I have always loved the magic of movies and the art form of making films.

Some of my earliest memories are of my family going to the drive-in movies when I was only five years old. My father would set me on the car’s hood on a warm blanket, my back against the windshield with snacks in hand. He would make sure the speakers that hung on the rolled-down windows were turned up loud enough for me to hear them. I would watch in wonder as the movies played out on a screen larger than life against a backdrop of the sky filled with stars. I could look back into the car cab and see my mother and father snuggling close as the film’s story moved them or made my mother tear up. It was magic.

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to be a film reviewer and interviewer for ICTN in Texas. Because of my thirty-year-plus adventure in reviewing films and interviewing celebrities and filmmakers on television. This allowed me to be accepted into the Dallas Fort Worth Film Critics Association.

Fast forward to April of 2016. My dear friend and screening partner Gary Murry had already told me about Selig Film News a few years before and how much he loved reviewing there. He was talking to me about possibly contributing to it myself. I had never written my reviews in anything other than a shooting script for the studio so I could tape my segments. He knew that I was always frustrated and felt limited by the five minutes I had to discuss everything about a film that I either loved or hated. Towards the end of the 2016 Dallas International Film Festival, we lost Gary to a hit and run driver. I tell you this because he was the reason I am now the lead online reviewer and interviewer for Selig Film News. I stepped in to help them and never left. I found a home.

Writing my reviews in this format and for Selig Film News has been challenging and joyous. When I started, the learning curve was high; after all, I couldn’t rely on my tone of voice or body language to tell you how I felt about a film. But I have finally found my writing style in this online arena. This format has given me the freedom to dig a bit deeper into aspects of a film that have moved me and why. Ultimately, I have always felt that the job of a film critic or reviewer is to tell you about the project and let you know if they subjectively think it was good or not. And then justify why we feel that way. And for me, my bottom line is this: is it worth you, as the audience, setting aside your precious time and spending your hard-earned money to go see it in a theater or on a streaming device?

I like to think of myself as your nerdy “film friend” who will go and see just about everything and let you know what the “must-see” films are this season. Thank you for the privilege to share my opinions with you all.

Publication:

Selig Film News

Professional Memberships:

• Online Association of Female Film Critics, Member
• Dallas Fort Worth Film Critics Association, Member
• DFW Writers Workshop, Member
• Writers Guild of Texas, Member