Wannabe Film Critic Blues
The Internet Movie Database has accepted my mini review of the 1943 Roy Rogers vehicle Silver Spurs, which I submitted solely because nobody else commented on it. The same reason I just finished another mini-review, for the uneven ‘41 Warners ‘B’ Steel Against the Sky. That one hasn’t yet been approved.
Speaking of the IMDb, I just noticed that they’re linking to my Mindjack Film reviews in the external reviews sections for each film. Their pages for Kinsey, In the Realms of the Unreal, The Razor’s Edge, Anna and the King of Siam and The Best of Everything all have my name on them. Makes me feel like a real, bona fide film critic! I’d love to do more of these reviews, but the larger DVD companies make it so difficult to get review copies and press releases. One such organization wouldn’t send anything because my editor is based in Canada. Another has a Byzantine online application process, and my many queries to them as to why I’m unacceptable have gone unanswered. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to deal with any Joe Shmoe wannabe with a website, but come on. I now have lots of respect for full time freelance writers who have to deal with this. Nobody needs to constantly be jumping through hoops to prove their validity.
January 13th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
PS The Steel Against the Sky comment has been approved!
January 14th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Nice job on both reviews, Matt! You’re right about the difficulty in getting review copies of DVDs. No matter what bona fides you have, it’s never enough. I’ve found it’s the opposite with books. Publishers always seem thrilled to find someone — anyone — interested in their wares.
January 16th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Thanks. Hmm, maybe I should try some film book reviews.