5: Marking the Fifth Blog-a-Versary of The Matinee

“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?