1. What is your procedure in terms of watching and reviewing movies?
I always cold watch a movie which means I don't know much about it, its reputation, and/or the awards it has received. When I choose what I watch, I'm usually driven by who the thespians, the director, and/or the writer are. Sometimes, the reputation can be too great that I'll probably know the backstory before seeing the film. Then, I type out a review while looking up the internet for any information. I try to see at least one movie per day, but there are so many choices and it's hard to pick, hence the backlog and the lack of a review for certain films.

2. Are you influenced by what others think?
No, I judge the movies by its merits. The awards they've won have zero effect on me. It explains why my Best of the Year lists differ greatly from the Oscars which is mostly driven by politics, racism, popularity, favoritism, stupidity, and sex although I regard the Oscars as the gold standard although it disappeared completely sometime during the 90's. Whether the majority of people love a certain film or not doesn't do anything for me, either.

3. What about the critics?
No, the problem with them like Roger Ebert, Pauline Kael, Bosley Crowther, etc., is that they were madly in love with words, hence the absurdity of their writing. An example of what I mean is the embarrassing, ridiculous line constructed by Bosley Crowther for his review of Woman of the Year: "It's as warming as a Manhattan cocktail and as juicy as a porterhouse steak." On the other hand, Roger Ebert lost 100% credibility because he wrote the screenplay for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls which is among the worst movies I've seen in my life.

4. How did you get started?
I always watched movies when I was little and then began collecting VHS copies before switching over to DVDs due to space and image quality. I started reviewing them in 2004 because I wanted to improve my writing skill. At first, the grammar was awful, and the words I put together often didn't make sense. Eventually, I got better at it and developed a style along the way. After a while, having reviewed thousands of movies, I created lists and got into thinking about creating a website to store everything.

5. How does your rating system work, and why did you choose it that way?
My rating system is based on a scale of 1 to 10 which are as follows:
10 = Masterpiece
9 = Almost a masterpiece, but there's something missing
8 = Well-done but not enough to bowl me over
7 = Good but several glaring issues
6 = Decent but too many problems
5 = Average; not enough to sway me either way
4 = Bad but not that terrible
3 = Boring and pointless
2 = Almost a total disaster but is fortunately saved by only one good aspect
1 = Worst movie ever that's unwatchable for more than ten minutes in one sitting
I thought about using a scale of 1 to 5 but it's too general while a scale of 1 to 20 is too specific, so 1 to 10 is just right.

6. What is the percentage breakdown of the ratings you've given out?
As of 2025, they are:
10 = 5.7%
9 = 8.5%
8 = 12.5%
7 = 11.2%
6 = 10.3%
5 = 10.8%
4 = 10.6%
3 = 12.0%
2 = 11.3%
1 = 7.2%
So, 1 to 7 is 73.3% in total while it's 26.7% for 8 to 10.

7. Do you have a favorite movie? Favorite actor? And so on?
I get asked these questions a lot, but I'm unable to give a straight answer. The simple reason is: they're like flavors and I like many of them.

8. Are there actors and directors you absolutely hate?
It's Charles Chaplin by far. I also can't stand Sandra Bullock, Will Smith, Woody Allen, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Fonda, and the Marx Brothers. As for directors, I'm mostly sick of works by Charles Chaplin, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Wes Craven, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Jean Renoir, and Fritz Lang. They have a particular style that I hate. Although I feel the same way about Stanley Kubrick and Julia Roberts, they can be occasionally great.

9. Is there a particular genre you hate?
Yeah, musicals. It's awkward to watch people acting for a while before breaking out for a song and dance. When this happens, it's no longer a movie but a music video. Chick flicks is another because of the high cheese factor. It's also hard for me to get into silent films for obvious reasons.

