Hello and welcome, Cinemaniacs! Ealan here, comin’ atcha with another Hidden Movie Club Newsletter!
And right off the jump, I wanted to hit on something that I noticed as we are making our way through Stranger Things on Netflix, given that it’s the first run-through for our daughters, since they are now old enough to handle the mature content, swearing, horror elements and violence.
Side Note: I’m glad we did wait until now, because it’s a little more grotesque and violent than I remembered at times, now peering at this series through a parental lens, a little more hyper aware of the overall tone of the series with my girls sitting right next to my wife and I on the couch. It sure sells the story with great success, but wow…some of the darker scenes are quite dark for younger brains. 👍
While watching this 80s-era Netflix hit, I couldn’t help but notice the many times it is mentioned that the characters were going to grab a few movies from the local rental store, or meet at the mall, or go to the 4th of July County Fair celebration, etc.
And it made me miss those days in which we had to make an effort to get out and interact with other human beings. We couldn’t cue up some random show or movie and press play all without having to leave the couch. We couldn’t order everything we needed off the internet and wait until it arrived at our doorstep. We weren’t living these isolated lives dominated and controlled by the little computer in our pockets.
I’m not saying it was all sunshine and rainbows. People are still people—and people can be assholes, that’s for damn sure. But we’re so divided nowadays, since we can all live in such curated lives, listen to music on demand, watch what we want to watch when we want, instead of having to wait for a specific time slot. We are creating our own little worlds to exist in, having less and less sympathy for those around us since they aren’t in our protective little bubbles.
The moral of this little rant is this: get out there. Before you automatically go to Amazon.com for the next household item, take some time to check out local shops, or just go to a retail store instead. Get out there! Interact with other humans, smile to your fellow customer service rep, since everyone is dealing with something, so kindness goes a long way. 😊
End rant.
A reminder to join us this upcoming Tuesday June 30th at 4PM PDT/7PM EDT for our discussion on the 25th anniversary of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven!
It’s been many years since I’ve revisited this modern classic, so I’m pumped to see if it still has the lasting impact I thought it would when I first saw it in theaters and loved it! I think it’s gonna hold up, honestly. 😎 See you at the live stream!
And as if writing this newsletter, Derek and I haven’t yet decided on an Ocean’s Eleven-related film for our next Double Take episode, but there are quite a few Steven Soderbergh films that I’ve never seen. Or perhaps we end up watching the fairly recent Clooney/Pitt reunion film Wolfs? Maybe. We’ll certainly let you know in next week’s newsletter, so stay tuned!
Here is this week’s Double Take of Good Morning, Vietnam, if you didn’t happen to catch it live and want to watch it on-demand now. 👇
Gaaahhhhhhh! The Barnes & Noble 50% Criterion Collection sale is on! Occasionally, Criterion’s own website will have 24-hour flash sales to snag the well-respected collection titles at half price, but twice a year Barnes & Noble has their 50% off sale that lasts an entire month!
So click the link below and see if there are some titles you’ve been waiting for to go on sale, because even Criterion Blu-rays look absolutely stunning, due to their painstaking attention to detail when it comes to restoring a film to its highest quality.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/collections/movies-tv/the-criterion-collection
And that wraps up this week’s newsletter, Cinemaniacs!
Homework: Get out there and interact with some humans this weekend! Who knows…you might make a new friend, or make someone’s day with a compliment, or have someone make your day with a compliment from them! 😅
Whatever the case, we’ve got to make it a point to get out of our curated digital bubbles from time to time. “Touch grass,” as the kids say these days. Or go on a hike, for that matter! Summertime, baby!
See ya next week! 🎉