Netflix... aka How We Spent Our Summer Vacation

We love Netflix. Really, we do. I couldn't even begin to list the ways we love them. (And they aren't paying me, so that is saying something.)

As teachers, we find endless opportunities to use it in the classroom (Magic School Bus, Nat Geo, Free Willy... There's always an option.) Plus, it allows us to catch up on TV shows we may have missed seasons of, as well as exploring movies we never would have watched otherwise.

This summer our Netflix subscription got the workout of all workouts and we watched A LOT of TV and movies. What we hadn't bargained for, however, was that we would rejoice when we found a movie we loved, and that we would silently curse Netflix when we stumbled across a less than enjoyable film. (Never turned them off, mind you, just cursed Netflix.)


(Disclaimer: I am working REALLY hard to get the pictures from being wonky and all over the place! Sorry about the ABC Family section especially. It's a work in progress ;)


Here is a brief recap of how our summer vacation was spent.

Pretty Little Liars:




I was already caught up on this little gem of teenage drama, in which 4 high school girls are cyber stalked, cyber bullied, actually stalked, and sometimes almost killed, but I felt like Michelle needed to be caught up as well. So, we got her up to speed and ready for the summer premiere as quickly as possible. What happened then, was that we got all our friends involved, and had a "theme night" (by ourselves) at our weekly trivia game.





Bonus points if you know which Liar we are. ;)




Now you can say you know what teachers do with their summers. And that they have too much free time on their hands. Except maybe the ones with kids. They may be busier. 

Score: Netflix 0, Princesses 1

See how this works? We get a point for quality viewing, Netflix gets a point when they trick us into watching something trashy, gross, or just plain awful.

After our PLL marathon was over, we went on a bit of a movie binge.

The following films are not what we wanted. They were not family comedies, silly stories, or even heartwarming. They were sad... and depressing... and as I have said before, just plain awful. These movies have promising casts, titles that make you intrigued, and even covers that catch your eye. But I assure you, friends, do not do it. You will surely regret it. I promise.
 

 Score:
Netflix: 6, Princesses: 1

As you can see, Netflix pulled ahead in the race rather quickly.

We watched a few good ones:


No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is in fact the new Footloose. And we didn't hate it. Who knew?!

Score:
Netflix: 6 Princesses: 3


What happened next is what I like to call The ABCFamily movie explosion. We cannot help it, as children of the 90's we are programmed to seek to seek these movies out, watch them, and love them. (It was Fox Family back when they started hooking us on their made for TV flicks, just to demonstrate how deep this tie really is.)

We've never come across an ABCFamily movie we didn't like. Never.
                                                   


      


Except these two. These two were not good.


Score:
Netflix: 8, Princesses: 8


As you can see, it was a long and difficult journey through the bowels of Netflix, and for a while there, we really thought Netflix was going to win. And while they didn't exactly lose, neither did we! And as far as these Couch Potato Princesses are concerned- that's what matters!

We have learned how to be much more discerning when choosing a movie. For example, James Franco does NOT automatically make a movie a "yes". (Apparently, neither does Julia Roberts or Kate Hudson.) You cannot assume that a movie will follow the plot line you want, just because of the title. (Family Weekend was not family friendly at all!) Do not always trust the rating IMDB gives a movie (Melina... I still can't get it out of my mind. 5.8?! My brain will never recover.) And, when all else fails... Go with ABCFamily. They (almost) never disappoint!

What are some of your Netflix wins and losses?? Do you have any awesome recommendations for us?