10. Why is that you initially rate a movie low and then it's way higher the next time, and vice versa?
It's interesting how I do that which can be chiefly attributed to first impressions; for my second viewing, I either begin to see the flaws or the good stuff by gaining more experience whether it's through life or additional films. I try to space my viewings apart by at least several years to give these movies a chance. But most of the time, my rating tends to be on the mark, plus or minus one point. There are movies like The Wild Bunch and Saturday Night Fever I actually rated low, but after watching them plenty of times over the years, my opinion steadily improved, and now, I recognize them for what they are: masterpieces. Also, I never look over my reviews prior to rewatching the film because I don't want my judgment to be clouded.

11. Why have you decided not to watch movies made after 2000?
The quality of cinema has deteriorated so much to the point that I feel like my brain cells are being wasted on these awful films. My yearly average rating began to fall in 1997, thanks to the advent of CGI that was ushered in by Titanic, and it just kept getting lower and lower which signaled to me to stop watching movies made after 2000. Yes, I'll be okay with something here and there, but that's it...no more. This makes my job easier because I can go back to the early stuff and discover the hidden gems. In my opinion, it's easier to work with a finite than an infinite number of films.

12. How are you able to find the old movies, especially the rare ones?
Here are some tips. Start with the library which can be made easier if you use the city system because it carries tons of titles. Kanopy is also excellent and free if the library subscribes to it with a set amount of tickets per month. When you have exhausted their catalog, then use the Interlibrary Loan so you can request movies that will be borrowed from all over the country. Sometimes, it's free but may cost a dollar or two. You can try the university, too, but its borrowing policy may be complicated if you aren't a student or employed there. The next source is Amazon Prime. It's doing an incredible job of streaming many old movies. Sometimes, they can be found on YouTube which often get taken off due to copyright issues. But the Internet Archive is able to get around them. Forget Netflix; it's been trash. If you want to own a copy of a particular movie, Ebay is a great place to start with. Also, check out Goodwill, flea markets, and thrift shops; they have tons of great movies, and it's always refreshed weekly. But beware: the titles are random and you'll never know what you find. The remaining brick-and-mortar stores are Half Price Books and 2nd & Charles. Unfortunately, not all films have been published in DVD, so you'll have to seek out the VHS copies, which tend to cost more due to rarity, and that's where you'll find them in Ebay. If you have cable, TCM is the perfect place; you'll also find a lot of movies on its website that you can watch for a limited time.

13. I am hearing impaired. What about subtitles?
It can be annoying many times to pick up a VHS tape or a DVD copy only to find out there are no closed captions and/or subtitles. In many cases, streaming services have overcome this problem. But if there is still none to be had, a workaround will be two different methods. One, if you have the DVD, search for subtitles online and download the file for that particular title. Then, play the DVD on the laptop using a video player such as PotPlayer and merge the subtitles you just downloaded with it. If you want to watch the movie on TV, just hook it to the laptop via HDMI cable. The second is to record a movie online with Camtasia and then follow the same setup as described in the previous method.

14. Can you explain the awards for the yearly lists?
For Best Picture, it can be a feature length film, a miniseries, or a telefilm that was made during the said year as according to IMDb. For Best Actor/Actress, they've led the picture for the most part although the distinction can sometimes be confusing because of the billing rank and the large ensemble cast. For Best Supporting Actor/Actress, they've lend support to the leading actors and/or actresses, no matter how brief their screen time is. To decide whether it's leading or supporting is usually by whose perspective the movie is based on. For Best Director, it's how all of the elements come together so seamlessly well. For Best Cinematography, it's how the picture looks which includes art direction, set design, costumes, etc. In short, the winner represents a lot of people involved in different aspects that are more close to the visual process. For Best Editing, it's how the film is put together which includes visual manipulation and special effects. Similarly, s/he represents a lot of people involved in different aspects that are more close to the editing process. For Best Original and Adapted Screenplays, it's according to IMDb but can be tricky when it comes to older movies, so I do further research to be absolutely sure of the correct category. For Best Documentary, it's to document something that's based on fact.