Hello. Welcome to GOOD MOVIE. Here is some information you may be looking for:
WHO ARE YOU?
I’m Shea Serrano. I write about things for a living. I’ve done so as a career since 2015. During that time, I’ve written a bunch of stuff, but probably the most relevant thing to mention here is the book MOVIES (AND OTHER THINGS), which was a collection of essays about movies that debuted at number one on the New York Times bestsellers list, was chosen by the Los Angeles Times as one of the 50 best Hollywood books ever written, and is currently for sale everywhere, including, if you can even believe this, at the iconic Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
WHAT IS GOOD MOVIE?
GOOD MOVIE is a publication about movies. The way it works is simple: every Friday, we publish one essay and one video about one good movie. There are no restrictions to particular genres or restrictions to particular time periods. If a movie is good, it’s in play to be covered. If it’s not, then it’s not.
As a bonus: There’s also a column called INVOICES that is published the first Monday of every month where I list the new movies I’ve watched, how much I paid to watch them, and then decide whether or not anyone from the movie owes me any of my money back.
And as another bonus: There’s also a very active secret chat room for subscribers where we talk about various movie-related things, and also occasional watch-along parties where we all watch a movie together and then make jokes about it as it plays.
WHAT’S THE VIDEO?
Remember that show Pop-Up Video that ran on VH1 in the ‘90s? They’d play a music video and little notes would pop up on the screen throughout it? Each week’s video is like that, except instead of a music video it’s a scene from each movie, and instead of pop-up word bubbles it’s footnotes. It’s really cool and really fun. You’re gonna love it.
WHAT KIND OF ESSAY IS IT?
Well, generally speaking, the answer here is: A good one. A good, funny, insightful essay. But if you want a specific answer here, then: Each essay is made up of four parts. They are as follows:
The Introduction: This section gives an accounting of time, people, and context around each movie’s release. It’s there to quickly explain what was happening in Hollywood when a particular movie came out, and what was happening with an actor or director’s career when a particular movie came out.
The Viewing: This is the bulk of every essay. It’s a time-stamped rewatch of the featured movie. Picture a bunch of little entries written down about various scenes, and lines, moments. For example, here’s a thing I wrote down during the part in Kill Bill when The Bride flies to Okinawa to get a sword:
51:28: In hindsight, it’s at least a little bit crazy going all the way from El Paso to Okinawa to get a sword. That’s a 20-plus hour flight we’re talking about. They were selling guns at Walmart in 2003. She could’ve just popped on in there. Grabbed a pistol, maybe some snacks. It would’ve taken ten minutes.
It’s a bunch of those kinds of entries. They work nicely as individual memos—some are funny, some are thoughtful, some pose questions, others posit answers—but together they (hopefully) form a full and meaningful view of the movie.
Accidental Similarities: This is a short section; just a fun little exercise. The goal of it is to find unintentional similarities between the current movie being written about and the movie from the previous week. I always enjoy doing stuff like that.
So, for example, if this week’s movie was, say, the serial killer thriller Seven, and last week’s movie was, say, the boom-boom-bang action movie The Rock, I’d try and find some unexpected ways that those two movies were unintentionally similar. Such as: Did you know that Seven and The Rock both have parts where someone dies from being force fed something? And did you know that Seven and The Rock both have villains who are white guys with shaved heads? And did you know that Seven and The Rock both have scenes where John C. McGinley points a gun at someone?
One Final List: The final section of each essay. It is exactly what it sounds like: one final list of something somehow related to the movie.
WHY DID YOU CALL IT GOOD MOVIE INSTEAD OF GOOD MOVIES?
You know the thing of when you’re walking out of a theater after you’ve just watched something really great and you’re making your way down the little carpeted walkway toward the exit out into the theater lobby and all you can think to do is say to the person walking next to you, “Man… good movie”? That's why.
WHY SHOULD I DO A PAID SUBSCRIPTION?
Because if you don’t then you’re stupid and ugly.
WHAT DO I GET?
You get a few things. Firstly, you get to be smart and beautiful, two of the best things to be, rather than stupid and ugly, two of the worst things to be. Secondly, you get full access to every essay, accompanying chat, and video in the GOOD MOVIE archives. And thirdly, you get the ability to participate as a commentator in each week’s chat.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW?
I suppose just: I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s like a book that's alive, if that makes any sense. I’m very excited about the whole process. I’m excited to see how GOOD MOVIE grows, and how it evolves, and what it becomes. Thank you for being a part of it.
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