Online movies are the internets equivalent to what Hollywood is best known for. However what pops up in the online sphere is sometimes professional though more often than not it’s homespun, poorly edited, with a schmaltzy storyline, or a plot which takes fantastic leaps that don’t follow logical order.

You can watch movies online at your own leisure; there’s not usually a scheduled start time (unless we’re talking about live streaming feeds; even then a copy would be up online almost as it happens) and you can watch online movies from the comfort and ease of your own home.

It’s this fact; that you control everything about the movie including how long it takes you to get through a film (start, stop, start, stop) and under what conditions you’re viewing it (usually with other things going at the same time) that detracts from the movie going experience. I’ll never forget, while this wasn’t a movie, it felt like it to me. Every Friday night, my brother and I used to have to go to bed early. But then, when I reached an appropriate age, I was allowed to stay downstairs with my mom and dad to partake in their Friday night ritual. The lights were turned down, popcorn was made, the volume was turned up, there were no computers or cell phones at that time, but if there had been they would have been turned off; they watched Dallas the same way every week. There was something about that continuity and setting that made the event seem special.

So while I’m not totally against watching Hillary Clinton, 1984 advertisements on YouTube or seeing someone do a small skit on their own website, I feel that if we’re going to turn our movies into just something to squeeze in on our lunch break or while we’re on the train, the medium’s really going to suffer.

Using the internet to order movie rentals online I think is fine tough. Especially if you and your loved ones are going to get the chance to set aside some time, turn off your PDA’s and cell phones and watch the film.

I’m just as big a fan of keeping connected as anyone; but I also know when it’s time to shut the door and put up the walls and keep my privacy to myself. Online movies offer us a lot, but you also give up that intangible something in the process.