We’ve reached a Film Pie milestone this week! On Wednesday night, I’m going to a preview screening of Scream 4. It officially be the 3,000th time that I’ve dished out a grading to a film.
For those who don’t know my background, my first job out of school was in a video store. As I was seeing so many movies, I thought I’d start a spreadsheet to keep track of them and my grading for each (on a 9 point scale from A+ to C-). I kicked off on 1 January 1996 with screenings of Operation Dumbo Drop and Copycat (which I saw while on holidays up the Sunshine Coast).
Over the years, things have expanded somewhat. In 1998, I started reviewing for Logan 101.1FM. In 1999, I started up my website (The Film Pie) and an e-newsletter which I sent out to a few friends. In 2000, I started writing up full length reviews for about 2 films each week. In 2005, I landed a reviewing gig with Brisbane’s highest rating breakfast show with Spencer Howson on 612ABC. In 2009, I revamped the website and started up a Facebook group and a Twitter profile. In 2010, I obtained accreditation on Rotten Tomatoes which helped expand my audience. Later this year, I’m hoping to attend a big international film festival (plans are in progress).
In my database, I’ve only included films which have had a cinema release in Brisbane since 1996. Whilst I’ve seen plenty of films from before that time, it’s kind of hard to give them a grade given most of them are already considered “classics”. I also haven’t included any direct-to-video releases or small films from film festivals because hardly anyone will see them anyway.
I have to admit to feeling a sense of accomplishment having made it this far. I’m pretty passionate about the things I do but even I’m surprised that I’m still reviewing after more than 15 years. It’s been a fun ride and the hopefully it will continue into the future. Being able to see movies ahead of time and interview some actors and filmmakers is a great thrill.
In this week’s blog, I thought I’d reflect back on the past 5,580 days and give you a summary of all the films I’ve seen. Enjoy!
Total films graded: 2,999 (an average of 4.3 films per week since 1996)
Here’s a summary by grade:
A+ – 44 films
A – 196 films
A- – 424 films
B+ – 537 films
B – 470 films
B- – 450 films
C+ – 418 films
C – 326 films
C- – 134 films
Total films where I’ve written a full review: 1,193 (an average of 2.3 per week since 2000)
Most films seen in a single year: 238 (in 2006)
Total films worthy of an A+: 44
Here’s the list of A+ films by year…
1996 – Fargo, Leaving Las Vegas, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Shine, Romeo & Juliet
1997 – Breaking The Waves, Face/Off, The Ice Storm, Marvin’s Room, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Titanic
1998 – Jackie Brown, Mulan, Saving Private Ryan, The Sweet Hereafter
1999 – Being John Malkovich, Election, Gods & Monsters, Pleasantville, Snow Falling On Cedars, Thin Red Line
2000 – American Beauty, Billy Elliot, Magnolia
2001 – The Fellowship Of The Ring, Nurse Betty, Requiem For A Dream, Traffic
2002 – Ghost World, Gosford Park, Monster’s Ball, Mulholland Drive
2003 – Chicago, The Quiet American
2004 – Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
2005 – Million Dollar Baby
2006 – Capote, The Departed, Hidden, United 93
2007 – none
2008 – Juno, Persepolis
2009 – The Wrestler
2010 – Inception
Year with the most A+ films: 1997 and 1999 (see above for a list of films)
Longest drought without seeing an A+ film: 553 days (between seeing The Wrestler in January 2009 and Inception in July 2010)
Year with the most C- films: 2003 (Anger Management, Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever, Final Destination 2, The Four Feathers, Half Past Dead, Hollywood Homicide, Horseplay, Legally Blonde 2, The Lizzy McGuire Movie, The Master Of Disguise, The Real Cancun, Tomb Raider, Trapped)
Time taken to grade 1,000 films: 2,181 days (I saw Vanilla Sky on 20 December 2001)
Additional time taken to grade 2,000 films: 1,746 days (I saw the Devil Wears Prada on 30 September 2006)
Additional time taken to grade 3,000 films: 1,657 days (I will see Scream 4 on 13 April 2011)
Best film I’ve seen since 1996: Billy Elliot
Worst film I’ve seen since 1996: A Sound Of Thunder
Most number of films seen in a single day: 6 (on 7 August 2004 which started at the Palace Centro at 10am and finished at BIFF at the Regent around 1am).
Longest drought without seeing a movie: 22 days (from 28 June 2004 to 19 July 2004 while I was off on a holiday in Europe)
Total review shows done for 612ABC Brisbane: approximately 245
Total review shows done for Logan 101.1FM: approximately 585
Total Film Pie e-newsletters sent out: approximately 640
Total best and worst lists combined: 15 (you can check them all out here).
It’s kind of nerdy to have all of these statistics but hey, I’m an accountant by day so you should expect nothing less. A big thanks to everyone who reads my reviews on a regular basis or tunes in on 612ABC, Logan 101.1FM or ABC Southern Queensland. I do love talking about movies and hopefully I’ve been able to provide plenty of helpful advice on what to see and what not to see. May the good times continue!