Movie Hell™

Frequently Asked Questions

Version 4.2
Last updated:  17JAN01


 
Why Movie Hell?

Because it's catchy.

 
So you actually enjoy seeing all those bad movies?

Most of them.

 
What about the annoying audiences?  The mind-numbing trailers??  Those thin multiplex walls???

Like I said, Movie Hell.

 
Which theaters do you recommend?

Consult this chart.

 
Which theaters, like, suck?

It's a sliding scale.  Since the Raleigh Grande opened, most of the multiplexes in the area have cleaned up their acts.  Some of the smaller art houses, like the Chelsea, can get a bit cramped at times.

 
You like that word, don't you?

Heh.  You said suck.

 
When and where is Movie Hell distributed?

Reviews are posted to triangle.movies and rec.arts.movies.current-films on an as-written basis, usually two or three times a week. Copies of older reviews can also be found floating all over the Web, on various archive sites.

 
Can I get on your mailing list?

Sorry, but no.  I don't have the resources to maintain a mailing list for the general public.

 
What's with all the different Web addresses?

My movie site resides at http://www.moviehell.com. My personal page, however, resides at http://www.legeros.com.

 
Who pays you to see all these movies?

Nobody.  The closest thing I see to currency are when the studios print their press passes on green paper.  

 
What do you do in real life?

Teach, design instruction, maintain intranet Web sites, and provide internal user support at a software company in Cary, North Carolina.  In addition to watching crappy movies, my hobbies include head-banging, rock drumming, partner dancing, die-cast emergency vehicle collecting, fire truck-chasing, and, occasionally, impersonating Elvis.  

 
How long have you been writing reviews?

Since 1986, when I started submitting reviews to the North Carolina State University "Technician."  

 
What was the first review you ever wrote?

Aliens, if I'm not mistaken.  And I liked it!

 
Where else have your reviews appeared?

For a while, I wrote fifty-word blurbs for the Raleigh Fire Department's cable access channel.  I was also a frequent contributor to Talk Back, a short-lived feature in the "News and Observer."  Free passes were handed out for that one.

 
What are your credentials?

I took a film course in college.

 
Why aren't your reviews shorter/longer/more formal/less formal?

Because that's how I choose to write them.

 
What else do you write?

Essays, travelogues, True Fire Stories, Notes From the Single Life, and more.  See www.legeros.com.   

 
Are you affiliated with any groups or other sites?

My reviews are indexed by The Movie Review Query Engine.  And I'm a member of the Online Film Critics Society.

 
How many times do you watch a movie?

Usually only once.   During the summer, I try to catch some of the budget busters a second time, to see from the ground level what I missed from the top of the rollercoaster.  And, now and then, I'll show up at the $1.50 cinema.

 
When do you watch a movie?

With the exception of sneak previews, the first flick of the week is usually viewed on Friday.  Second showing, in the afternoon.  If a smaller film is also opening on that day, I'll typically try to hit an art house in the early evening.  (Neither Friday nor Saturday night is a pleasant time to visit the multiplex.)  Saturday and Sunday afternoon are good times, as is late Sunday or Monday.  For obvious reasons, flicks with kid appeal are best viewed after 9:00...

 
Do you have a favorite movie?

Citizen Kane.  But seriously, if you checked my video shelf, you'd find copies of Jaws, Hook, Young Frankenstein, The Blues Brothers (both regular and special edition), The Terminator, Trading Places, Tootsie, Some Like it Hot, The History of the World, Part 1, Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb), Pulp Fiction, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, a couple Miss Marple movies, the four Batman movies, and Penelope Spherris' wonderful documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

 
Why don't you put "spoiler" warnings in front of your reviews, to warn viewers of possibly revealed plot points?

Because I don't reveal plot points that are not Accepted General Knowledge.  If they're shown in, or easily inferred from, the ads or the trailers or TV review shows, I'm not going to worry about warning people.

 
Do you give away story secrets?  Or twist endings??

No.   Nor do I think that it's fair for a reviewer to say "oh, there's a twist at the end, but I'm not going to tell you what it is."

 
Do you see every movie that comes out?

No.

 
Do you review every movie you see?

Only the new releases.

 
Do you review videos?

Rarely.

 
What do the letter grades F/A and W/O mean?

The former is an F (or A as unintended comedy); the latter is abbreviation for Walked Out.

 
You actually walk out of movies?

Don't you?

 
Finally, are you giving anything back to the world with these reviews or are you just using the Internet as a giant megaphone?

I think of this technology as a virtual sandbox.  Anyone can come over and play.  The more the merrier.   We'll talk movies, whine about theaters, and light farts when nobody is looking.

 


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Copyright 2001 by Michael J. Legeros - Movie Hell™ is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros