1491 - The Goonies

This is one of those films that is just so entwined in the childhood and anyone who grew up in and around the eighties. I was only four or five when the film was first released so I discovered it on VHS and television. I think what was unique about this film over others of that time was that it felt like every time I saw it on television there was a different version, things taken out, things added in (Octopus, etc...) it was like there was never a definitive version of it. My mother-in-law bought my the Bluray boxset for my birthday (it has a board game that comes with it!) and so I wanted to revisit it - the disc itself is full of features that I'm looking forward to checking out as well.
It's really nice to see how well a lot of the cast has done following this film. Many of which are still working in or around the industry in strong capacity. Just doing a little research I noticed that the actors that played Sloth and Mama Fratelli both died just a few years after the film released.
What's amazing about this film, that you don't see in other "kid's films" these days. First off, the kids feel like kids - they swear a little, they talk over one another - they feel and act like real kids. I just don't know if we make movies like this anymore. Maybe it's just that I don't rewatch films the way that I did in my youth or something. Either way, it still stands up today - and I can't wait to show it to my own kids.
Here's the thing I never understood... how and why were these people being kicked out of their houses - I know someone was trying to build a country club - but did I miss something? Were all these people working for some plant that closed down and they, collectively, couldn't pay their mortgages or something? If someone could explain that to me it would be awesome.