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Category: Videos and Video Game Rental [Edit]
Neighborhood: MissionMon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"I knew about this store before I ever even stepped foot in it. My sister is a DJ on the side, she used to live right behind Cha Cha Cha's…" read more »
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I used to be a hater, but now I turned to one of "them!"
Why the change of heart?
Because locally owned video rental places are starting to close down.
I still get the elitist vibe from some of the staff, but I learned to get over it.
I had to resort to LWV b/c First Choice Video recently closed on Church and 24th. I would go to Le… Read more »
I like Lost Weekend. They have good videos. A really nice selection. I've done Netflix, but I'm the type of gal who gets in the mood for a movie right then and there. Ordering from Netflix seems so... dry in comparison.
The people who work there recognize me now sometimes. Maybe it was after that insane Battlestar Galactica kick me and the hubby got on, when we came in and rented DVDs voraciously for a couple of weeks until we were both near suicide with anxiety and despair. God, that was awesome!!! Waiting for Netflix to deliver would've killed that buzz for sure. Anyway the vibe there seems friendlier than it used to be, which is nice.
I've never had a problem with renting new releases, though I hardly ever am chomping at the bit for a new movie to rent. If I want to see a movie that bad, I pay to actually park my butt in a theater and chow some milk duds.
I'd be sad if they close, which they probably will one day when we are all downloading everything straight into our cerebral cortexes.
I've never rented from here..... heck.. I wasn't even supposed to go into this place.
After sitting next door at the coffee shop fiddling away with work stuff until my laptop battery died, I decided to take a mosey around the neighborhood and see what the local flavor was. I walked up the block a bit, walked down the block a bit... then decided to wander on in here.....
Yes... the outer decor is nothing to write home about... as far as I can tell, it could be in the older part of any town or city.... and what they do is about the same too... a small video rental shop.
But I happen to be a big fan of movie poster collecting... and this place has quite a collection. I'm not sure they are preserved in the best way, but they have a significant quantity of really really cool posters... which might look like just something to hang on the wall, but if you look into trying to obtain originals of these, you'll see what I mean.
There are some really cool ones up there... and some mediocre ones. I think the most recent one that I spotted up there might have been the advance for the Phantom Menace that was signed.
There are quite a few old ones from the 60s and 70s, and even earlier.
Quite a collection... worth walking through to visit... I spent about 20-30 minutes in there just looking at the posters.
I'd been going here for a long time. And it's fine as far as getting videos goes. But now I only go there when I'm desperate. Maybe I just got older and now require a modicum of civility when I hand over $$.
Ok so maybe your mother did just die and you would rather spend your time at more creative pursuits, but f_ck it, cheer up already. And the stinky carpet smell doesn't help either.
Love Lost Weekend Video. The best video store in San Francisco.
Three words: two dollar Wednesdays. Yessssss.
Other perks:
1. As far as I'm concerned, this is the movie store version of "High Fidelity," although without the Barry/ Jack Black character to make you feel bad about your rental choices. (Also, sadly, no John Cusack.) In other words, nice employees who really know their stuff but don't judge you--or, at least, don't seem to judge you--for renting, say, Clueless.
2. There are late fees, but they're quite reasonable. This is essential if you and your roommate consistently think the other person has returned the movie, and then discover it's been languishing on the kitchen counter for, like, four days. Oops.
3. I once bought a bad-ass pin with a drawing of Patricia Neal on it here.
One of my favorite interactions in life took place here, which involved my friend whispering to the video store dude that she was looking for "Willow," and he made us chant "fantasy is not a dirty word" loudly, five times in a row. It helped, it really helped me come to terms with it.
Also, they refrain from rolling their eyes or giving me a pitying gaze when I rent "Fried Green Tomatoes" three Friday nights in a row, alone, chinese take-out in hand.
Thanks for boosting my self-esteem, Lost Weekend. Y'all keep it real.
