This blog started as my movie marathon — watching a movie a day for a whole year — and has continued as a place for me to write reviews about movies, TV, and various other items.
This is still a work in progress as I migrate from my old platform at Tumblr. For now, you can still access the whole backlog of posts there at http://reelmatt.tumblr.com
One year. Three-hundred and sixty-five films. Over 690 hours watched and 225,000 words written. It’s hard to believe where I started and how much has changed since July 1, 2012. Yes, I’ve watched more films than an average, saner, person does in a year and this has expanded my knowledge in many ways. I’ve experienced stories based on true events and those created from someone’s imagination. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve had adrenaline rushes, and I’ve occasionally been bored out of my mind. My writing has also steadily improved from poorly written and incoherent paragraphs into poorly written and incoherent novellas. I kid, of course. Through writing the equivalent of four and a half novels, I’ve learned to better articulate my thoughts and opinions and do so in a way that’s fun to write and, hopefully, fun to read.
But more than that, this marathon has been such a big part of my life. Through the good times, and the bad; through celebrations, and tragedies. No matter what day it was I could always look forward to what film I would watch. Better yet was when my friends or family would ask, “So what are you watching today,” or just look at me as the credits roll and inquire as to how many stars would be awarded. It’s humbling to see how many people I’ve reached over the course of the year and how that number has steadily grown. What was just a handful of close friends at the beginning is now a number much higher than I ever could have expected.
And from this, I’ve grown. You may think this marathon would have fueled my anti-social tendencies and made me even more of a recluse than I already was. At times, I’m sure this was the case; I’d want nothing more than to lock myself away to watch whatever the movie of the day was. But more often than not, that wasn’t the case. While it may not be directly responsible, over the course of the marathon I made great new friends, tried new things, and for the first time in a long while, took risks. I look back to a year ago and I see a different person. I’m still the same in many ways, but I’ve also changed. And anyone who knows me, one of the things I’m most afraid of is change. Often I let opportunities pass by because taking a chance necessitates the possibility of failure. While I’m still quite cautious in the grand scheme of things, I believe this marathon gave me the ability to let go a bit and take a risk.
But I really wouldn’t be anywhere without you, my dear readers. Knowing that people were reading my reviews and following what I was doing kept me going throughout the year. Had it not been for you, I would likely not have kept up with the film per day pace and probably would have stopped. So thank you. Thank you one and all for your support. Whether you’ve read many of my reviews, just one, or even just looked at the rating for one, I thank you. You have helped take me on an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
You may have noticed that I already posted my top films of the last three months and a “Best Of” for the entire year, recapping all the great films I’ve watched. Be on the lookout for another post where I’ll detail exactly what to expect for Year 2 of Movie Marathon. Suffice it to say, this next year will be much more subdued so I can catch up on a whole host of TV shows I missed out on and finish reading the A Song of Ice and Fire books (well, at least one more chapter - I don’t want to get ahead of myself). But I will be back and I will continue to watch, and review, films throughout the upcoming year.
I hope you join me for Year 2.