Watch it again, Sam

So the great never-before-seen-yet-apparently-must-see movie watching is now in full swing. We tuned in for Casablanca on Sunday afternoon as planned and it was indeed a really great movie that I can't believe I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately we were going out for a family meal straight afterwards and there was a mix-up with pick-up times, so we ended up having to scurry out of the house ten minutes before the end! Oh noes! We watched a few clips online from the end and so we get the gist, but I'd still like to watch it again all the way through.

It was amazing how many references I'd heard elsewhere (including on Sex and the City of all places) suddenly became clear:

"Here's looking at you, kid."

"We'll always have Paris."

"Play it, Sam!" (for some reason people seem to quote that as "Play it again, Sam", but he never actually says "again"… weird)

"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."

"Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Also the song As Time Goes By, which I had no idea was even from Casablanca, never mind being the very song that the famous Sam is being told to play. Go figure!

So yes, Casablanca can join Ferris Bueller's Day Off on the "glad I finally watched it" list. Very good film, highly recommended.

As for my next choice off the list, well, I'm still looking into Netflix, which might determine that for me. See we don't have a PS3 or an Xbox or an iPad or any of those fancy schmancy devices to stream the movies on, so it would just be on our laptops. That's not necessarily a bad thing - my laptop is purpose built as an "entertainment laptop", so the picture and sound quality is pretty good. It's just a bit awkward when you both have to gather around one relatively small screen to watch something. I have heard rumours that it might be possible to connect the laptop to your TV (essentially using it as a second monitor) but our TV is pretty long in the tooth (I mean, it's neither flat screen nor HD - people ask me how I cope on a regular basis) so I'm wary about its abilities. I guess I'll just have to research it a bit more. And also look through that giant bag of tangled cables lurking ominously in the spare room… joy of joys!

In the meantime we also have a few DVDs that the Yorkshireman purchased on a whim to keep us entertained. We watched Premonition last night. It was an interesting plot and I love Sandra Bullock, but those were pretty much the only two good things about it. I am one of the least observant people I know and even I noticed a few of the obvious errors throughout the film. It's far from the worst movie I've ever seen but I wouldn't be rushing to watch it again or anything. Let's hope the others are more successful!

UPDATE: I have just learned that it may be possible to stream Netflix through a Wii! We have a Wii! Excitement!