Calebs Video Store Issue #9
The ninth issue
Introduction
Hello and welcome back to another issue of Calebs Video Store. This is a series where I talk about anything film related whether it’s recent news, something I got to experience, or something I just want to talk about. It’s been a crazy month for me. I recently graduated college and that means I have more time to watch da movies. What I’m really excited for now is I get to put more time into this blog and this series and I’m very excited for that. More content and some new changes will be coming soon on here so make sure to look out for that. For now we have some topics to get into with the rise of youtube filmmakers in the film industry, a quick tangent on taking graduation pictures at my childhood theater, and movies that I’m looking forward to during the summer season. Without further ado, let’s enter the video store.
The Rise of YouTube Filmmakers in the Film Industry
So last issue I was talking about the rise of video game movies and while writing it, I was thinking of something else that we have been seeing the rise of in the industry as well which is a lot of filmmakers that got their start from Youtube are making a big splash into the film scene. The Backrooms movie is coming out this week and Kane Parsons the director got his start from making these Backroom shorts on Youtube. Then we have Curry Barker who just released Obsession which has become one of the most talked about films of the year. He got his start from Youtube and it’s interesting to see these creators get this opportunity to make films like this. Hell we even got Markiplier who released Iron Lung this year and it did numbers at the box office on a relatively low budget. It made me think of how far things have come when it comes to YouTuber filmmakers and movies.
Now movies made by YouTubers aren’t necessarily a new thing. In fact we got a decent amount of YouTuber films in the early 2010s like with Fred The Movie, Smosh The Movie, Not Cool, etc.. However most of these were poorly received and these types of films failed to capture audiences. Then we started getting a steady pace of people that had a background from YouTube getting a chance to make feature length films. People like David F. Sandberg and Dan Tratchenberg are examples of this. Now more than ever, it feels like this is fully being realized. Last year we had the Philippu brothers (RackaRacka) debut their second film Bring Her Back and Chris Stuckman released Shelby Oaks as well. Not to mention David F, Sandberg released Until Dawn and Dan Tratchenberg released Predator Badlands as well. I think it’s working out now because rather than basing these movies off the gimmick that these YouTubers were doing at the time like with Fred and Smosh, we are instead getting actual stories away from those gimmicks that doomed those films in the first place. It feels like for the past year, we have gotten more movies than ever from people that got there start from YouTube and it’s exciting to see.
I think we have a lot to look forward to in the future. We got exciting filmmakers from the likes of Kane Parsons, Curry Barker, the Philippou brothers and so many others that I’m sure I’m missing. I think it’s exciting to see this talent that started off from YouTube being given these opportunities to create for the big screen and I think we are going to see this type of thing continue. It’s important that these creators get a chance to do this because we need new faces in film and some of the most exciting content is coming from YouTube and there’s a lot of unique talent there. We have been eating well in terms of the horror side of things, but I hope that we will see great films from other genres as well. It’s important we continue to support these films and filmmakers and I’m excited about what these current and future filmmakers will make.
Quick Tangent: I Took Graduation Pictures at my Childhood Theater
So as I was preparing for the graduation season. I wanted to take some graduation pictures to celebrate the moment. I was trying to figure out how I wanted them done and I was originally going to go to famous film locations in LA and have pictures taken at different spots. However, I couldn’t really figure out an idea of how I wanted them done and ultimately didn’t go through with this idea. I wanted to do something that felt personal and really celebrated the moment and then I thought of something. Earlier in the year, I found out my childhood theater had closed down. It was sad to see because I saw so many great films there and it made me love films the way I do today. However, the building was still standing and they hadn’t taken anything down. I figured I could do graduation pictures there as a tribute to the theater that I got to experience so much joy at. I did end up writing about this theater a month ago which you can read here. But we ended up taking pictures there and I really loved the way they came out. I’m glad to have the memories I did at that theater and it felt like the best way to commemorate the moment. Shoutout Krikorian Metroplex 18 for giving me some of my favorite theater memories.
The Summer Season is Here So Here’s Some Summer Movies I’m Looking Forward To
So we are now entering the summer film season which means we are getting some of the bigger films of the year coming out. This is a time for the big blockbusters to come out and bring everyone out to the theater. Looking at the schedule for the next couple months, there’s a decent amount of films to be excited about so I wanted to talk about some of the ones that I’m excited for and you should look out for. Let’s take a look at some of these films.
