“Gimme Five”

Tomorrow marks the fifth birthday of this website and its predecessor.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to have kept up with this experiment for so long. I’ve thought about the opportunities it has given me, the people it has introduced me to, and the friends I have made because of it. If on that day that I first signed myself up for a Blogspot account you’d told me that those things and more would be the result of what I was doing, I never would have believed you. After all, in those first few weeks a day where my page got 25 hits was a cause for celebration.

But somehow, those benefits and more have in fact come my way thanks to my love for the movies…and all of them, I have you to thank.

If you’re reading this space right now – whether for the first time, or the hundredth time – you have encouraged me to keep it going. On days when I think that I’m running out of ideas or energy, and wonder if maybe I should put my focus into something more constructive, I read a comment, or see a link, and find myself casting aside those doubts and wanting to keep pushing forward.

As it happens, some of the biggest leaps for this site have come from friends who started out as readers. On more than one occasion, I’ve hung out with people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met and they’ve said “Have you ever thought about…”. The funny thing is, when they first pitched these ideas, they freaked me out…but in finding the guts to carry through with them, I’ve taken this site to places I never thought it could go. These people know who they are, and hopefully they know how grateful I am for the ideas they gave me. If they don’t know, I’ll say it here and now: Thank you for helping me dream a little bigger.

It also goes without saying that I never would have been able to keep this up for five years without having a wonderful spouse who has been nothing but encouraging. Hell, the whole thing was her idea in the first place! Back when I was just using Livejournal to blog about my personal life, it was Lindsay who wondered aloud “Isn’t there a way you could do this, but reach a wider audience?”. What can I say – I married a sharp cookie. Posting every day takes me somewhere between twenty and eighty minutes a shot, and if you think you can do that day-in and day-out without having a supportive person behind you, you’re dreaming.

I thought I was lucky enough to be marrying a beautiful and talented person who loved the movies as much as I do. I never knew how much she’d be able to help me do something like this.

I’m a different guy than I was five years ago. My tastes have changed and I’ve learned so very much. I’ve been exposed to movies I never would have reached for in the past, and amazingly never seem to be able to go a day without finding out about another one I want to see. I’m even understanding the films I watch to a much further degree (a glance at some of my old posts tells me that!). I don’t think I would have found myself where I am if it weren’t for this site and its readers. I call that a happy side effect.

So here’s to five years! I hope you’ve had as much fun reading this space as I’ve had writing it, and I thank you both for dropping by and for spreading the word.

However, I’ll bet you’re wondering why I’m putting this up a day early. Well, I decided that I wanted to mark the fifth anniversary of this site tomorrow by posting a review – and not just any review. I’m working on an entry in my DVD series called “Another Day” where I revisit films on dvd that I watched in theatres. In this case, I’m going back to the very first film I reviewed. The post will actually serve double-duty since for some reason, post number one never migrated over to this space.

Without looking it up…does anyone remember what film it was?

 

52 Replies to “5: Marking the Fifth Blog-a-Versary of The Matinee”

  1. Congratulations on your five years. I’ve only been around for the last two, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read on your site. I especially love your King of Pain series. Another Day is going to be an interesting idea, and it’s something that all of realize is a phenomenon that no one writes about. I’ve watched movies in the theater and hated them and then caught it on TV or through Netflix and loved them.

    1. I have done a few entries in the Another Day series already; CARS, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, THELMA & LOUISE, DEAD MAN WALKING, and INSOMNIA…but it’s a series I don’t add to all that often. If you want to see what’s been written so far, click on the ‘Watchin’ & Writin’ tab under the Reviews menu.

      And thanks for all the support and readership good sir.

  5. Whoo ! 5 years is a long time Ryan. Congrats ! Being only Year old in Blogging, I can completely relate to your sentiments earlier. Even now, waking up to 100 more hits makes my day.

    Here is to many more to come !!

    2. Oh, tosh and piffle. If it weren’t for you, how would I have come across all my Toronto peeps I now hold so near and dear. I’m sad it didn’t work out for me to come up for TIFF this year and meet everyone (and, y’know, see pretty much every film on my to-watch list for 2012), but I’ll get up there someday soon. I’ll have to lend my pretentious thoughts to another Matineecast when I do.

    3. The good thing about TIFF is that they do it every year, so I’m sure you’ll have a chance to come meet all the Toronto folk soon enough.

      Thanks for sticking around buddy.

