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Netflix's "Local Favorites" Feature

post #1 of 31
6/21/07 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone understand how this works? I looked around their site (for like 20 seconds, i'm lazy) and didn't see an explanation but I'm kind of fascinated by it.

I would assume they compile frequent rentals from my area code and rank them by number of rentals, but are there really that many people in Arlington, VA who recently rented Being There (currently #3)? Or Chariots of Fire (#6). Meanwhile, Season 1 of "How I Met Your Mother" or some other terrible tv show has the pole position.

So is it just a random sampling of local rentals, as opposed to a ranked list? What gives?
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post #2 of 31
6/21/07 at 2:07pm
well Eating Out 2: Sloppy Secods is a local favorite here in Indianapolis. I think that should answer your question. Or maybe it doesnt.
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post #3 of 31
6/21/07 at 2:29pm
The "local favorites" feature makes me dispair for the well-being of my locality. Well, more than usual, anyways.
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post #4 of 31
6/21/07 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
Worse than the "Netflix Top 100," Mattioli?

Arlington's always seems to at least be interesting, French films and The Corporation-type documentaries thrown together with Brit tv.

And, of course, Being There.

Which just makes me wonder how they come up with the list.
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post #5 of 31
6/21/07 at 3:29pm
Here in Queens New York, the local favorites are quite respectable. There's a Wong Kar Wai film, a Mark Ruffalo/Peter Krause drama, and The Wire season 3. Food for thought while I struggle through Primeval.
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post #6 of 31
6/21/07 at 3:41pm
What a strange local list I have this week:

Silk
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
Tuesdays With Morrie
A Cinderella Story
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book 1

No shit, both the Drew Barrymore and Hilary Duff Cinderella movies made the list.
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post #7 of 31
6/21/07 at 4:04pm
Milwaukee's local list:

The Godfather of Green Bay
Ted Bundy
Henry Rollins: Live Uncut from NYC
All You've Got
Mo'Nique: I Coulda Been Your Cellmate!

What illustrious company Mr. Rollins is keeping!
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post #8 of 31
6/21/07 at 4:22pm
Top 10 Brooklyn faves:

1. A Life Apart: Hasidism in America
2. Downtown 81 (New York Beat Movie )
3. Crooklyn
4. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
5. Brooklyn Lobster
6. The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner / How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck? / La Soufriere
7. Do the Right Thing
8. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle)
9. Regular Lovers (Les Amants Réguliers)
10. My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski (Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski)


Not bad. They seem to be either Brooklyn-centric or foreign films.
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post #9 of 31
6/21/07 at 4:32pm
Here's the complete list of what's popular here in the Frozen Tundra:

1. The Godfather of Green Bay
2. K-19: The Widowmaker
3. One Last Thing
4. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
5. Out of Africa
6. Rent
7. North Country
8. Bill Engvall: 15 Degrees Off Cool
9. Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road
10. Along Came a Spider
11. The Italian Job
12. The Life of David Gale
13. "Six Feet Under": Season 1 (4-Disc Series)
14. Constantine
15. Stick It
16. If Only
17. Love Comes Softly
18. Scary Movie 4
19. The Lake House
20. The NeverEnding Story
21. The Sum of All Fears
22. Akeelah and the Bee
23. King Arthur
24. Firewall
25. Hostage
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post #10 of 31
6/21/07 at 4:55pm
Apparently Brooklyn loves Werner Herzog... a lot. (As well they should.) They must count the instant watching feature in this calculation-- since so many of Herzog's films are available and at the top of the star ratings.
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post #11 of 31
6/21/07 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
Is picking on Birmingham, AL too easy?

1. The Bible Collection-David
2. The Legend of Bagger Vance
3. Why Did I Get Married (me neither, but it is more offal from Tyler Perry)
4. Shrek (widescreen! You go B-Ham!)
5. Don't Say A Word ("I'll never telllllll...")
6. Benji: Off the Leash
7. Where the Truth Lies (me neither, good for "6 Degrees of Colin Firth," though)
8. Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (this is going in my queue)
9. Planet Earth (Teletubbies for adults)
10. Phat Girlz

Edited to add the netflix description for Left Behind II: Tribulation Force -
In a world where thousands of people disappeared mysteriously in an event called "The Rapture," the Christians left behind find themselves threatened by a powerful man they believe to be the Antichrist: U.N. President Nicolae Carpathia. Led by TV reporter Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron), Pastor Bruce Barnes (Clarence Gilyard) and pilot Rayford Steele (Brad Johnson), the survivors join forces for the ultimate showdown between good and evil.
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post #12 of 31
6/21/07 at 5:17pm
This only further cements America's terrible taste of movies in general.
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post #13 of 31
6/21/07 at 5:43pm
1. Children of Men

2. Barnyard

3. Eragon

4. Zoom: Academy For Superheroes

5. The Guardian

6. Ghost Rider

7. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

8. The Prestige

9. Pan's Labyrinth

10. Deja Vu

11. The Fountain

12. The Pursuit of Happyness

13. End of the Spear

14. The Da Vinci Code

15. Night at the Museum

16. Catch and Release

17. Rumor Has It

18. Charlotte's Web

19. Music and Lyrics

20. Poseidon

Way to go for Children of Men at number one at least, Cedar Park, TX. What a schizophrenic list. "End of the Spear"? Really? "Zoom" at #4?
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post #14 of 31
6/21/07 at 8:07pm
1. Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?


