Funny thing, timing.

“You should get a job doing movie reviews!” the text read, and it was like others received through the years. They made sense. Why wouldn’t a movie buff who spent 30 years or so as a writer/editor at least dabble in movie reviews?

And there was dabbling, in the form of critiques of the latest film written for 300 or so friends on Facebook to read or scroll on past like so many political posts and funny cat videos. And that was it. Until now. Until this blog.

And the timing couldn’t be more … well, yeah.

Maybe you’ve seen the headlines in the news lately.

Study: Movie Critics ‘Overwhelmingly White and Male’

Basically All Movie Critics Are White Men

Ocean’s 8 Star Calls Out ‘Unfair’ Dominance of White Male Film Critics

So here I am. Male. White. And, to complete the trifecta, old. Just what the blogosphere is clamoring for. Another old white guy.

What is a person to do, then, when they have opinions on movies, a background in writing and a fair amount of time on their hands, but they fit snuggly into the least desirable demographic? Forge ahead and write a movie blog, critics of critics be damned.

This is my introductory blog for WordPress, though I have been posting movie reviews for the past several months on Tumblr (also as This Guy at the Movies). Writing it feels strangely like writing a newspaper column. Without the newspaper.

As the title suggests, this space usually, but not always, will be used to discuss movies. Usually, but not always, reviews. Usually, but not always, reviews of current run movies. Be prepared for the occasional off-topic tangent. This blog, like life, comes with no guarantees.

“What are your credentials?” you might ask. “Why should I care about the opinions of another white guy movie critic?” With that in mind, here is some basic background:

• I am 57, divorced for about a decade, the father of one, live alone, college educated and have spent most of this life living in small towns in central and south central Indiana.
• I recently left the print journalism field and have little idea what forms of employment might lie ahead. This big life change was made without a plan, sans rhyme or reason. It was just made.
• In addition to movies, hobbies include riding bicycles, taking lots of photos (mostly of nature and cityscapes), baking sweet stuff, playing (poorly) the guitar and watching others play the guitar at concerts, usually in small settings, almost always right up against the stage.

And what about movies?

• No favorite genre, per se, but my son says my favorite movies all have this in common: They are depressing. Which means a lot of indie films.
• Favorite movie: “Vertigo.” Never tire of watching it. Fascinating study of human loss of control and the need to be loved. Or just possessed.
• Movie collection includes all of the James Bond films, even though a fair amount of entries in the series aren’t that good — “Skyfall” being a notable exception.
• First memories of moviegoing are of a drive-in theater in Fountaintown, Ind. My siblings and I wore pajamas, and mom made a grocery bag full of popcorn to share. Apparently the “no outside food” rules weren’t so heavily enforced back then.
• A goal this year was to watch 50 new-to-me movies. As of this writing, the list is 246 movies long. Unemployment helped speed up the process.
• Still prefer seeing films in a theater setting (despite the occasional annoying movie neighbor, like the people who thought it a good idea to bring a preschooler to “A Quiet Place”). Rarely watch a movie on a computer screen or phone because movies are better bigger, but I have recently taken to watching mostly documentaries on my laptop.

That’s it for the intro. The goal is for this to be a weekly blog. Hopefully you find these writings, like a good movie, entertaining and thought-provoking. Even if the world doesn’t need another white guy movie critic.