I joined signed up to LOVEFiLM before they got amalgamated into Amazon and have enjoyed many years of DVD and latterly Blu-ray rentals by post, I even remember renting XBox games from them when I had an elaborate multi-disc contract. The list, until recently, seemed to contain a different set of films than was available online via Netflix or Amazon.
However, it was only a matter of time before the digital age caught up with this rather old-fashioned rental model. Blockbusters bit the dust years ago and it was inevitable that LOVEFiLM would follow at some point.
So it came as little surprise when I got an email from Amazon with ‘important information about my LOVEFiLM account’. ‘Over the last few years we’ve seen a decreasing demand for DVD and Blu-ray rental as customers increasingly move to streaming. Due to this, we will be closing the LOVEFiLM By Post service on 31st October 2017’ it said. Well, to be honest, I’ve been thinking about cancelling anyway – having reached saturation point in my time versus content battle with subscriptions to Amazon Prime and Netflix, and all the good stuff on Sky Atlantic.
Naturally, I started to reminsicse about some of the films I had seen via the service and recalled the suprise I had last time I checked my ‘previously rented’ list when it was on a different platform. I was amzed at how many films I had watched and a little puzzled over some that I have no recollection of ever renting (quite a damning reflection on those films perhaps). On Amazon, the current list is far from complete, (only going back to February 2011) but I can see 200 films I previously rented.
These are shown below, starting with one I can’t remember watching. I’ll mark those I can’t even remember with CRW, those that Siggy watched on her own as SWOHO and rate out of five stars. By my reckoning the list is missing about 200 films (and 15 or so games). Links will be filled in over the next few days to blog posts if I happened to be bothered to write about them.
I suppose you could take this as my eulogy to another defunct rental source.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past CRW
The Book of Eli **** good post-apocalyptic film starring Denzel Washington
Clash of the Titans ** a remake that shouldn’t have happened (RTSHH)
The Road *** another good post-apocalyptic film
Cemetary Junction *** written by Ricky Gervais and some other people probably
The Karate Kid ** RTSHH
Salt **** Angelina Jolene kick-assery – ended up buying it (EUB)
Killers CRW
CopOut ** One of Kevin Smith’s cash-in films so he can make something better EUB (I know – but it’s a Kevin Smith film)
Chuck – Season 3 *** (the ‘girl’ out of Chuck is great in The Handmaid’s Tale on Sky)
Solomon Kane ** clunky gothic violent silliness
Sex and the City 2 SWOHO (a sequel that shouldn’t have happened STSHH)
Nightmare on Elm Street ** RTSHH
Predators **** great long awaited sequel after Predator 2 sucked EUB
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo **** the subtitled original based on the great book
The Tourist *** Johnny Depp comedy thriller type thing, mostly okay
Burke and Hare *** About people digging bodies up to sell to anatomy professors
The Girl who Played with Fire **** a sequel that very much needed to happen
Whip It *** rollerskating teen comedy drama / feel good film
Universal Soldier – Regeneration ** STSHH very violent very unrealistic action
Shutter Island ** over-rated crap
The Other Guys *** reasonably funny comedy cop caper
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice CRW
The Last Airbender ** terrible Hollywood whitewash conversion of a beloved comic
Eagle Eye *** no, no, no, no, that le beef chap straight outta Transformers
Tamara Drewe *** sassy sexy English comedy
The Girl who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest **** third instalment of ‘Millennium’
Unknown *** pretty standard Liam Neeson vehicle
The Descent Part 2 *** STSHH not at all as atmospheric as the first film
Thor ***** great Marvel conversion when it seemed less of a gravy train EUB
Pride and Glory CRW
Captain America ***** same as Thor but with some nice WWII content EUB
Sucker Punch ***** very original stylish cyber-punk style fantasy with a heart EUB
Limitless *** surprisingly good slick thriller about a superdrug
Super ** mediocre ‘comedy’ along the lines of Kick-Ass but with none of the smarts
Daybreakers *** nice near future vampire tale
Attack the Block **** great English sci-fi comedy film
Vicky Cristina Barcelona *** Scarlett Johansen helps a slightly slow film
Arthur *** RTSHH but it was okay
A Bridge Too Far ***** classic WWII film
Red State ***** great Kevin Smith film about religious nut-jobs in Amercia EUB obs
Drive Angry CRW
Episodes ***** a great BBC comedy with Joey from Friends
Apollo 18 *** silly creepiness on the moon in a mockumentary style EUB
Conan the Barbarian **** perhaps a RTSHH but actually really good imo
Set Up *** Go fiddy cent!
