With all the gloomy weather in South Carolina over the past week (please pray for the poor folks in Texas, who are facing truly dangerous weather conditions), it’s been ideal weather for staying home and watching movies. Surprisingly, Hulu has upped its game a bit in terms of selection.
I’m running a tad behind with today’s post, so I figured rather than diving deeply into one movie, I’d give a quick round-up of several movies, with some quick notes on each.
Happy Viewing!
Regular readers know I’m a big fan of Redbox, the company that managed to survive the digital streaming revolution with its ubiquitous red monoliths stationed outside every pharmacy, Wal-Mart, and gas station in the country. Without the overhead of Blockbuster, Redbox has scraped by on its hundreds of locations and super cheap rental fees, and by throwing coupons at customers every five minutes.
Little Lamar has one trusty (if occasionally glitchy) Redbox kiosk outside the local Dollar General. I was convinced until this week that I was single-handedly keeping that kiosk afloat, but in The Age of The Virus, everyone is looking for cheap entertainment, and I’ve had to wait on someone slowly browsing through the dozens of selections before picking their entertainment sleeping pill for the night. Regardless, I’ve rented so many movies for dirt-cheap, I’m achieved “Legendary” status with Redbox.
Finally, the recognition I deserve.
My point is, Redbox makes it compelling to watch a lot—and I do mean a lot—of schlocky trash. They used to throw $1.50 off coupons at me (remember, a rental is only $1.90 for a DVD) like concubines at King Solomon. Now they’re going with a BOGO strategy, which probably suits their interests better (if you forget to return your two movies, you’re going to pay for another night for both of them). Either way, it just means I watch a TON of movies.
If I’m spending, essentially, $0.80 on a rental, I’m willing to take some risks. Sometimes, as in the movie Snatchers (2019), that risk pays off beautifully, and I stumble upon a diamond in the rough. Usually, I lose the bet, as was the case with Black Christmas (2019).