2. Boston Legal: Season 2 (7-Disc Series)


3. Goodnight Mister Tom


4. The Grapes of Wrath


5. Scrubs: Season 1 (3-Disc Series)


6. Alice in Wonderland


7. Cheeky!


8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail


9. Mind Hunters


10. We Were Soldiers


11. Duma
How It Was With Dooms

12. Adaptation


13. Ghost Rider


14. Thr3e
Three

15. Daddy's Little Girls


16. The Messengers


17. Roots (7-Disc Series)


18. The Last Sin Eater


19. Shrek 2


20. Children of Men


21. Primeval


22. Chicken Little


23. Fantastic Four


24. An Ideal Husband


25. Norbit


It doesn't surprise me that the number one film is about a man from a trailer park. It is nice to see Children of Men on the list, but #25 makes me want to move at once.
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post #15 of 31
6/21/07 at 8:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Multiple Miggs
...threatened by a powerful man they believe to be the Antichrist U.N. President Nicolae Carpathia. Led by TV reporter Buck Williams...
That might be the funniest thing ever.
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post #16 of 31
6/22/07 at 4:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey
That might be the funniest thing ever.
And, given the popularity of those books, also pretty high on the scary meter.
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post #17 of 31
6/22/07 at 10:07am
Cambridge, MA: Top 10

1. Chungking Express (yay!!!)

2. Open your Eyes

3. Vanishing Point

4. Double Indemnity

5. Good Bye, Lenin!

6. Before Sunrise

7. Bend it like Beckham

8. The Closet

9. Cache

10. Ball of Fire

Not bad! I'm glad I live where I do...
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post #18 of 31
6/22/07 at 2:34pm
Seattle, WA. Over alll, not bad.


1. Hype


2. Tears of the Black Tiger
Fah Talai Jone

3. Northern Exposure: Season 6 (5-Disc Series)


4. 35 Up


5. 42 Up


6. Monarch of the Glen: Series 3 (3-Disc Series)


7. Singles


8. Yes


9. National Geographic: Guns, Germs and Steel (2-Disc Series)


10. Seven Up / 7 Plus Seven


11. Extras: Season 1 (2-Disc Series)


12. Another State of Mind: Social Distortion, Youth Brigade and Minor Threat


13. Foyle's War: Set 3 (4-Disc Series)


14. 28 Up


15. I Know I'm Not Alone


16. Monarch of the Glen: Series 6 (3-Disc Series)


17. Dead Like Me: Season 1 (4-Disc Series)


18. The Dying Gaul


19. 21 Up


20. Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause


21. The Heart of the Game


22. Monarch of the Glen: Series 2 (2-Disc Series)


23. Big Love: Season 1 (5-Disc Series)


24. Jim Gaffigan: Beyond the Pale


25. Carnivale: Season 1 (6-Disc Series)
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post #19 of 31
6/22/07 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
So folks in Seattle haven't had enough of Singles yet?

EDITED to add: [/whiny] Why does everyone else's town have better taste in movies than mine?[/]
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post #20 of 31
6/22/07 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Multiple Miggs
Is picking on Birmingham, AL too easy?
Hey, how about St. George, Utah? Mormon cinema is alive and well here.

1. Mobsters and Mormons
2. The Work and the Glory: American Zion
3. The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
5. If Only
6. Brother Bear 2
7. Say Anything
8. Love Comes Softly
9. The Wedding Date
10. I, Robot
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post #21 of 31
6/22/07 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonvoight's car
Hey, how about St. George, Utah? Mormon cinema is alive and well here.

1. Mobsters and Mormons
2. The Work and the Glory: American Zion
3. The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
5. If Only
6. Brother Bear 2
7. Say Anything
8. Love Comes Softly
9. The Wedding Date
10. I, Robot
That's just bizarre.

Who is still interested in I, Robot?
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post #22 of 31
6/22/07 at 7:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Multiple Miggs
That's just bizarre.

Who is still interested in I, Robot?
They were showing it on TNT or some other cable channel last week. When I worked at video store in college, we would always get a lot of people renting older movies that had just been shown on cable. That's my guess.
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post #23 of 31
6/23/07 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Funny thing is I've definitely seen most of that movie by stopping and watching it on TNT between multiple commercial breaks. Clearly a "new classic."
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post #24 of 31
6/23/07 at 11:18pm
Minneapolis is rather obscure. Nothing too embarassing.