The Ides of March CRW
Marilyn *** quite interesting biopic
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy ** boring as woodworm
The Whistleblower CRW
The Three Musketeers *** perhaps a RTSHH but quite good fun again
Troll Hunter ***** wow! great European film
A Dangerous Method *** chinny chin chin madness
Real Steel **** really fun fighting robot story
Blitz CRW (not sure the disc even played)
Jonah Hex ** sits with Solomon Kane as a bit meh
Man on a Ledge **** great documentary about that tightrope walker
Legion ** awful TV movie level rubbish
Takers CRW
Men in Black 3 **** a pretty solid sequel with some great sequences EUB (boxed set)
John Carter ***** amazing looking fantasy sci-fi film (cost a bomb)
Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance ** dross
Ted **** very funny from Family Guy peeps – if the bear out of AI was dysfunctional
A Fantastic Fear of Everything *** not so funny Simon Pegg vehicle
The Raid **** hardcore martial arts kick-assery
We Bought a Zoo **** lovely feel-good film with Matt Damon!
Keith Lemon – The Film *** actually funnier than some other British comedy films
Friends with Benefits **** for the wrong reasons
The Brothers Bloom *** very interesting entertaining kinda arty film
A Prophet **** great biopic of a dangerous mind
The Adventures of Tintin *** very slick animation but slightly lacking in story
The Cold Light of Day ** Bruce Willis is on the cover but lasts about 5min
Pusher ** a Brit-flick that doesn’t quite work
Cosmopolis **** a great adaptation of a great sci-fi book
Hansel and Gretel ** yipes, one of those Grimm films that was a bit plop
Wrecked CRW
Losers *** a vaguely recall this being quite good in places
Flight **** Denzel doing what he does – proper acting!
Taken 2 *** reasonably good Luc Besson sequel to the film that spawned lots of clones
Rock of Ages **** surprisingly good rock music story starring Tom Cruise
Submarine **** excellent thought provoking coming of age story
Hitchcock **** interesting biopic and great performances
Killer Joe **** moody dark American swamp noir-ish tale
Dictator ** not very funny Sacha Baron Cohen film
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World *** reasonably good not so feel-good film
Iron Sky **** classic sci-fi nonsense – Nazis on the moon
The Place Beyond the Pines *** moody interesting Ryan Gosling film
London Boulevard CRW
Wreck-It Ralph **** funny kid’s animation with a few grown-up jokes
Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Hunter *** awful idea, not a totally terrible film
The Devil’s Double *** based on a true story? (BOATS) Entertaining action film
Lawless **** great old American tale of bootleggers with Tom Hardy
Argo **** BOATS Affleck gets those actors out of harm’s way
All Good Things CRW
Right at your Door CRW
Moneyball *** sport drama with Bradley Pittybone EUB for Siggy
Eat Pray Love * shit shit shit
Sunshine Cleaning *** quite nice comedy-drama
I Spit on Your Grave *** quite good horror until the end
Norwegian Wood ** boring adaptation of a great Murakami book
Cats & Dogs – The Revenge of Kitty Galore ** STSHH oh dear!
Stewart Lee – 90s Comedian ***** loved it
Stewart Lee – Stand Up Comedian ***** loved it
The Wolf of Wall Street **** great moral-less tale
Richard Herring – Menage a Un **** loved it slightly less than his ex-partner
Captain America – The Winter Soldier **** great action sequel EUB
Non-Stop ** Liam Neeson again, please stop
Robocop ** RTSHH had a few nice bits but generally shite – Robocrap
Under the Skin **** slow slow slow oh oh!
American Hustle **** great ensemble film
The Hunger Games **** classic!
