Ever since I can remember, I have always loved film. Walking into a cinema was always exciting and awe-inducing. The darkness, the silence, the cool air… and then the images and sound that poured out of the screen were magical and mesmerizing. My mother is the person who introduced me to film, as she loved watching movies on the big screen. She also liked black and white films, and took me to see those with her as well. My love of cinema was established then and there, and there was no going back.
For so many years, going to the movies has always been my guilty pleasure. I love to read and am a pretty avid reader, I love to write and still correspond via regular postal mail with several of my friends. But my love of film surpasses everything else. I’ve always been known as that guy who likes “those weird foreign movies”, or just “those weird movies”. When I lived in South Florida, I got a weekend job at an arthouse cinema just for the perk of free movies. It was amazing. Sometimes I wish I could do that again.
Which brings me to film criticism. I’ve been the go-to “movie guy” for many of my friends for a long time. I’ve often fantasized about watching films and reviewing them for a living. Realistically, that may not happen at this point in my life (although I never lose hope) but I realized that I can do it for fun, on the net, and direct my friends to my movie review site when they ask me for recommendations. So here it is, my film review site. It’s rudimentary, and although I’ve been enjoying films for the better part of a lifetime, I’ve never reviewed them consistently. I will learn this trade with practice, practice, practice. I am already reading a book on film criticism which I will review at a later date.
So here goes a new chapter in my life, a new project which is a hobby for now, but might turn into a full-time, paying gig sooner rather than later. Here’s hoping for the best.
Rick Lauder, Film Critic 