Hello.
My name is Keil (sounds like Kyle), and -- while I technically created my forum profile in 2011 -- I have only posted once before today. I am a lifelong film buff from Texas who is rapidly approaching his 40th birthday. I loved movies like most kids growing up, but pretty early on I took this appreciation one step further. Examples:
- In 1989 (at age 10/almost 11) I was cutting newspaper clippings of the summer movie ads, pasting them into a stapled booklet of white printer pages, and then rating the films from 1-4 as I saw them. I would add voice bubbles next to the ads with pencil and put the number rating in the bubble.
- By middle school, I started getting issues of Entertainment Weekly (then in its infancy), and I began keeping a log in a spiral notebook of every movie they reviewed, their letter grade rating for it, and then next to that I would draw a backslash and include my own letter grade rating for it once I saw it. This is only partially why I still have a good idea of which years movies from the early-mid 1990s came out, and also why I still have forgotten film titles like Shakma, May Fools, and Life is Cheap...but Toilet Paper is Expensive rattling around in my brain.
- In 9th grade I watched The Godfather Parts 1 and 2 over a two-night period on TV and my love for movies took on a whole new level. Suddenly I wanted to read about movies, watch award-winning movies, track down foreign films, watch numerous movies by specific directors, and perhaps even pursue a job in filmmaking some day.
- When I moved from my cultural wasteland town to Austin for college in 1996, I didn't give my academics the time and attention they deserved -- but I certainly took advantage of Austin's film scene. I was constantly going to the movies, including obscure flicks that would become lifelong faves (like the documentary 'Hands on a Hard Body').
- While I ultimately did NOT become a filmmaker (I'm a teacher), I continued writing film reviews for the local paper off and on for many years until moving to the DFW area of Texas about a decade ago. I still watch movies when I can, though this has been made tougher following the very recent arrival of my first (and likely only) child. I have a massive film collection (yes, I still buy physical media), and I still harbor aspirations to add a home theater onto my house some day. I am also a huge music buff and compulsive list-maker. In short, I'm probably like a thousand other people in this forum. Thanks for taking the time to read through this, and I look forward to taking my status as "occasional Filmspotting listener" to the next level in 2018.
Other Info:
Letterboxd Username: Keil
Favorite Currently Working Filmmakers: probably Paul Thomas Anderson and the Coen Brothers
Most Anticipated Film of 2018 (Hopefully not 2019): The Modern Ocean (by Shane Carruth)
Favorite Foreign Film of All Time: The 400 Blows
Favorite Film Decade: the 1970s
Favorite TV Series of All Time: The Wire and The Sopranos (though not enough love and respect is given to the entirety of The Shield, which -- in my opinion -- contains the greatest series finale ever made).