About A1 Movie Reviews

By Shane Rivers

A1 Movie Reviews Mission Statement

“A1 Movie Reviews is dedicated to providing well-written movie reviews and movie essays for the enjoyment of our readers.”

Okay, I realize our mission statement is pretty short, but keep in mind that this website deals with movie reviews, not global financing. Still, I don’t want anyone feeling like they didn’t get their money’s worth, so here’s a bit more explanation about what A1 Movie Reviews stands for.

1. Well-written Reviews – How many times have you read a review and noticed it was littered with misspelled words and punctuation errors? Maybe English teachers are the only ones who care about this any longer, but it‘s still a matter of professional pride. As the old saying goes, “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.”

You can also be confident that our reviews and movie essays will be accurate. If a supporting character is the protagonist’s cousin, he won’t be listed as his brother. That might seem like a little thing, but a series of small factual errors can eventually snowball into even greater mistakes. When we give you a synopsis of the plot or discuss individual characters, you can be certain that the information is correct.

We also hold to the idea that reviews and movie essays should entertain as well as inform. While we may not be as funny as a Gallagher or Carrot Top, we still strive to interject a bit of humor from time to time. Sure, we’d love to smash a watermelon with a giant sledgehammer and send it flying out of your screen, but the limitations of technology still force us to make due with only words. Hopefully, that’ll be enough.

2. Unbiased Reviews – We’re not friends with Quentin Tarantino, and we haven’t been offered cameos in any movies. While our lives might not be as exciting as others in the criticism biz, you can bet your ass that everything we write is honest and free from any outside influence. Having once worked in the broadcast media, I became familiar with a little something called “journalistic integrity.” It may be a dying notion, but it remains alive and well at A1 Movie Reviews. If we tell you we liked a film, it’s not because we got a free duffle bag and jacket out of the deal.

3. Now with 50% Less Exaggeration – I don’t know about you, but I just roll my eyes when I read a review which refers to a film as “a non-stop thrill ride.” Let’s be honest: these lines are included specifically in the hope that it’ll land the reviewer a blurb on a movie ad or DVD cover. You’ll find no such nonsense at A1 Movie Reviews.

4. Apples to Apples – We don’t think it’s fair that a Friday the 13th film should be compared to Citizen Kane. For that reason, horror movies are judged against other horror movies, and heart-wrenching dramas are graded against one another. Many moviegoers tend to have genres which they gravitate towards, and we feel this method will help them better relate to the perceived quality of the film.

5. Variety – Our primary objective is to deliver film reviews and essays about cinema, but we’re also big fans of variety. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if you see us trying all sorts of strange and unique things along the way. One such idea is to include extra film reviews in haiku form. In addition, we’ll also be providing information on film festivals, and our Movie Questions and Answers section is dedicated to providing quick results to your query without having to brave the snarky comments of an online forum.

Meet the Team

Now it’s time to take a brief look at our staff. The following men and women are dedicated to bringing you the best film reviews around, and they always strive to present a product which is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Shane Rivers – With a degree in Radio/TV/Film, Shane once dreamed of being a film director. Unfortunately, a chronic case of laziness steered him down another career path. After working in the broadcast news business for several years, Shane retreated to the safety of his home and started a career as an Internet writer. He’s written about poker, weight loss, sports, nude celebrities, and anything else which paid the bills. Now he’s parlayed his talents into a full-time gig with A1 Movie Reviews, and you can also read his weekly submissions over at our sister site, OnlyGoodMovies.

Roxanne Downer – Every team needs a sassy female, and Roxanne allows us to meet that quota. Based in New York City, she writes about finance and fashion when she isn’t slaving away to crank out another witty review. A former theatre major, she loves a good musical and also admits to liking the occasional age-inappropriate film (Power Rangers: The Movie, for example). She’s got a weakness for Eric Roberts and Cate Blanchett, but don’t even think about trying to get her to see a movie starring Sean Connery or Rosario Dawson.

Gregor Turley – If Gregor isn’t reviewing a movie, he might be found acting in one. That’s because he’s a veteran of numerous plays, musicals, shorts, and feature movies. He’s also taught film, hosted a local review show, and lent his talents to numerous comedy videos on the Internet and cable television. According to Gregor, his desire to act was inspired by Gene Hackman’s cameo in Young Frankenstein. While I’ve never seen him perform, I can attest that his skills as a film critic are rock solid. He lists Network, Sunset Boulevard, and Blue Velvet as some of his favorite films, while he admits to passionately hating Bowling for Columbine, Braveheart, and The Thin Red Line.

A. Jaye – In 1996 he wrote his debut screenplay Please Don’t Hurt Me. He promptly got an agent and received the Carl Foreman Award in association with BAFTA. After realizing Hollywood wasn’t going to make the first move, he wrote No Fixed Abode and in 2000 was a quarter-finalist for a Nicholl Fellowship in association with the American Academy. When his agent realized Hollywood wasn’t going to make the first move, they parted company and A. Jaye took the high road: He wrote his debut novel Please Don’t Hurt Me and isn’t waiting for Hollywood anymore. Now he’s waiting for publishers. In the meantime he writes about horror films, amongst other things, at Thrill Fiction.

Michael Muniz – A Texas native, Michael is new to the Los Angeles area. He received a Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, where he made several short films and graduated with Honors in 2007. Since then he has worked on many film and television productions ranging from dramatic features to reality TV. He came to Los Angeles to further his career and is currently penning his second feature length screenplay, a horror homage inspired by the creature features of the 1950’s and the prolific works of Roger Corman. In his philosophy of film analysis, he tries to strike a balanced read for the most seasoned film connoisseur and the average moviegoer.

Tercius Bufete – Tercius is “the future,” as CNN Senior Producer Traci Tamura put it: a multi-platform journalist who has demonstrated his talents as a cartoonist, writer, web designer and video producer. He is currently a student, majoring in English and Journalism. He also loves movies.

Ratings System

We rate movies on a scale of 1 to 5, and no film will ever receive zero stars. Why? Anyone who has the guts and perseverance to make a movie at least deserves a little credit. And in case you’re wondering, a film can truly be considered “average” if it achieves a rating of 2 ½ stars.

Drop Us a Line

There may come a time when you need to contact us. Maybe you’ll want to ask a question about a movie, or maybe you’ll want to lay some praise/criticism at our feet. Either way, you can email us at the following address:

a1moviereviews[at]gmail[dot]com

The [at] and [dot] parts will need to be changed, of course, but that’s a small price to pay to help rid the world of spam.