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[Hulk_Smash]

For the first time in 15 years, I’ve rented a DVD from an actually brick and mortar video store (family video).

The movie was Tomb Raider 2018. And the reason I rented it from there was because I couldn’t rent it at Redbox or in any steaming service I checked. Why? Come to find out it was because Cinemax has the rights to the movie right now and I guess the contract could include limiting streaming rentals and viewings to just the Cinemax service.

Which is stupid.

So, I discovered probably the best reason to go back to brick & mortar stores and that is to rent slightly older movies that don’t show up on streaming services. I checked a few other movies that came out last year and none of them can be rented on Amazon, PlayStation Store, or iTunes.

So I rented the DVD for $1.50 for 5 days. certainly better than the 24 hrs Redbox or iTunes gives you. It’s also way better for game rentals than most other services.

And normally I would hate having to drive back to the store to return it, but mug wife drives right past it on the way to her work. It’s no sweat for her to spend an extra 2 minutes dropping it off.

I can't believe I’m saying this, but looks like I’ll be frequenting a video store regularly again.


Oh and Tomb Raider was way better than it had any right to be. I liked it. It deserves a sequel.

 

[Blade2.0]

Got a great library near me that lets me rent games and blurays for free up to 3 weeks. Must have a rich donor because I see new games and blurays in it all the time.

 

[brap]

A DVD in the year of our lord 2019?

 

[Hulk_Smash]

A DVD in the year of our lord 2019?

Yep. They were out of the blu-ray

 

[triplestation]

i also rent cassettes from my local video rental shop called Not Drug Dealers

 

[-Arcadia-]

Ok boomer.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

i also rent cassettes from my local video rental shop called Not Drug Dealers

Ok boomer.

 

[John Day]

It’s insane, that sensation. We can get ahit instantly nowadays (seemingly), but when we get it at a loxal store it feels all so different.

 

[farmerboy]

So upset that we no longer have a local video store, though there is one about a 15min drive away.

Pick up a video and some take away on the way home and your night was set.

 

[J-Roderton]

Used to frequent one around here every few weeks or so. It just shut down. Place was always packed there on weekends too.

 

[MetalAlien]

I miss it so much.

 

[Dark Star]

Watching movies was easier when you had a very limited physical selection to pick from at a store. You'd grab the first VHS or DVD that grabbed your eye and just rolled with it. Sometimes you'd get a dud, or a film that was way too obscure/low budget for your tastes, but that was part of the fun, because you'd be going back to said limited selection in a few days. It felt natural. These days, with streaming services, you're overwhelmed and bombarded with thousands of big budget films to choose from, but you end up rewatching The Office or something instead because you can't decide lol. This happens the most when you're with family or friends, because nobody wants to choose.

It's kind of like watching actual channels on cable TV. You just keep changing the channel until you land on something that grabs your interest. Sometimes it's easier to play Russian roulette with entertainment than actually force yourself to decide what to consume lol. That was the simple beauty of physical video rental stores. It was a time where you didn't need the internet to tell you what to watch, or what you should be watching. You just took a gamble, and it was a more magical experience when the odds came out in your favor.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

Watching movies was easier when you had a very limited physical selection to pick from at a store. You'd grab the first VHS or DVD that grabbed your eye and just rolled with it. Sometimes you'd get a dud, or a film that was way too obscure/low budget for your tastes, but that was part of the fun, because you'd be going back to said limited selection in a few days. It felt natural. These days, with streaming services, you're overwhelmed and bombarded with thousands of big budget films to choose from, but you end up rewatching The Office or something instead because you can't decide lol. This happens the most when you're with family or friends, because nobody wants to choose.

It's kind of like watching actual channels on cable TV. You just keep changing the channel until you land on something that grabs your interest. Sometimes it's easier to play Russian roulette with entertainment than actually force yourself to decide what to consume lol. That was the simple beauty of physical video rental stores. It was a time where you didn't need the internet to tell you what to watch, or what you should be watching. You just took a gamble, and it was a more magical experience when the odds came out in your favor.

Ive had the same feeling. And to extend the thought there, when I browse the dozens of movies available on Netflix or Prime I always think they’re lousy selections or I think there’s something better around the corner. It’s like if you don’t have to spend extra money and you don’t have to make up your mind right away, the movies become less valuable. Truth is just don’t want to take a chance on something I may or may not like when I feel like I don’t have to.

