ALL OVER THE PLACE...gah!

Looking at the lack of updates to my review blog here, you'd think I quit watching movies altogether, when in fact the truth is quite the opposite. Last year, two significant things happened which served as catalysts for me seeing more films than ever before: my Netflix subscription and the opening of an arthouse theater just a few blocks from where I work. The days of exhausting all the cool stuff at local video shops are gone, and have given way to a near-infinite viewing selection. What I'm saying is, if I want to see it, I can probably do so.

There are a few contributing factors that have kept me from writing here about the stuff I've been watching, the main one being the complete and utter bullshit known as Flixster. This is a website that allows you to rate films using a star system (something I have always avoided doing on my own site) and write brief reviews. The convenient part is, it's connected to Facebook and Myspace, sites I log into regularly. The good part is that the reviews I write using the Flixster app allow Gonzoriffic fans and friends to receive visible notices when I've posted a new review. The bad news is, there is no cross-over between the app on Myspace, Facebook or the Flixster site. In other words, I'd have to post the review at all three sites for it to show up on them. If I post a Flixster review while logged in at Myspace, the Facebook folks can't see it. Neither does the actual Flixster site. Attempts at syncing them up have resulted in several of the reviews I'd done at Myspace getting deleted. Even if I did it carefully, it would still be a pain in the ass to sync up the app at each individual site everytime. Fuck that, it's stupid.

I write reviews at Netflix also. Not for every movie I rent, but for the ones I think deserve it. One thing I've noticed about Netflix is that, while they carry tons of new shot-on-video low budget stuff, most of it is complete and utter garbage. Just because something is shot on high-quality video doesn't make it a good movie. What I notice is people who buy (or rent) expensive cameras think it excuses them from having to learn to shoot competently and write good scripts. Sorry, that just doesn't fly. Today's technology gives anyone with a decent camera and computer the opportunity to be a filmmaker, but there's much more to it than that. It isn't considered cinematography when mom picks up the camcorder to shoot little Jimmy's 5th birthday party, so it definitely isn't when "filmmakers" take a similarly thoughtless approach to shooting their movie. In short, if I know for a fact I could've done better myself, then you suck. The end.

Speaking of making movies, I'll admit that a lot of my time is spent on working on Gonzoriffic's homegrown projects. If you go to gonzoriffic.livejournal.com or visit our Myspace page, you can read the oft-updated production blog. We're about to film a new movie in about three weeks, and I have at least two more in the early script stages. To say I'm consumed by making movies would be pretty accurate. I'm trying to learn more about lighting and set design and photography in general, and have made great strides just in the last 10 months. Compared to where we were when we started over 5 years ago, the progress has been amazing, and inspires me like you wouldn't believe.

I'll find a way to get the reviews thing streamlined somehow, so it stays consistent and valid and worth your time. I enjoyed doing the MP3 thing, so I may continue on with that. One thing's for sure, I am and always will be in love with movies, and will always have something incredible to recommend to you. Just ask.