Why Write Reviews?

The primary function of this blog is to support and promote my radio program of the same name.  A radio program where I virtually NEVER review books, movies, music, et cetera.  So why write reviews here?

There are two primary reasons:

• The first is purely functional.  I had originally tried publishing the scripts individually to fill out the posting schedule.  It felt artificial to me and was something of a pain in the butt.  So the reviews are added content for the blog.  Unromantic, I know.
• The second is because I love exploring media.  I watch a lot of movies and read a lot of books plus deal with all kinds of other media along the way.  It seemed like an interesting way to share with my readers and perhaps point them towards things they had never seen or read.

You'll note that I rarely if ever do reviews of current movies or music.  There are plenty of people out there doing that (like this guy - Stewart Smith)  so I didn't feel the need to compete.  But what about this, there are thousands of movies still available going back to the 1920s.  If you're looking for a good movie to watch how likely are you to explore titles you know little or nothing about?  My goal is to point people towards movies that are worth viewing but that may not be as well known to them.  Movie fans no doubt look at my reviews and say "Well everybody knows that movie".  I'm pretty sure they're wrong.  So I'm trying to offer a service for those other movies.

Yes I still review more current ones.  In part that's because these are movies that I want to see.  Coming up shortly is my review of "Argo" the Academy Award winning movie from just last year.  Never got to see it in the theaters.  So I offer up my review for it.  Maybe you're in the same boat and would like an opinion that's not caught up in the promotional furor.  Other movies coming up include "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (which will be the oddest review I've ever penned) and "Advise and Consent" an amazingly current movie given that it came out in 1962.

I do offer reviews of books that are coming out soon.  I stumbled onto a partnership that allows me to do that and it's kind of fun.  But I'm really more focused on the other books, the older books I read.  Along the way maybe I can help you find something that you might never have tried otherwise.  I was caught short by how much I enjoyed Dumas' "The Three Musketeers" from 1844 and James Hilton's "Goodbye Mr. Chips" from 1934.  These may be titles that you might never consider but with me leading the way and doing some filtering you might (and dare I say, you should!).

There is a certain egotism inherent in setting yourself up as a critic.  Why should you listen to what I say?  Good question.  I can only offer that I love the media that I review as general categories and I want people to succeed.  Long ago I gave up on trying to make people think I'm clever.  You'll either like my point of view or not.  Although I would note that for years one of my go to movie critics was someone with whom I virtually always disagreed.  He was consistent and therefore an excellent bell weather for me.  

I hope that I can offer something worth reading for you as well.

Besides I have fun doing it.