Last Blockbuster in America

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VideoGameCritic
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Last Blockbuster in America

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 24th, 2019, 10:09 am

I've been reading about how there's one last Blockbuster store in Bend Oregon.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/bus ... 7c4428330f

I want to go there! Big surprise right? Man, do I miss those Friday nights of heading to Blockbuster after dinner. They were always abuzz with talk of the last movies. Sometimes they'd line a whole wall with one movie, and that made you want to see it. Of course, that in-person charm has given way to the convenience of Netflix (which is cheaper to).

I'd compare browsing for movies at Blockbuster Vs Netflix like calling a customer service line. Blockbuster was like getting a real person picking up to help, and Netflix is like getting a cold, impersonal voice menu. It's just not the same.

Thoughts?

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ptdebate
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby ptdebate » March 24th, 2019, 12:59 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Thoughts?



It was just straight-up a superior experience. Not just Blockbuster, but local video rental stores like Premiere Video in Dallas or Black Lodge Video in Memphis, TN, which are both now sadly closed. The endless options on Netflix are great, but the personal feel of getting recommendations and chatting with knowledgeable shop personnel somehow made you value the movies more. They were more special.

Luigi & Peach
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby Luigi & Peach » March 24th, 2019, 3:52 pm

Apparently the last blockbuster has a Twitter feed that's pretty funny. You should check it out.

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pacman000
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby pacman000 » March 25th, 2019, 2:59 pm

If you rent one movie a week, & if you return it on time, a movie rental place is cheaper than Netflix.

If you're in the South there's still Family Video. https://www.familyvideo.com/

Luigi & Peach
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby Luigi & Peach » March 25th, 2019, 8:43 pm

pacman000 wrote:If you rent one movie a week, & if you return it on time, a movie rental place is cheaper than Netflix.

If you're in the South there's still Family Video. https://www.familyvideo.com/


You can find Family Videos in the midwest too fortunately. My father-in-law is there almost every day. Was Hollywood Video a national chain? I never hear anyone lament over them and they were on par with Blockbuster around here.

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Matchstick
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby Matchstick » March 25th, 2019, 10:07 pm

Luigi & Peach wrote:Was Hollywood Video a national chain? I never hear anyone lament over them and they were on par with Blockbuster around here.


As far as I know, Hollywood was national. We had them in and around the Chicagoland area while I was in college, and had a few out west when I first moved to Oregon, too. I liked the place, except that they were one of "those" rental chains that branded their cartridge games. Some Blockbusters did it, too, but man, Hollywood was the worst. I rented the OG Turok for the N64 from a Hollywood video when it was a new release. Took it home, and I couldn't even fit it into my N64 because the due that branded it with "Property of Hollywood Video" managed to warp the shape of the cartridge with the heat. Not cool!

It's funny, that last Blockbuster has been on my "to do" list for quite some time. We had a few left in Eugene, OR, right up until a few years ago. I now live in Lincoln City, OR, which is right on the ocean and a good 10 hours or so from Bend. Bend is a bee-yooo-teee-full city, right on top of the Cascade Mountains. The drive up to it, on a sunny day, is worth the trip alone. They get a ton of snow in the Winter, though, making some of the mountain roads impassable, even with tire chains. It's such a nice place to visit in the Summertime, and my wife loves it there. We've considered moving there before, but man, is it ever pricey, and incredibly crowded, too. Just like damn near every place in Oregon these days, unfortunately.

One of these days I'll make the trip to that Blockbuster. They sell t-shirts and merchandise, and my understanding is that they'll stay open as long as the landlord of the strip mall where they're located allows it. I think their lease runs through next Summer, but after that, it's all up in the air. Let the good times roll!

Didn't you say you live in Portland, ptdebate? Ever been to Bend before?

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Crummylion
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby Crummylion » March 27th, 2019, 10:14 pm

Family Video still exists, nice to see it's still kicking. Last time I visited, I rented Sonic Forces and got Nier for 5 bucks. Really hated Forces...
I'd compare services like Netflix to rental stores like Blockbuster though. They have a large array of movies available, but don't always have what you're looking for. Streaming services are worse though because there's so many competitors with too many exclusive films. They sometimes aren't reliable too, streaming services likely to go offline or not work due to shoddy internet/crooked services while rental discs typically can be prone to scratches and end up skipping or freezing at times. The latter being past experience at Family Video from 15 years ago. Granted, it may have been just that one Family Video and that one occasion, they tend to keep their discs in good condition.
Either way, I like to go to Family Video for the same reason I like browsing used game stores, for that satisfying feel of finding a game or movie in person instead of clicking a bunch of buttons on a computer so something appears then goes away a year later. So Family Video is my choice for rentals.

jon
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Re: Last Blockbuster in America

Postby jon » March 30th, 2019, 4:26 pm

I still have a blockbuster card. I got pulled over and the cop saw it and said cool do you keep it for nostalgic purposes. I said yes and he let me go without a ticked. I was watching Executive Decision and they were talking about how this terrorist is hard to identify Bc there’s only one known photograph of him. How the world has changed since that movie came out. I sort of miss the mystery of the world being big without smart phones


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