset – A weird suggestion, considering I’ve never seen Before Sunrise, but I do believe I have that first film in my queue somewhere, so it’s not the worst possible suggestion.
  • Boyz n the Hood – I have no idea why they’re recommending this for me, but it’s a movie I’d like to revisit at some point, so not a terrible choice.
  • The Passion of Joan of Arc – My queue is full of Criterion releases and a little while ago, I also threw a ton of silent films in my queue (as that’s an era of film I’m not terribly familiar with), so this isn’t really a surprise.
  • The Man Who Never Was – The first really interesting choice from the list – I’ve never actually heard of this one, but its description is: “Based on a true espionage story, this World War II drama follows Lt. Commander Montagu (Clifton Webb) in an operation to fool the Nazis into believing that British forces plan to land in Greece.” Added to queue!
  • The Crazies – The recent remake starring Tim Olyphantastic. I’ve actually heard good things about this, and I’m always up for some horror, so this is actually a decent recommendation.
  • Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 – French crime epic? Not a bad idea. Another sequel (kinda, I think both movies are supposed to be seen together) where I haven’t seen the first movie, but it’s still a decent recommendation.
  • Marwencol – Relatively obscure recent documentary about someone who survives an accident, but suffers from brain damage and deals with that by making an absurdly detailed 1/6 scale model of a WWII-era town. I’d heard of this, but have no idea what to really make of it. Probably an interesting recommendation on Netflix’s part though.
  • Hoop Dreams – I’ve always meant to watch this, as I hear it’s one of the best documentaries of all time, so a pretty good recommendation here.
  • Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures – Another not so bad recommendation, though I haven’t watched much in the Wallace & Gromit catalog, I’d like to check some of them out.
  • The Wages of Fear – Interesting. Another Criterion pick, probably also chosen because I really enjoyed Diabolique (same director).

Some weird picks there, but a pretty solid list! Let’s see what else is showing up on the page. They break things out by various categories that they think I like, so let’s see what they’ve got:

  • Raunchy Showbiz Movies – Apparently based on my interest in one of the Kevin Smith Q&A DVDs and a documentary called American Grindhouse that I don’t remember watching, but which I apparently rated 4 stars (out of 5). Perhaps not the worst category possible, but the top 4 recommendations? A Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner (fleh), Finding Bliss (no idea what this is), The Amateurs (again, never heard of it), and I Want Candy (I got nothing). Strangely, 3 of those 4 are, in some way, about adult films. What are you trying to tell me, Netflix? Can you see my browser history or something?
  • Sci-Fi & Fantasy – I’m sure you’re all surprised by this one. Top 4 suggestions: TiMER, Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer, Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus (it stars Urkel!) and Hunter Prey. So basically, SyFy original caliber films here. Bleh.
  • Mind-bending Crime TV Shows – Ok, I can go along with that. And look, the first one is something I’d actually like to watch from start to finish: Twin Peaks. Someone lent me the first season DVDs a while back, but that set didn’t include the Pilot episode, so I was totally lost. The other recommended shows are not quite as good: Medium, Life on Mars, and Persons Unknown. There might be something there, but I’m not overly enthused.

So there we have it. Maybe I’ll actually watch some of this junk someday. Or maybe not.

3 thoughts on “Browsing Netflix”

  1. I like your personalized recommendations. There are several I’m not familiar with that I’d like to see; although I’m not too keen on Before Sunset. Loved the first film when I was in college; but that’s the perfect age for Before Sunrise.

    I watched American Grindhouse recently; it was a very good documentary but I’m not sure I would call it “raunchy”. I guess because of the subject matter? Even then, it’s a little iffy.

    Your Sci-Fi and Fantasy line is identical to mine when I get straight-up recommendations instead of mixed-genre.

    Netflix recommendations have come a long way, though. I used to be constantly perplexed as to how their algorithms could make such bizarre matches.

  2. I’ve actually been playing a game with Netflix ratings for a few years now. I always inflate or deflate my ratings by about 1 star, under the assumption that the higher (or lower) rated something is, the more it will contribute to better ratings. So I rate lots of things I enjoy 5 stars, even though in objective terms, they’re not really that good. Similarly, there are movies that are very well made, but which I don’t want used for recommendations. It seems to be working reasonably well, though it’s difficult for me to do this because I generally try to avoid hyperbolic ratings and rarely give out the highest (or lowest) rating possible. If I had my way, I’d give most things I watch 3 stars.

  3. Managing rating systems is always a fun challenge. I don’t really like the 5-star system because of a lack of nuance, but when you get down to it, ten stars doesn’t really help much.

    I thought the Music Genome Project might allow for more accurate ratings and something of that nature could be applied for moves; but I find I disagree with a large percentage of the “genes” attributed to each song. Enough so that I reject about fifty percent of Pandora’s suggestions, universally.

    Opinion is just too subjective. 🙂

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