# Re:Building Together EP 269 — Summer Movie Hits

*Host: CEELOS (@CEELOSFIGG) · Wed, 22 Jul 2026 · 1:04:57 · 4 active speakers*

## TL;DR
- A "Way Back Wednesday" episode of the Re:Building Together community Space, given over entirely to summer-movie nostalgia — no agenda, just three generations of movie kids swapping memories.
- CEELOS traced his own timeline from *E.T.* (his birth year) through *Batman*, *Terminator 2*, *Jurassic Park*, *The Matrix* and up to next Thursday's Spider-Man release, which he's already booked the day off work for.
- The two "90s kids," Solo dolo and Baked, independently named *The Sandlot* as their defining summer movie, prompting a running "is Sandlot a psyop?" bit.
- Val battled a brand-new (free) Android the whole hour, getting dropped and re-invited as co-host repeatedly — a live cautionary tale about test-driving your phone before Spaces.
- Long, fond detour into the lost rituals of video stores, VHS cover art, and the theater-as-babysitter era; CEELOS floated turning the community's NFTs into old VHS-style covers.
- Housekeeping wrap: a one-of-one "region" sold, a couple of new members joined, and shout-outs to Wolf's morning Space.

## Highlights

**[04:56] Val vs. the Android.** CEELOS reopens the room and checks in on Val, who reveals she got a free Android that won't even show her the co-host button. It becomes the episode's running gag — she's dropped and re-invited several times, prompting CEELOS's PSA: don't learn a brand-new phone live on a Space.

**[06:44] The Iceland eclipse bit.** CEELOS riffs that Val is "a few weeks away from the earth losing its gravity" on her Iceland trip, advising her to find a cave or grab some weights if things start floating skyward. Pure warm nonsense between regulars.

**[09:34] E.T. and the daughters.** CEELOS lands his first real story: showing *E.T.* (his 1982 birth-year movie) to his daughters for the first time and photographing them teary-eyed at the death scene — proof to him the storyline still holds up, and a memory that gets *him* emotional now they're grown.

**[12:30] The Sandlot enters the chat.** Solo names *The Sandlot* as the movie that was "always on TV," and CEELOS notes Dodger Stadium is bringing back on-field movie nights starting with it, plus its All-Star Game tribute. He confesses to getting told on by his brother for spending movie money to see it twice in one week — but he kept the baseball pin.

**[22:33] "Is Sandlot a psyop?"** When Baked *also* names *The Sandlot* top-three, CEELOS marvels that both 90s kids landed on the exact same movie unprompted. A genuinely funny beat that both younger guests defend as an undisputed classic.

**[34:00] The Matrix, still rewiring brains.** CEELOS on *The Matrix* at 27 years old: it "completely broken people's perception of reality," and is still why people insist we're in a simulation. Baked follows with his generation's Star Wars take — that the prequels were only hated by "crafty old people," and that the real fall came "when Disney bought it."

**[41:42] Dad joke of the day.** Solo asks who plays the new He-Man; CEELOS: "You're... no idea, man" — then thanks the room for coming to his dad-joke set. Later he explains *The Sheep Detective* as a murder mystery where "Wolverine gets killed at the beginning" and the sheep solve it, to bafflement.

**[46:26] Married in real life?** Baked reveals he only learned three days ago, via Facebook, that Tom Holland and Zendaya are married — "What the fuck, they're married?" — while the group tries to recap the amnesia premise of the new Spider-Man.

**[53:54] The video-store dream.** CEELOS lays out his fantasy coffee-shop crossed with a video store — staff-pick shelves, baristas recommending drinks — and his love of VHS cover art as a lost creative form. This flows into wanting to turn the community's NFTs into VHS-style covers, which Baked is "down" for.

## Topic timeline

| Time | Topic |
|------|-------|
| [01:34]–[04:56] | Intro, intro song (Will Ferrell's son), waiting on co-hosts |
| [04:56]–[08:02] | Val's new Android, Iceland/eclipse banter, PFPs |
| [08:02]–[12:29] | CEELOS's theater-kid childhood; E.T. and the daughters |
| [12:30]–[15:18] | The Sandlot, Dodger Stadium movie nights |
| [15:18]–[21:19] | 80s summer blockbusters: Ghostbusters, Batman, Gremlins, aliens/Prometheus |
| [21:19]–[27:00] | Baked joins; Carlito's Way, Biodome, Terminator 2, The Rocketeer |
| [27:00]–[35:00] | Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Avatar, The Matrix, Star Wars debate |
| [35:00]–[43:00] | Streaming vs. theaters, Masters of the Universe/He-Man, dad jokes |
| [43:00]–[49:00] | Spider-Man, Bourne trilogy, Barbie/Oppenheimer, upcoming releases |
| [49:00]–[56:00] | Blockbuster/video-store nostalgia, VHS cover art, NFT idea |
| [56:00]–[1:00:00] | Modern theater amenities, snacks, falling asleep in recliners |
| [1:01:18]–[1:04:57] | Movies most anticipated (Doomsday), housekeeping, sign-off |

## Notable quotes

- "I think the one that I remember for sure was um the Sandlot." — Solo dolo [12:30]
- "Sandlot is like top three greatest movies of all time for the summer, I would say." — Baked [22:33]
- "The fall of Star Wars was when Disney bought it. That's when things went south." — Baked [35:04]
- "Yeah, that's my dad joke of the day. Thank you, everybody. I appreciate you for coming." — CEELOS [41:42]
- "As convenient as Amazon and everything is now, I so miss going to Blockbuster." — Baked [49:58]
- "You'd rent things because the cover looks cool... which is why I collect VHS, because they still to this day have the best cover art." — CEELOS [53:54]

## Who said what

- **CEELOS (@CEELOSFIGG)** — host, and the room's resident movie historian; carried most of the hour with a decade-by-decade tour of his own moviegoing life, from theater-kid to theater-employee to nostalgic dad, plus the housekeeping and the VHS-cover NFT idea. (Appears under both diarization labels; treated as one voice.)
- **ValerieKates (@valeriekates_)** — fellow 80s baby, joining from Reno and gamely fighting her new Android for co-host access; supplied the Iceland-trip and PFP-artist banter.
- **Solo dolo (@solodolo)** — the 90s/'98 kid; *Sandlot* devotee, Humboldt theater updates, and the "who played He-Man" setup.
- **Baked (@Bakedmetax)** — the self-described old soul with young-kid energy; deep cuts (*Carlito's Way*, *Biodome*, *Pest*), the Star Wars/Disney take, and Blockbuster nostalgia — dialing in from a roof between work.

## Worth a full listen

- **[37:41]–[40:40]** — CEELOS's fullest stretch: walking down the row of Broadway movie theaters, using them as a surrogate babysitter, then working in them, plus the collector's regret over tossing old posters and X-Men promo shirts. The affection here doesn't compress well.
- **[49:58]–[56:00]** — The video-store elegy: staff-pick shelves, cover-art as a lost art form, sneaking into theaters, and the pivot to turning NFTs into VHS covers. The group's shared "you had to be there" energy is the whole point.
- **[57:21]–[1:00:00]** — Modern theaters (recliners, in-seat food, bar service, Alamo Drafthouse) vs. sticky-floor purism, capped by CEELOS getting nudged awake mid-snore during *Mandalorian and Grogu*.