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Outgribe.com Science Fiction and Fantasy Movie Reviews
FAQ
Q: My local video rental store doesn't have some of the movies you recommend. Where can I get them?
A: There's convenient online DVD-rental services. Their lists of titles are much longer than the local store's because they store their DVDs in central warehouses so they have lots more room. The way they work is that you sign up to have a certain number of DVDs in your possession at any one time, for a flat fee per month. Like, 3 for $20 or 5 for $30. You search their offerings online and choose the titles you like to populate your personalized queue. They send your first 3 or 5 movies. When you're done with a movie, you slip it in its postage-prepaid envelope and mail it back, and when they get it, they send the next title in your queue. No need to drive anywhere and no late fees. And you can browse for more movies for your queue anytime you're at your computer and want to goof off. I use
netflix, by far the biggest of these companies; they have something like 90% of the US market. Its
competitors
tend to be more specialized.
Q: But netflix doesn't have the movie I want.
A: There's many DVDs that netflix doesn't have. Also, there's movies which have not yet been released on DVD; you can only get them on VHS. Also, there's movies that aren't readily available on VHS either. And then there's movies that are available on DVD, but not in NTSC format, which is the format for North America. (The different-regional-DVD-formats system was instituted as a way to control distribution.) You can buy a multi-region DVD player and enjoy a wider selection of foreign movies. Netflix carries only NTSC DVDs, but other DVD rental companies carry a wider range of formats.
Q: What do the ratings mean?
A:
*****: excellent
****: very good
***: good
**: has good points
*: may entertain in a pinch
NR: not recommended
NR!!!: exceptionally bad
Q: What does "outgribe" mean?
A: It's a verb invented by Lewis Carrol. It appears in "Jabberwocky" (Through the Looking Glass). For more information please see
Lenny's Alice in Wonderland Site (Topic index->Poem origins->Jabberwocky).
Q: What is the history and program for your reviews database?
A: I put it online in March 2005. I'll be adding several reviews a week for the foreseeable future. As of January 04 2006, there's 426 reviews.
Q: Why did you write these reviews?
A: Criticizing is fun. And these reviews are a valuable resource, because they're right. Other collections of reviews aren't that useful because they're mostly wrong. For one thing, they are written by movie buffs, which strikes me as an odd fascination. Movies are mostly lame, so I wouldn't trust what a movie buff thinks too much. I especially don't trust what a critic formally educated in film says. Their opinions are built upon years of taking classes venerating the "classics" or crazy experimental or PC crap. Followed by years of dealings with the entertainment industry. Look at the top 100 films the Village Voice critics' poll came up with. Citizen Kane is #1 (as it is also in the American Film Institute top 100 US films list). Huh? I hate Orson Welles, and Citizen Kane especially. This alone says I have no use for critics' reviews. This list is so utterly wrong. For crying out loud, Singing in the Rain is #73. That drivel. The first Fred Astaire musical is at number ... well I don't know, because none of his movies are in the top 100. And more relevantly to the topic of the reviews I've produced, SF and fantasy: the first SF/F movie in the list is 2001: A Space Odyssey, at #11. See what I mean?
If you would like to make a comment or ask a question, please email outgribe:AT:gmail:DOT:com.
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