Thanks Red Box

I love movies. In the past, I used to go to as many as two a week, if there were movies I wanted to see. In the past year or so though, not only have I not had the money to carry on this practice, but there have not been sufficient films showing that I wanted to see. I am a fussy film watcher, just as I am a fussy reader, but while I might pick up books at a whim, and put them down just as fast, I have never been that way about films. I peruse reviews carefully, making sure the reviewers are people whose opinions I respect, and sometimes even then do not go see the film until it shows up at the discount movie theater or on video or cable.
But this year, some films I wanted to see escaped the theater before I got around to seeing them, so last week, I got two of them on Red Box. I had always assumed that the films on Red Box would not be ones I would be interested in seeing at all, since I prefer indie films, little oddities that would be unlikely to land up there. But this time there were a couple more popular films I was curious about--Moneyball and The Help.
I stood in a long line as a father and daughter dawdled over their choices, at last choosing three films. I wasn't sure how to use the gizmo, so the person behind me helped me find the films I wanted and figure out how to submit my information and card and get the DVDs.
I had twenty-four hours to watch the films, and since this new computer doesn't have a CD or DVD drive, it would have to be on the main t.v., which is usually occupied on weekends by guys watching ball games, whether they be basketball, football, golf, or some other sport. So I had to squeeze in my movie watching between tournaments of various kinds, though I suppose I could have asked them to set up our other DVD player to work on Jeremy's television set. It has only basic cable, but that doesn't matter for watching movies.
The first half hour or so of Moneyball was rather slow. Perhaps that is because though I have watched my share of Jeremy's club baseball and varsity baseball games, I have a limited understanding of the game's finer points. So perhaps it was just going over my head. But this picked up, and I began to enjoy the characters in the film. It also helped that R liked the film a lot, and it piqued his interest in the real life person on whom the film's main character was based.
I watched The Help in bits and pieces, before and after Sunday yoga class. At first it seemed hopelessly stereotyped and oversimplified to me, and I still think the characters were too stereotyped to be satisfying, but it was fun to watch, anyhow. I don't think it ought to get an academy award or anything though. The Academy tends to give things awards just to make a political point, and that's too bad, especially when it pushes out more accomplished films. But the whole discussion surrounding the film's nomination is an important one, and made me realize just how few roles there are for women, black or white, of a certain age.
I most certainly will be visiting Red Box again when there is a film I want to see. In fact, there may be one or two I have missed that I can still go back and catch. It's cheaper than going to the movies at a theater, especially now that gas is headed for $5.00 per gallon! So I have the feeling that the line will be growing in the coming months and weeks. I will be ready for that.