WELCOME TO

June 25, 2005

Hello there, one and all. 

CrAiGeR's CINEMA CORNER is a film review website that began ever-so-modestly in the summer of 2004 and was spawned from my film review column that saw print at the time.  It became abundantly clear in early 2004 that my simple hobby of going to movies on a weekly basis was developing into an obsession that cannot be held in the confines of my mind.

A website, thus, beckoned.

So, what the h-e-double hockey sticks does my site have that other similar ones do not?  Well, I think that I have followed a Roger Ebert model of film criticism by writing detailed and thorough full-length reviews.  Most of the film sites that I've been on have taken great pains to write mini-reviews that basically tell me nothing of the intellectual or critical thought processes of the person that wrote it.  For me, saying that you "liked it" or "hated it" is just not sufficient.  What made it work?  What didn't?  And, most importantly...why or why not?  Some have been critical of me for taking my reviews to overly long lengths.  Well, these films are out there for the paying audience to be openly critical of, and as long as you and I have to churn out hard earned dollars to see them, I will always feel that it is my right to look at them critically and analytically.  And...to put my thoughts down here!

So...who am I? 

Well, I am a thirty-something Canuck with a deep passion of all things that are cinema.  I guess I do not have any qualifications, degrees, or anything on paper that says I am qualified for being a film critic...that's a load of B.S. anyhoo'!  Since when does someone need to be certified and qualified to be a subjective critic of something?  Ok, if my car is not running properly, fine...I want an certified expert.  But what else does a noble man need other than to be a movie fan, see hundreds of films a year, and be an 'okay' writer to be a critic, huh?  If you want to get technical, I have a double B.A. in American History and Art, so on those levels I guess I feel like I have some writing and art appreciation skills.

Let's face it, we are all critics in our daily lives.  We nitpick every mundane detail.  Most of us, of course, just don't put our feelings on paper.  I guess that's where I come in.  Since movies are a part of my life, I felt it was time to start writing about them.

I started writing minor reviews in my high school newspaper here in good ol' Saskatoon (if you have no clue where that is, go to my FAQ'S page) where I developed a bit of a reputation (I was the only one in a sea of fans that claimed that the Kevin Costner's  Robin Hood sucked).  The first full length review I ever wrote was for GROUNDHOG DAY, but upon reflection it was poorly written and executed (which clearly has no purpose being here).  As I traveled boldly into my undergraduate career I decided to write for my University newspaper and my first and only review for it was for BOOGIE NIGHTS, and I pride myself on being one of the first that hailed it as one of the best 1997.  That review, like GROUNDHOG DAY, just was not worth printing here.

MY SERIOUS review bug hit me in January of 2004 where my place of business decided that it was time for me to be a co-chair of the bi-weekly newsletter.  Lightning then struck:  why not have an entertainment column with some serious film reviews?  My very first major, full-length review was for MIRACLE, which is available for all to see here on this site.  I have not stopped from there.

So, this site clearly does not represent every film I have ever seen, but it does have every major review I have written since the start of 2004.  Hopefully, with time, energy, a lot of time in a darkened cineplex, and my ass by a computer writing the site will grow to epic, David Lean proportions.  I am relatively proud of my accomplishments on this site.  As of this site's FIRST ANNIVERSARY I will have published approximately 150 full-length reviews, which I think is noteworthy considering that it inaugurated in July of 2004 (with a very crude look, I might add) with only 20 reviews.  By my numbers and research, I think that makes me the most prolific film critic (online or not) in the province of Saskatchewan, and for that...yes...I shamefully plug and promote myself.  Not only that, but if one looked back at my site in July of 2004 and now (I think there are a few of you out that that have stuck with me) then you would also see how the site has become more polished and aesthetically pleasing.

So, upward and onward, movie peeps!

Later Gators!  And hey, if you like what I write, drop me an email.  Or, if you think I have no clue what I am talking about, still...drop me an email.  I welcome friends and foes alike!  Just keep the name-calling to a minimum, and, for the love of God, keep my mother out if it! 

Yours truly...  

C r a i g   J .  K o b a n

Film Critic, Owner, Designer, and Operator of

c r a i g e r ' s   c i n e m a   c o r n e r . c o m

 email: darthcraiger@shaw.ca