(Spoiler alert!!!!)
With all the talk in recent months of Will Smith’s performance in I Am Legend, not sure what we were expecting last night. (Well, we were expecting Sweeney Todd, for starters – but Redbox was out. More on Redbox a bit later.)
Smith did give a good performance. Strip away the rabid, cannibal virulent humans and it’s an interesting character study of what would happen if man were de-socialized. Think I remember this movie: it was called Omega Man with the (sadly, now deceased) Charlton Heston. In the early Seventies.
We skipped past the scary parts. Losers. Wimps. ‘Fraidycats.
But what was all the fuss about, really? That the movie was non-linear? That the protagonist dies in the end? It was just another in the vein of action adventure and the plot holes were ginormous.
Okay – now on to Redbox. What a smart device. Wish I’d thought of it. For less than Netflix and with the added bonus of near-instant gratification, Redbox is the wave of our dvd rental future. First, movies are just a dollar. Second, it’s entirely self-service. Third, with the lovely codes provided by Inside Redbox it’s possible to get free rental movies more than once a week.
What beats a $1 rental? A no dollar rental. Naturally.
Just be sure to return the movie on time. Otherwise they will charge another $1 per day.
So far, the Redbox by our local Giant Eagle is doing great business. However, according to the baggers I spoke with yesterday, they have had a few glitches along the way. I haven’t. Even met a lady last night, gave her the code and insider info, and demonstrated how to get a free movie. She was rather elated.
Whether we like it or not, kiosks like this make sense, despite my personal squeamishness about what this bodes for our future. Of course, right now that squeamishness extends to most everything about America’s future. . .
