It's been said that everyone has two jobs. Whatever they do to make money, and...movie critic.
We all think our opinions are the fairest, most carefully considered, and the truest. Few of us like to be disagreed with. Some people can be downright intolerant.
I've been guilty of it. I've disregarded the opinions of others, sneered at their plebeian tastes, and had contempt for the way they go along with the stinking masses.
I've been asked the question: Why do you think your opinion is so much more valid than everyone else's?
I'll tell you why. Because I care more about the subject. Because I've never been the type to swallow whatever the corporate overlords decide the drooling masses should watch. Or listen to. Or read.
I am a movie geek. I've never been content to merely watch movies. I read about them. I have always obsessively collected movies. I have lived and breathed for the love of movies. I've explored way outside the restrictive walls of the mainstream.
Every once in a while I meet a fellow explorer. None of us have identical tastes, but we recognize our brothers and sisters in movie adulation.
Does this mean we always shun popular movies? Of course not. Most of us readily admit our love of crowd-pleasing Clint Eastwood movies or Tarantino extravaganzas. But we've supped at the cup of foreign cinema. We have slummed in the gutters of the underground. We watch weird documentaries and obtuse art films. We satisfied our craving for junk food with cheap exploitation pictures.
I've had another question thrust at me. If you think you are so superior about movies, how can you watch utter crap like Jerry Warren's Man Beast, or Gnaw: Food of the Gods 2?
It's a reasonable question. Let me see if I can come up with a persuasive answer.
We like the medium of film. In all its forms. Most of us, however, have distaste for pasteurized, processed product that has been conceived and cranked out in assembly line fashion.
Low budget movies, especially classic horror and action B movies, were generally made by ragtag groups of passionate individuals. Sure, yes, a lot of it was cynical attempts to make a few bucks by cashing in on a lucrative genre, but the films were made with little money. Film was always expensive and before the days of digital photography, every shot had to count. Ingenuity was required. Often the production team had little talent, but that made the results more entertaining. Most fans of bad cinema I've known have been intelligent individuals. Much more interesting people than the ones jacked into every trendy new series spewed out by the networks.
We like it all, from Kurosawa to Edward D. Wood, Jr. And we know the movies. Who wrote them, who the bit actors are, the ins and outs of them. We read the books. We buy the magazines. We collect hard media.
My biggest days of movie obsession were the 1990s. People called me Movie Mark. Every now and then I'll be somewhere and I'll hear that came called out to me. I had three VCRs and two televisions set up in my living room. I was always watching movies, making tapes for myself and other people. I knew managers of video stores and often got free screeners.
Duping movies was always controversial. I made many, many illegal copies, but I never charged a cent for a tape. I never even traded for them. At my own expense I would buy tapes and make them for people. I only wanted to share the things that brought me so much joy.
A lot of the fun is now lost in the age of streaming. I know people love the convenience. they love how almost everything is available to see at a moment's notice, and that they usually do not cost an arm and a leg. Home theater systems are often more sophisticated than many theaters were in the good old days.
I miss the excitement of the hunt. I liked going out of my house to get movies. Video stores were social hubs, and not like the living hell of social media. I loved the catalogs of bootleg movies I'd get from "duplication services". Mostly I liked not being so jaded about it all.
Back in the 80S and 90s I would be ecstatic about a behind the scenes special on the movies. I craved interviews with horror movie stars, effects crews, directors and screenwriters. Now I know too much about all that stuff. The entire process has been demystified.
Still, I'll always love the movies. I keep reading about them. In fact, I believe I read about movies more than I actually watch them these days. Back when I had more time and life seemed easier, I would have a few beers and watch at least one movie every night. Now I am busier than ever and I have fewer disposable hours. I'm focused much more on books and reading. I'm not complaining. I'm still as in love with imagination and horror as I've ever been.
I spent fortunes on my movie obsession over the years. A big part of me wishes I had all that money now, but I don't regret a thing. It was fun, and memories are among our most prized possessions. Being a movie geek has been a blast. Though I watch far fewer of them than I ever have in the past, I remain and always will be a movie fanatic. Demented forever. Demented for life.
