About Me.
Born in 1973, Bridgend, South Wales, UK, cinema for me growing up was something of a rarity. The 70's didn't have multiplexes and cinemas were not in abundance.
The theatre my parents would take us to was The Embassy in Bridgend, a cinema with a positively 70's feel (obviously). The building itself was something to marvel at and the décor was white tile. The one screen it offered had a large capacity and encompassed a balcony.
I remember the balcony well as, whilst watching Star Wars (yes, Star Wars was my first foray into big screen films), we were sat at the front of the balcony. I remember being terrified of the drop but also, stunned at what i was watching.
Other films seen there were Star Trek ('79), The Fox and the Hound ('81), ET('82), Ghostbusters ('84) and Big Trouble in Little China ('86).
Sadly the cinema was to close its doors, only to re-open as a bingo hall some years later. Even sadder is the building fell into disrepair and now it has feen flattened and is a car park.4As a youngster, films were something seen on the odd occassion. So where did my passion for films come from? VHS was something the family owned by the mid eightees, but video stores in small towns in the south of Wales weren't everywhere and titles came in 1's, so if a big film was released, you had to reserve it and there was usually a long list before you if you didn't get your name in early.
By the early 90's i had my own VCR and i had signed up to one of those dodgy companies whereby they send you a 'film of the month' and if you didn't send it back by a certain time, they charged you. I built up a decent collection (for someone in my late teens/ early twenties).
I would read 'Film Review' (the only film magazine at the time) and go to the cinema via the bus or by car with friends but this was once every few months.
Shoot through the ninties and to '99 when i started working at UCI in Cardiff Bay. Within 4 months i was already relief and a further 2 and i was full-time trainee projectionist.
Part of our job after making the films up was to view them to ensure a smooth and problemn free film for the viewing public.Here is where everything changed for me.
I was quite content watching, what i refer to as, wham-bam thank you Mam films. No real story or plot and out and out action (the late 80's and early '90 produced one thing in abundance and they were action films). Now i had to watch the likes of foreign and independetn titles. Films i had never heard of and therefore, wasn't that fussed about watching. But, hey, i was getting paid for this.
What followed was somewhat of an education for me. I eventually jumped at the chance to watch unusual and bizarre movies. I wish i had kept a log of my own to keep track of all the ones i watched.
I can even remember which auditorium i watched most in. Go on, ask me, i bet you i could tell you which of the 12 screens i was in.
So, here i am, it is 2015 and i thought, why not give to you, the films i have experienced and continue to.
This is my love. This is my passion.
I am MovieGeek!
The theatre my parents would take us to was The Embassy in Bridgend, a cinema with a positively 70's feel (obviously). The building itself was something to marvel at and the décor was white tile. The one screen it offered had a large capacity and encompassed a balcony.
I remember the balcony well as, whilst watching Star Wars (yes, Star Wars was my first foray into big screen films), we were sat at the front of the balcony. I remember being terrified of the drop but also, stunned at what i was watching.
Other films seen there were Star Trek ('79), The Fox and the Hound ('81), ET('82), Ghostbusters ('84) and Big Trouble in Little China ('86).
Sadly the cinema was to close its doors, only to re-open as a bingo hall some years later. Even sadder is the building fell into disrepair and now it has feen flattened and is a car park.4As a youngster, films were something seen on the odd occassion. So where did my passion for films come from? VHS was something the family owned by the mid eightees, but video stores in small towns in the south of Wales weren't everywhere and titles came in 1's, so if a big film was released, you had to reserve it and there was usually a long list before you if you didn't get your name in early.
By the early 90's i had my own VCR and i had signed up to one of those dodgy companies whereby they send you a 'film of the month' and if you didn't send it back by a certain time, they charged you. I built up a decent collection (for someone in my late teens/ early twenties).
I would read 'Film Review' (the only film magazine at the time) and go to the cinema via the bus or by car with friends but this was once every few months.
Shoot through the ninties and to '99 when i started working at UCI in Cardiff Bay. Within 4 months i was already relief and a further 2 and i was full-time trainee projectionist.
Part of our job after making the films up was to view them to ensure a smooth and problemn free film for the viewing public.Here is where everything changed for me.
I was quite content watching, what i refer to as, wham-bam thank you Mam films. No real story or plot and out and out action (the late 80's and early '90 produced one thing in abundance and they were action films). Now i had to watch the likes of foreign and independetn titles. Films i had never heard of and therefore, wasn't that fussed about watching. But, hey, i was getting paid for this.
What followed was somewhat of an education for me. I eventually jumped at the chance to watch unusual and bizarre movies. I wish i had kept a log of my own to keep track of all the ones i watched.
I can even remember which auditorium i watched most in. Go on, ask me, i bet you i could tell you which of the 12 screens i was in.
So, here i am, it is 2015 and i thought, why not give to you, the films i have experienced and continue to.
This is my love. This is my passion.
I am MovieGeek!