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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  I hate blockbuster...again « previous next »
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Author Topic: I hate blockbuster...again  (Read 15241 times)
ulthar
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« Reply #45 on: August 22, 2005, 08:39:34 PM »

Susan wrote:

>When i tell people i don't have cable i get the
> "look", like i'm from another planet

I don't have cable either, and I know that look well.  The last time I had cable was around 90-91 or so; Cablevision (Durham, NC) jacked up my monthly price about $1-2 per month every so often and dropped channels THAT I LIKED with the rate increases.

I dropped it, and never looked back.

And yes, I agree with the special night aspect, too.  Movie night for us (my wife and I when the kids aer asleep) is a special, once a month or so treat.

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Amanda
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« Reply #46 on: August 23, 2005, 10:26:54 PM »

I'm sad to say that I've given up completely on my local video stores (Blockbuster, Hastings).  They never have much of anything worthy of renting, and as my husband will attest to, I'll watch just about anything.  Hell, I bought "Galaxina", much to his family's horror.

I've not heard anyone mention "Netflix", so I'm wondering if people on here have problems with them?  I'm enjoying my Netflix subscriptions.  They have some truly AWFUL movies, things that I would never, in a MILLION years find ANYWHERE in this part of Texas, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Let me put it this way - I had to drive to DALLAS to see Shaun of the Dead in the theater.  2 hours away, to see a movie.  That is not right.

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Amanda
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« Reply #47 on: August 24, 2005, 12:55:35 AM »

I'll watch just about anything. Hell, I bought "Galaxina"

*bought*   Wow!!!  I've rented it but unless I could buy it for the cst of rental ($1 or two)...I don't think I would ever buy it :)


I've not heard anyone mention "Netflix", so I'm wondering if people on here have problems with them?


I have a subscription.  Right now I'm waiting for...lesses..Cube Zero and disk 4 of the StarBlazers series...and AstroZombies is on deck...and 130 or so odd other movies in my queue

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BeyondTheGrave
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« Reply #48 on: August 24, 2005, 01:52:48 AM »

NetFlix owns my soul

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Mr_Vindictive
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« Reply #49 on: August 24, 2005, 07:08:10 AM »

I've wanted to try Netflix but my wife is against it.  She'd rather rent what she wanted when she wanted instead of making a list and then getting the films randomly.

For me though, I don't care either way.

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« Reply #50 on: August 24, 2005, 08:09:06 PM »

And the same sound be true for people working in music stores --

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Amanda
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« Reply #51 on: August 24, 2005, 09:35:51 PM »

I just couldn't help myself when it came to Galaxina....I thought it was hilarious.  My inlaws thought I was nuts.  I think I bought it more to horrify them than because I actually WANTED the movie.  *L*

I forget how many movies I have in my queue at the moment, I believe it's roughly the same.  Have you seen "Zombie Planet"?  Interesting premise, and not a terrible movie......

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Amanda
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« Reply #52 on: August 24, 2005, 09:37:41 PM »

It doesn't have to be randomly.....you can change the order in your queue.   Granted, it's roughly about a day to get it, but you can always change the order and get what you want, next....

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Amanda
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« Reply #53 on: August 24, 2005, 09:58:41 PM »

*happy smile*  yes.  It is wonderful, isn't it?  I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize....

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Amanda
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« Reply #54 on: August 25, 2005, 11:52:24 AM »

Susan wrote:

> Ok, so out of that lawsuit settlement i got a bunch of coupons
> for free movies and dollar offs for Blockbuster and i went to
> rent. I wanted to get "suspiria" and another older film and i
> was looking all over for the Horror section. I must have
> overlooked it so I asked the guy in there and he said they
> didn't have one, they put it all in the Drama section.  So,
> right next to Hellraiser is Howards End. I turn around to hunt
> for the sci-fi section - again, this is all mixed in with the
> drama.

Welcome to the homogenization of American entertainment. Consider yourself lucky you can still find Hellraiser... in five years, it'll be gone, too. The truly ignorant and bland elements of our society seem to be trying to bleach us of anything not considered mainstream. If it isn't G-rated or made in the last four years, you're really going to have to hunt for it.

> So basically there are 4 sections: Drama, comedy, action and
> Childrens. I think there is a half a shelf reserved for foriegn
> films.

Half a shelf? That's more than I expected. I sure hope "The City of Lost Children", "Ikiru", "Matango" and "Princess Mononoke" don't take up the space that could be used for the new Dukes of Hazard movie...

