Editor's Note: Brett Bates offers up a rundown of the updated Netflix functionality on Xbox 360 -- oh, and a window into his scary soul. Can't forget that. -Greg

They tell me the first step to recovery is admittance, but that's bunkum: I know exactly what I am, and I don't mean to quit.

I'm a Netflix junkie and damn proud of it.

I got hooked last year when Microsoft announced a partnership with Netflix to stream movies and TV shows through the Xbox 360.

Since then, if I don't watch two or three movies a week, my hands start shaking, my vision tunnels, and I end up frantically scouring my DVR for a little pick-me-up. But while cable and the DVR keep the tremors at bay, it's Netflix's instant streaming capabilities that really light my candle.

So when I heard that Microsoft had opened up prerelease testing for the new dashboard update to the general public, I immediately signed up. I could give two whits about Avatar accessories, Games on Demand, or Achievement updates. But the Netflix improvements, including the ability to add movies straight from my 360? That I craved.

What can I say? I need my 'flix.

Truthfully, this isn't the first time that I've dabbled with Netflix. I first tried it in college. My roommate and I used it as a substitute for cable.

That initial experience instantly expanded my mind. The endless ways to sort and search movies on the Netflix website caused me to burn through all sorts of niche categories: Robert Altman films, movies from the 1960s starring the steel-blue eyes of Paul Newman, gross-out horror/comedies like Dead Alive, and more.

Those were high times with Netflix. The service had just started up, and being a Netflix user meant that you were part of an exclusive club. Comparing queues was like initiating a secret handshake between those in the know.

But eventually the excitement wore off. Movies sat neglected in their little white sleeves on top of my DVD player for weeks at a time. Sometimes I sent them back without watching them. The initial contact high had dulled.

When I moved into my own apartment, I kicked Netflix to the curb and took up cable and HBO. The highs weren't the same, but it was a steady buzz. All you had to do was turn on; there was always something to watch. I sat through the entire runs of Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Rome, and Deadwood transfixed.

In time, the endless reality shows and dramedies began to bleed into each other. My eyeballs struggled to take in the feed. I became an overstimulated mess, and I longed for the controlled, two-hour burst of a movie.

Then an old friend rapped on my apartment door and called out to me softly. "Now you can get Netflix on your 360," it whispered. "Thousands of streaming movies at your fingertips, with more added every day. And all of it beamed straight to your widescreen TV."

A long-dormant but familiar bolt of electricity shot up my spine. Wow! It was like some doper savant had gone and mixed up a cocktail specifically designed to knock my personal socks off. I needed it...now.

Starting up the Netflix app on my 360, I felt what I can only describe as my bones smiling in unison. Here I was, back with my old habit. Even though she was now all gussied up with streaming capabilities, I knew that this was where I belonged. Adios, HBO.

Sure, most of the movies initially available were dreck from the 1980s and other bizarre-looking titles that would make even the Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys blanch. But it was my dreck, and anyway, some of those odd-sounding movies are actually really damn good. Have you seen Timecrimes? If not, you should.

Still, a few issues pricked at me. You had to control your queue from your computer. The Netflix app on the 360 was dumb -- all it could do was display your queue. If you wanted to change it in any way, you had to trek over to the computer. A slight inconvenience, to be sure, but it became an issue whenever I had a group of people over who weren't interested in watching the indie Spanish-language time-travel flicks lined up in my queue.

The new update addresses some of those concerns. You can now add movies straight from your 360. You can browse genres and a series of "recommended results."

But you still can't sort. You can't group your comedies or your anime or your horror movies for quicker access. When you have over 100 movies in your queue, as I do, this becomes an issue.

Worse, you can't search. Those genre and recommended selections? All picked by Netflix. If you feel like watching a perversely awesome David Cronenberg movie, you still have to get up off your couch and shuffle to your computer to find one.

None of these issues will stop me using, of course. Not with most of the Showtime programs now available, and with obscure but awesome shows like Party Down crowding my queue. Not with tons of new movies available for streaming every day, from creepy indie films like Baghead to B-movie classics like Vanishing Point -- some of them streaming in HD.

So, what do you say, Xbox 360 owners? Give Netflix a try. I guarantee you your life will never be the same again. Take it from someone who knows all too well.
_________________

Just starting out on Netflix? Try streaming these:

Timecrimes - As mentioned above, Timecrimes is an indie Spanish-language time-travel movie. It's so weirdly captivating that you won't notice the gaping plot holes.

Dead Ringers - A David Cronenberg film starring Jeremy Irons and Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists. If you know any of Cronenberg's earlier films, then you know what to expect. If you don't, then watch the trailer.

Assault On Precinct 13 - John Carpenter's best films (The Thing, Escape from New York, They Live) aren't available for streaming, but this one will still nail you to your seat. No one makes genre films like Carpenter.

The Host - A surprisingly tender movie about a giant mutant creature attacking a South Korean city.