QUEEN OF THE SMALL SCREEN: I keep seeing where Netflix is making extravagant offers to new subscribers and people trying out their service. This suggests to me that they may be struggling financially. I will cry if Netflix fails, so I feel I must bring it to your attention. Netflix is a wonderful service for people who love movies.

Take me. I live in downtown DC, a relatively metropolitan area. When I signed up for Netflix I had already scoured the local Blockbuster and the local “indie pictures and gay porn” creepy movie den. I’d learned exactly how many movies you just can’t get at the video store.

Netflix, on the other hand, has just about everything. If it’s on DVD, they’ve probably got it. I have Uzumaki in my queue. I have The Rook there. I have more silent Hitchcock than I can shake a stick at. It’s a candy store for film freaks.

And it’s fast. If I send back a movie on Monday, I have a new movie on Wednesday. It’s efficient. I changed my financial information after I’d already signed up for the service, and within ten minutes the transaction was complete and my account had been fixed. It’s exceptionally easy to deal with–I’ve never had a problem. It’s only $22/month, which, given that you can get all kinds of movies you can’t get locally, is phenomenal.

I’ve found terrific movies through Netflix. The Conversation is the most recent five-star winner. But I’ve also seen lame movies I would have paid a lot of money to buy or rent, because their reputations outpaced their performance! Because of Netflix, I learned that The Vanishing is just a slow, broody serial-killer flick, rather than something powerful and new. Because of Netflix, I realized that although I could watch Edward G. Robinson all day every day, I don’t actually need a copy of Key Largo. (No, it’s good–it’s just not, you know, that good.)

Basically, if you have a voracious appetite for the flicks, Netflix is terrific. Tonight I hope to watch Knife in the Water, which just arrived in the mailbox. Truly, this is Toast By Post.