8 Things That Cultivated My Love For Films

 

I've hit 200 blogs written here on A Blog By B, Thank you!!! to everyone who has ever read a blog of mine. I'm sure if you've read enough articles you know I love my movies, and I am a very nostalgic person. Since this is my 200th blog, I decided to write a more personal blog and discuss a few things that have made me the movie buff, nostalgic individual I am today. I didn't get this way overnight, so with that here are 7 things in my life that have cultivated my love for film.

HBO First Look

I have always, always been fascinated by filmmaking and the entire process of it. HBO use to produce a half hour series, First Look which looking back was more promotion of a film than a true peek behind the scenes. What they did share in episodes always intrigued me and made me appreciate at a young age the magic of moviemaking and all the work that goes into big productions.

Regular Cable TV

Through good old cable TV and shows like Dinner And A Movie, I was introduced to films like The Breakfast Club, Top Gun, and Day's Of Thunder. One of my stop and watch it movies Gleaming The Cube I first saw on the USA network and they would repeatedly play it in the summer.

Columbia Video

I was somewhere between 6 or 7 when my grandmother joined Columbia House and ordered several VHS tapes, a decent amount for me. Just like that I saw movies like Stand By Me for the first time, had copies of childhood favorites like Problem Child 1 and 2 and Don't Tell Mom The Babysitters Dead. New releases at the time Stay Tuned I wore those tapes out. I think my grandmother had that membership for a good 5 years, and I added a lot of films to the library during that time. In fact I'm one of the few people on this planet who still have a VCR and I've held on to many of those VHS tapes to this day.

Encore

Back in the 90's Encore was an upstart cable channel, and it kind of catered to the movie buff in all of us. I know it did for me for sure. Encore is where I first saw films like Fast Forward. D.A.R.Y.L. Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, Just One Of The Guys, Short Circuit. Something I shouldn't have been watching in Stripes, Cherry 2000, the first Vacation film.

Along with those films, Encore also is where I first saw the original Karate Kid, one of my personal favorites Last Dragon, and Ghostbusters. All of these were heavy hitter films that to this day have a impact on my life and my personality. 

What I really enjoyed about Encore and this was before the internet was that it was very informational. Encore would have short breaks where a host would provide behind the scenes information on the next movie about to play. From how the character of Sho'nuff came to be in The Last Dragon. Who wrote the script for Karate Kid, Eddie Murphy turning down the role of Winston in Ghostbusters. The station was just a treasure trove of movie knowledge that I ate up to add to my repository of useless facts.

VCR

When I was about 7, it was either my uncle or a older cousin showed me how to use a VCR, and the concept of blank tapes and recording. From there I was off to the races, recording sitcoms, cartoons, movies, wrestling events, even music videos. I got the timing down to when to hit record to a science, and thought a set of blank tapes were a gold mine. Like I mentioned previously I still have a VCR and just like the movies I obtained, my blank tapes full of random things I've recorded are still safe in my vault.

DVD's

Man when DVD's and DVD players became more affordable and started to take over from VHS I was in awe. Besides the clarity of movies the special features often drew me in. I use to really enjoy watching deleted scenes and offering my own opinions on why it should have been in the movie or I could see why it was cut. Next to the deleted scenes my favorite special feature was the commentary. While it could be distracting hearing filmmakers discuss the thought process behind how the movie got greenlight, made, challenges etc. I was a sponge for.

Movie Theaters

It's an expensive hobby (but honestly what hobbies aren't these days?), but going to the movies is something I have loved since I was a kid and still love today. The 1989 Batman film is the first movie I vividly remember seeing in theaters, with Karate Kid III and Ghostbusters II  being the first movies I remember seeing at a Drive-In a few weeks later, I was only 3 years old at the time by the way. I just love getting my popcorn and sitting in a theater getting immersed into the world and the characters. It's even better when it's a movie that was made specifically for the movie theater experience.

The first movie I saw coming out the pandemic was Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, just sitting in the leather chairs and eating my very buttery popcorn. I just felt home and thought to myself, man I really missed this. I still get annoyed if I'm running behind and miss a trailer even though I can clearly catch it online. The movie theater experience is a huge contributor to me being a movie buff.

 

Relatives

I grew up like a lot of people my age spending a lot of time at grandma's house. I had older cousins who were between 5-8 years older than me that were also always at grandma house. As they got older and aged out of certain toys or films, they would leave them behind. I would find them and take them in like a lost pet. So old VHS tapes my cousins left behind were my introductions to shows like Captain Power: Soldiers Of The Future and Masters Of The Universe. They also would let me watch movies with them I was a tad too young for, but they were coming of age and understood the films. So movies like Juice, or the Child's Play films I watched with my older cousins.

 We use to stay up late and watch music videos replay on The Box (if you know you know), watch Nick At Nite or get snacks from the store and have "parties" watching TV. Looking back this is the biggest influence on my love of certain properties and why I'm so nostalgic towards the 90's. It always reminds of the good times I just wanted to hang with my older cousins. 

