Movies and why the hell I decided to start a blog

FAMILY REEL · ISSUE 001

Three generations. One movie habit.

I was talking to my dad the other day and realized that, for three generations, the men in my family have been cinema junkies. It started with my grandpa, who had me watching movies by the time I hit grade school. A lot of these movies I had no business watching. In his room, he had a dresser with a lower cabinet. Instead of socks or underwear, it was jam-packed with VHS tapes. I remember sitting down and looking through his movies for what felt like hours, trying to find the next one we could watch together. ’80s classics, horror films, thrillers, and some of my favorites—the old blaxploitation movies. I probably shouldn’t have been watching Shaft and J.D.’s Revenge, but looking back, I’m happy that I did. Those old VHS movies helped shape my love of movies and had me quoting films that other kids my age had no idea what the hell I was talking about.

My dad was working during those years. After long hours working in a factory, he still found time to make his way to a Redbox to keep up with the latest movies. Watching movies with Dad was a lot different from watching them with my grandpa. My dad wanted it to feel like we were watching them at the movies. I remember we took a trip to Circuit City and walked out with a 40+ inch plasma TV, a full sound system with a subwoofer, and speakers. I was probably 11 at the time, and I had one end of the plasma while he had the other. I was putting everything I had into it, since it was probably every bit of 80 pounds. My dad was like a kid at Christmas when we had everything hooked up and heard the loud BOOM of the sound system. Instead of keeping his movies in an old dresser in his room, he had a couple of movie binders. Each one had a sleeve for the DVD and a place where we could put the DVD cover inside another sleeve.

Finally, years later, we get to me. My media collection is on a NAS, and I was able to set it up so that both Dad and Grandpa can stream all the movies we’ve watched over the years. Whether it’s something I went to the theater with my wife to see or something we watched when I was younger, it’s a way for us to stay connected through the movies that shaped our lives.

I decided to make this blog for a few reasons.

1. I usually talk about the movies I’ve seen and recommend them to friends and family, but I decided I wanted to expand those talks to the rest of you. Some of the best convos I’ve had have been about our different perspectives when watching a movie.
2. I have kids, and I want to share something with them. I’m usually not a picture guy, much to the dismay of the Mrs. I’ve always been more of an in-the-moment person anyway, so half the time I forget to take pictures. When I’m old and gray, I’d like for them to be able to read my thoughts on movies. And one day, when I’m not here, I want the movies we watched together to hold a special place in their hearts. May this blog act as a way for them to remember their old man—and what he would have rated each movie.