Backrooms: At the time of writing this, Backrooms will be coming out this week and I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since its announcement. The backroom stuff has always intrigued me and I can’t wait to see what we get out of it. The fact that Kane Parsons is 20 and directing this is still insane to me.
Disclosure Day: A new Steven Spielberg alien film sounds like a dream and I’m glad I live in a world where this is a reality. Been trying to stay away from the promotional stuff going around because I want to watch this as blind as possible. But this is probably the film I’m excited for the most during the summer and I’m excited to watch it in the next couple weeks.
Evil Dead Burn: I really like the idea of giving different filmmakers to helm an Evil Dead movie and I’m excited for this one. I love the Evil Dead films and as long as they can find new ways to keep me intrigued with the series, I’ll show up to an Evil Dead film anytime.
The Odyssey: This is going to be the big movie of the summer since it is a Nolan movie, but that is for a good reason. An adaptation of The Odyssey story is a big deal and I’m really hoping that Nolan can do it justice for his adaptation. I just know I will be seated on day 1 for this.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day: Listen I’m a Spider-Man fan so no matter what, I was always going to be pulling up to this one. With how No Way Home ended, I am intrigued to see where they’re going to take this story and how everything will play out. Might have to pull out the spider-man costume for this as well (jk lol…unless).
The End of Oak Street: Just from the teaser for this movie, I’m on board with it. It seems like it’s always hard to get dinosaur stuff in movies right seeing as even the Jurassic Park series has trouble with this. But this one is showing a lot of promise and I can only hope that it delivers on what it is teasing. Also Anne Hathaway casually being in 6 films this year including this one is iconic and I love that for her.
That’s the movies I am looking forward to the most during the summer. Honestly there’s a lot to be excited for and I think this summer is going to be a great time for the movies. Now if someone can get me a ticket to a IMAX 70 mm screening of The Odyssey opening weekend, I will give you a really nice high five in the process (please).
May Recommendations
As always this is a segment where I talk about some of my favorite films that I watched during the month that were new watches. I’ll be honest, I barely watched anything new this month. This month was filled with rewatches as I rewatched a decent amount of movies while trying to get through finals, but I did get to watch a couple noteworthy films during the month that I wanted to give a mention. Here are my recommendations for the month of May!
Chef (2014): There’s a new Jon Favreau movie out in theaters right now, but honestly this is the Favreau movie you should just watch instead. What I love about Chef is how much passion you can tell Jon has for food and cooking and it’s just a nice little tale of someone finding their passion in what they love to do again. It’s a nice little film that I can see myself coming back to every so often. Also it has one of the greatest grilled cheeses I’ve ever seen on screen.
Obsession (2026): People were calling this one of the scariest movies of the year and usually when I hear that phrase, I remain very neutral because I don’t want to be disappointed by how the film turns out. However this is not only the scariest movie of the year, It’s one of the scariest I’ve seen in a while. This is a horror movie that is going to be about one of the greats of this decade. The way Curry Barker frames scenes in this is just amazing and I was on the edge of my seat for at least half of the film. Of course Inde Navarrette is a god damn star and she takes control in every scene she’s in. I absolutely loved this movie and I’m so glad it’s doing amazing in theaters right now.
I Love Boosters (2026): I wrote a full review for Boosters that you can read here. But I wanted to give it another shout out here because I love it so much. I’ve already said it so many times and I’ll say it again, but we should let Boots Riley make whatever the hell he wants if it’s films like this. I think this will be in my top 10 films of the year once we get to the end of the year and I’ll be happy with that.
Conclusion
Thank you all for reading another issue of Calebs Video Store. A bit of a shorter issue, but that’s because of everything that happened this month and you can expect longer issues returning in the next month. I’m really excited to now have more time that I can put into this series and I’m excited to have more time to watch films as well! If you liked reading this issue, make sure to give it a like, comment, share, and if you haven’t yet, subscribe to the newsletter so you can keep up to date with this series and other future articles. Thank you again for stopping by the store and I will see you next time for another issue.