Movies and stuff
Good day my beautiful people. I hope you are having the best day ever. I woke up today feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, just ready to tackle the day like a boss.
I love going to the movies. I always have. All of this streaming and watching a movie premiere on Netflix or one of the other streamers just doesn’t do it for me. I love the whole process of the theater experience, and it is a great excuse to get out of the house.
Now, with the movie theater apps, I can sit in my favorite seats without having to get there early and stand in line forever to get a good seat.
I am one of those people that always needs something to look forward to — even if it is just a new movie. Jamie and I go to the movies almost every Thursday. We make it a date night and have dinner either before or after the film. I prefer to eat before the movie, it keeps me from snackin’ on popcorn, pickles or overpriced candy.
(Truth be told, we will usually stop at the DollaTree and stock up on candy, then sneak it in. That is why I love me some cargo shorts.)
The first movie I ever watched was at a drive-in theater with my grandparents. My Grandma Christine apparently had been hounding my Pawpaw Dee to take her somewhere, anywhere, but he was a cheap ass. He finally gave in and drove the three of us all of about four blocks to our local drive-in theater in Pleasant Grove. (I was 2 years old, and my grandma babysat me a lot of the time.)
The drive-in was playing The Exorcist. I know; perfect viewing for a 2-year-old.
My mom told me years later that I would act out scenes from the movie, pretending to throw up all over everyone. She also said it gave me nightmares, but I don’t remember any of that. I do know that The Exorcist is still one of my favorite movies.
My mom was pissed at her in-laws for a long time after that.
Fun fact: My grandparents’ house was so close to the drive-in that we could sit on the roof of their house and watch the movies, and we could even pick up the sound on an A.M. radio. Needless to say, my cheap-ass granddad never took us to the movies again.
Going to the movies was always kind of a bonding thing for our family. My parents divorced when I was 5 or 6, so when I spent any amount of time with my dad, he would take us to the dollar theater. It was called The Bruton Terrace Theater. It had four screens, and I thought it was the fanciest, most special place in the world. I watched so many movies there as a kid.
I probably watched Star Wars there at least 15 times. Once, I watched it four times in one day. My Aunt Doisey wanted to get rid of me and my cousin Eddie Paul for a while, so she gave us five bucks each and told us not to call her to be picked up until it was dark. We didn’t.
My dad would take me to see almost any movie playing. It didn’t matter to him at all if it was rated R. I remember watching some stupid movie called The Boob Tube. It was nothing but titties, titties and more titties. My dad just giggled as I would “hide” my eyes, pretending like I wasn’t seeing anything.
He took me to see Mad Max when I was probably 8 years old. That movie was a lot for me as a kid. Near the end of the movie, a motorcycle gang runs over Max’s wife and baby. That messed me up. I told my dad I was gonna go play video games and went and waited in the lobby. (He was not the best judge of what was appropriate for kids, to say the least.)
My mom and I also bonded over going to the movies, but she would make it a lot more special. We would eat some place nice, like Pancho’s (Back then it was so freaking good!), then drive over near Town East Mall to see a movie at a bougie theater, like AMC or General Cinema.
If we saw a movie that was really good, we would go back a few days later and take my aunts, cousins or best friends. We did that with E.T., Beetlejuice, Scrooged and Ghost.
Before my mom found out I was gay, we saw a lot of movies together. After she found out, we didn’t watch a movie together for a many years. The way I knew our relationship was going to be okay was when she invited me to go to the movies with her. We saw Forrest Gump and absolutely loved it. To this day it is probably my all-time favorite movie.
My memory when it comes to movies is really good; I can remember not just the movie, but where I saw it, and who I was with. It’s kind of a stupid superpower.
I know I saw the first Scary Movie with a large group of friends — Lee, Miguel, Moses and two other guys at the Caruth Plaza General Cinema. I saw Jim Carrey’s Grinch movie with Krystal Summers at the theater near the Target at City Place. I saw Mars Attacks at the Grand Theater with this hot guy named Dane. I saw The Grudge with Valerie Lohr and our husbands at the Cinemark in Cedar Hill. I saw Jurassic Park 2, The Lost World with a guy named Casey at some theater in Euless.
Absolutely useless knowledge. But I remember.
I will watch most types of movies, although I am not a huge fan of war movies. I almost walked out of Saving Private Ryan because it was just way to realistic and harsh. I am glad I didn’t leave though. It is a great movie, but I will probably never watch it again. Same with Schindler’s List.
I have many people tell me I should write movie reviews, but I am not overly critical of movies. I hate it when reviewers pick a movie to pieces. If I wanted to, I could destroy so many movies with my critiques, and sometimes I do. But I have to really hate a movie to do that.
Honestly, I judge a movie by one single criteria: Did I enjoy watching it?
If I did, without over analyzing it, I would say it was at least okay. If I am disappointed in the movie but found a few redeeming qualities in the film, like it being visually cool, I will give it a “meh!”
You will always know if I love or absolutely hate a movie. Those feelings are strong, and I don’t mind sharing them. If I ever add “ish” to a word when I am describing a movie, that usually means that I am on the fence or still trying to decide if I liked it.
I love it when I am still thinking of a movie days after I have watched it. That is kind of a rare thing though; most movies, even if I enjoyed them at the time, are very forgettable. We watched Silent Night a few weeks ago on Netflix — the apocalypse movie not the Santa kicking ass movie — and it has stayed on my mind.
We saw Madame Web last night. It was not a great movie, but I enjoyed things about it. I give it a “meh+.” Plot holes you could drive an ambulance through (if you’ve seen the movie you will get the reference), corny action and some of the acting is laughable— but I still enjoyed watching it. So, maybe I am not the best movie critic, but I take my movie watchin’ seriously. It brings me joy.
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova
