We know what you watched this summer

The movies “Poseidon,” “Friends With Money,” “Being John Malkovich,” and “De-Lovely” may not seem to have much in common, but they apparently mean something to Newport-Mesa DVD renters.

These are just a sampling of the most-rented movies in the area, according to local rental stores and a city search on Netflix, an online movie rental subscription service.

Everyone rents movies these days — grandmas and young surfers alike. So what does it mean about the taste of Newport-Mesa residents?

According to the search, Netflix residents are not only looking for the box-office hits but also more obscure independent and foreign films.

The same is largely true for people getting out from in front of their computers to rent movies.

“A lot of people are getting into the underground indie stuff,” said Blake Bosgieter, who works at the Newport Peninsula Blockbuster. “They’re sick of the major movies we get.”

Because of the Internet, people are more capable of researching movies they may not see heavily advertised. Movie reviews written by the public are also available online.

Steve Swasey, director of corporate communications for Los Gatos-based Netflix, said the service offers the city search option so people can discover titles they may not have known about without it.

“This is something that gives people another insight to movies and leads them to movies they may not know they’re going to love,” he said.

This trend could be because of sheer numbers and advertising principles. Netflix touts it has more than 65,000 titles to choose from. Blockbuster’s online service boasts more than 55,000. At stores there are significantly fewer, averaging about 2,000 or 3,000.

“We have just about anything that comes on DVD,” Swasey said. “I like to say we have everything from Yoda to yoga.”

About 70% of the titles Netflix offers are back catalog and not necessarily new releases, Swasey said. That allows for more variety in what the renter may watch.

Michael Hayashi, owner of DVD Wave in Costa Mesa, said he does see a difference in the customer who goes to the rental store and those who subscribe online.

“People who are using Netflix are usually doing their research” online, he said. “People come in here and just browse.”

Even within his customers, there are differences in what people rent, something he attributes to age and experience.

“Young people tend to go toward the big blockbuster hits,” he said. “Once they’ve grown a bit older, people are more interested in exploring different cultures and ideas.”

Bosgieter is into the indie films, but he and his co-worker Donnie Ralls said the independent and foreign-film section at the peninsula’s Blockbuster — except for a few types — are the least-visited racks.

“Surf movies get rented out like mad,” Bosgieter said.

The peninsula’s collection of surf movies may be an anomaly in Newport Mesa — after all, not all rental houses are down the street from a popular surf break — and it seems residents are going to the rental stores for the big new releases and surfing online for others.

Location also comes into play when residents are deciding what to pop in the DVD player. Not many people are renting foreign films from the store on the peninsula, but they do get a significant number of vacation renters taking out family movies. Newer horror films also seem popular, Ralls said.

At the Harbor Boulevard Hollywood Video, manager Felicia Archunde said that store is split down the middle.

“It’s about 50-50 here,” she said. “A lot of people like the independent or B-movies that we don’t have a lot of copies of, but a lot of people like the regular ones too.”

People don’t need to subscribe to an online rental service like Netflix to take advantage of online movie reviews.

Costa Mesa resident David Drinkwater still likes going to his local Hollywood Video on Newport Boulevard but uses the reviews to help him decide what to rent.

“What I do before I rent a movie is look online and read what the public thought about the movies; I don’t go much by the critics,” he said while browsing the selection at the Hollywood Video on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa.

“If they [the public] like it, usually I will too.”

Movies aren’t the only thing people are renting. With more and more networks releasing entire seasons of TV series on DVD, many people are opting to skip the commercials and catch up on their favorite shows all at once.

So do the movies people rent say anything about them?

“I think some people just like certain things,” said DVD Wave customer Wayne Rayan of Costa Mesa.

“I’m open to everything and like to try different things.”

WHAT YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE WATCHING

The top five rental movies in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

BLOCKBUSTER

(On Newport Boulevard and 32nd Street, Newport Beach)

HOLLYWOOD VIDEO

(On Adams Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, Costa Mesa)

DVD WAVE

(On Newport Boulevard, Costa Mesa)

NETFLIX

(Costa Mesa Rentals)

NETFLIX

(Newport Beach Rentals)