Month-Later Movie Review: Intro and Zack and Miri Make a Porno

You Can't Judge a Movie Based on One Screening!

"Looks like you've got your shit covered!"

"Dude, don't ever say 'shit covered' to me again."

To paraphrase one of the funniest lines in Zack and Miri, I begin a new series titled Month-Later Movie Reviews. I have read hundreds of film reviews in my lifetime, and seen nearly every corresponding movie. Over the course of the years it's become apparent to me, probably more than anything, that there really is no accounting for taste. Whether you're talking about film, music, art, or anything else, everyone has their specific likes and dislikes, and one shouldn't be criticized for having their own preferences.

With that in mind, I've discovered a missing principle in the art of film reviews: Repeat viewings.

I don't know how it works in the critic business, but I expect journalists like Gene Shalit and Roger Ebert probably don't have time or patience to screen movies twice or three times before writing a review. In my own time, I've been downright wrong about a lot of films. There have been many films I saw once and wrote off almost immediately as pieces of wankerous garbage, only to rediscover them months or years later—usually on late-night premium cable—at which point, probably as a result of my ever-evolving perspective, I came to appreciate. Needless to say, my aforementioned perspective has led me to believe that I should withhold judgment until I've seen a film at least twice, or even a more safe and reasonable three times before I pass my opinion to the world. Of course, if you watch enough film after a while you know what you like and what you don't like in film, and as I mentioned there's no accounting for taste, but reasonable people—what I like to call 'intellectually generous'—will give anything a chance and view it within its proper context.

With that I bring you my first installment of Month-Later Movie Reviews.