Hey cinephiles,
I almost didn’t film this week’s Thrift Picks—I’ve been coming off a 6-week run of 70-hour work weeks and needed a reset. But when the shelves call, I answer. Today’s stack includes mostly DVDs, with a few big surprises, deep watchlist pulls, and one movie I now own twice… in two formats.
📺 Here’s what we unearthed this week:
🎞️ Bunraku – Josh Hartnett and Woody Harrelson in a genre-blending samurai-western-noir.
🎞️ Sweetwater – A gritty Western revenge tale starring Ed Harris and January Jones.
🎞️ Open Road – A heartwarming drifter story with Andy Garcia and Juliette Lewis.
🎞️ Locker 13 – A strange and spooky anthology-style morality tale.
🎞️ Touching Home – Ed Harris in a redemption story from the same director duo behind Sweetwater.
🎞️ Ronin – Finally found this De Niro action-thriller I’ve been chasing for over a year.
🎞️ The New Guy – A nostalgic favorite. DJ Qualls reinvents himself with hilarious results.
🎞️ G.I. Jane – Demi Moore goes full SEAL in this Ridley Scott military drama.
🎞️ The Incredible Mr. Limpet – Don Knotts as a man-turned-fish during WWII, mixing live action and animation.
🎞️ Far and Away – Early Cruise & Kidman in a Ron Howard historical romance.
🎞️ The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen – Found both the DVD and VHS editions!
Got a favorite from the stack? Curious about the Miller Brothers (Touching Home + Sweetwater) or Ron Howard’s lesser-known works? Hit reply and let me know what you’d like me to dive deeper into.
💬 THRIFT THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
Reading back covers out loud feels like being in a video store again—wandering, wondering, deciding. We might be building a library here… but that spirit of discovery never left.
🛎️ COMING UP
Back Thursday with another VHS-only drop—including some childhood favorites and more sealed finds. Sunday’s Two for the Shelves will feature a double feature designed for maximum conversation.
Until then,
Stay curious and keep digging,
—E. A. Bland
Seen any of these? Got a favorite forgotten title hiding on your own shelf? Drop it in a reply—I’m always hunting.
The Power of Acceptance (and Why I Needed the Movies This Week)
It’s Friday, July 4, 2025 and today, I felt something I hadn’t felt in weeks: relief.
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