Written by: Dan Geer

Hey guys, I’m Dan Geer and welcome to PopcornMonster.com! This is my official movie blog where I post reviews, thoughts and other various movie-related… things.

I’m not an official movie critic. I don’t pretend to be. I’m no one particularly famous. I have, however, been a movie extra in two major hollywood blockbuster films – Transformers (2007) and The Dark Knight (2008). Also, I was interviewed (very briefly) by Lucasfilm in Part II of a StarWars.com documentary called The Journey. But in the end, I’m an average movie fan like yourself, looking for anyone else out there in cyberspace who is interested in movies to come and be friends here on my site and partake in intelligent, positive discussion about movies.

However, you might be asking yourself, “What makes this blog different than all the rest?” Honestly, I don’t know yet. I do know that this isn’t a site to come to for the latest in movie news (although I will post news items I deem interesting enough). I want this blog to reveal through my thoughts as well as discussion from other visitors that seeing movies is not about how critical or non-critical we are.

It is my opinion that the movie-going public has become far too cynical these days, particularly with those who browse movie websites. People just can’t seem to enjoy anything unless it is perfect. A movie that would probably be rated 2.5 to 3 stars (out of 4) automatically “sucks” in the eye of the ridiculously overly-critical modern film-goer and gets rated way lower than it should.  My hope is to create a positive vibe among modern-day movie viewers and take us back to when going to the movies was simply about having some fun.

For example, last year Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released. It has received a 75% positive rating on RottenTomatoes.com. And yet it won the Razzie award for “Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.” Now, I realize that Indy 4 wasn’t as great as Raiders of the Lost Ark or even The Last Crusade. But it was a 2.5 to 3 star film and possibly as good, if not better than Temple of Doom. I know that this is just my opinion, but Indy 4 was up against Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. One of those movies should’ve easily picked up the award over Indy 4. Any of the “Scary/Date/Epic/Disaster” movies would easily rival Indy 4 for “Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel” any day. And yet, somehow Indy 4 won the award because apparently it is a “terrible” movie.

My point is that people are far too critical and jaded. They immediately gravitate toward what they don’t like in a film, and don’t look for what they did like, thus downgrading an enjoyable 2.5 to 3 star film to a 1 to 1.5 star. I’ll be the first to admit that Crystal Skull had some cringe-worthy moments in it (nuke the fridge, anyone?) But to say that it is worse than Disaster Movie is just beyond comprehension to me. People out there in the movie-going world are just incredibly jaded.

So that’s what this site is about. I want to make sure that people think deeper before writing off a movie as “terrible.” Just because a movie has a few flaws in it (or a few changes from its source material if it is a comic or novel adaptation), doesn’t necessarily make it a terrible movie. It only means that it may not be perfect. It is OKAY to enjoy movies that aren’t perfect, as long as we know and understand what a perfect movie is.

I realize that there is more to this thought than what I’ve talked about. But this is the main idea behind the site: Don’t be so quick to write off a movie you maybe didn’t like at first. Sometimes we need to grow a little more and let certain movies grow with us. Many times we find that something we didn’t like at first becomes more likable later on in life. When we have this revelation, we revert back to when going to the movies was about having fun and nothing more.

On a side note, you won’t find much commentary or news regarding musicals or romance films here. Frankly, while I do enjoy those types of movies occasionally (like when my wife and I go out on a date, or when there’s nothing else on TV), I don’t particularly gravitate towards them as enthusiastically as I do other genres (like fantasy, sci-fi, horror, action or even comedies or dramas). I just don’t usually care that much about those types of movies. After all, I am a guy and do, in fact, own a pair of balls. So if you’re looking for romance, this is not the place for it.

So sit back, relax and enjoy my ramblings on the world of movies. I hope you come back often!