Blockbuster Express: Black Swan Gouging

If we're at the WalMart, I usually check out what's available on DVD from the Red Box. If we're at Publix, I go to the Blockbuster Express Kiosk (BEK). We were at Publix the other day, so I pressed the "Rent" button to see what was available on the BEK. Placed first among the available movies was "Black Swan." Now, I hadn't been going out of my mind in anticipation of seeing this highly touted flick, but, since it was available, I clicked on it to go to the detail screen. First thing that popped into my eye was the price, $2.99.

Now, the great thing about getting movies at these kiosks is the price which usually is one day for a dollar. There's no better deal. I screwed around with Netflix for a while but all that mailing back and forth can turn into quite a hassle after a while. Red Box, et al, are da bomb.

But, $2.99? What the hell's that about? It's like when I go into a second hand store and find that instead of one price for all books, like Hard Covers for $1, somebody has attempted to place a value on each individual book with prices ranging from $1 to $10. I mean, that's plane ridiculous. What do these people know about books and their content? Absolutely nothing. Basically, they're all the same, just pages with words on them.

DVDs should be the same - they contain movies. Granted some are better than others, but that often is an individual determination. Heck, last week we rented "Due Date" with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis because someone my wife knows said it was funny. Based on the summary, I had passed it over several times because it sounded to me like an inferior version of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," a movie starring Steve Martin and John Candy which I liked a lot.

Well, to make a long story short, "Due Date" sucked. There was nothing likeable about the Galifianakis character and I wouldn't have minded of Downey had murdered him in scene one. But, like I said, there are people out there who liked it.

We've since rented "The Fighter" from Red Box and enjoyed that one a lot.

Anyway, at $2.99, I wasn't interested in "Black Swan" nor, apparently, was anyone else since the DVD was still available the next day when we stopped by Publix for the Sunday paper. I struck up a conversation with an older woman who was returning a movie and led her to the Black Swan detail page showing her the massive $2.99 price tag. "My God," she said. "I've never seen that before."

"Me, neither," I said, adding, "I hear the company's doing lousy. Maybe, that's the reason."

"Yes," she said. "They just closed down the store down on 52."

"I saw that," I said, referring to the old Blockbuster retail store where you'd have to take out a mortgage to rent a movie.

"I think I'll stick with Red Box," I told her. "There's a new one across the street at Walgreens."

"Oh, I'll have to give that a try."

I don't think either of us will ever be comfortable with Blockbuster Express again.

A Name You Can Trust

Duhhh… Yeah, sure.

The other day we pulled the plug on our TV which had been on life support for the last month. Actually, I thought the problem might have something to do with the cable but, when the cable guy came out, he said in a heartbeat it was the TV – the tuner to be specific.

So, without delay, I headed out to do some shopping. There’s not much I require in a TV. It has to have a port for headphones; it has to have hookups for my VCR; and it has to be less than 32 ½ inches wide so that it will fit in this cabinet we bought at Kmart and my girl subsequently spruced up with paint and various patterned wallpaper. For some reason, she likes the idea of hiding the TV when company comes over. Me? I’d rather keep watching whatever was running before they got here.

Anyway, WalMart had a set that met my meager requirements but, unfortunately, they were out of stock. The kid who waited on me said something about a shipment, but knowing how long it usually takes Wally’s World to restock sold-out items, I figured I better move on. Circuit City was a bust. They had TVs but no employees to sell them. Besides, their prices didn’t seem that good for a company that was about to go tits up.

Next, I hit Best Buy. On my own in the TV section, I quickly found a TV that met my requirements – an Insignia 32” HD Flat screen TV. Insignia – a name you can trust. At least I hope you can trust it; I never heard of it before. The girl at the register talked me into a 4 year protection plan. It sounded good to me until I mentioned it to my wife. “Will they be in business for 4 years?” she asked. Always the pessimist.

Anyway, I didn’t have to bust a gut carrying the new set home. However, I think I got a hernia removing the old one.

My Insignia’s set up and working. Unfortunately, the cable box doesn’t recognize the model, so I have to use two remotes – one for on/off and the volume, the other for switching channels. That’s a burden I think I can handle.