I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve become a Blockbuster Video fan. Unusual for me, because I like to shop local if I can, and that includes DVD rentals.

Right now, though, I have two overdue movies (Hitch and War of the Worlds) from one of the local video rental stores. I was supposed to return them two days ago, so my late fees right now are probably at about 10 bucks. And that’s not including the original rental price.

On the other hand, when I rent from Blockbuster lately, I never have to worry about it, since they implemented their new ’the end of late fees’ policy.

So from now on, when I want to rent a movie from a brick and morter store, I’m going to Blockbuster.

It’s a different story though when it comes to online rentals. Blockbuster is a bit cheaper than Netflix, but they don’t have nearly the selection. Netflix has just about every DVD there is, including television. Right now, for example, I’m working my way through all the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.

So, simple formula:

Renting in town: Blockbuster.

Renting online: Netflix.

I like the combination of both, because I can get so many movies and off-the-wall DVDs through Netflix that aren’t available locally, but when I get the sudden urge to go rent a movie (which happens a lot) I can run down the street to Blockbuster.