We're Watching Movies on Mondays

Yes, watching movies IS a hobby. A sentiment I seem to have to convince my friends and colleagues of constantly. Some ski, some play tennis, some jump really high... it does often feel like sports are among the only acceptable past times to talk about in group settings. But I am confident that a LOTR movie marathon, staying awake through even the quiet parts, and sprinting to the kitchen for more salt & vinegar chips is a sport of only the most elite champions.

I grew up watching movies- more so than television. Although I rewatched the numerous seasons of Family Guy we had on DVD, nothing scraped the surface of my adoration as much as film. I didn't know what it was doing to my sense of humor, my MO, my entire outlook on the purpose behind a human's actions- but it was a safe space for me when I didn't have much space to be safe. My mother used to organize all of our DVDs alphabetically and would lose her mind if someone mixed them up. I suppose that was just her being controlling about organization, but it did instill in me a respect and reverence for our collection. During her more turbulent days battling depression, we used to sit in her bed for hours- watching all of those movies in the order in which they were organized. All through the A's, then the B's, then the C's... then she would go through a couple letters while I was at school... and then the F's...

I began to pull myself into "comfort films". Those movies that make you feel warm and fuzzy because you know exactly how it's going to end. The ones that have a character you related to at one point in your life and now feel as if you know exactly who they are. Not always my favorite movie, and I didn't say these were always the best written or directed films of the 21st century, but I knew them from start to finish and they gave me all the fuzzy feelings. Every single summer I had a new comfort film that would sit in my DVD player and would be on in the background as I fell asleep every single night. Yep, I rewatched Baby Mama everyday for almost two months between Junior and Senior year and I don't regret it one bit. As these are almost always comedies for me, I think it says a lot about my character, what makes me feel happy, and what I like, of course! I'm constantly curious about your comfort film as well, which would quickly tell me if we can be friends... or not.

During these impressionable years of my life, I saw many films spanning many genres and decades. I happened to also have an exceptionally eclectic step father at the time who's taste in artistic film and dry sense of humor was much more up my alley than the feel-good, heart-wrenching dramas my mother loved to cry to. Therefore, I was exposed to an even wider display of creativity and story-telling.

I met my husband at the impressionable age of 19 and after many long conversations, we discovered we have a common interest and mutual taste. After moving in together, we began collecting DVD's (then Blu-Rays) to compromise for our lack of money and interest in socializing. We began taking turns showing each other movies from our childhoods and building upon our own individual repertoires, and then our collective knowledge began to grow. We began dissecting them and breaking down the acting from the direction, from the writing, from the cinematography. We began to study the culture behind film making while also noting the societal effects and how the world interacts with the industry outside of the movie theater. Our love of this art form turned into a passion, and then developed into a hefty part of our lives.

As we continue to understand and learn, we have developed our own expertise: Actors. We have both become fairly advanced in actor trivia- including pop culture, movies and TV they've had a role in, and even some other fun facts like whether they are musically inclined, which director they prefer to work with, or if they've directed or written or produced themselves. While on road trips, we began playing a 21 questions-type game, trying to figure out the actor the other person is thinking of. It became quite boring after a while but we played it often and it challenged our knowledge and made us hungrier to be ready for the next round. So, my husband surprised me with "Cinephile: The Card Game" one year for my birthday. Including directions, the little box had inside a whole deck of cards depicting an actor and a movie they were in. We began to use these cards more often and created many different games, including my FINAL point to beginning this series - Movie Mondays.

We can't have been the first ones to think of doing this, but we were pretty chuffed with ourselves when we decided to dedicate some time to our new study sessions. It's hard to find the hidden gems in streaming services these days with all the blockbusters shadowing the little guys. So we have made up our game- pull a card on Monday and watch a movie we haven't seen with that actor in it. Simple enough.

Films are my passion because, without you even knowing, it's puppeteering your pathos, logos, and ethos- casting a spell on you and telling you when to laugh, when to cry, and when to get really excited about whats happening next. I would never call myself an expert or even a master critic but as I've said before, this can be and definitely is something I and many others enjoy using our time and energy on for no reward at all. Film is an art form and you would never tell someone art is not a hobby, right?

I so look forward to sharing our choices with you, and diving deep into each movie, creating an anthology of my opinions on them. Let's learn about film together! I don't have nearly enough friends to nerd on about this with. Who are we going to pick first? And what movie will we choose?

Stay tuned, cinephiles :)

- XOXO