Effective Movie Clubs
Are Movies Obsolete?
A lot has been written about the pros and cons of the internet. One of the cons is how it encourages alone-ness, if there is such a word. We don't seem to need anybody anymore because almost everything is available online.
Take the cinema for example. We seldom go to the movies with family and friends anymore because the internet has made watching movies a solitary thing. You can watch movies on your computer or any other electronic device.
You don’t need to invite people over for movie night or drive to the cinema to catch the latest Tyler Perry or Karan Johar movie.
There is no popcorn when you watch movies alone, just the pizza and soda, which leads to obesity. Excessive attachment to the internet can lead to a negative body transformation.
Should I Throw Away My DVD Collection?
There are some wise folks out there who still have their DVD players. They have no intention of giving them away. They are also clinging to their DVD collection, which is stored on the shelves in alphabetical order, or by the director’s name.
Those are the people who will be interested in movie clubs.
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Effective Movie Clubs
That 70-inch television in your living room is very lonely, thanks to the internet and laptops. Maybe you invested in a home theatre with the latest Bose or Telefunken speakers.
Nobody is eating popcorn in there because family members now put a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door and watch movies in their rooms.
Do you belong to a movie club?
Use your Smart TV for your movie club. If your friends and family do not have one, initiate it. Movie clubs, like book clubs need proper planning to be enjoyable.
Planning will determine the size of the movie club. Should it be six people or more? How about the movie club frequency? Do you meet every fortnight or once a month? Should it be with your spouses, male or female only?
The advantage of partners having separate movie clubs is bonding. They sometimes miss the good old days with their friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgsjdH4TrkI
Movies on DVD
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Maybe you should start small, with four members. All of you have DVD collections. Exhaust them before getting movies from Netflix or Eros.
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It’s time to re-visit your DVD library, especially because some movies go straight to DVD without hitting cinema theatres in the mall near you.
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Members should prepare DVD collection lists to see how many people have The Devil Wears Prada, directed by David Frankel or Dances With Wolves, by Kevin Costner.
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Use Microsoft Excel so that you can have a genre column, meaning is it a horror, romantic comedy, sci-fi, foreign film, Bollywood or Nollywood movie?
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Alternate. Screen an action movie this week, an Italian movie at the next screening.
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Re-visiting your DVD’s can cause some aggravation, so be prepared to get mad. Scary Movie, directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans is not in its box. Bring it On is in the Shaft box.
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Members should meet at a movie inauguration lunch in one member’s house and draw up a movie screening schedule. The host can order a fruit platter and finger food from the superstore.
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Drawing up a who, what, where, when and why list is critical because it accommodates families. You don’t want kids or spouses around, sulking because attention is not on them. They are family and not movie club members.
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The host recommends the movie of the week or month.
Food for screening movies
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Food on screening days should complement the occasion. The Funeral, the Japanese film by Juzo Itami is about family drama at a funeral. Mourners ate sushi in little boxes.
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Your superstore can prepare a sushi platter for you. Alternatively, pre-order it from a Japanese restaurant. Please include salmon and avocado, my sushi favourites.
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Find small chocolate gift boxes from places like Godiva or Laura Secord for Chocolat, Lasse Hallstrom’s film. Members can take the rest home.
Rules
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Clothes should complement the movie to be screened. Find costumes appropriate for the film the Great Gatsby or What’s Love Got to Do with It?
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The host must have comfortable lounge seats, so that members can doze off if the film leaves them cold.
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The host is the remote control chief. Silencio! As they say in Italian. We are in the movies. Don’t you just hate commentators? “The guy is the red shirt is the killer. Just wait and see.”
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Agree on talking breaks. You can decide to review the movie after every half hour, or at the end.
Movie Content
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We said you should classify your DVD’s by genre e.g. historical drama or comedy. You can also pick movies using the actual story line.
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You want same sex movies? Try Brokeback Mountain directed by Ang Lee and Farewell My Concubine by Chen Kaige.
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Pet movies? Best In Show by Christopher Guest is both hilarious and sad. Also try all Dalmatians’ movies because you want to root for the animals as they outwit the evil Cruella de Vil, played impeccably by Glenn Close.
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You can screen 101 Dalmatians dressed in black and white outfits.
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Jazz movies? Definitely Spike Lee’s Mo Better Blues. Denzel Washington blew that trumpet to the following year.
Day of the Screening
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Mobile phones should be switched off or activate airplane mode.
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Curtains and window blinds should shut off the world.
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The host hits the play button and you are off to the world of make believe.