The Moviesite Spotlight: Today I watched a movie

Welcome to a new edition of the Moviesite Spotlight. For those who wonder what this is:

Every week I read a lot of great movie related blogs and I thought it was time to give the ones I visit regularly a chance to shine in the spotlight, by interviewing its writers.

This week’s interview is with Today I watched a movie. Now this is one with a very unique scoring system which I think is refreshing.

What’s the history of your site, why did you start it?
In 2010, I tried (unsuccessfully) to watch 365 movies in a year and document it in a blog. I had to abandon the project after a few months for various reasons I won’t go into here.

Towards the end of 2011, I found myself both wanting a new writing project, and watching more movies than I had recently. I decided to take another shot at movie reviews, but this time around, I chose not to have an “end goal” in mind, and tried to make a review site that was more about the movies themselves and less about my experience watching them.

What makes your movie blog different from the other ones out there?
Today I Watched a Movie works on two levels. People who don’t have time to read a whole lot can look at the scorecards at the top of each post and tell at a glance what I thought of the movies. People who want a little more information can read the rest of the posts to see why I gave the scores I did.

What do enjoy most about your site and what is the reason you keep doing it?
Wordpress introduced a new feature recently that lets you see what countries your readers are coming from. I enjoy seeing all the faraway places my blog is being viewed!

The feedback (good and bad!) is probably the main reason I keep doing it. It lets me know that I’m not just wasting time doing something nobody is seeing.

In which ways has your blogging changed the way you watch movies?
I’m definitely watching more movies as a result of the blog, and the categories I use in my reviews have made me start paying more attention to things like visuals and product placement than I would have otherwise (at least consciously).

What’s your favorite article you have written?

Tough question. I’ve given a lot of perfect scores on my blog, but the movie I enjoyed watching the most so far would have to be The Music Never Stopped. It was a powerful film that didn’t get too heavy-handed or sappy despite being based on a true story. My review of it is a little on the short side, but that sometimes happens when I can’t find much of anything to complain about!

Could you name five of your all time favorite movies?
Despite none of the films I’ve reviewed so far being more than 10 years old, most of my favorite films were made between 1929 and 1959. Here’s my top 5 in order:

5.The Petrified Forest (1936)

4. Harvey (1950)

3. City for Conquest (1940)

2. Animal Crackers (1930)

1. The Awful Truth (1937)

How many movies do you watch on average each week?
Since starting my blog, I average anywhere from 10 to 20 a week. As I get further along, I’ll probably cut down on that a bit, though.

Do you own any movie related items that you are very proud of?
I have a small collection of movie posters, but most were damaged a few years ago during a move.

Anything else you want to tell us about yourself?
1. The Star Wars Holiday Special is the only Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen
2. I thought Batman Begins was a lot better than The Dark Knight.
3. I liked Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within enough to purchase the DVD.
4. I didn’t think The Hangover was funny at all.