Analysis & Commentary and News Rick on 13 May 2008 08:00 pm
Boycott Blockbuster!
So the other day, I walked into my local Movie Gallery, looking for I’m Not There and maybe even The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, both of which I missed because they didn’t play here in the wilds of West Alabama, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a pimply-faced clerk who told me that they were both “Blockbuster Exclusives.” And I said “Oh yeah? Well, I know for a fact that y’all can get the movies by just going out and buying them, or ordering them from friggin’ DVD Planet, for crissake, and thereby serving your valued customers.” And the kid just stared at me, offering no apology or anything, and I went and got Bomb Making 101 from the internet and started tinkering in the basement, and the only thing that kept me from blowing up the nearest Blockbuster — and that pimply-faced kid in the Movie Gallery for good measure — was the thought of prison food and sharing a cell with a guy named Big Bruce.
And you know, I thought I was helping the local economy or something by supporting local merchants and all (or local franchisees at any rate), but if you can’t even get the movies you want to see, what good are they? It’s my opinion that the moves by Blockbuster to corner the market, drive their competitors out of business and — above all — battle Netflix are not only anti-competitive but very bad for us movie fans. I won’t be patronizing Blockbuster any more and will be shifting more and more of my everyday rental of recent movies to Netflix, where both I’m Not There and The Assassination happily await.
And now, for an Onion video that expresses my hopes for the future of Blockbuster:
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on 13 May 2008 at 9:27 pm # Pam
Maybe not such a good idea to leak your sources for bomb making!
on 13 May 2008 at 10:09 pm # Fletch
That Onion video is pure brilliance.
Like it, I was gonna say that I don’t think you have much to worry about. By not adapting to the marketplace quickly enough, I’m pretty sure Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos (who I believe just declared bankruptcy) will be relics in no time.
on 13 May 2008 at 11:40 pm # Rick
Don’t worry, dear, the coppers — they got nothin’ on me …
And Fletch, you’re right of course … I just wish they’d go ahead and get on with it. The “Blockbuster Exclusives” weren’t so bad when they were must-see movies like “Metroid Prime 7: The Movie” or “Porky’s American Pie,” but with “I’m Not There” and “The Assassination” they, as we say down here, are meddlin’.
on 14 May 2008 at 5:06 am # Ibetolis
“It was very difficult for people who lived during this era” - That video was brilliant.
Glad to see someone else is boycotting Blockbusters, I started my campaign nearly two years back after an unsavoury encounter in my local store when they removed the ‘World Cinema’ section.
How on earth can they not have ‘The Assassination of Jessie James…..’? It beggars belief.
on 14 May 2008 at 7:07 pm # campanella.joseph
SCREW BLOCKBUSTER.
I was in one last year because my stupid friends wanted to rent a movie. They wanted me to pitch in a few bucks for the movie, but I told them I had three perfectly good Netflix DVD’s at home.
Blockbuster guy behind the counter told me I should switch to their service. I told them they should have 1. Released Kurbrick’s original cut of EYES WIDE SHUT. 2. Let me rent NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD when I was thirteen without getting a note from my mother. 3. Carry more than three movies in a language other than English.
video=hilarious
on 14 May 2008 at 8:43 pm # Pat
That clip is hysterical.
And I’m on the Blockbuster-boycotting bandwagon myself. (Apologies for the excessive alliteration in that sentence!)
There is a Blockbuster within walking distance of my building, literally three blocks away, that I refuse to patronize because of the crappy selection. Netflix rules!
on 14 May 2008 at 9:21 pm # Rick
Ibetolis — I wouldn’t call it a campaign, exactly, I just hope it’ll speed their demise.
Joe, I think you should say what you think, don’t hold back.
And all the alliterate you are able, Pat, is allright with me. (Geez, that was bad)
on 22 May 2008 at 10:01 am # Joe
That video is amazing. Thank you.