Fun with the DVD Netflix + John Grisham Sweepstakes

Disclaimer: I am a member of Netflix’s DVD.com Director’s program, which gives me free access to movies. If you sign up with my referral link, I may receive a referral reward.

I love opening the red envelopes that appear in my mailbox from DVD.com. Oftentimes, they offer a fun activity on the mailer, such as Mad Libs. These activities give movie lovers, like me, the opportunity to post our ideas on social media, and they help us feel more connected with other movie lovers. Often, the mailers include the chance to win a prize.

The most recent DVD.com promotion is called “Get Stranded,” and it not only gives you the opportunity to share the five movies you would want with you if you were stranded on an island, it also gives you the opportunity to win a trip for two to Miami Beach. I filled out my list so that I could share DVD.com’s promotion, and I thought it would be fun to tell you briefly why I selected each movie on my list. Let’s get started:

1. Splendor in the Grass

I saw this movie only once, on TV, probably on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The 1961 classic stars Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty as two young lovers from different social classes, with Natalie Wood being considered the type of girl you don’t marry. In addition to being heart-wrenchingly romantic, it floods the viewer with the sense of loss at what might have been.

2. Hacksaw Ridge

I didn’t think I would like this 2017 multi-Academy Award winner and nominee, because of the violence, but it turned out to be one of my favorites. This is the true story of a man who stood up for his ideals with grace and endless patience. It depicts the horrors of war in more graphic detail than I’ve ever seen, but what stuck with me was the display of pure courage.

3. A Man Called Ove

Don’t let a movie with subtitles scare you away. My husband hates subtitles, but he loved this one. The story of Ove unfolds its secrets gracefully throughout, and it allows the viewer to understand why Ove is the way he is. It is also a story of community: a man who finds his place in it and a village that cares for him near the end of his life.

4. City Island

Who knew that this quaint little island was part of the Bronx?  This is a story of years gone by too fast, of relationships nearly lost, and the future of a young man salvaged.  It’s the story of father and son, husband and wife, family and secrets.  It is also a movie that will make you laugh out loud.

5. Clouds of Sils Maria

Ego, ego, ego, and pride. This movie is about resisted aging, faded beauty, and losing one’s place in the universe. Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart play the aging actress and her wise, young assistant. Binoche learns a difficult lesson about respect and loyalty, and that without the first, the second is doomed.

As I review this list once again, I can see that it does not contain much levity.  If I were stranded on an island, however, I think I’d want to turn over the complexities of these movies in my head again and again. This should hold me over until the rescue boat comes.

You can rent all these and more from DVD Netflix, which is also co-hosting an awesome tropical giveaway that you can enter here.

Read  more about the giveaway on the DVD Netflix blog.

Netflix is also letting me give away a $50 Target gift card. All you have to do is like, comment on, OR share the post on my Facebook page that links to this article. Click on the Facebook icon below to get there. Deadline: June 26, 2017 at 12 noon EDT.

Ann Silverthorn