I agree. I currently live in Atlanta and there are two really great stores that I know of: Videodrome and Movies Worth Seeing. I also have the campus library. But, ya, I don’t do the nexflix thing either.
Rocket Video is my preferred rental store. It’s an old fashioned video store with a huge selection of DVDs and VHS, including the full Criterion Collection and sections dedicated to particular directors. It’s right smack in the heart of Hollywood, right across the street from Pink’s Hot Dogs. I have rarely gone in there looking for a film and they not have it.
Also, Laser Blaser has a big selection, which is in West LA.
don’t get me wrong, I presume netflix is far less wasteful, given the vast selection of work that is circulated so widely…blah…too tired…evil corporations….Propagandhi show last night….you’d understand.
I wish I had a cool movie store by me, but I still don’t support netflix. If there was an indie movie store by me I’d be there daily. I don’t care for Hollywood Video or Blockbuster, they have just your regular shit there.
Indie video rental places do not exist where I live. There is half a one, but it’s a rental place-cum-bookstore, and the selection is crap.
I’ll stick with Netflix, not because I hate people interaction, but because you actually have to come here to understand the horrible selection that I face.
I love the library because the rentals are free and I can request titles if they don’t carry it. <’,))(
I used to rent a lot from a place called CineFile, which is around the corner from the NuArt Theatre. At CineFile they have unlimited rental memberships similar to netflix. I used to watch a movie at the NuArt, then drop in at CineFile and rent something right after. They had stuff there I couldn’t find anywhere else, like the films of Chantal Akerman, Sabu’s Monday, and I got a full education in contemporary Thai cinema there, so I’m grateful that there is such a rental place.
i didn’t know people took propagandhi seriously lol
netflix is amazing and they earn every penny i give them. blockbuster is the only other option for me anyway, and the one near me carries maybe one criterion.
netflix is one company i’m surprised to see people boycotting.
Yeah, I’m not sure why there’s a backlash toward Netflix. Most people don’t have the luxury of independent video stores and if all you’ve got is Blockbuster, Netflix is the way to go – they have such a wide selection – a cinefile’s dream.
I live by a couple rental stores. One has a pretty good selection but a pitifully small “classics” section, but almost all their movies have to be famous. I think the most obscure title they carry is “Brain Damage” (not the one by the guy who did Basket Case), a 70’s torture horror movie. I’m with Netflix for the really good stuff.
I do love my library it’s selection is great, thanx Carlo almost forgot about it. I’m not boycotting netflix but I live in an apt. and my mailbox sucks, a disc wouldn’t fit in there and I don’t trust anyone not to take it in the big bin below it.
I love my local video store, Film Yard! It’s just really nice to go into a place that everyone in the neighborhood goes to. Everybody – the local baristas, the bar proprietors, the store owners, the guardian of that little yappy dog you always recognize – stops in to rent movies. And the clerks are all really friendly and knowledgeable. There’s always a conversation about film, people giving recommendations, going on.
I know this is all very idyllic and that not everyone is lucky enough to have a neighborhood like that. And I’m not going to weigh-in on Netflix here, because the truth about it is that it’s sometimes hard to find obscure things at my video store. But I’ll always go there just for the sense of community it brings.
Yeah, I too forgot to think about the library. But it’s not exactly free—most movies are $3, and I’ve seen the free ones before—and you can only have it out for 3 nights, I think. And the selection is not much better than Blockbuster (of which there are two in my town), and they don’t have a wide TV show selection.
Considering how I go through movies, it’s cheaper for me to get Netflix anyway, so I stick with that.
I am not against netflix. I am just saying that it is a wise choice to support your local retail movie mr. I stopped in last night. A membership is $25, and rentals are 2.50…that seems like a sweet deal. Plus he said if he didn’t have it, he would order it…anything.
so, in that regard, the independent movie man is right up there with my local library.
Ooopyman, no one does take Prop. seriously. But they are good guy’s
I love independent movie stores/record stores/book stores—there’s something fantastic about being in a room completely surrounded by thousands of choices for what you’re looking for; being able to catch something unexpected out of the corner of your eye. I’ve picked up many, many books/albums this way.
And I love the way a book store smells—especially a half-price books or a library, where everything isn’t brand new and fresh. Books age.
But since there isn’t one where I live, and given how many movies I watch every month, I’m saving soooo much money with Netflix. Just in late fees alone.
Has anyone ever been to Strands in New York City. If you go plan on brining your lunch with you.
i just go to blockbuster. i have no “independent” movie rental stores anywhere by me :(
You can rent movies at Strand? I thought it was just a bookstore like Powell’s in Portland.
That would be awesome! – to have a video store as big as Powell’s (I’m not even sure there are that many DVDs that exist to even make this possible).
No sorry Fredo it is a bookstore, I was referring to Joshs’ comments above me. I should have made that clear. sorry.
I have no issue with Netflix. Love their service and selection. One of the best deals that you can find.
Oh man, I was getting ready to move to New York I was so excited! lol
I believe I’ve been in Strand, but only briefly. Surrounding myself in books/DVDs/etc. is bad news for me because I end up buying more than I can afford.
Vidiots in Santa Monica, Cinefile in West LA or sometimes Rocket Video over on Melrose. I just can’t handle all that LA’s got, there should be more than 24 hours in a day.
tom
I was in a video shop that has a fantastic selection. Since I don’t want to support Nexflix, I think i’ll do this.
independent movie rental stores need to stay alive, damn it.
has human interaction come as such an unwanted surprise that we just mail out for our movies?
I’m too tired to continue with any sort of dense merit.