About Me

I'm just a woman who loves watching movies. I get so excited when I see a new trailer for one. I figured, since I invest so much time and money into film watching, I would start reviewing them. I can’t let Roeper and Ebert have all the fun.

I noticed there aren't many voices like mine out there. I don't want my reviews to sound text book. That's way too boring.

I definitely don't want to use words that only a spelling bee champ would know what it means. I like my reviews to sound like something you would hear during a lunchtime conversation. I try to enjoy every movie that I see, and I will never tell you not to watch a movie—instead I’ll help you prioritize. I may suggest you wait to rent a movie or watch it on network television. I'm not going to suggest you spend $10.00 for a horrible movie.

Instead of using something arbitrary to rate movies, like stars, I choose to keep it "reel" and tell you my recommendation for a movie.

I use one to five reels to tell you what I'm thinking, and each reel has a meaningful suggestion behind it. Here's how the reels break down:

• 1 Reel - Wait until HBO or television (not worth spending extra funds).
• 2 Reels - Rent the DVD (It'll be worth watching if you missed it in theaters).
• 3 Reels - Catch a matinee (this movie at least deserves the big screen).
• 4 Reels - Catch this movie as soon as you can (your money won't be wasted).
• 5 Reels - Go see this movie AND buy the DVD when it comes out. It's GOOD.

If what I write helps you decide on your entertainment choices, I'd love to hear your feedback.

At the bottom of each of my reviews you'll see two different ways you can interact with me and other visitors to this site:

• Visitor Rating - I'd love to hear your opinion of a movie, and you can help others by rating the movie yourself. After my rating you'll see a small set of five reels. Choose your rating and it will count toward the visitor average.
• Comments - On my blog and on every review you can comment on my review or the movie in general. Please don't spoil the movie for others, but have fun telling other readers what you think of the movie. We're all here to help each other.

My reviews are spoiler free with a Marla flare. I can't stand it when movie critics are straight up cookie cutter and give the entire movie away in their reviews.

Oh nooo. Your friends never give away the ending, so why should I? I want you to enjoy movies, not learn the ending before you even get to the theater or rental store. My reviews will always be spoiler free. Notice I said "my reviews"...

My spoilers are hidden in a special section called Reel Talk.

This is something unique to my site, I think. This is a hidden section that follows the review. By default, Reel Talk is hidden, and to see it you must click a link. In Reel Talk I break down my feelings about anything and everything in the film. The jiveness. The corniness. The brilliance. After you've seen the movie, you can come back to the review, unhide the Reel Talk, and see if we're on the same page when it comes to parts of the movie. Now be forewarned—If you haven't seen the movie and plan on going to, I would suggest not reading Reel Talk until you have. I don't want anything to be ruined for you.

Finally, I love to laugh, so be as funny as you want to be.

This site isn't meant to be serious. Some critics take movie critiquing wayyyy to seriously. I want you to hype up a movie, or slam a movie with your own personal wit. Let's have fun discussing movies, making each other laugh, and helping each other find the reelest movie coming out.

Well, that's enough about me and the site. I have to get back to reviewing for all of you. Happy movie watching and Reel Marla reading.

— Marla