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B's Remake Series: Universal Soldier

 Hollywood is the king of recycling. Every year there are movies and TV series in development, that are remakes, sequels, or spiritual continuations of successful properties.

This often done to invoke nostalgia, connect a property to a new generation. Or the biggest reasons, money and Hollywood is out of fresh ideas. When films are remade it's often to bring famous films to a new generation. Update a film that had a good plot and just failed in execution, or the technology wasnt there to fully flesh out the film. I will be providing a series of films, I believe are ripe for a remake in my "B's Remake Series". 

Starting off is 1992's "Universal Soldier"  starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. At the time Jean was becoming one of Hollywood's reliable action stars, while Dolph was not a bankable action star but had the size, menace, and enough acting to be a bad ass foe when one is needed. The poster featuring the two with machine guns in their hand, and their target head sets (dont know the actual term for them) and the trailer was all they needed to draw audiences in.

The film follows the two as reanimated soldiers amongst a team used for a secret military program. Both go rogue in their own way against the program, and against one another. The film put Jean Claudes martial arts skills against Dolph's brute force. There is some serviceable action scenes in the film, including the opening hostage scene, and a motel shootout. The Hoover Dam scene still holds up today with the introduction of the soldiers, the scene of them repealing down the Hoover Dam face first is a cool ass visual to this day. 

Where I think the film is ready for a remake almost thirty years later, is the technology behind reviving the characters  of Jean and Dolph. DNA engineering, stem cell use, and cybernetics are even more prevalent and has supporters and opponets more today than back in 1992. Even watching the movie when I was younger, I was intrigued by the idea of the 'Unisol" program as it's called in the movie. On the DVD there is a deleted scene where Jeans character meets the doctor who oversaw the program, it does provide some context but I believe was left out for pacing purposes. As such the movie leaves just enough information to let viewers know, theres way more to the story of that program. How their chosen, how their controlled, exactly what was done to these soldiers. It's a whole mythology behind it that should be explored further.

The film could also touch on the experiences of soldiers when their in war and the mental effects of it. The effects of PTSD is hinted at in the original, but I think there just wasnt enough known about it back then to elaborate on it in the film. That could be a subplot in a remake and play a role in the soldiers going rogue. 

There was a direct sequel released in 1999, that other then starring Van Damme didnt really connect with the original. Hell it left more questions then answers, if you're trying to make sense of the connection between the two. There's also been some straight to cable and DVD interations, that dont meet the standard the first film set. With Hollywood looking for old properties to revive, now is the perfect time for Universal Soldier. 

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Childhood Reboots

  This past weekend the rebooted Power Rangers movie was released. While I’ve seen mixed reviews I enjoyed it,and felt for the most part it did a decent job of updating the story  for the times while still honoring the original. While nothing from my childhood except Ninja Turtles was bigger than Power Rangers, here are a few shows I think have reboot potential.
   As often is the case when one of our childhood favorites get’s rebooted whether we love it or hate it we always ask What’s next? I have a few candidates which I think should be rebooted.
   Jonny Quest is one I would love to see a live action adventure of. It would take the right casting with a villain who is believable yet a little campy. The Jonny Quest character has to be adventurous but not a smart ass teenager. Save the smart ass comments for Race Bannon. Send the team along with Dr. Quest, Hadji, and Jesse on a globetrotting adventure. I think it could be one of those “roller coaster ride” movies that need to come back.
   Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? would be another great addition. If it is based around a team of 3-4 teenagers sent to track Carmen and her crimes down. If done right it could be a different spin adding heist films, spy films, globetrotting and adventure into one.
  I would love to see a overlooked show bought back as a rebooted show is GhostWriter. With a digital age spin on the sleuthing skills of the team I think it could have a new life and last longer than the original.
   Static Shock a little known DC comic that was a cartoon on the WB is overdue for a reboot. In the age of superheroes and the calling for more minority heroes, now is the time to bring Virgil and his powers back. A Static Shock movie fully displaying his powers and the science behind it, alot of children could pick up a interest in science.
   The two heavy hitters everyone has been begging for is Thundercats and Masters of the Universe. The technology is there to bring the thundercats and their adversaries to life. As Avatar and the Jungle Book have recently shown a whole world can be built using cgi and create a Third Earth that we could be immersed in along with the Thundercats.
      A Masters of the Universe movie has been teased for years. We’re tired of the teasing at this point. The original movie suffered from a low budget that severely affected the movies story and tone. Dolph Lundgren had the look of He-man but his acting wasn't there. We need a full movie on Eternia, a real look at Grayskull, battlecat, orko, some time with Prince Adam, great action, sword fighting and a Skeletor who is menacing.
      These are just a few properties I would like to see rebooted. Hollywood thrives on the nostalgia factor and honestly we as consumers eat it up. Whatever the next property is bought back to life we can love it or hate it but we’ll sit down and watch it.
  

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