  8. Congratulations to your five years! I’m not sure how long I’ve been along for the ride but it’s definitely not more than a year, since that’s when I started to listen to podcasts and entered the film blogosphere. However it feels as if I’ve known you a great deal longer. I guess you just connect more easily to some bloggers/podcasters and you’re one of those.

    1. It *is* always wild when you connect with someone over a common interest and it starts feeling like they were always there, isn’t it? It just dawned on me that you haven’t even seen this site go through the craziness that is TIFF yet!

      Thanks for everything Jessica. You’ve been a great voice of reason this year and a huge supporter of what I’m trying to do.

    1. Thanks very much Steven. I’m not sure when I started writing exactly, but this experiment has certainly given me a way to do it with consistency and focus.

  10. Wow, a HUGE congratulations to you for five years of blogging. That’s fantastic! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re my blogging idol, so keep up the good work!

    1. And like *I’ve* said before, by the time you’re my age you’ll be writing circles around the scribblings that I put out there daily. Looking forward to seeing that!

  11. Congratulations, Ryan! And it’s not just 5 years, but x number of posts. It’s easy to set something up and add to it “occasionally” (finger is pointing back at me!) but you are consistent and that is a lot of work! Thanks for inspiring me to post once in a while!

    1. Bah – it’s quality, not quantity! But thank-you. You’ve been a huge help to me where the local scene is concerned James, and the fact that the site has been going for five years and I’ve been living in your ‘hood for five years can’t be a co-incidence.

      And the inspiration has been mutual, so thank YOU.

  12. Congratulations on hitting five years, Ryan. Keep up the exceptional work. Your site is a source of inspiration and motivation to us all.

    1. Making friends in this city I might not otherwise have made (like you) has been the best part of the last five years. So thanks for that Courtney, I count myself a truly lucky guy.

  13. Congratulations, keeping a blog for five years is impressive, but posting on your blog everyday, that’s a Cal Ripken type of achievement. My hats off to you.

    1. Not to hex it or anything, but we might come back to the Cal Ripken-esque quality of The Matinee in September. Stay tuned…

      (And thanks for the well-wishes)

    1. Now I finally know what you and Jess were feeling back in the spring! Though I never thought of marking the anniversary by taking on a partner-in-crime (mental note for the sixth anniversary).

      Thanks Rach – lobbing ideas and opinions back and forth with you is one of the things I love most about keeping up this site.

  16. This post is awesome. Your writing is awesome. It’s all awesome ! 😀 Here’s hopin the Matinee sticks around for anotha 5 .

    1. You flatter me sir – but I thank you. Perhaps you’ll help me stay motivated and spread the word a little to any movie-lovers you know who might like to read my work?

    1. I’m already getting the shakes at the thought of the craziness to come! It’s going to be a wild festival for sure – looking forward to covering it, and hopefully to running into you during the course of it!

  19. Pingback: Holiday Links | Inspired Ground

    1. Thank you sir, and thanks again to coming out to our little get-together in July. That was certainly a highlight of year number five! You gotta keep it going though! I mentioned that to Kristin too – who’s on the latest Matineecast in case you have’t listened yet.

  21. That’s quite a long time my friend. The Dark of the Matinee was the first blog I took a loving to reading each day. That hasn’t changed.

    See you soon. Live long and prosper.

  22. Congratulations on 5 years, Ryan! Congratulations on honing your skills, building a network, setting the bar high for your colleagues… and finally getting a comment system that works properly! Sky’s the limit, my friend. Cheers!

    1. Thank you sir – as you well know, I never would have come this far without you. Perhaps you should sit me down and project a goal for me to hit by year six!

      1. Any time spent with Ryan over burgers and beer is a good time. It’s indeed time for another summit – that and some kind of photo session.

  23. Congratulations on 5 years Ryan. I’ve only been reading your site for a few months (thank Andy Buckle for introducing me), but it’s quickly become one of my favourites. I really admire your writing and hope there will be another great five+ years ahead. Well done.

  24. It seems hard to believe that it’s been five years since I first logged on to read TIFF coverage on The Dark of the Matinee. Every new year has proven to be an adventure in expanding film horizons. Thanks for taking us along for the ride, Ryan.

    1. Sorry for the late response here Colin…I’m getting a bit bad at that. I was updating the embedded images for some old posts the other day when I started coming across those films I saw at the first TIFF I covered – Lordy does that ever seem like ages ago!

      Thanks for continuing to drop by for all these years. Support from readers like you has really helped me push my way forward.

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