241–250 of 264 posts
It's sort of bizarre that an entrenched, widely despised corporate behemoth thoroughly deserving its own demise has turned into an anachronistic mom-and-pop shop that just gets by. But isn't this the worst of both worlds? It's dystopian nostalgia. Maybe I just have too much of a grudge against the 1980's...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. Blockbuster had all the movies the average person would be able to know about. Any movie that was advertised and known by the general public could be picked up at blockbuster and watched. It's not like that now. Now I have to Google which streaming service can I stream this or that on and then go to that service. It's as if there was a paramount movie store on one side of town, a Disney one on the other, MGM…
“All the movies an average person would know” — they’re all still available “to rent” from every major provider. No need to Google anything? I think you’re confusing stream-all-you-want for a monthly fee vs pay-per-view providers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's one of the things that kills me about present day distribution. There is such a massive hole in not getting to hear from the creators the way you could with DVDs. Shows like The Simpsons, etc. have offered a massive amount of information presented through commentary, that wouldn't otherwise be known.
I guess the other side of that coin is I feel like we have more access to creators than ever with youtube and podcasts. If I want to "meet my heroes" so to speak, I don't need DVD extras, I can just watch them in all sorts of formats online. Pre internet, you couldn't really watch Scorcese on hot ones.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Poster above you is talking about a block of TV programming called TGIF as well. The fast casual restaurant chain still exists, and is definitely still cartoonishly embellished with Americana, and surprisingly decent food for what it is.
Still, not once has the United Nations passed a resolution to fund the building of TGI Fridays franchises in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly everyone lacks access to warm, inviting restaurants with vibrant Americana-themed decor [1] https://www.theonion.com/tgi-fridays-is-a-human-right-182535...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Blockbuster carried the latest movies from all the studios. Everything newest and most desirable. They had a smattering of classics and art house and older genre films, but mostly it was about everything latest and greatest. Netflix streaming seemed like that at first, but better! Now, they have a tiny slice of content. And as a content-producer, they seem willing to throw money at anything B-list. Meanwhile, the stu…
Exactly. Blockbuster had all the movies the average person would be able to know about. Any movie that was advertised and known by the general public could be picked up at blockbuster and watched. It's not like that now. Now I have to Google which streaming service can I stream this or that on and then go to that service. It's as if there was a paramount movie store on one side of town, a Disney one on the other, MGM…
I am old enough to remember when the wife would call me at work on a Friday and say hey, stop by the video store and get a movie for tonight and I'll stop and get wine and take out. What was special was the "Dave" at the video rental place (it wasn't blockbuster but whatever). I don't recall the guy's name, but he always remembered me and what we liked and had great suggestions and sometimes if you said, nah but how…
What's funny about all this Blockbuster nostalgia is that back in the day they were actually the bad guys. They were the big homogenous corporate chain that drove all the independent stores out of business. One of their key differentiators was to overstock Hollywood blockbusters at the expense of indie films, art films, cult classics etc. and to make sure that the indie stores wouldn't be able to get their hands on t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the website equivalent of Dave? Surely it has to exist somewhere? Maybe it's not personalized for you but it's close enough for a lot of people? I've visited a TON of taste-making sites and some used to be OK at suggesting what to watch, but it's been tough to find good ones lately, and I'd pay good money for somebody to sort through all of the cruft for me. You've got your "decider" and other sites, but somet…
IMO website equivalent of this is cinephile forums/trackers. You will get tons of high quality recommendations and find interesting non-mainstream content.
I am old enough to remember when the wife would call me at work on a Friday and say hey, stop by the video store and get a movie for tonight and I'll stop and get wine and take out. What was special was the "Dave" at the video rental place (it wasn't blockbuster but whatever). I don't recall the guy's name, but he always remembered me and what we liked and had great suggestions and sometimes if you said, nah but how…
today's AI is pretty good It's pretty good at suggesting exactly the same type of movies you've watched before, but not so good at those "but how about something completely different, but something that I'll still like" suggestions, that's where a real human movie buff can help.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
When Netflix had the star system, I would get amazing recommendations. I would get a good feeling every time I opened Netflix because I was almost guaranteed a quality movie I would like. After Netflix moved onto thumbs up/down it was never the same and when Netflix started promoting their own shows, it got worse. I'm at the point where I hardly even watch it though I can't say the same for my kids.
I miss the comments the most. Seeing why someone rated something a certain way.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think what a lot of us are missing is human interaction, especially with strangers. No one is going to reminisce about that time the Netflix algorithm recommended a movie to them. Interactions with others, the stories and sense of community that can come out of it, not to mention building social skills, is being lost. We're making a better world for consumers, but sometimes I wonder if it's a better world for peopl…
> We're making a better world for consumers, but sometimes I wonder if it's a better world for people. Have you actually on multiple occasions wondered about this? Or has your brain just been colonized by pithy statements?