Hey Mike! Why You Doing All These Movie Reviews?
I will analyze you like Tilda Swinton in 3000 Years of Longing
So if you've been following along with the Mike Dynamo story, you might have noticed this shift between doing less personal stories and adding more media reviews. There's a reason for this, and I'd like to explain it to you. Let's break this down by the questions I assume people want to ask of me.
Hey Mike! Why you doing all these movie reviews?
QUESTION #1. THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
![https://www.boxofficepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5.-AD-South-Lamar_Austin-TX_Photo-Credit-Heather-Kennedy-scaled.jpg https://www.boxofficepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/5.-AD-South-Lamar_Austin-TX_Photo-Credit-Heather-Kennedy-scaled.jpg](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1c46596-7bbb-47b3-9b81-2a19ea9fb755_2560x1707.jpeg)
This is the theater I go to and watch movies. They bill themselves as "A place made for movies made by people who love movies." They have a deal where you can see a movie every day for 20 dollars. I snatched it up as soon as I heard about it. When I used to write for websites back in the day, I'd get to go to sneak previews and check out a movie with a bunch of other reviewers. We all scurried home to publish articles for our sites and zines. Once after my site went under I quit writing reviews but was pretty thick with those sneak previews. Then they caught me and took me off the list. Regardless, I hope whoever sets those up sees my work and invites me back.
Mostly though, I'll go and see a film the day before it comes out and try to produce my thoughts about it after I see it. This also helps me remember movies that I've seen! As an excellent fan, I can't take notes during a film, so I run it with whatever sticks strongly in my mind.
QUESTION #2: MOVIE VIOLENCE IS FUN
The more movie movie violence you see the more ridiculous it is. Plot Armor is the greatest invention in all of media. Storm Troopers can't hit Luke Skywalker, Halle Berry's vicious dogs won't bite John Wick, and of course, Judge Dredd will beat his rap and punish the real villain. I love a good action movie where even if a hero gets shot it's always in the shoulder (or the butt like Bad Boys II) and still comes out on top.
What I don't like is when they go all X-Men First Class and kill the only Black character in the movie. This is especially bad when that character's power is not dying. I don't like Christopher Nolan's Batman movies where the few black characters in his movies are hoods or Batman's servants like Lucius Fox. If you got no time for diversity in your movie then I've got no time to watch it.
QUESTION #3: MOVIES SAY A LOT ABOUT US
One thing I love about films is how much it's possible to see ourselves in them. I can see myself in most media. These stories are sci-fi, thrillers, or action movies with characters you I feel like. Sometimes this requires getting out of your own way. Other times, you can feel it from the jump.
That's why diversity is movie casts is so important. If I can see myself as Winston Duke in Us it's much more easy to see myself as Michelle Buteau in Babes. If I can pretend I'm in We Are Lady Parts then I can also see how much like Jerry Seinfeld from Seinfeld I am. Media is filled with lessons we can learn from. It can be about you without having to be about you.
That's one of my favorite qualities.
QUESTION #4: I JUST… LIKE MOVIES AND TV
When I was sitting around thinking of what I wanted to write about and entertain with, it was hard at first. People say you need to stick to what you know. I didn't know what that meant for me until I remembered that down to my core, I'm a collection of references, old memories, and film comprehension. I saw that my life was all about these movies and shows.
I wanted to share what I understood with everyone else. To me, a movie is a portal to another world. They're a liminal space where you can spend a few hours learning about someone else's life. At the Alamo Drafthouse, you can eat real food as you dive into that space, watching, learning, and laughing the whole time.
In writing movie reviews, and doing my Media Mix Ups, I finally got to use my degrees in Screenwriting and Creative Writing. My life started making more sense. I want to share as much as I can with everyone else. I want to party like it's 1999 which is not just a great song, but also the year I graduated from high school. It’s also the year the Matrix came out.
LETS GO, EVERYONE!
That sums it up. I write about movies because I love them, I learn a lot from them, I prefer Black characters, but am happy to watch other people of color (Monkey Man and RRR were both fantastic), and I must watch these things at the Alamo Drafthouse.
I still have time to write personal stories and whatever I'm up to, but for now, film and television are my satellites. They don’t always have to reveal things about life, but when they do, I want to share what I've seen. I want people to know what I do.
Plus it's fun to say, "I wrote a review about it, go read that."
Thank you for reading. If you like it, share it. If you love it throw a little money in the pot. Comments are below so tell me what you think.