I live in the Sunset now and still rent from Lost Weekend. They are the best.
When you want to find a movie place who's staff is more concerned about lending great films rather than capitalizing on renting movies,
this is the best place to be.
here's a nice quote from emma goldman dedicated to the lost weekend video staff:
"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck",
thanks for everything!
I've been coming here for about five years. Though I had some one-star experiences at the beginning (in which certain long-gone female employees treated me sullenly), I've had six-star treatment almost always since. What can I say? This has been the latest chapter of a lifelong love of the movies for me. They have what I need; their workers direct me to what I might not know about. My taste has blossomed.
I also happen to think that the video store is one of the last occasions for in-person contact in our troubled times - and even if you couldn't pry a conversation out of a Lost Weekend customer with a can opener, the folks who work there know how to talk. They're highly knowledgable but totally respectful. Sure beats getting compact discs in the mail or downloading files.
My favorite rental store of all time. An amazing selection, with every Criterion edition, lots of foreign film, and a wall organized by director, as well as tons of classics, documentaries, music titles, TV shows and cult movies. It's not too arty or whatever though - there's a palpable sense of honest movie-loving to the place, indie or mainstream. Cruise down on Wednesdays for $1.50 rentals - a good chance to make some quirkier choices you might not risk on a Sunday night wind-down.
The staff are great - helpful, cheery and with good taste to boot. They'll give you some great recommendations if you are feeling aimless, but you can also rent Punisher: War Zone without feeling like a total goon. Seen a few whining reviews complaining about 'indie-tude' - if you don't want to rent your videos from human beings with personalities, and would rather give your money to a faceless corporate entity, stick to Netflix. (Personally, I will never get a Netflix account if I live near a store half as good as this one.)
The owner is a really friendly guy, and they were even very patient of my mother when she was in town and decided to ask long-winded question that ended up being vague meandering recollections of old movies some friend of hers was in. Plus their jukebox only has San Francisco bands and there's a free Defender arcade (remember this next time your friends are waiting half an hour to get coffee next door at Ritual).
Used to rent from here a couple of times a week but we've been renting much less with money being a little tight... but we still love you Lost Weekend!
Oh, Lost Weekend . . . even though I've become a Netflix kinda girl, you still draw me in every so often, when I just plain need a movie-nerd kinda movie like nownownow, and I'm always glad to have made the visit.
You guys are the reason I still have a deep love of the local video store.
When I just can't wait for my Netflix, they've got a solid collection for reasonable prices. But their Blu-Ray shelf is only 20 or so deep: in fact they're mostly copies of Blade Runner and Harry Potter. Am I the only hi-def elitist in the Mission? Hope they get with the times.
Great selection (organized somewhat logically, which is a refreshing break from my last local video store - Film Yard in North Beach). The staff is somewhat friendly and very competent. It's a dog-friendly environment (actually, the staff is much friendlier when I'm with my dog). You can pre-purchase movie passes which is a decent deal. I still get about 4 out of every 5 movies via Netflix, but when the urge strikes and Mr. Postman hasn't dropped off a little red envelope of joy, I'm totally stoked to have a local video store option.
When I drag my butt on that 5 block walk to Lost Weekend, I'm sometimes thinking it's time for Netf*x. Even when I cross the LW threshold sometimes I'm still fantasizing about Netflux, depending on how indie-tude the video currently playing on the corner TVs is.
Then there's the indie-tude from some of the clerks ... particularly "Film School Guy" with the greasy hair, bad eye contact and utterly expressionless aspect. Or maybe you recall too-too-tattooed girl - no, not the one that looks like Janeane Garafalo- she's cool - the other one - yea, you know who I mean. She'd beat you up, except that she has to provide you with most excellent customer service.
But it's getting better lately. Does anyone agree? They seemed to have done some housecleaning.
AND, what a satisfying feeling that I can pick out from of an amazing selection of films the exact movie I want to see in the moment. And not bad that corporate America has no handle whatsoever on Lost Weekend, right?
Outstanding selection, and I love the fact that some movies are arranged by director. Incredibly knowledgeable staff.
Great jukebox that plays classic punk rock like Mission to Burma. Free stand-up Defender video game.
Props for having "Hurlyburly" on DVD when Le Video only had it on VHS.
I like Netflix, but there is something about perusing the shelves of a video rental spot that sucks me in. It's kind of like browsing the bookstore with a cup of joe rather than viewing three lousy pages of a book on http://amazon.com.
It's the process of picking the movie...browsing...if you're with someone you can discuss, turn down each other's choices... chat with the people who ring you up.
Yep.
LW lets me bring my dog in, which rules. They lower my inevitable late fees, and they're open late, AND they let you return after closing but count it as returned that day, not the next day when they open.
Support your local video store where you can actually ask people stuff about the vids, and they're stoked to geek out and tell you all they know.
I LOVE that ;-)
Look - there's nothing at all I would improve about this place.
Cheap: check. ($3 a movie, 3 days for non-new releases, $1 per day late fee)
HUGE selection: check.
Logically organized: check.
Helpful, knowledgeable staff: check.
Independent: check.
NOTE: If you want new-releases, they may not be as great - I've never actually tried to rent one here.
They do not accept credit cards, or do so very reluctantly, for purchases under $10, and a single movie is $3.
Also: Parking around there is terrible, but there is a bike rack out front.
Really wonderful selection and great organization.
The staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They are wonderful resources for finding a movie that you may like and probably have never heard of. Large foreign, animated, cult sections.. you should be able to find a movie you will like to watch easily.
Lost Weekend is holding it down as one of the few remaining independent video stores in the city. I love them for that alone, but also because the folks who work there are total movie buffs.
Me: "Umm, I'm looking for the ultimate gay disco movie."
Him: "Oh, as in Xanadu? Or Apple?"
Me: "Give me something glamorous, sexy and maybe even psychadelic."
Him: "Apple."
It was that easy. Now that's the kind of crucial quality conversation that could never be replaced by Netflix.
Everyone that works here is super nice. Dog friendly. They have a great selection of movies/tv shows. I like that it's organized by director and they have a great foreign film, criterion collection and tv selection. I also enjoy their double feature section where they play on words. They make me laugh every time.
I love 1/2 off Wednesday's. My only gripe is they are pretty adamant about cash only. They occasionally take cards if it's over $10, yet on 1/2 off Wednesday's don't even bother, they only accept cash even after you wait in the long line. I thought that was weird, since I had over $10, but whatever. They are extremely lenient on late fees, they always reduce it for you. My other gripe is that when renting tv shows, the dvds are almost all scratched, but they always exchange them or clean them for you free of charge if you bring them back. All in all, Lost Weekend is a great video store, very reliable, and super nice non-pretentious staff.
I was only going to say two words for this review. But, I've got to give LW more credit than they deserve.
Let's forget the clerks and their snootiness to people who are not regulars. And let's forget that in this place one can feel totally shameful if they dare bring something to the counter to check out like, Sex and the City. Let's also forget that most of these dbags are in bands, (coughs) Erase Errata (coughs), and that's where their "tudes" come from.
At first I felt like I wanted to punch someone in the face, but after they seen me coming in almost every Wednesday (woohoo! half price), they started cutting me some slack. And once I started renting all the "hip shit," they started addressing me while looking at my face. Now, they have conversations with me about more than movies. I like that feeling. I'm cool.
These kids know their shit and if you happen to be one of the many film nazis that is looking for something obscure...this would be the place that has it.
However, I'll still mention my two words that I initially wanted to write.
Hipster Galore.
I like my vid clerks to be unruly and clueless. Unfortunately, LWV has been helpful and knows their shit. Is there 'tude? Perhaps ... I like 'tude. It indicates a brain. When I want my positives accentuated, I'll go to a yoga class.
As for particulars:
1) Abundant Criterion Section
2) Huge Foreign Language selection by Country
3) Half Price Wednesdays
4) Roman Polanski Tshirts
I am a current Netflix subscriber, but every now and then I want a movie right away and don't want to wait by my mailbox for it. Also, there are some movies that I haven't been able to find on Netflix and have always found here. Lost Weekend Video has never let me down.
Blockbuster? Pfff! Please!
The staff is super cool and very helpful when you ask for it. You can feel the movie passion in this place.
One of these times, I want to use the photo booth!!
Awesome selection, knowledgeable staff. Even with netflix, there's alot to be said for browsing a well-stocked set of shelves and going "Oh yeah, maybe we should get this instead!"
Any store with a "Governator" movie section gets my thumb's up.
The ultimate in video "craftsmanship"; each of the employees seems to have an almost savant-like knowledge of film, as evidenced by the eclectic, erudite and quirky "Staff Picks" section. I love browsing the staff's picks which includes a post-it note from each (with a picture so you can get to know everyone) about why this is a "pick".
This is the anti-McVideo and thank God for it!
I love these guys. They have an incredible selection of music documentaries/concerts and Criterion DVDs, not to mention a really friendly staff who have on a few occasions wiped my late fees. Local artist Maria Forde frequently draws up great merch for them (t-shirts of directors like Werner Herzog/Sam Peckinpah, pins of underrated actors and other stuff). One time she had a collection of pins that were scenes from her favorite movies and I wore the Scanners one proudly on my purse for almost a year until it fell off. Whoever found it is one lucky bastard.
Let me start up by saying that my boyfriend and I rent from this place about twice a week. We both live about 3 blocks away and he happens to work across the street. Having said that, there is no excuse for the poor service we have received in the past few days.
Offense #1
We rented a movie that required two discs for the entire film. We got home, watched the first half, tried to watch the second half to find that the disc enclosed was the special features. The last half of the movie was missing. We went back to L.W. the same night only to find that they had no idea where the second disc was and offered to replace it with the VHS instead as well as toss in two free rentals. Fine, thats cool mistakes happen.
Offense #2
Not more then 4 days later we had rented an entire season of a cable TV program. Boyfriend biked in the rain back and forth in the pouring rain to rent from L.W. Only to find that when he got home we were given 2 disc twos and one disc 1 from a totally different season. WTF. So we call and tell them what happened they tell us to come back and they will fix it. Boyfriend bikes all the way back in the pouring rain. When he gets there the clerk says that they cant find ANY OF THE DISCS at all and only offers to refund us for the season that we had to return because of the incorrect discs even knowing that this happened to us the last time we rented. This is a really poor example of customer service and we were both very disappointed. This is not how you treat regular clients. And after having to ride his bike to fix the problem he is now in bed with a very bad flu.
So now I have to go home and take care of sick boy. I really wish I could go rent him a movie but Lost Weekend has lost our business for life.
The only reason they are getting one star is because in order to post this I have to have one selected.
I was sad when my sorry ass moved away from the greatest video rental store in the world (hi Odd Obsession!), but perked up when I sauntered into Lost Weekend. They've got everything a discerning fan of the cinema could ask for. Decent staff taboot.
There is no way I could give money to Netflix in good conscience with LWV a short bike ride away. Ai'ight?
I canceled my Netflix a few days ago.
I have an off-and-on relationship with Netflix. On the one hand, they have everything. On the other, you end up queuing up everything and getting boatloads of crap if you're like me- that is, you have both a drug addiction and the attention span of a gnat.
Lost Weekend is my fallback hookup. They have most of what I want, and the human contact element goes a long way. I mean, you can't cuddle with Netflix. Actually, I bet most people in Lost Weekend aren't down with the random cuddle. In fact, when I was in there last night I saw a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a few months and announced my presence by grabbing his booty. While I wasn't pepper sprayed, there was definitely a moment of peppersprayability before the shock of recognition ran from his ass to his mouth, which suddenly sounds way more erotic than I mean for it to sound so I'll back away from this direction and start a new one.
New direction:
Last night I stopped by Lost weekend to pick up a copy of John Carpenter's "The Thing" because it is the greatest piece of art ever. Lost Weekend has trained me to look for movies under the director's name, because they believe everyone holds the entirety of IMBD in their heads, and they refuse to file "Kill Bill" under so crude a heading as, say, "Action."
But guess what? JOHN CARPENTER DOESN'T HAVE A SECTION. Perhaps he's not the most highbrow auteur in cinema, but let's take a moment to tiptoe through a few of his films:
Hallo-fucking-ween
Escape from New York Fucking City
Big Fucking Trouble in Little Fucking China
The Fucking Thing
The Fucking Fog
They Fucking Live
Gorgo vs. Fucking Godzilla (I did not know this until just now- I'm going back-and-forth from IMDB- and am somewhat surprised.)
And that's the short list! And most of them actually have his name in the title, like this: "John Carpenter's The Fucking Fog." Also, he composed the scores for most of his films, including the iconic music from "Halloween."
Also, J.C. has a history of trying to slip the word "fucking" into his movie titles.
They didn't have THE THING in stock at the moment, but that's cool. I'm sure Blockbuster doesn't even carry it, and if I'd Netflixed it I'd have gotten it at the wrong time, like when I was in the mood for a rom-com. And who doesn't like a good rom-com now and then, huh?
Huh?
Anyone?
What I'm trying to say is that you should feel free to molest me when you run into me at Lost Weekend the end. I'm cool like that.
If I ever pitch a sitcom or script a Mystic Pizza-type romantic dramedy, it will be based on the cast of characters who work at Lost Weekend. Each one has a distinct personal style and way of dealing with us, from geeky sweet to Janeane Garofolo deadpan to surly but ultimately well-meaning. They won't always have exactly what you had in mind, but the point is kind of to wander around through the different director and theme sections and pick something up spontaneously. They're pretty lenient on late fees (depending on who's in a good mood and if they approve of your movie choice). The tall guy with a baseball cap, ginger hair, and glasses is a good one to ask about movie recommendations. He knows a lot. His parents had him watching Bunuel films at the same tender age at which I was promoting Howard the Duck as best movie of all time.
And don't forget: Wednesday nights=half-price movies!
When of my fave corners in the city to knock around.
I'm pretty specific in my movies tastes, and i avoid block-buster type hype. They have most of, if not the complete criterion collection for art house nuts like myself, along with a decent directors section, and lot's more that I never wander through ...
Seems like you've seen everything - check out staff choices, always a surprise.
Speaking of which, considering the 'tude in the hood, LWV continues to be a friendly no hassle place.
Downside - not much (legal) parking, but if you just want to drop off or know exactly what you want (or it's sunday), you can get by with parking between lanes. Motorcycle on the corner!
* * * and since KFC closed, no more greasy chicken smell, woo hoo!
I took a pretentious film class at Berkeley, and the professor of the class lived in the Mission (I might have seen him at Ritual Roasters recently) and took pride in being more-pretentious-than-thou. Seriously, he would smoke cigars (not in class, of course), wear a beret, speak in a mock euro-french accent, and dress in all black. If he had a goatee and a baguette, I would swear he was a mime (yes, he was also that pale). Ah, self-caricaturization.
Anyways, he swore on his maman on Lost Weekend Video.
So when I went, I felt like I was encroaching on his territory. The staff has always been nice and helpful to me, even bordering on *too* nice, recommending movies based on ones I have rented before. Lost Weekend boasts an amazing selection and organizes its collection in an easy-to-understand fashion.
I haven't jumped on the Greencine or Netflix bandwagon, and it's precisely because of independent video stores like Lost Weekend, Into Video, Four Star Video, etc. that have kept me satisfied thus far.
