I recently jumped onto Netflix, and am somewhat happy I did. When I was a kid and all through high school, I was a total movie person. Wanted to make them, and enjoyed reading about movies and watching all kinds of stuff. After my stint in the Army National Guard, where I couldn’t watch much TV or movies for about 8 months straight, I stopped watching movies and television. Just didn’t feel like it anymore.

I had a boyfriend who really got me into independent cinema in 1997, but we had a terrible relationship and breakup. (He and I were both aquarians). Since Hawaii is such a small place, seeing him at the HIFF, HUFF, and other showcases of foreign and independent film was unavoidable, so I stopped going to those since seeing him always made me feel like crap.

I finally started going to the movies on a semi-regular basis in 2005. Meaning, I’d only go when there was something I really really wanted to see since the casual trip to the movies for 2 people costs approximately $30 if you want moderate snacks with your movie. The $9 price tag of a movie ticket makes me feel like the movie has to be pretty damn satisfying, or I wasted $9. Maybe I would feel different if I was going to the movie and trying to Hook-up, but I already have a boyfriend (Virgo) so it’s not the same when you see a crappy movie with your boyfriend, as opposed to some new person you’re trying to hook-up with. Because when you’re trying to hook up, it’s not the movie that matters. (To me, anyway.)

But anyway, I got Netflix. My first movie rental was “Little Buddha” and I loved it (5-stars on Netflix). I opted for the unlimited-2-movies-at-a-time plan. I am still not thoroughly into watching movies like I used to be, so I’m starting off slow. My next 2 rentals are “Grand Canyon” and “Waiting for Guffman.” Basically, I’m catching up on a lot of movies I missed out on in the 90’s.

“Little Buddha” was a beautifully shot film. I appreciate cinematography a lot. I’m intrigued with Tibet, Nepal, and Buddhism. I’ve never practiced buddhism, but it always seems very cool to me. Currently I am in limbo about any religious beliefs. I thought Lama Norbu was played so well, and the child actor, Alex Wiesendanger was also very good. Keanu gets dissed so much for his acting, but I really thought he did fine in the role of Siddhartha. I think a lot of people just like hating on the him for whatever reason. No one else could be Neo. Nobody. But back to Little Buddha – really enjoyed it. Chris Isaak was surprisingly good. I’d never seen him act before. Every time I see movies about Tibet or Nepal, I want to go there.

I signed up last week, and I get 2 weeks for free. Too bad I didn’t wait since a friend of mine got an offer to get him hooked up with an additional movie a month and my first month would have been free if he’d referred me. Shucks. Sorry J!