Jumbo Video

Like Paul S., I have been going to Jumbo since it was at the Loblaws on Leslie and have since followed it up to Gerrard Square. Although the new location is far less convenient for me, I still make the trip to browse their fabulous selection.
I somehow always end up spending an hour in the horror section trying to narrow down to just 3 movies (for the amazing 3-​movie deal). The choices available are extensive and they carry the best, somewhat obscure films. Just try finding a copy of Susperia at Blockbuster. I dare you…

Gerrard Square is scary by day and by night and for different reasons.
The Jumbo Video now housed here used to be located in the Leslie/​Lakeshore Loblaws plaza. So, it’s awesome because now it is within walking distance to my house and maintained much of the same staff. It’s bittersweet because the old location had free popcorn (free!!) and many, many dogs walking about, eating the stray pieces of popcorn. This location doesn’t allow dogs. I guess that’s cool since I don’t have one.
They always have what I’m looking for an have an incredibly extensive of TV to DVD selections. All seasons. $ 7 gets you 3 discs of this nature. And should you be a delinquent (as I often seem to be), the late fees are really low and negligible and while some may lament paying late fees to begin with, at least Jumbo is consistent and doesn’t Indian-​give no late fees and then reimplement them a few months later when they’re entering receivership a la Blockbuster (which sucks). I should have known that when the one on Danforth began sharing space with Wind Mobile that there was a problem.
And I think the new releases are also reasonably priced, though I’m not sure of the price exactly.
They also have cute sections they’ve created like «Academy Awards», «Canadian Directors», etc. There’s a lot of personal film-​geek touch here and it shows. The only store which may rival it (despite it’s terrible, terrible availability and far, far away-​edness from where I live) is Queen Video.
They’re also located next door to a Tim Horton’s and across the street from a pizza place which I have not yet tried but plan to. All the makings of an excellent place to rent your flicks.

As far as video stores go, yep this is as good as it gets.
Bonus Points
— Close to my house
— Smells like popcorn
— Has totally legit and unpretentious film nerds that don’t talk down to you and KNOW THEIR SHIT– and if you geekout right back at them you get mad respect.
— Has everything including a huge TV series section, documentaries, BluRay etc.
— The flicks are super cheap ($ 12.99 for 3 not-​as-​new)
— 7 day rentals
— Unless its Friday Night, they usually have what you are looking for in stock.
— Video Games to rent when you have choosy nieces and nephews over
— You can call, they will hold it for you etc etc
MInus Points
— connected to GSquare. Although, this may be a bonus as I am sure it deters people from visiting, therefore the new releases are MINE.

I’ve been a patron of Jumbo Video since they first opened in the 90’s (’92 I think) at Loblaws on Leslie St. It was a huge store that served as a place for husbands and/​or children to wander through munching on free popcorn while Mom shopped at Loblaws. They for some reason closed & have been at Gerrard Square now for a few years. The store is much smaller but they’ve always got the latest movies & a lot of classics as well. Blue Ray is available for those who have the players. They also rent & sell video games for Xbox & Playstation for all you gamers out there. What hasn’t changed since their down-​sizing is their staff. They’ve always been friendly, helpful & very much in the know about movies. Ask them if they’d recommend a certain flick & they’ll let you know what they thought of it, honestly too. They have a special deal where you can rent 3 movies for $ 12.99 which I think is a good deal since it costs that much to see one movie at the theatre. They have 7 day rentals too. These are the ones I go for as sometimes I’m more tired than I thought when I rented them. So you watch them when you’re in the mood. As if all this weren’t enough, you can order movies through the store which I have done several times. If it’s out there, they’ll know about it, get it & have it delivered to the store for you. Yes, they’re all that and a bag of chips. Which by the way you can buy in the store along with pop & chocolate bars. The only thing missing from the original store is the free popcorn which I always thought made the store look messy. I was always surprised they didn’t have pigeons or seagulls wandering around.