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© Copyright 2009 DVD Snapshot. All Rights Reserved.
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Juan Shot Only- Commentary by Juan Carlo RodriguezAnd So It Begins... [Or The One Chance A Dude From Venezuela Has To Write In English]
 You have got to love the Internet. For all the entire troll-inhabited, emo-infested, teeny-bopping universe that it is, it is truly a wonder that a dude from a place like Venezuela to be granted a space on an English-speaking blog to rant about movies. Globalization —it’s a good thing, folks. Deal with it.
Of course, there is one major beef I have with the Interwebs…
I am rare among my countrymen in that I was actually born in the States (in Wisconsin, of all paces), so I’ve never seen the U.S. as this big, unattainable dream. What did make me want to one day relocate there is my undying, unkept passion for movies. Down here, movies can be delayed for a very long time for a variety of reasons (The Wrestler opens June 12th down here, having opened in the States, having opened there in January). And having so many cool websites to chose from, where I read stuff like “oh, I just saw this movie”, or “remember that movie”, or “OMG, just saw THIS, it’s like BEST. MOVIE. EVER”, it’s like driving a stake through my heart. Because I know that I might never watch them if I don’t resort to torrents or, even worse, the bootleggers that abound in my country.
But I make due. And now, I get to tell you all about it!
Let’s tell you right off the bat, what this column WILL and WON’T be about.
It WILL be about:
Some cool, obscure, classic or indie movie you may or may not have seen yet. And I will make you see it. Don’t look at me like that, I’ve seen the faces of teens when I suggest Casablanca.
The state of the industry from a far, far point of view.
The occasional Spanish-language movie that deserves international recognition. (Whaddaya mean, you haven’t seen Secuestro Express?)
The movie-going experience. I swear to God, this has saved more than one crappy movie for me, just hearing the crowd react to snarky comments. Yes, just like the show with the guy, and the robots, and whatnot. I want to own a movie theater just to encourage Mystery Science Theatre 3000 nights. That’d be awesome!
My one-on-one with you guys. You can follow me on Twitter, read my blog in Spanish (it does have a translating system, chill) or wait till I get around opening my English blog (it’s in the works, I swear). But I believe the “new” ‘Net (how can something almost ten years old still be called “new”?) is all about interaction. And I certainly encourage discussion anywhere I go. Talking is good for the soul. So is pizza. Yes, you may buy me pizza and talk to me. In that order.
It WON’T be about:
My complains on how unfair it is that movies don’t open everywhere at the same time. Because I’m getting it off my chest right now. I understand, they are made in the U.S., and that market has to be a priority. But the little people get screwed. And that, my friends, is why bootlegging is such a big problem in the world. Yes, local governments MUST do their job (and mine could not care less about piracy —heck, I think they encourage it), but I do wish there would be some way that all movies opened on the same day across the globe and still made a profit for all involved without hurting the creators.
The place to start flame wars. I am the über-pacificist; what I write, even the snark, I write with respect. No trolls shall be fed.
I can’t finish without sending a huge thank-you to editor Mike Spring, who somehow saw or read something I wrote and thought “Hey! Here’s a guy whom nobody knows at all! It’ll be good for my site!” I am truly humbled by the chance, and I hope I justify the chance he gave me. It’s not like I’m paying him hefty amounts to let me write here or anything…
So stick around. Hope I can entertain you somehow. And gracias!
WHAT I’VE WATCHED:
Saw Brick (2005, dir. Rian Johnson) this weekend.
WHAT I THOUGHT:
Sometimes complex dialogue, but the amazing photography and intriguing story makes this one cool detective story.
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 Juan Carlo Rodriguez
Juan Carlo Rodriguez is a 37-year-old journalist from Caracas, Venezuela. He's not married (but not for long), and thinks that those who do not like movies or who spoil them should be flogged.
He's loved movies all hislife, but it took blogging and a second career for himto actually start writing about them. He's mostly a film fan who likes to talk movies; don’t expect Roger Ebert out of him, but do expect honesty. Yeah.
Juan Carlo says, "Journalism is what I do. Movies are what I love. I’ve been keeping a personal movie weblog for about five years now, and I’ve got this nice little mostly-local following. I’m no expert, but I do let my love for films guide me. And I love pizza."
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