(Written yesterday)
I came into Best Buy today with a promise to keep: I couldn’t spend ANY money. (I was lucky to find the “24” Season 2 Free Preview DVD still in stock; more on this later.) Soon enough, I found proof towards the title claim of this rant.
First, I was shocked to find the “24” Season 2 Free Preview Disc IN THE COMPUTER AREA. DVD or not, it’s not interactive, nor is it a computer-enabled disc (well, unless you have DVD-ROM). Then I found more scattered through the store. They probably won’t get rid of the 100 discs they could get. This is incredibly sad, since 1: They wasted money, and 2: It’s a great TV show, or at least the first season was (but even so, the second season should still rule).
Second, I found even more things misplaced. I know that in a store like Best Buy, it’s likely things are going to get misplaced. But if you put “The Matrix” and “Independence Day” in the ANIME SECTION, you’re either blind, or stupid enough where it’d actually legal to give you euthenasia if we lived in Oregon. As much as the movies may have been inspired by anime, they’re neither animated (entirely) or Japanese.
Third might not be Best Buy’s fault, but is nevertheless stupid. I looked at the Criterion Collection (BTW: For those who don’t know, Criterion gives good movies with undersupplied DVDs plenty of extras, unless you’re watching “Last Temptation Of Christ” or “Chasing Amy”) for “Rushmore,” one of the best films in the 20th century. Even so, it’s not worth the price they wanted. How much was it? $37. This is in a store where more expensive “(Blank) Edition” DVDs are usually priced, at the most, for $23. As much as it may be worth it to see Max’s stage adaptation of “Armageddon,” it’s not worth that much for a one-disc DVD and should be priced at the most for $23. BTW: “The Royal Tenenbaums,” which has a Criterion Edition as well, was priced for less, and that’s 2 discs!
I saved the worst for last. I was extremely saddened to find that “Dark City,” one of the best tech-noirs ever and certainly a must for any film enthusiast, was in the “bargain bin” at $5.99. As much as it may be a joy to find a good movie for cheap (and it’s got plenty of extras, too), it doesn’t deserve to be put in the same collection as movie/trash like “Glitter,” “Ernest Goes To Camp” (how many Ernest movies are there, anyway? No offense to Jim Varney, but they’re a waste of time), and plenty of other movie that are less than 8 bucks for a reason. Worse is that awful films like “Bio-Dome,” “Son-In-Law,” and “Sorority Boys” weren’t there but put along with other “average” films. Come on! Any film with Pauly Shore deserves to be thrown into a landfill with the “ET” and “Pac-Man” Atari games. Any film shameless enough to rip off “Some Like It Hot” and throw it into a college is bad enough to a point where you’d have to be paid to see it. And here’s 26 copies (yes, I counted) of a modern classic that everyone should see, priced at $6. I would have bought it if my parents weren’t so stingy (“You already bought that one game,” referring to “Age Of Empires II”) and against R-rated films.
Not that all people involved with Best Buy are idiots–I found “Waking Life” not there, hopefully because someone bought it with good reason–but these are truly stupid complaints. Even at a place called Best Buy, it’s stupid.
