Netflix makes a movie fan’s life so much better

Above: A scene from the Oscar-winning documentary feature "Icarus."

I'll see pretty much any kind of movie. During the years that I was reviewing films for The Spokesman-Review, I kind of had to.

These days, I get to be more particular. And if a movie doesn't appeal to me, I'll likely skip it.

Besides, what with all the choices that I have these days, I can see a lot more than just what's playing in local theaters. For example, thanks to Netflix, I've seen — over the past couple of weeks — three of this year's Oscar-nominated documentary features: "Icarus," "Faces Places" and "Strong Island."

Previously I had watched "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail." And up next is "Last Men in Aleppo," which I'll watch probably sometime over the next few days.

Seeing movies at home, even on a 60-inch 4K HD screen, isn't the same thing as seeing them in the theater. While you gain more control, and can pause to go and get treats at your leisure, you lose the trademark ambience that theaters offer. And my sound system is woefully inadequate.

Still, I'm no longer captive to what a theatrical booker thinks will play best in a Spokane movie house. And that feels pretty special.

I only wish I'd been able to see all the Oscar nominees before the actual broadcast. I might have done better on my ballot — though, to be honest, I'd have had a hard time choosing the documentary feature winner. As good as "Icarus" is, the others are excellent, too.

But then the film that I thought was 2017's best, "The Florida Project," wasn't even nominated in the Best Picture category. And my in-laws quit watching it after the first 25 minutes, texting me the following: "Does it just keep getting worse?"

Everybody's a critic.