The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Victorian Squid]

It's sad, I remember when Blockbuster wasn't even in my top 3 favorite places to rent videos. Hell, I remember when Blockbuster even had a good selection of movies--before the Great Purge in the late '90s, when all the VHS were discarded and the selection of movies shrunk down to just a few blanket categories, "ACTION", "DRAMA", "COMEDY", etc. Carrying more and more copies of the same new releases (or straight to DVD clunkers often) meant offering fewer movies.

But today the last Blockbuster near, or indeed the last video rental place anywhere outside of a Redbox, is closed and although the big letters have been taken off the storefront, you can still read the impression they left behind clearly. When I went in next door to order my usual Chinese take out I could see the manager standing in the empty room alone, texting on her phone. She always always played the same weird dance mix of Michael Jackson songs every time I stopped in while she was working, and I stopped in often during the final weeks of the closing sale, to stock up on $1.99 blu rays or buy fixtures from the store to use elsewhere. I always imagined she had been personally devastated when MJ died a couple years ago, and so she only played these extended remixes in public so she could keep her emotions in check and not sob uncontrollably in view of strangers. Nobody else who worked there ever played that CD, that's for sure--I bet they are glad they never have to listen to that again though.

[Rockman]

so long archaic business models

[eltopo]

yeah I'm always going to have a soft spot for the old video store. I mean I feel like I spend most of my youth in one it's sad they're gone I feel the same way about Arcades

[Victorian Squid]

so long archaic business models

That kind of smug douchebaggery isn't very worthwhile.

[The Shadow]

yeah I'm always going to have a soft spot for the old video store. I mean I feel like I spend most of my youth in one it's sad they're gone I feel the same way about Arcades

Same here.

I remember renting my first porn... ah, good times.

[Royal Nonesuch]

There are still a couple near me, but if you're looking for anything other than recent releases, you're not going to have much luck getting what you're specifically looking for. If you're just browsing, though, you might find something cool.

[eltopo]

Same here.

I remember renting my first porn... ah, good times.

hahahah yup good times indeed VCA classic how I miss ye

[SuperginraiX]

We've still got a few rental places around. My favorite is the one attached to my grocery store. I think they've recently raised their prices but it's still under two dollars for a seven day rental. The one day rental new releases are murder.

[MoneyMelon]

They're completely gone from my neighborhood as of last fall.

I'm pretty much dependent of Netflix (because those Red Box machines suck) now and it's kind of annoying having to predict what I'm going to be in the mood to watch two or three days ahead of time. Plus I miss browsing the new releases. Netflix's site is terrible unless you know specifically what you're looking for.

[eltopo]

They're completely gone from my neighborhood as of last fall.

I'm pretty much dependent of Netflix (because those Red Box machines suck) now and it's kind of annoying having to predict what I'm going to be in the mood to watch two or three days ahead of time. Plus I miss browsing the new releases. Netflix's site is terrible unless you know specifically what you're looking for.

I agree with that, Netflix's interface has gotten horrible

[US Agent]

The closest BB to us is now a used movie / cd buy back and resell place.

There's one other BB near my work but It's got a sign that say buy 5 for $20 Blowout Sale... so I guess that's not a good sign.

[Apache Chef]

I think netflix intentionally makes it hard to find new releases.

[ThirtyFiveMinutesAgo]

There is an amazing video rental store that is just a little too far away from where I live. It has an excellent television section and a good foreign film one. $5 for 3 old releases for 8 days. But yeah, the Blockbuster Videos went out of business chain-wide last year in Canada. There are still a few Jumbo Video and Rogers Plus stores around.

[PDH]

The end of my street when I was growing up used to have loads of charming local businesses, bakers, grocers etc. it was great. One of the first shops to go was this rental place, not a Blockbusters or anything like that, just some guy in a shop. I loved it. I remember seeing Superman 3 for the first time (which may even have been my first exposure to Superman and possibly superheroes in general).

When a better store opened up nearby (not Blockbusters but something like it, IIRC) it went out of business. It's a bit frightening to think how bizarre these things are going to seem to future generations.

[eltopo]

I think netflix intentionally makes it hard to find new releases.

ha makes sense