9 Crimes: Marking the Ninth Blog-a-Versary of The Matinee

I sit here this morning with a classic Steven Spielberg movie keeping me company as I write. It’s making me smile, making my heart pound, and making my mind drift to various things that affect the world around me.

In short, it’s reminding me why I started writing about film nine years ago today.

This little soapbox of mine has had its ups and downs. It’s had its time of being a daily habit, and its time where I’ve taken good long breaks. It continues to be a way for me to meet new people, and a way for me to bring old friends back to the table. In short, it’s who I am. In what it decries and what it delights in, it stands as a reflection of what I’m all about.

Sometimes “who I am” is the guy who believes in a film that the critical mass wants to clobber…now and again, “who I am” is the guy that doesn’t get the love for some obscure and opaque indie darling. Always though, “who I am” is a person of passion, curiosity, and community…and to that end, I’d like to believe this space represents me well.

It’s funny, just last night I was talking with a great friend that I wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for this space. We were discussing people’s social media feeds, wondering if most people consider what side of themselves they show the world. To that end, I’m proud of what this site has been…what side of me it has shown. I certainly haven’t been a choir boy, but I’d like to believe that through my passion for this art form I love so much, I’ve been able to be a voice of positivity. It’s the side of myself I most want to be known for…and hopefully, the side of myself that most comes through on this space.

So as I get on with a busy day – one that, appropriately, involves a screening and a podcast – allow me to say thanks to y’all for being so encouraging and sharing in my love of film.

You’d think by now that I might have had my fill; that I’d be disenchanted with longform writing about franchises and properties. That I’d have said everything I feel I have to say. Honestly? Some days it does feel like that. But soon enough, I see something new, meet someone new, or witness something new and feel a deep urge to share my thoughts and feelings all over again.

So here’s to those moments and those people; the moments of new stories and new ideas that make everything feel fun, fresh, and exciting. If you’ve learned about one because of this space, I’m proud. If you’ve pointed me towards one, I’m thankful. If you’ve been that for me, I’m lucky.

Whaddaya say, folks – nine more years?

Thanks for dropping by.

PS – In nine years of writing on this space, this is only the second time I have used an image from that brutal musical, NINE. I promise it will be the last.