Need for Speed **** great adaptation of one of my fave games
The Two Faces of January ** quite boring thriller
The Monuments Men *** a bit naff but had its good moments BOATS again
Transcendence ** terrible Johny Depp sci-fi rubbish EUB for Siggy
The Grand Budapest Hotel **** brilliant original film lovely scenes
Frank **** great adaptation of Jon Ronson’s essay
The Haunting in Conneticut CRW
Love Happens CRW possibly SWOHW
Killer Elite CRW
Chaos CRW (again possible faulty disc)
Grace of Monaco *** nice to watch after watching a lot of Hitchcockery
Mrs Brown’s Boys D’ Movie ** quite terrible BBC comedy film
I, Frankenstein ** pretty awful Underworld type flim flam
A Million Ways to Die in the West ***** great comedy Western
Love Survivor **** BOATS big action-survival film
Godzilla *** this remake had some good points and a few flaws
X-Men Days of Future Past *** hmm… okay I guess
Brothers *** remake of a Danish film with strong performances
The Duchess CRW
Fury ***** Bradley Pittybone drives a tank
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes **** great graphics pretty solid story
Happy Endings CRW
Paddington ***** great kid’s film based on a childhood favourite of mine
Mortdecai *** another Johnny Depp misfire
Foxcatcher *** slightly over-rated wrestling film BOATS
Birdman ***** brilliant ‘one shot’ film worthy of many Oscars
The Interview *** the film they tried to ban
The Gambler *** Mark Wahlberg is pretty good in this
Big Hero 6 *** kid’s animation designed by robots
Exodus – Gods and Kings *** misfiring Russel Crowe biblical drama
Jupiter Ascending **** lots of ideas, nice sci-fi stuff, flimsy plotting EUB
Man Up *** another one of those borderline Pegg films
Avengers – Age of Ultron *** getting a bit bored of Marvel at this point EUB
The Theory of Everything *** BOATS biopic love-story about Stephen Hawking
Monsters – Dark Continent *** interesting low budget war film but not a good sequel to Monsters
John Wick ***** ACTION! EUB for Siggy
Mad Max – Fury Road ***** amazing remake with Mr Hardy EUB
The Blind Side *** BOATS sports film
Bunraku ** marmite Sin City style thing with sadly missing captions
Her **** thought provoking sci-fi love story
Mesrine Parts 1 & 2 **** BOATS biopic of another dangerous man
Let Me In *** RTSHH a poor version of classic vampire tale Let The Right One In
Jurassic World *** RTSHH reboots the franchise for a new generation
Pixels * christ!
Minions *** reasonably quirky spin-off from the Despicable Me movies
Ex Machina **** interesting sci-fi tale along the lines of Frankenstein with robots
Spy *** funny Melissa McCarthy film
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. **** Henry Cavill’s feature-length audition for Bond
Ted 2 *** vaguely more thoughtful comedy sequel
Macbeth **** great Shakespeare adaptation with Fassbender
Sicario *** slightly over-rated drug cartel movie (a punchier sequel is in the works)
Mockingjay Part 2 ***** the best of the Hunger Games series imo
The Hateful Eight ***** great Western from Quentin Tarantino EUB
Killing Them Softly *** Bradders again
Going the Distance CRW
Up in the Air CRW
Eddie the Eagle **** surprisingly good film about a shit skier BOATS
Grimsby * an even less funny Sacha Baron Cohen film
Hardcore Henry ***** ACTION in an amazing first person POV not sure why i haven’t EUB yet
The Disappearance of Alice Creed CRW
Spotlight **** seriously strong performances all round BOATS
The Revenant **** anyone for bison liver?
White Stripes – I Don’t Know What to do with Myself * it was a video single as opposed to a concert – I was so disappointed I didn’t know what to do with myself
High-Rise ** rubbish book adaptation with nothing original to say
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 *** STSHH maybe but quite funny
Alice Through the Looking Glass ** STSHH badly though out special effects shenanigans
Jane Got a Gun *** nice revenge Western
Body of Lies CRW
The Nice Guys **** very amusing film about two bungling private detectives
10 Cloverfield Lane ***** clever sequel to Cloverfield with Mary Elizabeth Winstead from Fargo season 3
The Legend of Tarzan ** nice try at a retelling but it was very silly towards the end
Finding Dory *** hmm okay I guess, very nice graphics
David Brent Life on the Road *** funny and melancholy BBC comedy spin-off
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows *** not as terrible as some might say
Supersonic *** biopic documentary about Oasis – great for borderline fans
The Tournament ** pretty rubbish predictable low budget action film
The Magnificent 7 **** RTSHH but I actually really enjoyed it
Philomena **** BOATS very emotional stuff
Deepwater Horizon ***** BOATS ditto
War Dogs *** BOATS not as funny as I hoped it would be
The Purge Election Year ** vaguely entertaining horror? action film
Bridget Jones’s Baby *** what’s happened to her face we all asked?
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children *** meh, but I like Eva Green
The Accountant *** overly complicated John Wick type film
44 Inch Chest *** a strange one-room gangster character film
Youth in Revolt **** funny stuff from Michael Cera
La La Land ***** don’t like jazz, but loved this film
Away We Go *** vaguely okay comedy drama by Bond director pre-Skyfall
Hacksaw Ridge ***** BOATS fantastic film
Image credit – the featured image on this post is from the British Library‘s collection of royalty and copyright free images on Flickr.
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