>Needless to say to make room for all their xbox games
> and movies for sale, they don't actually rent out good older
> movies. Back in the day you could wander around and pick up
> really obscure titles that nobody has heard of, the stores were
> constantly expanding shelfspace.

Yeah, and video game stores are getting better, rarer DVD's by contrast; I actually ran across a XXX DVD and an Inhumanoids DVD in an EB Games the other day... a silly cartoon from the 80's, but I didn't know it was on DVD before yesterday... bizarre.

> so i ended up buying Suspiria at Fry's Electronics. They're the
> only place that has a more extensive collection of movies to
> purchase. They were in the middle of reorganizing their shelves
> and i was a little annoyed when the guys were placing obvious
> sci-fi movies in the horror section and vice versa. I just
> wanted to shake them and say 'DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
> MOVIES??!!"

The only section they ever get right are the new releases. I always check the entire store... I've found horror mixed in with drama, romance with action... they're total morons; why the hell does Jaws go on the same shelf with Indiana Jones: the Last Crusade and Leviathan with- I s**t you not- El Marachi?!?! How wrong are those?
 
> It should be mandatory that if you work with dvd's/movies you
> have to know all about movies. So they weren't very helpful in
> locating the titles i wanted as they scratched their heads as
> if to say "lady, if I've never heard of it then it can't be a
> good movie". I almost wanted to say "Why don't you guys go home
> and let me re-organize these shelves. no charge"

Maybe some people enjoy playing Hide-n-go-seek for their movies...

Ballbuster used to be a place where you could find "Mermaid's Forest", "The Nest", "Zarkorr", "Mystery Science Theater: The Movie" and films I've never even heard of before (a movie called "Fear" that has nothing to do with "Marky" Mark Walhberg... but with a spooky wooden figure named Morty)... Now, you're lucky if you can find "Jaws: The Revenge" or "Forbidden Planet". How long before they declare bankruptcy? Five years?

The independant video stores are, I think, beginning to make a comeback... but it'll be a long damn while before anything less generic than Aliens vs. Predator is the darkest thing you'll see lining the shelves...

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Menard
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« Reply #55 on: August 25, 2005, 12:58:47 PM »

Perhaps, or a least we can hope, independent video stores are going to make a comeback, but I have a feeling the opposite may well be true.

When video stores first came about, it was something different, and quite frankly fun to see movies which were not on the big screen, or perhaps those we missed or had not been available for a while. As the video store has become more commonplace, it has been moving in the same direction as the  theatre: mainstream.

A good number of people I know go to the video store to rent new releases, without even a consideration of checking out other movies.

There are those who want selection and variety, and the ability to make their own decisions; but the majority of video store customers are looking for the same thing they would be looking for in the theatre: that the selection be made for them and they be told what to watch

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Susan
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« Reply #56 on: August 25, 2005, 05:27:18 PM »

I don't think indy stores will make a comeback. In fact I think eventually blockbuster stores will shut down. More and more people will eventually rent online  I think, and with cable now you can order movies on PPV (mostly new releases clumbed into several pages of a hundred or so) but eventually i can imagine they will somehow have more and more movies titles on PPV to choose from so you can watch it anytime you want, any movie you want for the 24 hour time period (maybe they'll extend it) because these new sets you can pause, rewind and fast forward through the PPV movie. If they could somehow get almost all movies ever made on the tv i swear i wouldn't miss video stores. Then i could get ANY movie i wanted

I wonder if that might be the wave of the future, then video store companies would go under even with online rentals. As more and more people figure out how to copy dvd's they may do away with those dvd rentals alltogether. If you have to order all your movies on PPV you could record it from the tv but the quality wouldn't be as good as from a dvd..plus they might figure out someway to code and block...god i am really digressing here so i'll shut up now ;-)

I still have Das Experiment to watch (seen it before but liked it) and figure out when to return it. The "Late fee's are over" slogan btw is wrong, alot of lawsuits coming about since if you don't turn it in within a certain time period they charge you for the movie and a restocking fee (that they never advertised anywhere in the store when it first came out so how was a customer to know)

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Ash
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« Reply #57 on: August 25, 2005, 08:00:50 PM »

Susan wrote:

The "Late fee's are over"
> slogan btw is wrong, alot of lawsuits coming about since if you
> don't turn it in within a certain time period they charge you
> for the movie and a restocking fee (that they never advertised
> anywhere in the store when it first came out so how was a
> customer to know)

Actually, my local BB is very good at letting you know what date the movie is due back on and they are also good about telling you that there's a seven day grace period after the due date and will usually give you the last date of the grace period.
They will also point out those dates to you on the receipt.
I love being able to keep an old release for 2 weeks.
(and no, my BB doesn't have the movie grouping problem...putting films in the wrong sections etc...)

