Bye, Bye Blockbuster.

I was really sad to learn that Blockbuster has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. It's kind of hard to believe. But, as a Netflix fan, I am happy to see Netflix survive.

I am first and foremost a movie fan. I don't really care whose name is on the package my movies arrive in. I am not wedded to the Netflix brand. I love Netflix because it brings me my movies. If Blockbuster could have brought me my movies the way Netflix does, this might be called the Blockbuster Fan blog. But it aint.

Many folks predicted that Blockbuster would prevail. I could gloat, but I do not enjoy seeing any company fail. Still, I believe the market knows best. This is a perfect example of market forces creating efficiencies. We customers made this happen. We voted with our dollars.

How many movies did you get from Netflix in 2007?

I saw only 263 movies in 2007. It was a slow year. The year before, I saw 473. This is how 2007 breaks down:

Netflix sent me 106 movies,

SilverScreenArchive sent me 65,

Classicflix sent me 2,

I saw 67 in a theatre, on the big screen,

and 23 from other sources, like eBay, Amazon, a dollar store, or Redbox, Video Review.

I managed to avoid Blockbuster and Hollywood Video entirely.

Thank you, Netflix!

Summer blockbuster cartoons

I love the summer time, when I can see a new Hollywood blockbuster every week, especially the plethora of animated films with which we've been blessed. Last week, I gasped in wonder at the beauty of Ratatouille. Last night, I laughed out loud at Live Free or Die Hard.

I wonder if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will allow 20th Century Fox to enter Die Hard in the animated category for the Oscars. According to their definition of an animated film, I think it qualifies: "animation must figure in no less than 75 percent of the picture’s running time."

My Yearly stats

I saw 473 movies last year.
Of those, 65 movies were in the theatre, so the rest were on DVD or VHS (no TV).
163 were from Netflix.
42 were from Blockbuster Online.
73 were from SilverScreenArchive.
The rest were from other sources, like eBay, Amazon, Facets, Nicheflix, Public Library, or a friend.

I have seen 914 of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

1001 Movies at Blockbuster Online

Blockbuster Online must be reading my blog. Where else would they have gotten the idea to have the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die as a special DVD collection on their Web site? (It's my aim to see every title in the book)

You can't rely on their Web site to match the book, but it's a good start. They get some of them wrong. For example, the book calls for Los Olvidados (1950), which translated means "The Young Ones", so Blockbuster Online links to the 1961 movie with that title starring Cliff Richard. Instead of Lola (1961) directed by Jacques Demy, they link to the 1969 Richard Donner movie by the same name. Blockbuster lists the movies in groups, like 1960-1979, but not in chronological order within the groups. If a title on the list is part of a boxed set, they link to the whole set.