Why Bother?

Why am I starting this blog? I have written and talked about pop culture extensively, but non-professionally, for more than 20 years. In 2017 I started The Adkins Diet, which I believe was the first podcast dedicated exclusively to the work of actor/martial artist Scott Adkins. My wife and I made 8 episodes before life got in the way and I let it fall off. Other than that pod and movie reviews in my high school paper, most of my thoughts have been spread across various ephemeral internet message boards and comment sections. I put genuine time and effort into posts that I have forgotten, or remember but cannot find when I want to refer back to them. And that assumes those websites or their comment sections haven’t shut down or become broken at some point (many have). 

Letterboxd has been a great resource and seems to be at peak popularity, but there is no guarantee they will maintain a free and functional system forever. Letterboxd also lacks the ability to comment or reply directly to reviews and I miss the community! A few writers online have built their own pages and communities that I love being a part of, but I want to be able to freely start conversations or draw attention to works without feeling like I am co-opting their spaces. The AV Club seems to be making a comeback after years of enshittification, which is great, but we have already seen how fragile that can be. I want somewhere I can count on coming back to where I can archive my thoughts and writing and see how they change and (hopefully) evolve. 

Why Overdue Reviews?

My focus will mainly be on movies, but I might write about anything else I am passionate about (comics, animation, video games). What I am not interested in is Hot Takes(™), Search Engine Optimization, or trying to express the first or loudest opinion. A new release might inspire me to look at something related, but for the most part I want to be able to look at things in a greater context over time or as a complete work. After the hyperbolic praise or judgmental pitchforks have been put away, once there is time to engage with something beyond The Discourse. If I talk about a comic series or run, it will be after it's over (many comic series start great, few end in a satisfying manner). The “Overdue” part is twofold: I have a huge backlog and a love for many genres and eras that I need to explore more. Also, I am both poor and an advocate for physical media, so the library is a frequent resource for me. 

So here are my Overdue Reviews. Anything from short blurbs to epic ramblings, depending on how the media and mood strike me. I am not setting any kind of schedule, but I aim to post at least a few times a week, including some reposted Letterboxd reviews. I hope someone reads them and responds. Mostly just because I want more places to talk about movies!