 Hitting this time of year means one thing: Family Time. Every year we take a look through the holiday lens with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek, picks outside of just the traditional holiday movies while acknowledging the difficulty for some. We’ll layer on the joys of simplicity, maybe slowing down and enjoying some time with people you like, whether that be in real life or cinematic pals. Get ready for a good healthy dose of cinematic families, gooey sweetness and flicks that just make you feel good about life.
The year is 2002. Two movies brought in audiences for a variety of reasons including their accessibility, humor and downright fun time. However, it’s our belief, falling right in line with a little bit different take on the holidays, is the familial aspect of both My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Barbershop. MBFGW captures the big, never ending family tree while Barbershop nails the community around a spot held dear to everyone’s hearts. When time allows to grab a double-feature this time of year you might think about what it is you want or need and sometimes it’s a family, friends and community to pick us back up or shake your head in disbelief.
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 Asking the great question of the 80s and 90s kids: What was your go-to movie/video store growing up and what was that Friday Night Feeling to you?
Us: A & A Video and IGA. Miles away from Blockbusters Hollywood Video or even Family Video. Yep. You used to rent movies in grocery stores kids. Nothing like Disorderlies + Banquet Frozen Dinner to create lifetime memories. This week it’s a dash of nostalgia bumped up against the new world order of streaming bringing the goods. We’ll throw on the smock, give you the side eye when you try to rent ANOTHER Shannon Tweed movie while we venture out into the here and bow’s platform-loving, awards-chomping streaming picks. We’ll double-up old VHS picks with the newest, shiniest flicks out or coming soon. This week it’s Video Store Vibes all around. Our first track on this week’s trip back to the Video Store is a quintessential high-concept 80s comedy which seems incomprehensible to think Tom Hanks, yes, THAT Tom Hanks would star in. Or does it? Looking outside of Finch’s doomsday scenario and CGI flare there is a high-concept 80s thread of man, dog and robot, tying nicely back to the 80s rack full of man, mermaid, bikinis and bikinis. We haven’t had a chance to check out @appletv Finch just yet but our focus this week is on the nostalgia of yesterday’s release rack and an examination of how much has changed, yet very little has changed too. We’ll be glad to report back next week on the next ride we take with our dear dad Tom Hanks in Finch. A western pick from @netflix and an 80s western make the cut tonight. So how are these two in the same ballpark? 1. Genre 2. Cast. When the choices were few and far between on the shelves, sometimes it came down to just a “Oooh, look, they got ALL those people in a movie? I’ll take it.” The Harder They Fall absolutely gets the right people together with Regina King - we will fight anyone who doesn’t like her but have yet to meet anyone - Idris Elba and Lakeith Stanfield. See how this works? In a western? Yep. Sign us up. Pulling even more on the thread of how the line between old and new is stronger than you might think, the great thing about the here and now is the accessibility to new, minority voices that a couple of decades ago might not have found a way to any type of screen. The double dip brings in A Cop Movie, yet again from @netflix and Director Alonso Ruizpalacios in a blurred line look at two actors becoming police officers as reality becomes larger than life. The connections abound back to El Mariachi when one looks back at reality being larger than life itself as Robert Rodriguez bootstrapped the indie into the stratosphere and became an indie darling, as well as a much coveted rental VHS as the lore about its production became bigger and bigger. |
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