Ah yes, I remember the days when you wanted to watch a movie and perhaps you did not own said movie. Well before Netflix neatly streamed thousands of flicks on to your television screen and you did not feel like paying full price for a movie you had to drive out to your local movie rental shop.

Within the last few years I've been tossed around to at least 3 different shops, each one having to close up shop to make way for the digital revolution. I guess its just typical of an ever changing marketplace, but I can't help but feel sad to part with these stores when they have to die out.

Today I went to the big Everything Must Go! Closing Sale of the third and last of the aforementioned shops, West Coast Video. (Which is odd because I live in the Eastern United States) Its especially sad to see this one go because it is the last shop standing. It is certainly a dead market for physical rentals on movies and games.

Seeing that this may be the last time I ever see a physical rental store (outside of Redbox) I absolutely had to go to the last big hurrah at West Coast Video and unearth some old relics, if you will.

Well my West Coast Loot totaled out to 10 movies costing only $42. Certainly some of these movies I probably could've gotten cheaper elsewhere, if not for free, but I felt it was the right thing to do out of respect for a store and a dead market I've been enjoying all my life.

Well let's look over this Phat Loot shall we...

The Ringer (starring Johnny Knoxville): Okay this one isn't an all time great, hell it ain't even remotely close! But its a classic to my family at least. My mother especially loves it so it was her choice even days before the sale. Essentially the movie deals with Steve (played by Johnny Knoxville) who pretends to be a mentally challenged athlete "Jeffy Dommor" to rig the Special Olympics. The premise of the film sounds awful, but it has a heart warming ending. I think my family fell in love with the mentally challenged side characters who are pretty much the bulk of the comedy of the movie. My mother especially feels attached to the movie since her job is taking care of the mentally challenged so I can see why this is a favorite.

Remember Me (starring Robert Pattinson): Yeah I know... its THAT GUY who plays Edward of Twilight infamous for pretty lackluster acting. The ads for this movie make it out to be some Nicholas Sparks-like romance film... yeah sounds AWFUL! But it pleasantly surprised me. RPatz does a surprisingly good job at his role as a drunk college student, mostly because he actually looks the part everyday in his life. There is a cheesy romance arch of the film, but it actually only takes up half the film, the other half is a family drama dealing with him, his sister, and his father. The family drama part is what really makes the film. The romance kinda gets in the way a few times, but you can learn to live with it. It has a pretty out there twist ending too. Like it comes outta fucking nowhere and the only way to possibly see it coming is to pay attention to small subtleties that hint towards it. Yes, it does try WAY too damn hard to be a Nicholas Sparks film, but it made me like that sparkly vampire guy so it may just be the most amazing thing ever! (hyperbole)

The Social Network (starring Jesse Eisenberg): Okay I can't really say much about this movie because I haven't seen it. I've heard it talked about a ton, but I never got around to watching it. I specifically remember it being brought up a lot in my Web Design class, so I'm amazed it took me this long to pick it up. All I really know that Jesse Eisenberg (from Zombieland, and he kinda looks like a more manly Michael Cera) plays Facebook founder and social network badass, Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg is pretty much the Steve Jobs of Social Networking... and that's a pretty badass title. Like it or hate it, Facebook is definitely a cultural phenomenon and Web Design genius. Actually, it pretty much is culture, period. I've heard its also a solid film so I guess it can't be a bad movie.

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (Nickelodeon): I feel this film is an animation classic... at least in my home. In my house, we loved Rugrats and this was pretty much one of our favorite family movies. Its a pretty fun ride that takes the humor found in the cartoon and amplifies tenfold! It also can get pretty damn depressing too if you think about it for a while. Especially the parts concerning Chucky and his dead mother. I really don't know how other people feel about this movie... I for one love it, but I don't hear it talked about much. Also, I was tempted to pick up Rugrats Go Wild! along with it, but then I remember that I dislike the Wild Thornberrys despite how "smashing" Nigel can be.

Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius (Nickelodeon): Speaking of popular household (or at least my household) animated classics from Nick, here's the movie that started what is perhaps the only good 3D Animated cartoon series to date (though the new Ninja Turtles is promising). My family likes this movie so much that it was the first movie we watched when we had Netflix Instant Streaming. Its just a fun adventure with some pretty cool characters. Like the Rugrats in Paris movie, I never hear of this one talked about. Maybe its still too new for people to be labeling things younger than the late 90s as a classic of sorts.

Atlantis The Lost Empire (Disney): Oh... you thought you could get through this without talking about Disney... well... wrong. Okay I'll admit. This isn't that great of a movie. The story is average and the characters are pretty boring. But the scenery in this movie is just FANTASTIC! And its really well animated. Is it wrong to just like a movie for a few select scenes? I think not. Perhaps this one is just for my animation interests.

The Emperor's New Groove (Disney): This is a rather hilarious film that if you haven't heard of it... wow are you like four? It's a pretty funny movie that I feel is cleverly written and pretty well animated for a Disney standard. Unlike Atlantis up above this one has a fun and interesting story and great characters. Perhaps not as well animated and not as much jaw dropping scenery, but hey we're not all perfect. Like some of the other new age animation stuff, I do not hear people talking about this one, but it seems at least well liked. You may wonder what I think of the cartoon spinoff The Emperor's New School... meh... it really failed to impress me at all.

Ponyo (Studio Ghibli): Well, I did it! I finally own a physical copy of a Studio Ghibli film, and me and my sister are very happy about it... shame they didn't have Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro but Ponyo is good enough... sorta... Well its a good movie... but I'd have to say its my least favorite of the Studio Ghibli films. The story is a bit vague, the writing and dialogue is rather lackluster especially compared to the other films. The animation though is pretty good, so I guess I like this about as much as Atlantis up above... well... maybe the original Japanese version. The English dub is pretty freaking terrible. Miley Cyrus's little sis Noah Cyrus grates on my ears, some side characters barely sound like they are trying, and Liam Neeson... HAHA, I haven't heard such out of place voice acting since Billy Bob Thorton did vocal work for Princess Mononoke! Still with all this bashing don't get me wrong, I still think its a good movie, its just Ghibli's worst from what I've seen.

Howl's Moving Castle (Studio Ghibli): Oh, I didn't just get one Ghibli film, but TWO! The main difference between this one and Ponyo up above is that I haven't seen this one yet. Actually I've barely even heard of this one other than its a Ghibli film. Though I don't usually hear it equated to the likes of Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, or My Neighbor Totoro, so as far as I know it could be another Ghibli let down like Ponyo. Still I stay optimistic and I'll make sure to watch it soon.

Oliver and Company (Disney): Arguably the best film I picked up! Well it was pretty damn hard, but I actually found something that a lot of people would agree as a Disney classic. Most big Disney films had to be bought out quickly, so this is the best I could do... luckily Oliver and Company is one of my personal favorites. I guess I really enjoy the Disney films that star animals like 101 Dalmatians, Bambi, The Fox and the Hound (beautiful, beautiful movie), and of course The Lion King. This one is no exception and is a fun adventure through the city.

Well the age of renting physical movies is over and now we have to move on to the big bad digital age... well... guess I better start forking over money for that Netflix subscription.