Blockbuster Video Was Bomb

Call me old fashioned, but I miss Blockbuster Video.

I brought the kids to see Captain Marvel this weekend.

Don't worry, I won't be giving away any spoilers, but the first 15-20 minutes of the movie are kind of a snoozer. I'm not a huge fan of the Marvel movies, but the beginning of the film is set somewhere in deep space. As I began to lose interest, I picked up my phone and started to scroll through Facebook. That's when the entire movie shifted from outer space to the United States in the mid-1990's. The main character crashed into a Blockbuster Video that was closed for the night, then ran outside to speak to a security guard that was listening to Salt-N-Pepa on his car radio. So 1990's!

On the way home, I asked my kids if they knew about Blockbuster Video. They had no idea. They were shocked when I told them that back in the 90's there were roughly as many Blockbuster Video stores here on the SouthCoast as there are McDonald's. They couldn't believe it.

"So, it was just a store filled with movies?" Yup, pretty much. We'd go to Blockbuster on a Thursday night to make sure you'd get the movie you were looking to watch over the weekend. You'd show up at the video store with a group (your family) and negotiate what the family should watch. Going to the video store was kind of part of the fun. The family time started right then and there.

On Demand is great, but I have to admit I do miss the Blockbuster Video experience and browsing the aisles of the video store. I feel like there were so many more options. "It was kind of like Redbox?" Yeah, kinda—just WAY more movies.

For the record, there is still ONE remaining Blockbuster Video store in the world. It is located in Oregon. The Blockbuster brand, which used to have nearly 10,000 locations, now has one lonely location.