1. Fly Away Home
2. Facotum
3. Monk: Season Three
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season Four
5. Carnivale: Season Two
6. Crumb
7. The Office: Series Two (BBC, fuck yeah!)
8. Stargate: Atlantis: Season Two
9. The Color Purple
10. Doctor Who: Season Two
11. Six Feet Under: Season One
12. Twin Peaks: Season Two
13. The Ice Storm
14. Six Feet Under: Season Three
15. Trailer Park Boys: Seasons One & Two
16. Black Books: Series One
17: Kathy Griffin: My Life on the Whatever the Fuck It's called. Seriously, this is on Bravo all the goddamn time. Why rent this?!
18. Carnivale: Season One
19. South Park: Seaosn Nine
20. Slap Shot: 25th Anniversary Edition. How stereotypical of us.

The only one on here I've ever rented was Curb's Season 4. I wonder how these are compiled. I can't really believe Fly Away Home and Trailer Park Boys are rented this often in the metropolitan area.
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post #25 of 31
6/24/07 at 2:44pm
Okay, so how are these lists compiled? I just don't quite believe the most rented film in Cambridge, MA is Chungking Express. Wouldn't most of these be stuff like Blood Diamond or Norbit or something?
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post #26 of 31
6/24/07 at 4:47pm
It says it right on the listing--

"Members in and around Monroe, Louisiana are currently renting these titles much more than other Netflix members."
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post #27 of 31
6/25/07 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Gayest
Okay, so how are these lists compiled? I just don't quite believe the most rented film in Cambridge, MA is Chungking Express. Wouldn't most of these be stuff like Blood Diamond or Norbit or something?
I can absolutely promise that virtually NOBODY around Cambridge is renting fucking Norbit.

It makes sense that Chungking is number one. Cambridge is like...the number one college town in the country. Lots of young people, lots of open minds, and folks with all around good taste. It's not that mind blowing if you're familiar with where I'm from. As a sign in a few cafes and coffee shops states: "02138: The Most Opinionated Zip Code in the World."
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post #28 of 31
6/25/07 at 2:23pm
I didn't mean to suggest Cambridge or anywhere was infested by retarded hillbillies, renting Norbit in record numbers. Just that someone sure is, and I thought it might be reflected. But it wouldn't be, as Bailey points out, so its all moot, really.
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post #29 of 31
6/25/07 at 2:47pm
I just checked mine. Neither version of The Stepford Wives is listed for Cary. that confirms my suspicions that this is, in fact, Stepford. I'd like to think it's good taste that keeps them from the Kidman/Beuller version, but there's little evidence of good taste anywhere to confirm that. They must be robots.
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post #30 of 31
7/20/07 at 4:43pm
Current pickins for Astoria NY:

1. The Man Without a Past
2. My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski
3. Old Joy
4. Last Tango in Paris
5. Matewan
6. Grey Gardens
7. Grave of the Fireflies
8. Fargo
9. Little Britain: Series 1 (2-Disc Series)
10. Manhattan
11. Vera Drake
12. Six Feet Under: Season 3 (5-Disc Series)
13. Amores Perros
14. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
15. Ed Wood
16. The Panic in Needle Park
17. Kicking and Screaming (the Eric Stoltz indie from about 12 yrs. ago, not the Will Ferrell comedy)
18. Harold and Maude
19. Bad Education
20. In the Mood for Love 1
21. Midnight Cowboy
22. Art School Confidential
23. Grizzly Man
24. Chinatown
25. Just a Question of Love

I'd added Kicking and Screaming (a.k.a. "If Eric Stoltz is in it, sure I'll fork over a couple hours of my free time.") and Chinatown to my queue before I saw the list, so I guess I have a small bit in common with my neighbors.

I also just added Gloria to my queue (the 1980 version with Gena Rowlands). Scarily enough, Netflix offered me the Sharon Stone remake first - they made me scroll for the original. Just because MST3K: Attack of the Giant Leeches is going to be waiting for me when I get home tonight doesn't mean they have to test my patience. It's not like I have some endless reservoir of good-will.
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post #31 of 31
7/27/07 at 10:30am
According to Netflix, it's not actually based on reviews, but rather more people in one particular area are renting these titles more than people in other areas.

1. Lonesome Dove (2-Disc Series)
2. Identity
3. Racing Stripes
4. The Legend of Zorro
5. Norbit
6. A Bug's Life
7. Shrek 2
8. Off the Black
9. John Tucker Must Die
10. One Night with the King
11. Hostage
12. Cinderella III: A Twist in Time
13. The Last Sin Eater
14. Daddy's Little Girls
15. Ghost Rider
16. Blood and Chocolate
17. Funny Money
18. Bridge to Terabithia
19. Code Name: The Cleaner
20. Miami Vice
21. The Messengers
22. She's the Man
23. The Pursuit of Happyness
24. Happily Never After
25. The Hitcher (2007)
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