UNITED STATES─So many people have been telling me just watch a movie if you’re bored, and I tell them I’ve watched so many movies I just cannot watch anymore. I think this is particularly the case when it comes to watching movies on cable TV. It’s like we pay all this money for all these channels, but there is never anything on TV or better yet it’s the same thing being shown over and over and over again. It’s frustrating, it’s just annoying and it shows you: wow, I really should consider cutting the Cable cord because I’m not getting much from it.

So I’ve taken a new approach to watching movies: utilizing that expensive Blu-Ray player that I paid for. With streaming the new thing of the world, I’ve turned to having to open a disc and placing it inside an actual device. I will admit for about 90 minutes I was able to escape reality if that is even possible. I watched a movie that I hadn’t seen in quite some time, “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.” To be honest it’s one of my favorites in the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise.

It feels like at times, we become so enamored with watching the same movie over and over, that for those of us who are movie collectors fail to acknowledge the greats we have in our collection. I mean I have hundreds of movies and going back to old cinema as I call it reminds me that some of the best movies are from the Golden Era. Yeah, the technology may not be the greatest, but a movie is not defined by technology (in very rare cases it is), but it’s all about the story first and foremost.

If you have a strong story, nothing else matters people. I do find it easier to get into a positive rhythm if you’re watching a franchise or at least 1-2 sequels, but be advised it should be a good one. Yeah, I pointing my finger at all those terrible horror movies from the 80s and their countless sequels. If you’re going to watch a movie, you want to watch a movie that is good not a bad one.

Also have a bit of diversity in your cinematic experience. Move from action to comedy to horror to sci-fi to drama to historic to war pics to musicals. There are plenty of genres out there and I tell people ALL THE TIME: each time you watch a movie again, you discover something new about that movie that you didn’t realize. Yes, I know many of us have our genres that we like to stick to, but you have to be willing to test the waters with other things. You might stumble upon a classic that you’ve never seen before and it might become a staple for you.

Also watch movies with others when possible because that provides an opportunity for bonding time, but at the same time it gives you an angle on how people perceive a movie that might be your favorite that they don’t care too much about. We love to think if we’re a fan of a movie everyone else is a fan, but we soon discover that is not always the case people. You see another perspective and it forces you to acknowledge a flick that you think is great really is not that great, you were just in denial about it. Perhaps, the best advice I can give is to NOT watch the same movie over and over again, when you have the opportunity to watch endless others.