While this may seem too good to be true, you can indeed be paid to sit back, relax, and enjoy five of your favorite flicks from childhood, courtesy of USDish. The team at USDish is looking for a nostalgia film critic that is willing to rewatch five of their favorite childhood movies and get paid $1,234.
The nostalgia film critic selected (that title has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) can share their favorite childhood movies with kiddoes in their own family, with friends, and/or with a partner. They can recruit whatever crew they desire before they sail off to watch five childhood movies by January 15, 2022. The chosen winner will get access to their five chosen movies, $1,234 in cash (that’s about $245 per movie!), and a box of treats from the decade they grew up in (we can taste the Pop Rocks now).
But how to pick only five films? Really Rather’s own movie expert Staci Layne Wilson has a few suggestions for you.
Get Paid to Watch Movies — 5 Tips for Which to Pick

1. Movies for Magical Millennials
“We have two landmark fantasy films celebrating their 20th birthdays this year,” says Staci. That’s right—The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone both came out way back in 2001!
“These films not only inspired a generation to believe in magic, but they also spawned several sequels collectively and changed the game in terms of technology. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and set the bar for all big-budget fantasy films to follow,” Staci continues.
2. Remakes for Horror and Sci-Fi Fans
The original Dune, which is based on a bestselling 60s sci-fi novel by Frank Herbert, came out in 1984 and while it’s remained a perennial favorite, a serious remake was long overdue—until now. The 2021 epic does away with the flying diapers and treats the story with more reverence. The David Lynch-directed original was bashed by uber film critics Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert, who famously declared Dune to be among the worst movies of 1984, calling it an “unintelligible gross-out.” But when we were kids, we didn’t know any better, right?
Staci says, “It could be fun to see the remake, then choose the 1984 version for one of the five films to watch for pay.” Another remake slated soon is of another 1984 misfire (but fan fave), Stephen King’s Firestarter, which starred Drew Barrymore and Martin Sheen. The reboot is directed by David Keith, who acted in the original, and stars Zac Ephron.
3. Adventure & Animated Movies for Gen X
The last of Gen X was born 11 years before the release of Disney’s animated hit, Beauty and the Beast, and Amblin’s live-action Hook — both childhood favorites turn 30 this year. “Despite the star power of Robin Williams and Julia Roberts,” Staci says, “the swashbuckler Hook was sunk at the box office. But sometimes the underdogs of our childhood movie memories are the best-remembered. Many of us discovered Hook thanks to home video or cable.”
4. Super Sequels
Fun flicks like Ghostbusters and the patriotic Top Gun in the 80s, and the mind-bending debut of The Matrix in the 90s, make us want more, more, more. While some of these films spawned sequels in their own time, these multi-generational crowd-pleasers never went out of style. Top Gun: Maverick and The Matrix Resurrections are expected soon, while—boo!— Ghostbusters: Afterlife is out now and is directed by Jason Reitman, son of the original director, Ivan Reitman.
5. A Remake for Musical-Minded Boomers
West Side Story first came shimmying and snapping fingers onscreen way back in 1961—and finally, it’s been rebooted for a new generation with its enduring themes that never go out of style: how true love can conquer rivalry and racism, and bring revolution. “Steven Spielberg may seem an odd choice, given his lack of a musical track record—but some of the films he’s directed have gone on to Broadway, including The Color Purple and Catch Me if You Can.”
USDish is accepting applications to get paid for watching movies from now until December 17, 2021, at midnight MT on their official application page. To apply, applicants must reveal which 5 childhood movies they would want to watch if they were picked. For bonus points, applicants can include a video of why this is the perfect adventure for them. (The more creative, the better!)
