Wow, it's the end of June already! I really must have a word with The People In Charge about running the system in accelerated-mode; I'm not sure it's a great idea.
So if you look at the list on the right, you'll see I've blogged a lot this year. In fact, in six months, I've blogged as much as in than the previous three years put together. This was a conscious decision, made back in late December of 2010. Looking back over my posts for the year, I'd reviewed a few films, but only the ones I wanted to vent about one way or the other. Apart from that, it was just random observations and moaning (and who doesn't love blogs like that? I know I do).
So in order to boost my post-count and force myself to write a bit more, I extended the idea from December's movie post, and decided I'd rate and review every film I watch in 2011. Things I watch in the cinema are detailed in this here blog, whereas the ones I watch at home are listed (albeit more briefly), over in my Facebook Album. Well, I say 'review', it's pretty much just saying if I liked it, then comparing it to other films I've seen (I'll usually get a Star Wars comparison in there if I can), but I try to be as constructive as possible, so that's already different from most reviews I read.
By the end of January, it became clear to me that this was going to turn into a movie-review blog. As much as I enjoy spouting my ill-informed opinions on generic formulaic blockbusters, that's not just what I want this site to be. So the other 'it seemed good at the time' idea I had was to write regularly on a subject I know a lot about. That's the writers-rule, right? Write what you know. And what do I know? Star Wars.
So, a weekly post about Star Wars should be a great way to get me writing more, and more regularly. In fact, let's not stop there, let's do an A-Z of the Galaxy Far, Far Away; 26 weekly posts - that sets a start and an end to the project, and an order in which to post them. You know, thinking about it, because I'm a bit OCD, let's make each post exactly 1,000 words, yeah? That'll be good writing practice. I'll be honest, I tried doing 500-word posts, and you can't say anything in 500 words. Okay, I can't say anything in 500 words. Although I'm guessing you already know that.
A trip to Edinburgh and Newcastle also proved to be good inspiration earlier in the year, but it's easier to write when you're outside of your everyday environment.
Anyhow, back to the movies. A few stats for you at this half-way point...
• So far this year, I've been to the cinema 39 times, which accounts for 47% of my movie viewing, with an average score of 5/7* for those films.
• The movies I've watched at home have also averaged out at 5/7.
• The genre with the most overall viewings so far (home + cinema) has been Sci-Fi with 22 movies, and at the other end are Romance, Western and Fantasy with only 1 each. I've seen 8 3D movies this year, the average rating for which has been 5/7, and I've done two high-intensity viewing seasons
• And I'm on first-name conversational terms with two of the local cinema staff.
That's a quick snapshot of where we're at. I'd have watched more movies if the local Cineworld had spent less time showing Pirates of the Caribbean on three of their five screens. I don't expect them to be showing arthouse films, but I do expect them to put on the features they've been trailing for months. Priest and Hanna are just two of the films they've ignored this year. There's a longer rant about this, but here isn't the place.
So, if it's opinionated reviews of mainstream movies that you want, written by a guy who reads far too much into things**, you know where to come. July is upon us with its blistering heat, and I intend to spend it in a darkened room with overpriced coffee, trying to ignore idiots who can't leave their phones alone for two hours.
Bring on the summer.
* For the record, the marks-out-of-7 system comes from the two times I did a Seven Days, Seven Movies challenge last year, and it just kind of stuck. It's not just me being different for the sake of it. Well...
** Ask me about my Hot Fuzz theory sometime.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
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