Id rather have the extra choices, but limiting choices does make some movie pop out at you more and become a little bit more valuable.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I'm jealous. We had a video store here with 1'000s of movies that shut down about 2 years ago. They had a deal of 5 movies for $5 for 5 days. I would spend so much time just wandering down the aisles. It felt more like a proper library of films than a video store. It's a damn shame video stores have mostly disappeared.

 

[TylersProphecy4.0]

I love video stores. Were they still around, I'd probably still be working in them lol.

 

[haxan7]

Rosy retrospection - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You can pry streaming from my cold dead hands.

 

[brap]

Rosy retrospection - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You can pry streaming from my cold dead hands.

It was a comfier time.
>tfw in Hollywood Video they hid all the anime in the Special Interest section

 

[G-Bus]

Have one a few blocks away and my wife and I rent a movie every other week. It's great.

We have all the streaming stuff but it's nice for the bit of nostalgia, supports a small local business and its oddly relaxing to just wonder around staring at the walls of movies trying to find something.

Better than sifting through the pile of dogshit that Netflix has become.

 

[Kagey K]

Got a great library near me that lets me rent games and blurays for free up to 3 weeks. Must have a rich donor because I see new games and blurays in it all the time.

The library is the most under utilized old institution in modern times. They have kept up with modernization and are more then musty books from the 1960’s. I have had my card for just under 6 years and with my last checkout they told me I saved $2,000 this year and almost $12,000 by renting from them instead of buying at full price.

And that’s just physical, it doesn’t count my Overdrive or Hoopla rentals, and that’s where I do most of my reading.

 

[drganon]

My old blockbuster is now a bank and the Hollywood video is a pizza joint.

 

[Doczu]

DVD rental store? Like a real one?

 

[synchronicity]

I'm surprised there's enough of a market anywhere to support this type of business today.

 

[MaestroMike]

u gotta local video rental store??? i'm so jealous we just got a sh!tty garbage library i hate libraries

 

[TylersProphecy4.0]

The last blockbuster is somewhere near here (portland, or). I heard they sent the Cinderella man jock strap John Oliver bought for the Alaska blockbuster there.

Apparently, the biggest movie store on the west coast is super close to me too, Movie Madness.
I really need to go see if they have a dvd copy if possession or jerky boys lol.

 

[Lukin1978]

What year is it?

 

[Dural]

Family Video is all over here, we have one a few miles away. Never been in it, I loved the video store as a kid but haven't really rented since the early 2000s.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Family Video is all over here, we have one a few miles away. Never been in it, I loved the video store as a kid but haven't really rented since the early 2000s.

Family Video's feel great, still have a lot of great new releases.

 

[Rentahamster]

Next, you should rent a man or a woman from an actual downtown street corner.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Ya know, driving to the video store sounds less like a hassle and more like a vacation in this day and age.

 

[nikolino840]

My old blockbuster is now a bank and the Hollywood video is a pizza joint.

Wait...i think the blockbuster in my city Is a bank too now ,next time i check

 

[God Enel]

We have all the streaming stuff but it's nice for the bit of nostalgia, supports a small local business and its oddly relaxing to just wonder around staring at the walls of movies trying to find something.

Better than sifting through the pile of dogshit that Netflix has become.

Absolutely agree dude. There aren’t any of them left in my city I think.

Sometimes you find a real gem just walking around looking at all the covers and sometimes you grab a gigantic piece of dogshit.
Today you browse through your library and see that there are 50% recommendations and you don’t watch anything that’s lower than 95

 

[Amory]

There aren't any brick and mortar movie rental places near me (I don't think) but I still rent discs through Netflix. I love it. It feels like I'm getting a present every time I open my mailbox and there's a movie waiting for me, and I get to watch new releases way quicker than waiting for streaming services to add them

No idea how that rental store you went to is keeping their doors open renting DVDs for 5 nights for $1.50 though. That's crazy.

I thought tomb raider 2018 sucked. Pretty lady at least

 

[ROMhack]

The appeal of video stores isn't because they were that good, it's because modern subscription services cause analysis paralysis and it sucks monkey dangles.

I used my university fairly often when I was studying to rent movies. Often took me a while to pick them but I found a lot of random movies I'd never have watched otherwise — including one absolutely lovely film called Lovers of the Arctic Circle, which I chose simply because I liked the name

 

[AlteredForms]

 

[Hulk_Smash]

There aren't any brick and mortar movie rental places near me (I don't think) but I still rent discs through Netflix. I love it. It feels like I'm getting a present every time I open my mailbox and there's a movie waiting for me, and I get to watch new releases way quicker than waiting for streaming services to add them

No idea how that rental store you went to is keeping their doors open renting DVDs for 5 nights for $1.50 though. That's crazy.

