After creating a spreadsheet that listed every Criterion-related movie (initially through their disc releases and later on via the various streaming services they’ve offered), I began the series with Nanook of the North (1922) and I’ve been plugging away at it ever since! I covered a lot of films pretty quickly during 2009-10, when it was my main creative outlet. However, my progress on this plan slowed down significantly in subsequent years as I’ve gotten involved with other projects related to cinephiliac expression. With a lot of extended breaks at various points along the way, I’m now up to the spring of 1973 (as of March 2025) – and I have no intention of quitting!
Since 2009, I’ve also uploaded a lot of written and audio material to CriterionCast.com. I started my affiliation with that site as a podcast guest. Within a few months, I started writing a weekly column called A Journey Through the Eclipse Series, which reviewed individual films that were being released by Criterion in a sideline of DVD box sets.
That column in turn led me to start a podcast called The Eclipse Viewer which featured my first co-host Rob Nishimura, who retired after eight episodes and was eventually replaced by Trevor Berrett. That podcast consisted of audio conversations about the various Eclipse Series editions, and we concluded it after covering all 46 of the sets they produced.
When I finished working on The Eclipse Viewer, I realized that I was having more fun making podcasts than I experienced writing reviews. Podcasts gave me a chance to directly interact in fascinating and spontaneous exchanges with one or more people as we discussed so many amazing great movies, and I greatly enjoyed the online friendships that developed with Trevor and other guests who seemed to appreciate our relaxed, open-ended format that allowed us to share thoughts about movies. When I reached the year 1969 in my series, I stopped updating the blog (which had relocated for hosting on CriterionCast when I got to 1968) and started covering the films on my spreadsheet in conversations with an expanded that were recorded and lightly edited for podcast distribution. I now have over 150 episodes of Criterion Reflections in my archive.
A year or two after I started hosting Criterion Reflections, Trevor and I landed on an idea that allowed us to continue our collaboration: Inside the Box, another podcast that, much like The Eclipse Viewer, focused on multi-film sets that had been released as spine-numbered editions by the Criterion Collection. It’s been over a year since we last made a new recording, but I don’t consider the podcast to be “finished” quite yet… We’re just on a long hiatus as we pursue other projects. Trevor hosts an excellent book-focused blog and podcast called The Mookse and the Gripes with Paul Wilson, where they engage in well-informed and thoughtfully structured conversations about great classic and contemporary literature. And I stay busy with all my other film-related stuff that I will mention below.
Since early 2023, I’ve been highly involved with the Grand Rapids Film Society, a small, volunteer-driven effort to support a vibrant film community and culture in our city and the West Michigan region. We’re based in the historic Wealthy Theatre and I’m not exaggerating at all when say that this has been a “dream come true” experience for me. The chance to not only have input on programming an incredible mix of art house classics, indies, and even major box office sensations, all presented through a curatorial lens, but also to have occasional opportunities to introduce the films to highly appreciative audiences, followed by stimulating post-screening conversations… well, it’s everything I could have hoped for, and so rewarding to be part of a group that has created so many meaningful, memorable events over the past couple years. with so much more on the way!
Truth be told, the GRFS is probably the one project that I would prioritize over all others if I had to make a drastic choice like that. But happily, that is not the case! So I’m able to continue doing all the stuff I’ve already listed above. Beyond that, I also receive occasional review copies of new releases from the Criterion Collection, which I’ve most recently been covering in clips uploaded to my YouTube channel. I will be the first to admit that my clips are pretty basic in terms of their production values, but I think I offer good content anyway. I basically use my phone to record a few thoughts and apply some rudimentary editing to help make the clips a little more concise. I’d like to get a little more polished in my presentation, so please hold me to that and I’ll make better videos if get some encouragement that convinces me it will be worth the extra effort!
And finally, there’s the stuff I do here on CineJourneys. At the moment, I’m focusing on my role as Guide for the 120 Days of Pasolini Journey that I’ve been hosting for a few months now after taking on that role between the first and second calls, in which we covered Accattone and Mamma Roma, the first two feature films directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. We’re now five calls in, and it’s been a great experience for me so far. I’m excited to see what that series, and the whole CineJourneys website and community growing around it, will grow into over the months and years ahead.
So this is where I’ll leave off for now. But check this page every so often, I’ll create fresh updates (and add more visual appeal) when I have new stuff to share.