Some BB's are definitely more customer oriented than others...more willing to please.

I guess I don't hate BB as much as some here do.
I don't love them by any means or rent there exclusively....but if I'm in a hurry and know that they have it in stock I'll stop there.
Plus it also helps that they're just down the street from where I work and one of my old high school buddies is the store manager.



Post Edited (08-26-05 17:58)
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AndyC
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« Reply #58 on: August 26, 2005, 03:31:23 PM »

Yeah, Blockbuster used to be a good store, back when there was more competition. It was actually one of the places I'd drive into the city to rent from, when I was looking for movies beyond what my local Mom & Pop carried. I remember them having many different sections, including large horror, sci-fi, foreign etc. I could actually find episodes of Force Five amongst their animated offerings.

It is only since they've built themselves a virtual monopoly around here that BB has gone downhill. This is what people never realize when the great new chain store moves to town. These outfits try to outclass the competition in every way, beat them on all fronts. But once they have a lock on the market, they start to maximize their profits, streamline their operations and cut costs, and the first things to go are quality, selection and staff with any kind of expertise. Once a company becomes big enough to dominate, it goes downhill, and there's nothing to be done about it. Potential competitors do not want to risk opening independent stores, and if they do, most people are too cheap, lazy or indifferent to give them the support they need.

It's funny how the big companies claim to be giving people what they want, but at the same time, provide limited options from which to choose. You can have whatever you want, but here are your options. At what point are they telling us what we want? That was the question I kept putting to the idiot radio PD I mentioned in the 'Bad Albums' thread. Not surprisingly, he didn't get it.

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Just Plain Horse
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« Reply #59 on: August 27, 2005, 09:04:26 AM »

Susan wrote:

> I don't think indy stores will make a comeback. In fact I think
> eventually blockbuster stores will shut down.

I don't know if indy video stores will be even half as popular as they were before the Blockbuster explosion, but I do think the big name rentals will close, leaving some room for the lesser ones. Too many people are too tech-stupid or security paranoid to do a lot of renting online... at least, not for another 20 years or so. Also, as more video stores are carrying both DVD's and video games, they still manage to pull in some youthful customers- perhaps those who don't wanna shell out 50 bucks for a game until after they've tried it out first.

 >More and more people will eventually rent online

Eventually is the key word; most people who currently rent are not comfortable enough with computers to make the switch from the video store to the webpage. Most of them won't die out for another 20 to 30 years. The technology is there; the human's understanding of its potential isn't. Those who will rent online most likely aren't video store customers currently or never were (their parents did most of the renting).


>I think, and with cable now
> you can order movies on PPV (mostly new releases clumbed into
> several pages of a hundred or so) but eventually i can imagine
> they will somehow have more and more movies titles on PPV to
> choose from so you can watch it anytime you want, any movie you
> want for the 24 hour time period (maybe they'll extend it)
> because these new sets you can pause, rewind and fast forward
> through the PPV movie.

PPV is good if you like what's been in theaters for the bulk of the past year, and mostly from this country. Anything else, and it's a basically useless feature; I'm sure it's a deal made to allow companies to make some modest profit off the crap they shovel in and out of the box office every three weeks or so. "Double Jeopardy", "The Cell", "8 Legged Freaks", "Crow 2", "Jurassic Park 3", " US Marshals" (AKA: The Fugitive 2) and Roland Emmeric's "Godzilla" are the kind of films you'll find on PPV... whoopty-s**t, right? "Crouching Tiger" and "The Lord of the Rings" is the best PPV has ever had to offer, which is mostly coincedental... and I've seen both available in my local library!


 If they could somehow get almost all
> movies ever made on the tv i swear i wouldn't miss video
> stores. Then i could get ANY movie i wanted
>
> I wonder if that might be the wave of the future, then video
> store companies would go under even with online rentals. As
> more and more people figure out how to copy dvd's they may do
> away with those dvd rentals alltogether. If you have to order
> all your movies on PPV you could record it from the tv but the
> quality wouldn't be as good as from a dvd..plus they might
> figure out someway to code and block...god i am really
> digressing here so i'll shut up now ;-)
 
I have a feeling if they figure out how to "code and block" movies on tv from being recorded, more money would be lost from those who record all their programs then what would be gained in DVD sales... unless the ones in charge are dumber than I thought...

In conclusion, I'm not saying small video store chains are going to balloon up after Blockbuster busts, but I don't think they'll become extinct too soon. Hell, there are still movie theaters open, and they get much less business than any rental store.

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