I thought tomb raider 2018 sucked. Pretty lady at least

The price was because we were a new sign-up. I’m sure it’s more for blu ray and for a regular priced movie. Still beats the $4-6 iTunes and Amazon charge.
Tomb Raider did nothing new in terms of the action adventure genre. But it does have the distinction of making it completely through a video game adaptation without shitting the bed.

 

[J-Roderton]

I used to buy a lot of movies from the before they closed down, too. Usually were pretty damn cheap.

 

[Tesseract]

i do sometimes miss it, walking through mom and pop shops as a kid

renting the faces of death on vhs

whoops, now i'm a psycho maniac

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Those were the days 20 years ago............

Video stores: We're broke because everyone moved to streaming!

Video store prices:
- Movie $3
- Pack of Twizzlers $4
- Big bag of M&Ms $5
- Family size bag of Chips $4
- Pack of microwavable popcorn $3
- 2L bottle of pop $2.50
- Hey look! They are now selling some PS1 and PS2 games. Full price

Grocery store next door:
- Movie (None)
- Chips, junk food, candy $2 each
- 3-pack of microwavable popcorn $1
- 2L bottle of pop $1.29 (on sale for $1)

Game shop or electronics store nearby:
- Those same games above are half priced greatest hits

 

[Hari Seldon]

Yeah I miss these terribly. So many fond memories of going to video stores as a kid and renting movies on a friday night. There are none around me anymore, if there were I would be there.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Yeah I miss these terribly. So many fond memories of going to video stores as a kid and renting movies on a friday night. There are none around me anymore, if there were I would be there.

I miss them too. Going with my brothers in the early 90s to find stuff was something to do on a weekend. A downer when we'd see the movies we wanted were out.......... then you:

- Walk around the store hoping if you come back in 5 min a copy will magically show up
- Ask a clerk if a copy is returned in the bin
- Check under the covers of other nearby movies thinking someone hid a copy

And best of all, grab that monthly flyer that showed which movies are coming soon and what date it's coming!

We rented games in the 80s and 90s too. Looking back.... $2 for a night was worth it. Better to salvage a loss of $2 than buying a shit game for $50+.

 

[Rest]

I tried to watch it on a plane last year. I couldn't make it past the first segment in the gym, it seemed boring, kitschy, and the characters all seemed like assholes.

 

[Dural]

Family Video's feel great, still have a lot of great new releases.

I might have to take my kids on a Friday night just so they can see what it's all about. I believe they have a special with Marco's Pizza that's attached to it for dinner and a movie.

 

[AV]

Walked past this last weekend. RIP.

Might go back and steal a B.

 

[Nymphae]

A store that does it's best to carry a wide selection of all available titles from many decades past, on paper and in practice, is far better than any current streaming service imo. Oh no you have to leave your home and return something! All arguments for digital over physical are Consoomer nonsense, shill for corporations more.

 

[BadBurger]

There is still a video store going strong in my hometown, about a 45 minutes drive away. It has been there since I was a toddler. Their porn section in the backroom is immaculate.

 

[Dural]

This article about a video store in Seattle that a friend from junior high works at was posted today and is quite relevant to this topic.

The great fraud of the streaming age is that while streaming services sell us the illusion of infinite content, our viewing choices have become more regulated.

 

[yeahokaywhatever]

I have some nostalgia towards video stores, but I do like the accessibility of streaming. Also, the only big video store left in Chicago is a hip place with a gofundme since they're in trouble of shutting down. Shame.

 

[ROMhack]

There's a great video rental store in Bristol, UK and it's a real hipster joint. Lots of collector edition Criterion Collection-esque movies and it doubles up as a small cinema you can rent.

Only visited once but I think it's precisely what retail needs to do to adapt to digital convenience.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

There are non in my area... Pretty much extinct. There's rebox

 

[StreetsofBeige]

This article about a video store in Seattle that a friend from junior high works at was posted today and is quite relevant to this topic.

So true.

Netflix Canada

1. Lord of the Rings (Fellowship). Check
2. Lord of the Rings (Two Towers). Check
3. Lord of the Rings (Return of the King). Nope

That sure makes sense.


Arnold Schwarzenegger films:

- T2
- Escape Plan
- Expendables 2 & 3
- Last Action Hero
- Sabotage

That's it.