Totally retro old school video store. Get real. Why are we so lucky, to live in the best city on earth with such cool things as a place where you can rent Harold and Maude on VHS? I, for one, barely even like DVD's so this place is perfect for me. Yes, the discs are there, if you want to go to "that side of the store". But the VHS tapes... in all their glory. The only bummer is, I live in Oakland. Thats MY BAD. I grew up in SF so I should know better, right?
And I read someone bitching about late fees... Hey, pal, guess what. Reality strikes. Small businesses dont thrive on getting ripped off by you. Save that for corporations. Really. When you do business with a mom&pop store, play by the rules. You know you flaked on bringing it back. Own your shit, pay the fee. They'll be cool and reduce it, anyway.
So, I always look forward to the days I get to stop by and pick up a video. I often bump into friends there, too. Sometimes I'm delivering donuts next-door and often I am just passing through and have time to stop by, or after a nice dinner at Herbivore a movie makes for a nice date... We all know what that means!
I give lost weekend five stars because:
a) I'm not much of a hater
b) Its a "destination" business
c) VHS tapes rule the world. Analog forever!
Sweet.
It hurts to give Lost Weekend such a low rating after having been such a loyal customer since it opened. I credit Lost Weekend to awakening me to a love of TV on DVD and great laughter over their "double feature" section. As many a mission lefty, I felt loyalty to the store, and good about supporting a great local business who was also an ardent Giants fan.
Two factors (aside from late fees which is the universal factor) have led to my switching to the semi-dark side aka the mail-order video setup: First, the DVDs from the store skipped a lot. I don't know why. Maybe our DVD player is bad but the ones from Netflix, Blockbuster, or the ones we buy don't skip. Many gentle soapings never seemed to do the trick.
The second factor, as alluded to in other reviews, is the generally poor customer service. There are a couple nice people who work there, aka the owners. And then there are the people there who aren't nice, who seemed to go out of their way to be rude (especially if you interrupt them during take-out meal time). Even when they're not being overtly mean, an atmosphere of unpleasantness seeps through the aisles and waiting to see which clerk rings you up is like a game of Russian Roulette. One final straw of an interaction led me to leave the store after 6 years of regular visits and vow never to set foot in the place again.
You'd think being "indie" types, or so they have been described, they'd want to bust the conventional stereotype of "rude video-store clerk." Instead they happily plop themselves into a tired genre, thereby making the decision between local store loyalty and a non-judgemental red envelope with a dvd that actualy plays in the mail a no brainer.
I had a zang-worthy moment at lost weekend a few weeks back. Here's what happened. I picked up a movie, and I was going to rent it no matter what. But when I went to the counter to check out, I decided to ask the guy working there if he knew what the movie was about.
this was the interaction:
me: "hey, do you happen to know what this movie is about?"
guy: "it's about and hour and a half."
me (not getting it at all): "oh okay. Do you know what it's ABOUT, though?"
guy: "I think it's about an hour and thirty minutes."
me: I stare blankly at him, thinking uh, okay, I think you are trying to make some dry joke here or something, but honestly I really don't know, because, wow, YOU'RE NOT FUNNY, MAN!
I mean, please. c'mon. it's like, one time, shame on me. two times, shame on you.
NOT HELPFUL IN THE LEAST.
My boyfriend and I also just love how they have a tip jar on the counter. that's a good one.
I tell this story becasue I feel it is very indicative of the overall experience you should expect to have at lost weekend video. so they have some good indie movies and all that shit, yeah, and they are one of the only indie video rental places around here, and it's great to support a local place, blah blah blah, right, but that guy seriously inspired me to go to blockbuster.
This is a low-blow, but I find a majority of their employees to be rude and come to think of it, fairly ugly.
Hey, here's an idea: how about you not be rude to customers and maybe i'll consider setting foot in here other than the times I am already at Ritual and I need a movie ASAP, okay???
