Intro: Raising the Curtain

Welcome to the inaugural post of Mike Goes to Movies. A blog set up by me - the titular 'Mike' - a filmgoer / cinephile like many of you. In fact, I enjoy film so much that I decided to divert my career as a lawyer (much to the dismay of all rational thinkers in my life) and enroll in film school this past Fall! Where that leads to I do not have the faintest idea - perhaps I will keep you apprised of that as we continue onward, or... maybe not (if what many of my professors say about the futility of entering the industry is true...).

In tandem with this formal education route, I thought it might be fun to also go the more-informal route, and start a blog/page where I can share my thoughts and opinions on film, television and other related topics onto the world, and hopefully start some engaging conversations about what film means to all of us.

I am creating this page with an aim of being expansive and also inclusive. Here, we will talk about film and also television (as it continues to increasingly compete with the film market in content, audience and scope), as well as other relevant topics that may fancy my mind on any given day. Reviews, prompts for discussion and opinion pieces will all be found here. I do recognize the toxicity that can be found online today, however, especially when comment boards exist. It is my hope therefore that people engage only in discussion that is respectful for other for any pieces posted here.

With regards to the types of film that will be discussed here, the answer is that it will be films/tv of all varieties. This ties into the ideas of 'expansiveness' and 'inclusivity' mentioned above. A film may have merit regardless of its genre or its country of origin or its directors or writers or actors. Although a film may ultimately be deemed to be 'bad' by the general populace, it may, in fact, garner more discussion than that year's Best Picture Winner. As such, when it comes to myself, I enjoy taking in film and tv of all kinds. I am a major Marvel Cinematic Universe fanboy as much as I enjoy many of Bergman, Kurowasa or Leone's best.

Just a couple cinematic legends hanging out: Spielberg, Scorcese, De Palma, Lucas and Coppola

And so, I will leave you with that brief introduction to Mike Goes To Movies! I hope to be underway with our first proper piece soon. In the meantime, as always, feel free to leave any comments or thoughts below.

PS - for the millennials there will be a corresponding Instagram account @mikegoestomovies to follow