Netflix can be great - if you (ab)use it well. My wife signed up for Netflix about a year and a half ago, and at times, we've enjoyed having three DVDs out at a time, and had the time to enjoy quite a lot of good movies, only to see them replaced with new ones just days after the old films are sent back to company headquarters. Of late, we haven't maximized the service to its true potential - as we've been busy, and during downtime found other ways to be entertained.
Yesterday, we opened one of the trademark red envelopes and saw March of the Penguins, a documentary which chronicles the Emperor Penguins' march across snowy, icy, Antarctica in search of a mate and family-building. The trek is amazing - to see the animals make tremendous sacrifice to extend the population and braving the most harsh conditions on the planet is something to behold. In the US version of the DVD, actor Morgan Freeman narrates and walks us through the journey. I understand the original documentary, in French, has the penguins talking, without the narration, and were I to understand French, that would have been an interesting take as well.
It might not have a 200-million budget, guns blazing, with sex and violence, but it's worth seeing despite all that. Watch it - you might learn something.