Written by Mark Sieber
We all think our opinions are the fairest, most carefully considered, and the truest. Few of us like to be disagreed with. Some people can be downright intolerant.
I've been guilty of it. I've disregarded the opinions of others, sneered at their plebeian tastes, and had contempt for the way they go along with the stinking masses.
I've been asked the question: Why do you think your opinion is so much more valid than everyone else's?
I'll tell you why. Because I care more about the subject. Because I've never been the type to swallow whatever the corporate overlords decide the drooling masses should watch. Or listen to. Or read.
I am a movie geek. I've never been content to merely watch movies. I read about them. I have always obsessively collected movies. I have lived and breathed for the love of movies. I've explored way outside the restrictive walls of the mainstream.
Every once in a while I meet a fellow explorer. None of us have identical tastes, but we recognize our brothers and sisters in movie adulation.
Does this mean we always shun popular movies? Of course not. Most of us readily admit our love of crowd-pleasing Clint Eastwood movies or Tarantino extravaganzas. But we've supped at the cup of foreign cinema. We have slummed in the gutters of the underground. We watch weird documentaries and obtuse art films. We satisfied our craving for junk food with cheap exploitation pictures.
I've had another question thrust at me. If you think you are so superior about movies, how can you watch utter crap like Jerry Warren's Man Beast, or Gnaw: Food of the Gods 2?
It's a reasonable question. Let me see if I can come up with a persuasive answer.
We like the medium of film. In all its forms. Most of us, however, have distaste for pasteurized, processed product that has been conceived and cranked out in assembly line fashion.
Low budget movies, especially classic horror and action B movies, were generally made by ragtag groups of passionate individuals. Sure, yes, a lot of it was cynical attempts to make a few bucks by cashing in on a lucrative genre, but the films were made with little money. Film was always expensive and before the days of digital photography, every shot had to count. Ingenuity was required. Often the production team had little talent, but that made the results more entertaining. Most fans of bad cinema I've known have been intelligent individuals. Much more interesting people than the ones jacked into every trendy new series spewed out by the networks.
We like it all, from Kurosawa to Edward D. Wood, Jr. And we know the movies. Who wrote them, who the bit actors are, the ins and outs of them. We read the books. We buy the magazines. We collect hard media.
My biggest days of movie obsession were the 1990s. People called me Movie Mark. Every now and then I'll be somewhere and I'll hear that came called out to me. I had three VCRs and two televisions set up in my living room. I was always watching movies, making tapes for myself and other people. I knew managers of video stores and often got free screeners.
Duping movies was always controversial. I made many, many illegal copies, but I never charged a cent for a tape. I never even traded for them. At my own expense I would buy tapes and make them for people. I only wanted to share the things that brought me so much joy.
A lot of the fun is now lost in the age of streaming. I know people love the convenience. they love how almost everything is available to see at a moment's notice, and that they usually do not cost an arm and a leg. Home theater systems are often more sophisticated than many theaters were in the good old days.
I miss the excitement of the hunt. I liked going out of my house to get movies. Video stores were social hubs, and not like the living hell of social media. I loved the catalogs of bootleg movies I'd get from "duplication services". Mostly I liked not being so jaded about it all.
Back in the 80S and 90s I would be ecstatic about a behind the scenes special on the movies. I craved interviews with horror movie stars, effects crews, directors and screenwriters. Now I know too much about all that stuff. The entire process has been demystified.
Still, I'll always love the movies. I keep reading about them. In fact, I believe I read about movies more than I actually watch them these days. Back when I had more time and life seemed easier, I would have a few beers and watch at least one movie every night. Now I am busier than ever and I have fewer disposable hours. I'm focused much more on books and reading. I'm not complaining. I'm still as in love with imagination and horror as I've ever been.
I spent fortunes on my movie obsession over the years. A big part of me wishes I had all that money now, but I don't regret a thing. It was fun, and memories are among our most prized possessions. Being a movie geek has been a blast. Though I watch far fewer of them than I ever have in the past, I remain and always will be a movie fanatic. Demented forever. Demented for life.
Written by Mark Sieber
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