So, today I decided I wanted to watch Forbidden Planet because I’ve heard it is quite possibly the best sci-fi movie of all time.
The first place I ventured was Blockbuster, a horrid chain who I despise out of principle, but the only video rental place in a 5 mile radius. I figured it was a classic sci-fi movie, they have (had) a sci-fi section, they shold have the movie. Bzzt! Wrong! Whereas I disliked Blockbuster before for their Christian fundamentalist foo-foo family loving ways, now I despise them. Not only do they not have the movie (that would be forgivable) but they seem to have removed the sci-fi section entirely. The poor survivors of this genocide were scattered amongst the remaining categories: Drama. Comedy. Action. Family. Unfortunately, a full third of the store was dedicated to the family section. Another third went to video games. That leaves very little room for any actual movies. Everywhere I looked- disney *shudder* Seriously, if I wanted all that crap, I’d subscribe to the Disney channel.
Unfortunately, all the other local video rental places closed down under unfortunate circumstances (Easy Video- flooded in hurricane; 3 out of 4 West Coast Videos- killed by poor management) so Blockbuster decided, in it’s lack-of-competition wisdom, to ‘wholesome’ the town up a bit. Sickening.
Long story short (too late), I drove to the only remaining West Coast Video in the county, AFAIK. They had a great selection- and seperate sections for every miniscule genre of film you could ever want- paradise.
Ok, I admit to being completely and utterly biased about this. See, I used to work at one of the previously mentioned West Coast Video locations that closed down shortly after being engulfed by Video City. Best job I ever had. The remaining West Coast Video has the exact same floor layout of the store I used to work at. It was like coming home ^_^
Oh, the movie? If you like classic sci-fi, it’s great. And it will make you feel knowledgeable when you hear the opening theme to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (another great movie).