This is my kind of video store. It's one of the largest independent ones in the city. It's clean, well organized and well lit. The isles are long, straight and easy to navigate.
Their films are well catagorised and divided by director, classic, 'new classic', foreign subdivided by language, new release, etc. etc. It makes it easy to find that rare film you're looking for, and if you're having trouble just ask the friendly and helpful staff.
The prices for renting are reasonable, even cheaper than other independent rental stores in the city.
and extra bonus points for having an in store photo-booth!
I am a Netflix subscriber. Sorry, Lost Weekend Video...but there's hope for you yet.
Today, I left work early because I was feeling sick :( and I thought I'd spare my colleagues from my germs, my sniffles, and my sneezes. On my walk home I did a double take at Lost Weekend Video's white board of new and upcoming releases noticing that they had Knocked Up! I could use a laugh to brighten my snot-filled day.
Lost Weekend has a great selection of films including staff picks, tv shows, and even 80s cult favorites! I got all nostalgic scanning North Shore, Heathers, and Goonies all in the same section! I also grabbed Alias (season 2, disc 1) because Sidney kicks ass!
I asked the video lady the cost of rentals and she said that on "normal" days new releases are $3.50 and others are $3. Sounds fair, but what's a "normal" day? Apparently, every day but Wednesday is a "normal" day because Wednesdays are 1/2 off day!
BONUS for me, it's Wednesday! And I think I'll be coming back!
If I could give this sloppy excuse for a store negative stars, I would. It sucks. First off, it's glaringly overpriced given that the rental period for new releases is over night. they claim it's two nights but that includes the night that the video has to be returned before 11pm. I mean, come on!! it's 2006 not 1985. They also get new releases late, under order obviously potentially popular films (i had to wait a month for transamerica) and don't order some of the mainstream releases, i guess because they aren't cool enough? whatever.
their organizational system also stinks. sometimes i walk in there and i can't find anything to rent. it's too overwhelming. there's too many movies and the categories are too broad. but then there's this uber movie dork section snobbishly divided by director. and some of the directors they've devoted whole sections are relatively minor. even the ones who are significant, who cares! throw it all into the movie blender and press puree. that's how i get inspired at the video store - the unexpected juxtaposition of movies next to each other due to alphabetization.
and don't get me started on the staff. first off 99 percent of their recommendations suck. they've given me or my house mates the wrong movie twice. probably because they aren't even paying attention to me when i rent. they're only using 1 percent of their brain to communicate with me, the other 99 percent is interacting with the other three employees who always seem to be eating, horsing around or reading at the end of the counter. That or they are sucked into the seemingly endless loop of sports videos playing. it's like the guys who were working at the video store at 15 never left, they've just moved on from horror flicks to the best of the world cup 1992 video. i hate it!
when all said and done 90 percent of the movies I've left the store with have sucked - and whose to blame for that? i feel like i have great luck with movies in general, maybe my bad luck here stems from the fact that i can't ever find a movie that I really WANT to rent at Lost Weekend. I'm usually settling for something because I desperately want a movie and have lost my patience looking for one.
the worst thing about lost weekend is that they are pretty much the only english language video store in the entire mission. sad but true. my one hope is that some movie obsessed cashed out dot com millionaire feels the same way and wants to open an alternative... if so, let me know.
I haven't rented from here in about five years due to Netflix; but I stopped in last week to settle up some late fees and impulsively rent the Herzog documentary on the Arctic (not worth it). Not only did they still have my account up, but they cut the old late fees in half and welcomed me back with open arms. The selection is still top notch, and you feel better for supporting a great neighborhood business. I just canceled my Netflix account and am going here from now on.
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Sometimes it's worth going out of your way for a…
best local grocery store, dry cleaner, cafe,…
everything i needed within a three-block radius.…
As if! Well, sometimes you need to give your…
