Strangers is very good, especially if you like any of the other Hitchcock films. 

Is it a good deal? Is it better than going to the local Blockbuster in terms of convenience and selection? 

convenience, absolutely. Selection, probably. Plus finding what you want is MUCH faster than wandering a store for 20 minutes wondering, "hmm, maybe it's in the drama section... no, well maybe it's in the action section... or is it foreign?" If they don't have something, you find out in a couple seconds.

The only downside is you can't spontaneously decide you want to watch some movie and rent it that night; instead you watch movies that you picked, at the earliest, two or three days ago.

Also, "good deal" depends on how often you rent movies, since it's a flat monthly fee. 

The selection is way better from Netflix than from any of my local shops. All the ones within 10 miles of my house are tiny rural shops that think the Coen brothers are esoteric. Nevermind finding a foreign film other than Amelie or maybe Spirited Away.

I don't think I have anything to add, except that I should stress the flat monthly fee. Some cities are farther away from distribution centers than others, so the shipping time can vary greatly. Also, because you don't get to really pick which movie you watch that night, sometimes a movie will sit around unwatched for a few weeks before you get in the right mood to watch it. Thus, your rate of movies watched per month may decrease, and the value of the service will decrease with it. 

I'll try that out then. It seems NetFlix only does the US. Can anyone recommend a good Canadian equivalent? 

I've been told that Blockbuster edits their movies to remove the content they precieve to be most objectionable to mainstream america. Which is another reason i don't want anything to do with them. 

...Blockbuster edits their movies to remove the content they precieve to be most objectionable to mainstream america.

You mean like an original or creative idea? 

Blockbuster raped Requiem for a Dream, which was a travesty. 

I use the Aussie equivalent of netflix and it is quite handy. The sheer selection is huge, plus they readily acquire new DVD releases of old films which most Blockbuster stores dont do or take a long time to do.

But keep in mind what rpg said, if it takes more than 2-3 days for delivery to your area, the value is greatly diminished. 

and canada rental places :

http://www.dvdhype.com

http://www.zip.ca 

The problem is that there are way too many clones...
http://www.vhqonline.ca/default.do
http://www.moviesforme.ca/
http://www.dvd-rental.ca/
http://www.dvdflix.ca/
http://www.davada.com/Display/index.asp
http://www.gameznflix.com/

In addition to the two you mentioned. They can't all not suck. 

just pick one that's close to you so that delivery times arent too much. Most of them have a trial feature so you can get an idea what to expect. 

Rashomon - although it doesnt really have that groundbreaking effect nowdays, this is still quite a film. Didnt think it was a great film, but a very good one neverthless.

Irreversible - This movie made me sick. The content combined with the camerwork made me want to throw up. I knew what I was getting into but it still made me feel that way. Many other films have gotten the same point/theme across (and arguably a lot more successfully) without having the primary intention to assault the viewer whenever possible.

House of Sand and Fog - Ben Kinglsey is a fucking gun. Film's pretty good, I like how it doesnt really take sides but some of the events seem too contrived and take away from the whole IMHO. 

Awesome. Fuck George. Thank you. 

yes! 

perhaps the competition for BlockBusters in Vancouver here, instead of editing movies will actually tabulate everything on the back of a movie for you (or parental guardian)
ie.

Profanity - 23 counts
Drug use - 4 counts
Nudity - 12 counts
Graphic Violence - 7 counts

etc... thus helping to guage whether the movie is worth watching for that 1 titty shot!! 

The main site:
http://www.smgfx.com

Here's a few, theres tons from movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Freaked, Silent Night Deadly Night, various music videos and video game ads... just awesome stuff!

http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/bride_of_reanimator/bride_1.jpg
http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/puma/puma_1.jpg
http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/nissui/nissui_3.jpg
http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/childrenofthecorn/childrenofthecorn.jpg
http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/society/society5.jpg
http://www.smgfx.com/docs/images/toymaker/toymak_1.jpg 

Profanity - 23 counts
Drug use - 4 counts
Nudity - 12 counts
Graphic Violence - 7 counts

That sounds like a fun movie. 

as it only lists 'Nudity' no 'Sexual Behaviour' or 'Explicit Sexual Behaviour' so thats just tits and ass, or maybe penis. And not much swearing either... 

for instance like the Boyle zombie movie from last summer are showing winkies and guy buttocks but no female nudity. I knew Harvey Keitel doing full frontal was the start of something really bad. 

An excellent execution of a really dumb concept. So does that means it's good or what? Well it has good moments and bad. The end leaves an aweful lot unresolved. I don't need a hollywood hack, storybook ending, but I do need some sort of ending. My brother and I agreed that if this was the start of a cool trillogy it would be a lot more enjoyable in retrospect. 

...sounds like our free to air multi-cultural station SBS on a Saturday night. Only our station gives more info without tabulation:

SBS advises that the following program contains - adult themes, drug references, sex references, frequent coarse language, high level sex scenes, violence and frequent nudity.

...and that is just their music video program. 

just be glad we actually get some free to air foreign films :) 

...no complaints this end nitin. SBS can be one good reason not to have anything to do on a Saturday night.

I love the foreign movie theme weeks SBS has. 

but have any of you seen Arrested Development? If so, would you recommend it? It's not being shown on tv here in Australia but I see that the dvd set is out in the US.